Frequently Asked Questions
On The Hellenic Olympian Religion of The Dodecatheon
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The Hellenic Religion
What Gods Do You Worship?
We worship the Twelve Olympian Gods, in their Hellenic form, as well as other
divinities (e.g. Gaia, Persephone, Pan, the Nymphs). One can also worship the lesser
Gods, Heroes, Daimons as Asclepios (which practice is probably more appropriate),
Hecate, Dionysos, the Muses etc.
Emphasizing the worship of Goddesses over the Gods (or vice versa) is not appropriate,
because genders are absolutely equal, precisely as the two cosmogonic substances. Further,
in the tolerant spirit of ancient Paganism, one can always include in worship the Deities
of other pantheons (Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Celtic, etc.).
The twelve Gods and all higher Gods are the same persons with different names in all
traditional religions: Dionysos=Osiris=Shiva, Haephestus=Vulcan=Thor, etc. The
lesser Gods, Heroes, Daimons etc. are divinities particular to each country, and even to
each locality, and have as their duty to watch and care about their City (Heroe
Poliouchos), or an element of Nature (great trees, rivers etc) and also
planets. This clarifies the meaning of Nature being sacred and the meaning of worshipping
Nature above all, as a whole.
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The Hellenic Religion
What is the Basis of Your Religious Beliefs?
Our beliefs are categorized into three
main chapters: Cosmogony, Psychogony and Theogony.
Cosmogony: The physical frame of the World (Cosmos) is
self existent, self propelled and self retained. The world is perpetual and consists of an
infinite number of universes. Each universe has a starting point in time, but no end. Each
universe consists of the two cosmogonic substances and is suject to expans ion and
contraction, periodically. The closest modern scientific equivalent to Orphean
Cosmogony is the model proposed by Karel Velan in his work «The Multi-universe
Cosmos», Plenum Press eds., New York NY, 1992.
Psychogony: The Psyche is a basic particle of matter,
specially treated by physical means to become the psychic atom. These atoms are then
eternal and exhibit gradual progress, by receiving and saving experiences; they develop
conscience and then higher conscience. This painstaking process is made possible by
successive metempsychoses, beginning in crystals (solid state of matter) and progressing
through plants, animals, man etc.
Theogony: When the psychic atom has developed the higher
conscience, it is able to make its constituency immortal; it then abandons the course
body. Thus the Psyche enters the realm of the Higher Worlds and progresses there
infinitely as a Hero, a Daimon, a God, an Olympian God, an Olympian God of the Galaxy
etc., etc..
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The Hellenic Religion
Do You Have Sacred Texts?
All the philosophical Hellenic writings are within the
Hellenic Line, as in Homeric poetry, but the sacred text par excelence is the «Sacred
Word in 24 rapsodies» of Orpheus, a text compiled immediately after the Great Deluge,
based on recolections of the ancient sacred science of the Golden Age of hummanity.
This great masterpiece has been destroyed by the Christians; now we have only fragments,
edited by Otto Kern, as «Orphicorum Fragmenta», Weidmann, Zuerich.
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The Hellenic Religion
What are your Liturgical (Ceremonial) Texts?
The mainstay of our liturgical texts
are the Orphean Hymns. The origin of these texts is again the Golden Age and are in fact
God-sent. For English speaking people we heartily recommend the excellent translation «The Hymns of Orpheus» by Thomas Taylor.
Reprints available from the Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los
Angeles CA 90027, USA.
A usual small ceremony consists of recitations of Hymns as follows: Hestia, the God of the
month, the 12 Olympians, Hestia.
In the full Moon ceremony we add the Hymns to Helios, Selene and of the Stars. You can add
any other Hymn you like (of Nature, of the Divine Law, of Nemessis etc) according to the
occasion.
Here are the Gods with their respective months:
21 Sept. till 20 Oct: Hestia
21 Oct. till 20 Nov: Ares
21 Nov. till 20 Dec: Artemis
21 Dec. till 20 Jan: Haephestos
21 Jan. till 20 Feb: Hera
21 Feb. till 20 Mar: Poseidon
21 Mar. till 20 Apr: Athena
21 Apr. till 20 May: Aphrodite
21 May. till 20 Jun: Apollo
21 Jun. till 20 Jul: Hermes
21 Jul. till 20 Aug: Zeus
21 Aug. till 20 Sep: Demetra
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The Hellenic Religion
What are the Major Festivals that you celebrate?
The most important holidays of all
the traditional religions are the four astronomical dates of the year, that is the two
equinoxes and the two solstices. We celebrate them with great pomp because this helps us
to conform to the sacred Rythm of the Cosmos. The summer solstice is dedicated to Gaia,
while the winter solstice to Uranus and Helios.
We also celebrate the full Moon each month. This is a real holiday because conditions are
most favorable for the Psyche to acquire the Higher Truths.
Our religion is for the moment underground, in this country. The celebrations are not
solemn and are performed in private; very seldom in public, and very cautiously; we run
the risk of being accused as satanists, which will not be tolerated by our social
environment. Nevertheless, we do celebrate the following:
- The full moon, every month. At the same occasion we worship the God of the month, as
follows:
Hera (7th) Gamelion, Moon of January
Poseidon (8th) Anthestirion, Moon of February
Athena (Minerva) (9th) Elaphivolion, Moon of March
Aphrodite (Venus) (10th) Mounichion, Moon of April
Apollon (11th) Thargilion, Moon of May
Hermes (12th) Skirophorion, Moon of June
Zeus (Jupiter) (1st) Hecatomvaion, Ìïïn of July
Dimitra (Demeter) (2nd) Metageitnion, Moon of August
Hestia (Vesta) (3rd) Voidromion, Moon of September
Aris (Mars) (4th) Pyanepsion, Moon of October
Artemis (Diana) (5th) Maimaktirion, Moon of November
Hephestus (Vulcan) (6th) Poseideon, Moon of December
- The 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox: Anthesteria, the lesser Mysteries, in honour
of Dionysus and the souls of the deceaced.
- The 1st full moon after the Summer Solstice: Olympia (Olympic Games every 4 years), in
honour of Zeus and Hera.
- The 1st full moon after the Fall Equinox: Elefsinian (greater) Mysteries, in honour of
Dimitra and Persefoni.
- The 1st full moon after the Winter Solstice: Pythia at Delphi, in honour of Dionysus and
Apollon.
There is of course a huge number (about 400) of other known ancient festivals, that
nobody celebrates (as such) for the time being. It should be noted that the totality of
Greek Orthodox Christian festivals stem from ancient pagan festivals, that the Hellenic
people never gave up, so the Orthodox-Christian church thought appropriate to embody, for
the purpose of making the people forget the real meaning and origin of the festivals.
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The Hellenic Religion
Do You Have an Ordained Priesthood?
In ancient Graeco-Roman Paganism, Priests and
Priestesses generally had the responsibility for worship at a particular temple or shrine;
in many cases these were civil offices or hereditary positions.
On the other hand, ancient Pagans never felt the necessity of clergy interceding with the
Gods on their behalf. Anyone who knew the proper rites could lead a sacrifice and prayer
to the Gods, and the Gods often appeared to mortals and intervened in their lives.
Nowadays many Pagans take a similar view, and we work to come into direct communion with
the Gods, without the need for clergy.
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The Hellenic Religion
Isn't Hellenic Religion One of the Causes of the Patriarchy?
No, it is not. Our Mythology and Religion is gender balanced. It should be
noted that there are six male and six female deities in the Dodecatheon, and also that in all
the Great Sacred Mysteries one always finds the Hierophantic Couple, man and woman. In
public and solemn ceremonies usually the priestess of Demetra presides, for example in the
Olympics. According to our religion, females are spiritually oriented better than males,
and their connection to the Higher Worlds is stronger; in general, they advance more
rapidly in the spiritual trail. The Hellenic Religion is a product of the Golden Age of
hummanity, where the female principle was honored excessively (metriarchy). Superficial
interpretations might lead one to think otherwise,because in later antiquity the Hellenic
society and, to a lesser extent, Roman society had turned patriarchal. Nevertheless,
mythology and religion (that concern us) display a perfectly balanced understanding of
gender. We Pagans of the Helliniki Hetaireia Archaiophilon continue the time honored
tradition of our ancestors.
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The Hellenic Religion
How Old is Hellenic Paganism?
There is considerable evidence that many Graeco-Roman
religious practices continued into modern times under a thin cover of Christianity.
Although we can point to a number of Hellenic pagans (e.g. emperor Julian the Great,
Thomas Taylor "the English Pagan," Walter F. Otto the classicist) throughout
history, our tradition has mostly been private for about a thousand years. We, Greek
pagans claim to be following a continuous tradition dating back to ancient paganism that
lived underground in mainland Greece and Asia Minor, throughout the years of Byzantine and
Ottoman oppression. One of the rare instances that we went public was in the case of
Plethon, the Noeoplatonic philosopher, at ca. 1440. We also possess a lot of theological
and philosophical writings from the last century.
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The Hellenic Religion
Are You Satanists?
No Pagan is a Satanist since Satan is a figure from Judeo-Christian, not
Hellenic mythology. It must be made clear, that no traditional religion
includes the Evil, because Nature, the supreme being, can only be understood as Goodness.
Satan, evil and fear of God are the paraphernalia of the machine of opression used by the cosmopolitan religions.
To us, the concept of Satan-Evil is totally alien; it can only be meant in the
context of Judeo-christian (monotheistic) dualistic concept of one
spiritual God, external to the Cosmos, and an evil, inferior matter and
flesh. We definitely believe that Nature and the infinite divine
personalities in the Higher Worlds are Goodness. Evil is
created only by the malefic actions of humans.
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The Hellenic Religion
What Organizations Are There?
Unfortunately, there are presently no large
organizations devoted to Hellenic paganism. There are several small organizations in the
US, but only one in Greece, the Helliniki Hetaireia Archaiophilon. One purpose of this
organization is to facilitate getting together of the believers of the Dodecatheon in
Greece, to bring forward the Hellenic Ideas and to eventually revive the traditional
ethnic religion of our Homeland. In the meantime we express our spirituality the best way
we can.
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The Hellenic Religion
What is The Helliniki Hetaireia Archaiophilon?
The «Helliniki Hetaireia
Archaiophilon» (Societas Hellenica Antiquariorum), is a non-profit private organization,
based in Athens-Greece, aiming to revive the traditional Hellenic religion of the
Dodecatheon (12 Olympian Gods and the Pantheon of Demons and Heroes). The organization
offers activities to its members every evening, dealing with the traditional Hellenic
religion, Hellenic philisophy (Pythegorean, pre-Socratic, Platonic, Stoic, neo-Platonic
etc), our Holly Mythology, as well as scientific lectures, symposia, public discourses and
social activities. We favor serious philosophical thinking, scientific investigation of
mythology, archaeology and religion. We do not favor drugs or other extravagant beliefs
and practices. We do favor the observance of the the utmost Hellenic ideal: The Law.
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The Hellenic Religion
Where Can I Find More Information?
You can brouse through our
web site , you can send us e-mail or
regular mail with your specific interests and questions, or if you live in the Athens
area, you could visit us. For an appointment, please, call 01-3626635, weekdays 6:00 to
10:00 pm.
Our organization now publishes a quarterly magazine that bears the title: "HELLENIC PANTHEON". It is a quarterly, luxurius edition containing articles about ancient Hellas, Prehistory, Religion, Mythology, as well as timely social, cultural, and philosophical articles. Annual subscription costs 6000 Drachmas in Hellas (8000 Drachmas in Cyprus) and $50 in all other countries.
Our regular mail address is: SOCIETAS HELLENICA ANTIQUARIORUM, P. O. Box 33050, Athens 100
36, Hellas.
Telephone and Fax #: 01-3626 635
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The Hellenic Religion
Can I become a Member of the Hetaireia?
Applications for membership to our
organization are welcome. Applicants should have a clear idea of what they are seeking
with membership. They are expected to have an interest in the ancient Hellenic World,
Mythology, Pre-history, the traditional Religion, and the Hellenic Ideas. It is not
mandatory to be a believer of the Dodecatheon, only to have respect for it.
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