So Im not able to have candles at my alters or food. (Mainly because most of them are in my room) Is that ok? I'm fairly new and trying to do my best

My altar was in desperate need of a good dusting, and I was in desperate need of some motivation to clean the rest of my room, so I started here, and lit a candle for Hestia–and set out an offering of some fresh water (it’s what I have on hand at the moment.)

About 2 days ago, lord Apollon wanted to tell me something. And his first message was "been there since it was coming up from the beginning" I didn't understand what it meant so later that morning I asked what he meant and he said "It means I was here always with you ❤️". I don't know if this is relevant but in my early childhood I was in an abusive household (I'm no longer with those people) I know lord Apollon is also the God of protection of the youth, so could this have something to do with it?

So, I have a lot of difficulty memorizing things and remembering things in general, maybe it's due to ADHD but I heard once that you can read while doing a prayer, but I don't know if that's right and disrespectful. I really want to be able to say a worthy prayer but I never remember what to say and I keep having to reread the prayer on my cell phone again, but when I turn it off I forget it again!

Hi, I've recently started worshipping Apollo and not long ago I offered him some biscuits I thought he'd like, but the thing is, what do I do with them now? I know you can bury them outside, but I can't do that. And I know you can eat them, but I don't know how best to do that without being really disrespectful. Should I do it whilst making him an offering like a drawing or a charm? I don't know. Thanks for any advice :)))

hi im 13 yrs old and a hellenic polytheist could u communicate w the dead at my age

I drew Athena last night, mainly as an offering and a thank you, I'm waiting for some stuff to get delivered for her (and Apollo) so then her altar isn't just a candle. I also got a hamster recently and named her after the goddess (I really hope it's okay, my hamster is the sweetest and just reminds me of Athena) so, here is my drawing! I know it's not the best but it is one of my favourites. I was also wondering what's on Athena's helmet and armour?

Recently I've been a bit down in the dumps in the sense that I have some depression right now. Life isn't great currently

But the problem is, because I'm like this right now I feel like I'm not doing enough. I don't offer the gods much, and for the past couple months or maybe more I've been forgetting to say good morning and goodnight to the gods which I feel is the least I can do, but when I forget that too I just feel upset. I know the gods won't be angry and I know that yes, I need to take some time to myself too, but is there any way I can just remind myself to push on a little? Even if its just the good morning and goodnight act?

My first altar ever. I'm new to hellenism but I truly feel a connection. Ever since I started like a week ago I feel more grounded if that makes sense I feel calm and I have my beautiful Goddess Aphrodite to thank for that. I've made this altar and drew this picture shes just been so kind to me. Every time I praise n worship her the candle dances/flickers a bit and I believe that's a sign shes hearing me. It makes me so happy. I wish to communicate with her more and add more things that would be to her liking. Does anyone have any ideas? On how I can better connect with her. And things I can add to her altar?

i (18M) became a hellenic polytheist three months ago. after having been an atheist for all of my free-thinking life, the shift was exhilarating, but i held off on telling my mom, whom i confide everything in, because i didn’t want to impulsively tell her only to revert back to being an atheist soon after. now that enough time has passed that i’m confident this isn’t a whim, i had the conversation with her.

in a long car ride, i was talking about my classes for the semester, which largely center around the ancient world. i somehow transitioned into talking about polytheism before confiding in her that i’ve actually found polytheism to be a pretty compelling worldview.

she was admittedly a little taken aback.

“are there… polytheists? in this century?”

i answered yes.

“like, do they have temples?”

i said no, but that i had a saturnalia celebration with some friends, so community exists if you put yourself out there enough. if i had had more time to think, i would’ve explained the importance of household worship, but, in the moment, it didn’t cross my mind.

i’m surprised that she was so surprised. she caught me praying in december after being very vocal about my interest in greek mythology, and i didn’t manage to play it off at all. i just assumed she had her suspicions then, but i was clearly wrong, because this was absolutely news to her.

i mentioned i’d learned some very interesting things about ancient religion — particularly the origins of yahweh as just one deity in a polytheistic pantheon, and about the origin of the flood in genesis being featured in the polytheistic creation myth of ancient babylon. she seemed to find this extremely compelling, and then her reaction sort of flipped on its head. she was initially surprised that i was a polytheist, but then she became surprised that more people aren’t.

i said that i’d been waiting to tell her about this because i was scared of sounding stupid to her. she assured me that i didn’t sound stupid at all.

so. it went well! it went about how i expected it would. i’m glad to have it out of the way :)

I have some stuff and an entire shelf I hope to dedicate to a God in hopes of blessings in return (after building a relationship first.) How do I actually “give” an offering? Do I just say “This us for ____” and leave it? Is there steps? I’m sorta slow so a little step by step might help me get it. I have researched relationship building and prayers and everything but the actual giving part has me a little lost.

So, I just came back from a trip to my hometown and I the more I think about this experience the more I feel I have to share this

So I got to see one of my friends back in my hometown, who knows about my religion and asked me Him: "why don't you work or worship Athena? She's like on brand of what you do" Me:"oh, no no no, I couldn't She's way to smart and I respect her and I also kinda fear her"

(When I say fear is more like a "I respect her so much and she is so cool, and Im not that smart even though I have a minor in physics and mathematics and Im working on my computer science degree" kinda fear not like a scary fear)

So days after that convo with my friend I had this dream where I was walking on a street with my backpack (like those streets where is only for walking, no cars allowed) and in both sides there were Athena statues all in different poses but they were looking at me, I remember stopping at one that was looking at other direction and saw how it turn to me and smile with such fund, like a mother looking at her child, and I just smiled back and wave at her, put my hands in the straps of my backpack and continue walking

I woke up thinking "well that was weird" but not in a worry way but more in a "huh, ok" (like that Mark audio "well thats a problem, but not my fault I did everything I could") and move on with my life

And the more I think about it the more I believe she was trying to say "You are just a child still learning, don't be afraid to reach out" since the mannerisms I had in my dream were the same ones I had when I was in elementary/middle school

So yeah, did someone else had a similar experience?

So I like to make paper crafts, and my friend is starting his altar for Apollo. I made these sunflowers for my friend to put in the altar, but as I don’t worship Apollo, I’m not sure how he would feel about them. Do you guys think he will like them?

If you were to divorce someone (due to multiple reasons, it depends), how is it supposed to feel if you just literally broke an oath towards Hera?

Will it feel odd? Will you feel like some sort of chills, like a presence before dissipating? Like what?

Thank you guys all so much

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone had ideas or suggestions for continuing my worship while living in a dorm. This means a few things; limited space, limited privacy, and I would prefer to worship more in secret/not as obvious to my roommate rather than more. I am someone who has to practice in secret at home, so the dorm gives me a bit more freedom, though I still don't have a ton of privacy.

So far, I have found this one little spot on campus with a table and chairs under some trees and in a nice walking area, which gives me some good space for some meditation and quiet prayer, and maybe some offerings in the form of libations of water. That's really the extent of it, and with the weather being very cold right now and this space being 25+ minutes walking from my dorm, it's a bit hard to access at the moment. At home, by go-to is lighting a candle, but my dorm would not appreciate that nor would I appreciate being kicked out for it.

Does anyone have any ideas for continuing worship in a dorm room? I have a small jar for offerings, which I have been avoiding for not having an appropriate disposal method other than the garbage (not my first choice, personally) and some desk space that I could use for a small, discreet altar. Any and all suggestions, ideas, or anything else is very much appreciated!

So, I‘m new to Hellenism, but I’ve done some research. From my understanding, some deities have days such as Lord Apollon’s day being sunday, but I’m not sure if I would devote the whole day to him. I also know that not every deity has their own day, so if I do devote one day to a deity, because it’s their day, would it be unfair for the other deities, as they don’t have a day devoted to them? Also, if any of you know which deities have days, could you please tell me?

I've been thinking about a few things and I just want to rant: so here are my thoughts for the past few days.

I absolutely LOVE the hellenist community. When you ignore most social media and focus on the good parts, people are so sweet so helpful, and it's just amazing. I love it here it's amazing.

I wonder if the gods like it when people create 'headcanons' of them. Bad word- but you get it. Like fun little information that we think about them.

Question: I want to add more drawings to my gods altars, so it respectful to download a coloring page? I'm not the best artist, and i want to add more drawings.

Question 2: I wonder if there would be more worshippers if more ancient statues and temples were safe? Like wouldn't it be so cool to be able to visit temples to the gods you worship? It's so cool to think about.

Anyway this is all because I want to yap to someone and no one else in my life is hellenist, so I'm resorting to this.

Sorry if this is a dumb post 😔💔

Courageous Lord Ares.

With a golden helmet, who lends his strength to men of brave heart and determined warriors. Son of Zeus, god of bloodlust, and also of courage. Oh, all-powerful divine god, who has dominion over the fiery sphere Mars. Lend me your strength in moments of cowardice, anguish and terror, lend me your courage and strength when I need it, and give me the will to live when necessary, together with the good notion of peace and calm, driving away the bitterness and traps from my mind and soul.

I am quite new on this, I admit, but this has been on my bucket list for a while! If someone who speaks Portuguese wants it, I can send the PT-BR version in the dms!

Reading the Works & Days and find it strange that the creation of women that being Pandora by the orders of Zeus being the price for fire so misogynistic.

In Pandora's creation myth Zeus orders Hephaistos to create her by the mix of earth & water and shaping her in the form of the Goddesses giving her a voice and strength as a human. He told Athena to teach her crafts, Aphrodite to shed grace and painful desire and limb-devouring cares around her head, and Hermes put a "dogs mind" and a thievish character into her.

Im curious why Hesoid decided to create this myth and why he views woman as a "woe" for mankind?

For context, I recently had my career dreams crushed due to my disabilities. My dream was to be an archeologist who focused on ancient history and classical archaeology so I could get out of the US (because I live in a deep red state as a trans and gay person so its very unsafe) and move to Greece. However, when I told my doctor, he said I would never be able to do that because of how weak my body is and the strain it would put on my body. I ignored it for a while until it finally hit me and I cried a lot about it. So last night I prayed to the gods about it because I just don’t know what to do with my life. Im in community college for my 3rd year and final semester. Ive changed my major like 15 times and I’ve tried almost everything. So I tried not to worry about and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, my immediate thoughts were consumed by the career of oceanography. So I thought it was a sign from the gods that was the path I was meant to be on. I checked it out and I enjoyed the thought of so hopefully this works out!