I was recently asked about a comment made regarding the Twelve. The basic question was about the worship of the Twelve being distinct. What did that mean? The reader took from this declaration the writer wanted to imply honoring the Twelve was “distinct from” the Hellenic religion. The idea being that there were many cults in Greece that cannot be said to be indicative of the Greek religion. That the worship of the Twelve was its own unique cult within the Greek system, but cannot be said to define the Greek religion. I went to the site and read the whole comment, and in context it seemed to be a statement that there are more Olympians than just the Twelve, which is true, but this does seem to have reignited controversy in this topic. Therefore, I have gone back through my material, and had a long conversation with my friend Astalon. This is what we have (again) concluded.
The questions being asked revolve around: (1) Were the Twelve recognized throughout Greece? (2) Was there a specific “Cult of the Twelve” in that we can say a specific cult existed within Greece that is not primary to the ancient Greek religion? (2) Are the Twelve primary to the ancient Greek religion, and consequently to modern Hellenismos?
The Cult of the Twelve, as far as we know, is not a cult independent from the main religion, and virtually every city had a cult of twelve that included at least more than half of the “Canonical Twelve.” The Canonical Twelve are the principal Gods of the Greek pantheon, and are first spoke of in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (written sometime between the 8th and 6th century BCE). The Twelve are identified as Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Hestia.
The Altar of the Twelve Gods, in Athens, demonstrates actual public worship of this Twelve as canonical (established by fundamental standards) dating back to at least 511 BCE, and this canon survived until Sallustius’ ecclesiastical treatise, On the Gods and the Cosmos, written in the mid-4th century CE. It can be argued that there is some variation in the Twelve from time to time, based on a specific author or interpretation of artwork, but these Twelve are without a doubt the Twelve Great Gods of Ancient Greece. These twelve are identified as the Twelve starting from the Dark Ages of Greece to the end of Pagan Rome, a span of more than 1,000 years.
Why did some cities possibly have twelve Gods that were different from this canon? The ancient Greeks interpreted 12 to represent totality. We believe the totality concept was adopted from the Sumerians who divided time and years into twelve portions in the Heavens. They saw twelve as representing totality. Therefore, every city would tend to have twelve Gods or twelve heroes that were considered particularly important. This was often reflective of the needs of the city rather then a theological discrepancy with the Canonical Twelve.
Consequently, twelve was used to represent the most important Gods to a particular town, even though in popular poetry, myth, and the psyche the twelve most important Gods would have been the Canonical Twelve. In some cities and towns, the most directly important twelve Gods could differ by any combination of Zeus, Hera, Hermes, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Poseidon, Aphrodite, Hestia, the local river God, the local mountain God, the Graces, or some other deity. We have to remember, while the Twelve were considered the Gods in primary possession of the Cosmos, they were not always seen as being principal in people’s lives. The Household religion typifies this idea, where many of the Twelve were principal in household worship, while others were not, yet all were ultimately honored and recognized as the pinnacle of the pantheon.
We can also say for sure there were definitely more than twelve Olympians (Ouranic or Celestial Gods). We can presume from the evidence the average ancient Greek would have acknowledged the Twelve as prime in addition to other major Gods, all who are Olympians of some sort, and there is evidence of the worship of at least 18 Gods universally (the other five are Hecate, Dionysus, Rhea, Heracles, the Dioskouroi and Asclepius). Despite the fact more than twelve Gods were honored, it is obvious from Greek mythology, poetry, art, and religious practices that the popular culture decided which twelve Gods were the Prime Gods, and by the Classical Period, this solidified into the Canonical Twelve.
The Twelve were considered the twelve most important Pan-Hellenic deities. Any distinct Cult of the Twelve would have actually arisen secondary. These cults would have usually been born from practical altars like the Altar to the Twelve, in Athens, where a localized space was turned into a popular altar for worship. While it is true people did not just honor the Twelve, the minimum obligation was to honor these Prime Gods. This must be our lowest standard within modern Hellenismos.
We simply need to become intolerant of those who are diligently working to undefine the Hellenic tradition, making use of rhetorical sleight-of-hand and ambiguities of language in order to support unfounded arguments. With all the flexibility that Hellenismos provides, there is no reason to devalue key aspects of our tradition. Does anyone understand the logic of a person who states because there was flexibility between cities and towns that we should ignore the concept of the Twelve all together, and allow handcrafted personal pantheons, still calling it Hellenismos?
Let us look at some of the arguments against the Twelve for a moment. We can clearly identify the “Canonical Twelve” as Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Hestia. This is the most academically accepted formulation in addition to being exemplified in myth, art, and linked to actual worship with the Altar of the Twelve. In the 6th century BCE, the only other “competing” cult of twelve was worshiped in Olympia, and included Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Hermes, Apollo, Alpheios, Cronus, Rhea, the Graces, and Dionysus. We have actual worship identifying two recognized groups of the Twelve, but Olympia was not always a Pan-Hellenic site. Olympia evolved from a localized site to a Pan-Hellenic site, not the other way around. The Twelve Gods of Olympia are a localized variant. They are the twelve Gods most important to Olympia. The twelve honored by Olympia did not spread. I am sure if you asked a local in Olympia, from the Classical Period on, if they knew the Twelve they would name the Canonical Twelve, but if you ask them who are the Gods important in Olympia, they would give you their localized twelve. Why would we presume any twelve Gods depicted together equals a theological dispute?
On the Parthenon, we have twelve Gods depicted, most of which are the “Canonical Twelve,” but Hestia is replaced with Dionysus. The Parthenon was a temple to Athena, not the Twelve. Why would we presume Hestia was replaced with Dionysus when both the Altar of the Twelve and the Parthenon where erected very close to each other in time and space (the Altar was build aprox. 511 BCE, and the Parthenon at about 448 BCE)? Both were in active use at the same time, and one was for the active worship of the Twelve while the other was for the worship of Athena alone. We do have to admit there is some wiggle room here for Dionysus, but the caveat is while Dionysus may have replaced Hestia as part of the Twelve with some, Hestia still maintained a very high status and her worship remained obligatory.
Let us look at another fallacy used to blur this issue. How could anyone argue that Plato’s Laws is proof of Hades being an Olympian and of the Twelve (actually making a thirteenth)? Plato’s dialogue was of a hypothetical city, was not religious doctrine, and did not affect religious practice. If I remember correctly, Plato does not even mention who specifically the other Twelve are in his dialogue, and I would presume since the Altar of the Twelve was in active use during Plato’s time, it was just a matter of fact that the Twelve were the Canonical Twelve.
We have already discussed “the twelve” most important Gods to a particular town. Why would anyone make the jump that “the twelve” most important Gods to a particular town (which could include local divinities) were perceived as a theological difference of who are the Twelve Prime Gods of the Cosmos? The prime Household Gods did not include all the Twelve. How far back into “Greek” history are we going to go to “prove” that each city-state had their very own Gods and very own religion, with little semblance to each other to validate the creation of personal religions? Is it not proof enough that the Canonical Twelve survived as a principle tenet from the time of Homer until Sallustius’ catechism?
I found one non-Hellene Neopagan (who desperately wants to be perceived as a Hellenist) making a statement to the effect that “the Twelve” in Olympia is different from the Twelve in Athens and thus creating personal pantheons would have been an acceptable practice in Greece. It is one big uneducated baseless leap, and a case of altering the facts to fit their views, rather then being open to having the facts shape their ideas. Ignoring the standard pantheon is not wise from a true Hellenic perspective. The ancient Greeks would not have found these distortions acceptable, and any person making a scholarly analysis of Greek history will tell you the same. Those who make the argument the Twelve was not essential are simply speaking nonsense.
