translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)
(ll. 1-10) Muses of Pieria who give glory through song, come hither, tell of Zeus your father and chant his praise. Through him mortal men are famed or un-famed, sung or unsung alike, as great Zeus wills. For easily he makes strong, and easily he brings the strong man low; easily he humbles the proud and raises the obscure, and easily he straightens the crooked and blasts the proud, — Zeus who thunders aloft and has his dwelling most high.
translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)
(ll. 1-25) From the Heliconian Muses let us begin to sing, who hold the great and holy mount of Helicon, and dance on soft feet about the deep-blue spring and the altar of the almighty son of Cronos, and, when they have washed their tender bodies in Permessus or in the Horse’s Spring or Olmeius, make their fair, lovely dances upon highest Helicon and move with vigorous feet. Thence they arise and go abroad by night, veiled in thick mist, and utter their song with lovely voice, praising Zeus the aegis- holder and queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-eyed Athene, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth-holder who shakes the earth, and reverend Themis and quick-glancing (1) Aphrodite, and Hebe with the crown of gold, and fair Dione, Leto, Iapetus, and Cronos the crafty counsellor, Eos and great Helius and bright Selene, Earth too, and great Oceanus, and dark Night, and the holy race of all the other deathless ones that are for ever. And one day they taught Hesiod glorious song while he was shepherding his lambs under holy Helicon, and this word first the goddesses said to me — the Muses of Olympus, daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis:
In our continuing dialogues we have covered the importance of honoring the Twelve, appropriate patron relationships within a Hellenic paradigm, virtue and vice, personal deities are personal daimons and tutelary spirits, and the Hellenic religion overall. Today, I wish to discuss the Household Gods and everyday practice. Many new to Hellenismos seem to focus only on the grand festivals and large public sacrifices of the city-states, which in some respects is understandable, but this focus leaves large and empty gaps. In many respects, a practitioner of Hellenismos who places their main emphasis on festivals is like a Christian who only sees the inside of a church on Christmas or Easter.
Aphrodite and the Rabbit
So in the subdivision where I live there is new construction. This means the wildlife and their natural habitat have been disrupted. My neighbor had a family of rabbits camped out in his backyard. We have frogs and rabbits galore hopping along in our backyards. Kind of sad, but neat at the same time. The armadillos are a little scary, but whatever.
Inclusive Polytheism:- The belief that there are many distinct Gods but that the number of Gods are limited and that all the different pantheons in the world are the same pantheon of Gods, just known by different names and different myths. Example would be Jupiter of the Romans and Zeus of the Greeks and Indra of the Indians are the same God, as is Ceres of the Romans, Demeter of the Greeks and Isis of the Egyptians are the same God.
This is a follow-up to the “Patron Deities: Are They a Form of Objectionable Veneration?” article. At the request of some members of Hellenismos.us, I am providing some primary source references showing that, within the Hellenic context, Personal Deities are personal daimons or tutelary spirits acting as guides. This will provide more information for those interested in comparing and contrasting the actual Hellenic concept of personal divinities with the Neopagan counterpart. This list of resources is not complete. Some of this specifically discusses personal divinities, and others discuss daimons in a more general sense of being the intermediaries between the Gods and man.
This was the question posted on our Hellenic Polytheist Forum, “What are the main points of conflict in Hellenics? And what are your opinions on them?” My answer was rather simple. The biggest point of contention is answering the question who is and who is not Hellenic. Virtually every single one of the most heated debates can be traced back to that one question. In answering this query, the Neopagans are mostly on one side, while actual Reconstructionists sit on the other. In the end, most every Reconstructionist can be tolerant of the most liberal Reconstructionist opinion. We all draw from the same body of material, and use the same scholarly guidelines. Neopagans, on the other hand, do not want to “limit” themselves. They opt instead for free-flowing spirituality and practice, while at the same time insisting they be considered Hellenic.
I have been doing some ruminating on the Pagan subculture in general, and how this relates to Hellenismos…specifically our ethics. I know we’ve been talking quite a bit about ethics, but I think it’s important…because ethics seem to be glossed over, or completely ignored by the Pagan (and Hellenic) community at large because people confuse ethics with “rules” and “dogma”.
One of the words we often hear or read in discussions regarding Hellenismos is “virtue.” The modern use of the word means moral excellence and the living of one’s life by a set of moral and ethical principles. Greek ethics is not so much the condemnation of individual personal behavior, but is more in line with a set of guidelines of what one should do rather than should not. Virtue ethics emphasizes character, rather than specific rules, as the key element of ethical thinking, and the Greek concept of virtue is very closely linked to the idea of excellence and ideals. This is in a way that goes beyond what many would consider moral or ethical issues. Virtue is not a complicated concept, but it is one that every practitioner of Hellenismos must strive to understand.
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