What is Hellenic Polytheism? | Hellenism 101
Fel the Blithe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y-uL69I_QI

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0:00 Hi i'm Fel the Blithe! Renaissance musician, historical sewist and Hellenic Polytheist. When i first began my journey with hellenic polytheism there were like no YouTube Channels
0:14 about it. And now in the year 2021, there's a a few and i'm going to link them in the description. They say one of the best ways to learn is also to teach, so that was also part of my motivation
0:24 in starting this channel but that's not what this video is about. This video is an overview of Hellenism or Hellenic Polytheism, these are two terms that i'm going to get into
0:36 right now. Hellenic pPolytheism at its most basic and most watered down is a religion based on that found in Ancient Greece, usually specifically Classical Greece
0:47 falling roughly between the 6th and 5th century BCE. Now as I said this is a very basic and very watered-down statement and even in that statement you can find disagreement like: what counts
0:58 as Classical Greece? What about the Hellenistic period? What about the Bronze Age? Does the Minoan period count?? What about the Dark Ages? But that's the easiest way to understand it. Looking
1:11 at Ancient Greece usually six to fifth century BCE, that is usually what people are referring to when they're talking about Hellenism and that's the easiest place to start due to the bountiful
1:21 scholarship from that period. Now we're gonna get into some terms. So things that you might see: Hellenic Pagan versus Hellenic Polytheist. Now for all intents and purposes, I'm going to use those
1:35 terms (pagan and polytheist) interchangeably. Some people might get mad, yes, I am aware of where the term "pagan" differs from the term "polytheist" but in our modern day and age,
1:48 people tend to understand them as the same thing. If you want to use Hellenic Pagan versus polytheist that's kind of on you. Now, I use Hellenic Polytheist because my brain gets
2:00 happy when i use terms that are from the same root language. "Hellenic" and "polytheist" are terms that both come from Greek, whereas pagan is Latin (but that's just semantics at that point). Now,
2:12 there's several terms that you're going to come across when you start researching, one of them will be Hellenismos. So, Hellenismos was specifically a term that was used to just refer
2:21 to the Greek language or the "Greek way" during the reign of Emperor Julian (A Roman Emperor) however now it has been kind of adopted that people use when they're referring
2:31 to Hellenism or Hellenic Polytheism because I think maybe it just like sounds cooler? Honestly, I don't really see a difference between the terms "Hellenism" and "Hellenismos".
2:42 Then there's dodekatheism. This one's a little bit rarer but it specifically refers to "worship of 12 gods" and sometimes it's used interchangeably with hellenism and this word is most often used
2:54 in Greece today to refer to the ancient religion. However, some modern Hellenic Polytheists embrace it as well. There can be sort of a point of contention with this word due to the fact that
3:04 it's the "worship of the twelve gods" and people can see it as limiting to only what we call the Olympians. (My strange word choice there is purposeful.) So, some people find that word
3:16 limiting if they, you know, worship beyond the big 12 or if they worship less than, but again i don't really see a huge problem with that word. It's kind of up to personal preference.
3:31 Then, another term that gets misused a lot is "Hellenistic". A lot of times people think that the adjective form of Hellenism is Hellenistic; it's not. The adjective form of hellenism
3:44 is "Hellenic". Hellenistic specifically refers to the time period between the Death of Alexander the Great and the rise of the Roman Empire and it looks starkly different than what we view
3:56 as Classical Greece. So, be careful on avoiding that term "hellenistic" because it is incorrect unless your practice is from that time period. So, just know that "hellenistic" does not
4:10 refer to hellenism. Then, a useful shorthand that you might see is "helpol" (h-e-l-p-o-l) Now, this is just a shortened form of Hellenic Polytheism. You also see it with Galupol or Celtpol. I've even
4:22 seen a few others but those are honestly the most common and it's, just again, a shorthand. You'll notice that I'm using the terms "hellenism" and "Hellenic Polytheism" interchangeably. Cause,
4:32 in my opinion, they largely are the same thing. Generally, Hellenism will also be used by academics, whereas Hellenic Polytheism is a lot of times used by Hellenic Polytheists or pagans
4:48 so that's kind of the only difference I see between the two of them. Other than that, they're not really that different. So, now that I've defined kind of some of the terminology of
4:57 hellenism let's get into what it is. But first, say it with me. Hellenism is not a monolith. Hellenism is not a monolith! Many hellenic polytheists base their religion on that of
5:13 Classical Athens or just the region of Attika in general. You'll notice I'll say things like "Attika" and "Athens" together, that's because Attika is the region that Athens is in. So, know
5:24 that that's what i'm referring to when I say Attic or Attika. For centuries, perhaps even millennia, the urban religion of Athens and Attika in general has been sort of the focus of Classics,
5:36 and this is due to the fact that we just have a lot of primary sources from that time period. A lot of it was preserved and a lot of early archaeological digs and studies were centered
5:47 around Athens many seminal texts in the in Classics were centered around Attica in general, and it's not until a little bit later that we start seeing scholarship written about other
5:59 regions. And unfortunately some of those are dubious at best *cries in Sir Arthur Evans* But in the past 50 years or so, we've seen some truly phenomenal texts really attempt to tackle
6:14 other regions, ones like Sparta and Lacadaemon or Arcadia, Olympia and beyond. It's also worth noting that a lot more research has been done into the rural common religion and not just ones
6:27 of Athenian senators. So, that was just rapid fire information, but I just really think it's important for people to understand that Ancient Greece (Hellas) was not a monolith by any means.
6:40 You know, what was considered an act of piety in one place might have been considered an act of impiety in another one. And Hellas was also a very global society with influences as far-reaching as
6:53 the Himalayas! Source: this book right here. No seriously though, this book was mind-blowing. Just because you're constructing for yourself a practice that doesn't look like an Athenian
7:05 senators doesn't mean it's not Hellenism. Just keep that in mind. Bearing that in mind, there are some similarities in the way that we see religion practice throughout Ancient Greece,
7:16 so I'm going to get into some key concepts and values that are generally found in Hellenism. So, during your early research period into Hellenism, you might stumble across what people call
7:27 the "Four Pillars of Hellenism" and I just want to note that this is not historically seen in Hellenism...at all. The Four Pillars are based on Plato, and while Plato was an extremely
7:41 influential philosopher and student of Socrates (probably make a whole video about him) his view of religion in his early writings really went against what people thought of the religion
7:56 at the time. Some people find these concepts and these pillars helpful, but they are are not rules. Some people try to say that they are, but they are not. They are seen in philosophy and
8:11 not in the common religion. However, there are a common set of values that can be found in Hellenism and these are Homeric in nature, meaning that they come from the works of Homer like The
8:20 Iliad and The Odyssey. Here are some examples of these values. Xenia: xenia is probably one of the most, if not the most, important concepts in Hellenism. This one is extremely important and
8:35 it was a basis pretty much for the entirety of The Odyssey. The Odyssey can just be seen as this whole example of xenia. To demonstrate this i'm going to use an example from The Odyssey. So,
8:46 xenia dictates that if a supplicant, someone who is in need, comes to you, you are supposed to be hospitable to them; give them food, give them clothing, etc, etc. So,
8:56 the suitors in The Odyssey go to Odysseus's home and try to use these rules of xenia in order to just kind of get like a free ride. However, they abuse this idea of xenia by taking advantage of
9:10 Odysseus's food stores constantly flirting with his wife being horrible to his son and, eventually, they meet their demise; very hammering home how you don't abuse xenia. On the flip side
9:24 of that, a good example of xenia is Nausicaa and Odysseus. So, odysseus is, kind of, he's naked and downtrodden and he's had a long long journey and he stumbles upon Nausicaa. Nausicaa
9:37 is the princess of one of the islands which I am forgetting right now...I'll pop it up here when I'm editing Felicity. He goes to Nausicaa as a supplicant and, in turn, they take him in they
9:49 give him food, they give him shelter. Xenia can really be exemplified, too, by a concept called "Theoxenia". Theoxenia is this idea that treat the poorest among you with kindness because they
10:02 might be the gods in disguise. And this is kind of seen in a lot of different religions around the world. So, now that we've talked about xenia (hospitality), we're going to talk about the next
10:12 really important concept: kharis, also known as reciprocity, give and take, a gift for a gift. This, second to xenia, I would say is the most important concept in Hellenism. The goal in
10:24 Hellenism is to build up kharis, a relationship with the gods (Also called the theoi). This can be seen through votive offerings: if you do x i'll do y, if you help me win this great feat,
10:37 I will sacrifice hecatombs of oxen in your favor. Or, in a more modern setting, if you help me with this test, I will pour an offering on the ground for you. And if you feel that you have received
10:49 a gift, it is expected that you will then, in turn, give forth a gift. This will then build up a relationship. Another important concepts are used Eusebeia and Asebeia, piety versus impiety.
11:01 This one's a bit hard to define because, a lot of times, what was seen as pious versus impious was dictated by the city-state that you were in and often had political ramifications.
11:13 So there's not really hard and fast with this. Generally, one can see piety as something that is pleasing to the gods whereas impiety is something that is offensive to them.
11:27 That's pretty much the basic. So, what are things that are offensive to the gods? Things that are impure, things like lyma, miasma and agos. A lot of people have heard of miasma, but not a lot of
11:37 people have heard of lyma or agos. So, lyma is best defined as spiritual dirtiness, not to be confused with sin, there is not a concept of sin in Hellenism. Spiritual dirtiness is something
11:48 that just happens as humans as we come in contact with literally dirty things. This is why there is such an emphasis on washing your hands and cleansing yourself before approaching the gods.
11:58 It's like showing up to an interview with, like, a half washed suit and greasy hair. You want to make a good impression. Lyma is simply washed away just by literally washing your hands in a sink. Some
12:08 people go a little bit farther than that, but that is honestly the most historically attested, just literally washing your hands. Some people veil, they put a barrier between themselves and things
12:18 that might generate lyma however that's not a requirement. Miasma: a lot of people know the term miasma. So miasma was pretty bad stuff and it's something you definitely want to cleanse
12:28 the specific way before you approach the gods. However, most people usually aren't just, like, walking around with miasma on them. It's a little more intense things, usually when you come in
12:40 contact with death; that is really where you see miasma occur. So, like eating chthonic offerings, certain kinds of sacrifice, that obviously we don't really do anymore
12:51 because *sharp inhale grimace* You usually go through a process of Katharmos or Catharsis. Usually making offerings to one of the deities who deals with those kinds of things, like
13:00 Zeus Katharsios. It also can be taken care of by washing in the sea, etc, etc. And then there is agos. Agos is probably the worst and, like, unless you're a literal murderer, I don't think you have
13:12 to worry about this. But I'm going to read a quote for you so you understand what it is. "A special form of pollution known as 'agos' was conceptually distinct from the bodily pollutions we have so far
13:22 examined. Agos was created when people committed transgressions known to incur divine anger; such as stealing from temples, mistreating a supplicant at an altar or committing perjury.
13:33 Regardless of whether their transgressions had been intentional, people under agos were cursed and the grievous taint could rub off onto others or even poison a whole city.
13:42 It could also be inherited by their children. It was synonymous with divine anger a similar pattern of thought applied to murder and manslaughter, the anger of the dead functioned in a fashion similar
13:52 to divine anger. Through the study of Ancient Greek literature, 'agos', a term describing ethical disapproval and divine retribution following a criminal act, can frequently be
14:00 found. Agos represented to the ancient greeks the anger of the gods for terrible crime as offensive human behavior." This is from something called "The Ancient Greek Agos and the Warrior Ethos
14:09 by Evaggalia Kiosi. I'll put here name right here. Like I said, unless you're a little murderer, I don't think you have to worry about this. Another important concept is oaths. Never ever take oaths
14:21 lightly. I myself have not ever taken an oath, they are, like, very much, you know, that quote from Macbeth "What is done cannot be undone." Sometimes, oaths were signified by breaking a pot
14:32 to show that once this is committed, once this is broken it cannot be gathered up and replaced. I recommend against just taking oaths unless you've, like, seriously seriously
14:45 considered it, done a lot of work with yourself, communed with the the theoi that you want to make an oath to. Generally, I would shy away from them; they are very serious and if you break them...it's
14:58 going to take a lot of work to clear your name. So, you already heard me say the term "chthonic". There are two distinct entities in Hellenism, now there are more, but bear with me those of
15:09 you who are more advanced. Theoi are easiest to be understood as Ouranic, heavenly, or Chthonic which means under the earth or of the earth. Chthonic beings are under the earth,
15:20 those like Hades, the dead, Heroes. Ouranic beings are those that are of the sky, like Zeus, ascended Heroes (like Heracles) or titans like Selene. Some beings possess both aspects, for example there's
15:35 Hermes Psychopompos, Hermes the Psychopomp. then there is Hermes Dotor Eaon, Giver of Good Things, that would be his Ouranic aspect. You would not call upon both at the same time. You
15:46 would not call upon Hermes the Psychopomp and Hermes the Giver of Good Things, the heavenly, at the same time. That would be considered fairly taboo. I'm gonna explain epithets in
15:56 a whole other video because there's been so much philosophy, even at the time, about what the heck epithets were. It's an argument in classics today and it's...just
16:07 a whole thing. But know that certain deities have Chthonic epithets and also have Ouranic epithets. The point is that they receive two fairly distinct types of worship and to try to mix the two it's
16:20 considered pretty taboo that could incur miasma. I'm gonna do a whole video about the differences of worship between chthonic and ouranic and also about the liminal ones who lie somewhere
16:32 in between and in both places. That leads me to my next point. Are there rules in Hellenism? My answer to that is yes and no. Many people are coming from more dogmatic religious organizations,
16:43 so the idea of rules can be kind of, like, eeeee. But most things need rules to function and you can't rebel against rules, if they don't exist. You can't argue about rules, unless they
16:53 exist. But they're not like what you would see in other religious organizations, there's not really like hard and fast. The basic rules are: be pious and don't be impious. But as I mentioned earlier,
17:08 those two things are heavily defined on what city-state or what region or what cult that you're looking at. (And by cult I'm not referring to, like,
17:19 scary doomsday, 1970s, Jonestown. It's just a term that people use to define, like, usually a worship of, like, a specific figure. So the cult of Circe or whatever. I'm not talking about, like,
17:31 scary cult leader type cults.) And things can get real freaky once you get into mystery traditions and certain cults, some of them get real weird. *Pythagoras is #Complicated*. But for the common
17:42 religion, most of that dates back to what you can see in Homer. Again, those are things like: don't violate xenia, if someone shows you hospitality, don't abuse that. Try to offer hospitality to
17:53 those who come to you in need. Don't break your oaths. You shouldn't be doing that in general. Don't break your oaths. I don't think that one needs explaining. Do not abuse supplicants,
18:03 those who come to you in need. Do not allow agos or someone to commit what would generate agos. Try to approach the gods while cleansed, now there is leeway here depending on the situation,
18:14 but, for example, priests had to be ritually pure. Most everyday people, you know, you're not having to, like, perform Katharmos like every five seconds, that would be ridiculous.
18:24 Bury the dead. Do not steal from temples, I don't even steal from temples in Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, it makes me feel really weird. Do not eat from chthonic offerings. And a guideline
18:34 is, traditionally, Chthonic offerings go in the ground (make sure it's environmentally friendly! Please do not salt the earth!) and Ouranic offerings go off the ground or are burned.
18:43 So, now I know a lot of people who are coming to Hellenism came through modern witchcraft first. A lot of times people ask "well, what about magic?" You can find people very strongly in two camps,
18:54 some people say "no, it's impious, it's hubristic, you can't do magic and be a Hellenic Polytheist" Other people say "well, we have amulets and spell tablets and rituals and
19:06 isn't that kind of a magic?" As a revivalist, and we'll get into what that term means later, I'm strongly inclined towards the second camp. Beyond that, I think the evidence is
19:17 pretty overwhelming to support the fact that the Ancient Hellenes did magic of some kind. Hellenism and magic will probably end up being a whole video series because
19:28 it did happen, we do have evidence of it and it's very unique actually. However, unlike folk magic and modern witchcraft, Hellenism doesn't place an emphasis on, like, results-based magic.
19:39 We do see spell tablets like I mentioned, but a lot of it, like a lot of the rituals are about getting closer to the divine and the theoi themselves. There are a lot of rituals
19:49 about separating yourself from society and getting into a place of trancing and closeness. Now, of course, some of the festivals were about appeasing the gods and hope for bountiful harvest,
19:59 etc., but a lot of those festivals include aspects that are about communing with them or an aspect of Mystery that we kind of have lost to time. It is very clear getting closer to the divine was a very
20:13 important part of Hellenism. So, now that I've dumped a lot of history and basic info on you, let's start moving into practice. In the modern age, one can often find two attempts to historical
20:24 religion. You find people who identify as reconstructionists (the shorthand is "recon") and you also find people who identify as revivalists (some people write it as "revives").
20:32 There's not really like a strong line between the two. So, reconstructionists strive for historical accuracy first and creative reinterpretation second. Revivalists, as you might imagine, strive
20:43 a little bit more for creative reinterpretation with history as, like, a primary structure for this interpretation and this inspiration. And as I said, there's really not like a line between
20:54 the two. Like, I look very recon to a lot of non-Hellenic pagans but I staunchly identify as a revivalist, and that'll become pretty apparent. Like, this month I celebrated Beltane
21:06 and I also celebrate Yule and Samhain which are seen in the Wiccan Wheel of the Year and I just really like festivals okay? And some parts of my practice are still influenced by modern witchcraft
21:16 and I incorporate some of them into my Hellenic practices, though I don't always mix the two. And I'm definitely going to make a video about what these two things look like in practice. Now
21:25 that I've brought it up, what are the differences between modern witchcraft and Hellenism? I would say that a lot of people come to Hellenism after being in modern witchcraft spaces; now, that is
21:36 anecdotal and I would need to look at numbers to have any sort of statistical basis for that, but from what I have seen that tends to be the case. People either spend a few months
21:45 in modern witchcraft circles before they come to Hellenism or years (or try like...eight years). Modern witchcraft and Hellenism are two completely different religious paradigms;
21:55 I think it's interesting to see just how different they are. And for newer practitioners, the differences can be confusing and a lot of times people will bring one thing into
22:04 the other without any logic or reasoning behind it...which can get into some, like, weird paradoxical territory. For example, in modern witchcraft they always tell you, "protect
22:14 yourself before you approach a deity" and in Hellenism, that idea is kind of ridiculous. The deities are the protection, if you call for Apollo, you're going to get Apollo. But in more
22:24 modern witchy circles, it could be a trickster spirit. Now, that's just not a thing in Hellenism. Or casting a circle, drawing quarters, uh, creating a boundary space in a ritual...again
22:38 not really seen. This is because modern witchcraft and Hellenism have two drastically different histories, and I think that's kind of obvious, but people forget that. Modern witchcraft,
22:49 at least how it looks here in North America, is directly descended from Wicca. Some people might not like to hear that, but the influence is undeniable. In fact, some people have pointed
23:00 out that modern witchcraft kind of just looks like Wicca just without calling itself Wicca. Now, obviously, it's a bit more complicated than that. Thorn Mooney, a wonderful YouTuber here, has
23:10 a whole video about this. For those interested, I highly suggest "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler. It was the first book I read when starting my practice and I'm honestly so glad that I read
23:21 it. She gives a such a good sociological history of modern witchcraft, neo-paganism and Wicca in North America. And for those of you who might be interested in how its influence stems from Europe,
23:36 check out Ronald Hutton. He has a lot of lectures on YouTube for free and if you just Google "Ronald Hutton witchcraft" you're gonna come up with so many resources.
23:46 So, modern witchcraft is decidedly modern and over the past several decades it has sort of accidentally adopted several new age things *weeps in Akashic Records and Crystals*
23:57 while also becoming blended with various forms of folk magic. Then there was the 2010s witchblr that really took some, like, UPG and SPG to some, like, really wild heights. Now, from a revivalist
24:10 standpoint, you can incorporate modern witchcraft into Hellenism. I do (somewhat). However, before you blend the two, I suggest you take time to study each. As I said, there are certain elements
24:22 that are incompatible. Ultimately, it's up to you to create a practice that works for you, and you never really know how something's gonna work until you try. I don't wanna be remiss and
24:31 say that Hellenism is this "super ancient thing continuous and undiluted", because that's just not true. As a historical sewist, I have learned 100% historical accuracy is literally impossible
24:46 and I also don't think we should strive for something 100% historically accurate because then you're gonna get, like, really weird things, like sexism and animal sacrifice. Besides, anthropology
24:58 and history are written and colored by modern understandings; it's all theories. There have been many discoveries over the years that have changed completely the way that we view history,
25:07 like Heracles the protector of the Buddha or, very recently, Greek statues, which were thought for millennia to be pure white marble ,were in fact painted. History is alive and it is constantly
25:19 unveiling itself to us. We are the products of history, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the beautiful. The point of reconstruction is to take what we know and works and reconstruct it for our
25:28 modern world, reaching back so we can reach forward. Stepping off my soapbox a bit, let's examine some ways to begin to bring this out of theory and into practice. I always say
25:38 the things you need to worship the gods you were born in. You have your mind, you have your voice, you have a way of physically doing something. You can pray to them in your mind ,you can
25:48 call to them with your voice, you can dedicate something something as simple as a reading as a form of devotion and offering. You don't even need a physical altar. In "Greek Religion" by
25:58 Walter Burkert, he even says that a lot of rustic altars were literally just, like, a few stones. Go to your local park and sit with the trees, just listen inwardly and outwardly. And know that you
26:09 don't have to know everything all at once. Like, I sure don't. I feel like I barely know anything. I started this journey three years ago and I literally just dove in and I dove in first
26:20 from a modern witchcraft perspective before I started shifting my focus into Hellenism. And I knew nothing about it at the time, but I joined a few discords and I Googled a lot and got a lot of
26:31 books and you just have to not worry about getting it wrong, because you are gonna get it wrong. We're not raised in this religion, we're making our own journey and you have to learn to make that
26:40 journey your own. That being said, do not look at me like I know everything. I've only been at this for three years, there are Classicists out there who've dedicated their entire career to, like,
26:50 one temple. I'm gonna get things wrong, I'm gonna have to update videos, I'm gonna have to correct things that I have said. I'm not an expert by any means and some of this is, like, opinion. And I'll
27:02 try to correct information if I get it wrong and I'll come in and I'll change things, I'll update videos, I'll update resources. And that's part of the reason why I started this channel,
27:10 so I could dive deeper with this information and present it in a way that makes sense, not only to you but also to me. So, where should you go to learn more? Your library is your friend.
27:23 Because Classics has been a very huge part of our society for so long, it's highly likely that your library has an Ancient Greek section. I'd honestly start there. Read myths,
27:35 read Greek plays, read The Iliad and The Odyssey and don't be afraid of theory. People often ask if I have non-academic or non-theoretical texts to suggest and honestly...there are blogs, however,
27:52 as I've come to discover, some of them are not as well sourced as I initially thought they were. In fact, going so far to promote ideas that are just not true. And then there becomes a,
28:03 sort of like, citation wormhole where people will cite other blogs and then keep citing each other but then no one's citing primary or secondary sources and suddenly you realize this
28:14 idea was just, like, whisper down the alley. I'm currently in the diagnostic process for ADHD, so I get it, I struggle with work and theory, too, a lot. But you're really not gonna get that kind of
28:26 info anywhere else. I manage this by truly pacing myself. I only read one academic text at a time and I spice my reading list up by reading some, I don't know, easier to digest modern witchy books
28:39 or reading fantasy, something that is enjoyable and won't make my brain feel like *groans*. And it takes me months to get through these books. In fact, this book,
28:48 it took me a year to get through it. It took me a year to get through this book. And, you know, I'm ultimately glad that I read it. And I commit book sins that people
28:59 might scoff at me for, but I write in my books, I highlight things because that's easier for me to understand (and like, don't do that with your library books obviously) but take notes
29:08 and really, like, wrestle with things. You're not going to understand everything and just because a text feels daunting doesn't mean that you shouldn't read it or shouldn't
29:16 try. Like I said, pace yourself and figure out a reading style that works for you. And in the description below, I'm gonna post some recommended reading as well as some blogs
29:25 that i think are well sourced. But there are gonna be academic texts in there and, like, don't freak out. I know that was kind of vague descriptions of things that I said I'm gonna
29:35 go more in-depth in videos later, but I hope this covered an overview of Hellenism, a bit of history, some terminologies, misconceptions and a framework of examining this religion in future
29:46 videos. Please put all questions in the comments and if you have things you'd specifically like me to explore, feel free to suggest them as well. I'm going to try to make videos every other week about
29:56 Hellenism and witchcraft with some devotional sewing thrown in. If that sounds neat to you, feel free to subscribe and thank you for sticking with me and I'll see you next time! Bye!