/r/Hellenism
This subreddit serves as an online gathering space and support network for individuals who adhere to the various faiths within Hellenism. Additionally, it provides a platform for education and respectful discussion, where ideas, practices, questions, and experiences can be shared.
What is Hellenism?: Click here to see our comprehensive definition of Hellenism!
Welcome to /r/Hellenism, a subreddit for links, discussion, and fostering community (both online and in-person) in the broader umbrella of contemporary Hellenism, the polytheistic orthopraxic religion of the classical Greek and Roman world(Including areas that were Hellenized but not generally seen as Hellenic regions specifically.)
Hellenism (Greek: Ἑλληνισμός (Hellenismos), Latin: Hellenismus), also called Hellenic Polytheism, is a diverse religion honouring the gods of Greece and Rome. Modern Hellenism is based on reconstructing, reviving, or otherwise drawing on the polytheistic and animistic religious beliefs and practises of the Ancient Greco-Roman world. Because of historical overlap, this also includes syncretic practices from cultures which interacted with Ancient Greek and Roman religion.
What Hellenism Can Be: Reconstructionist: using historical and archeological research to inform your practice, hewing close to ancient precedent. Revivalist: using historical and archeological research to inform your practice, but open to or including more modern innovations. Eclectic: using a combination of ancient and modern influences to inform your practice.
What Hellenism is Not: A single philosophical lens. While Neoplatonism is a valid praxis, it is not the only one and should not be treated as such. The same applies to other schools of thought, like Epicureanism, Cynicism, Stoicism, Pyrrhonism, etc. Even in antiquity, philosophers drew inspiration from other schools and scholarship was dynamic with overlap. Philosophy is also not religion, and it’s fine not to identify as any of the above, and simply worship the gods.
Witchcraft or magic. While witchcraft and magical practises are valid ways to pursue spirituality, they are not required for Hellenic polytheism, nor are they the subject of this subreddit except where historical Hellenism overlapped, such as magical practises from the Greek Magical Papyri or other ancient sources. There are other places where you can find resources for modern witchcraft and magical practise, such as r/witchcraft or r/theurgy.
General paganism. It’s alright to simply identify as a pagan who worships the Greek or Roman gods, but this is a subreddit specifically for people who are drawing on historical information for their practice. This does not mean you cannot practice syncretism, especially looking to the past for examples, but we do expect people to discuss from the perspective of a specifically Hellenic lens.
An ethnic religion or a closed practice. Hellenism is not, and has never been, a closed practice and is open to all regardless of ethnicity, sexuality or nationality. The word is also used to describe Greek national identity, but we are not claiming to be Greek, nor do you need to be Greek, or speak Greek, to worship the gods.
Re-enactment. While Hellenic polytheism was historically orthopraxic, more about how you practiced than what you believed, this is not a reenactor community. This is a religious subreddit - we might disagree on the natures of the gods themselves, or how active they require our "belief" to be, but we are here primarily to discuss religious matters, not a general interest in Classical culture.
Rules of /r/Hellenism:
Be decent. Racism or bigotry in any form is not allowed and will be removed. No hate material, submissions or comments, will be accepted. No personal attacks, spam, chain posting, vote manipulation, doxxing, or posting illegal content. If you post in other communities promoting hate and spreading bigotry, then you can expect to be banned; regardless of whether you promote those same things here or not.
Stay On-Topic. This subreddit is intended for sharing of personal experiences, communication between practitioners of many faiths, and debate within the religions that fall under what is classified as contemporary Hellenism. This community is not a place for practices that can be considered goetia (love spells, coercive spells, or any practices which reduce the Gods to pools of energy to drawn from). If you are unsure whether a topic is related to Hellenism or not, please contact the mod team.
Keep the Feed Clean. We reserve the right to remove frequently posted topics, posts not meant to encourage good-faith discussion, posts that consist of nothing more than a short title, or significantly off-topic posts, to improve the quality of discussion and reduce clutter. Simple questions can be asked in the pinned Weekly Newcomer Post, where helpful members of the community may offer guidance.
Consult the Mods Before Promoting Other Communities. Please consult mods before promoting any communities (such as reddits or discords). For user safety, we prefer to be able to assure any communities advertized as safe. For goods and services (Etsy shops, Spotify podcasts, Youtube Channels, etc), please post in the monthly self promotion channel, or message the mods to submit as a post. Violation of these rules may result in a ban.
Avoid Proselytization. Hellenism is an explicitly theistic religion, and it acknowledges the real, true existence of the Gods with their own agencies who are independent and above humans. While non-Hellenes are encouraged to interact and post here, respectfully, attempts to convert members of r/Hellenism, bring them to non-polytheistic religious traditions, or promote anti-theistic positions over polytheism, are considered to be a flagrant violation of the subreddit's purpose.
NSFW. r/Hellenism strives to be a safe space for all. Please be mindful of this when posting. Myths of sex, nude art, and offhand references to NSFW topics are fine. Erotica in art or text is not. Please mark anything NSFW as NSFW, and ensure that the title of the post itself is SFW - this allows others to choose whether or not to see the material. For those who would like to share or see such content, please visit r/Bacchanal.
Moderation. This subreddit is actively moderated. If you have a concern about how a rule is being implemented, interpreted, or enforced, please reach out via modmail rather than DM or comments. Ultimately, we reserve the right to use moderator discretion and do what we think keeps our community safe and productive.
No Promotion of AI. This community does not approve of or condone the use of AI. Posts and replies that include AI generated visual or written material, encourage or describe using AI, or contain links to AI generators, will be removed.
No Misinformation or Disinformation. As an online community, we strive to ensure accuracy of information. As such, we have a duty to remove misinformation and disinformation where we find it. Please check your sources, think critically, and share responsibly. If you don't believe your post contains misinformation or is not disinformation you can contact the moderator team, but be prepared to cite sources. For more specifics, please read here.
No Dream, Sign or Non-Hellenic Divination Interpretation. Although many people receive signs from the gods and practise divination, the most valuable perspective on whether something is a sign, or what it could mean, is the person who experiences it. There are other communities out there for how to interpret dreams or signs, or how to use modern methods, and because we receive frequent posts about these which rarely get substantial responses, we ask that you post there.
Community wiki: General Questions
YouTubers: Pic the Pagan Fel the Blithe Elani Temperance
Myths & epithets: Theoi.com
Blogs & websites: Beginner's Guide - Baring the Aegis Julian Hellenism - Hellenic Faith Orphism - Hellenic Gods
Books: Household Worship, by Labrys Reading list Books, blogs, & websites
Ancient texts: Theoi's Library ToposText Library Sacred Texts Library
Hymns: Homeric Hymns Hymns by Callimachus Orphic Hymns Hymns by Plethon
Festivals & calendars: Hellenion 2023 calendar HMEPA calendar Lunar months & festivals
Terms & definitions: Terminology list
Φιλίαν ἀγάπα : Love friendship
Ψέγε μηδένα : Find fault with no one
Πᾶσιν ἁρμόζου : Be accommodating in everything
Ὑφορῶ μηδένα : Look down on no one
Ὁμοίοις χρῶ : Associate with your peers
Φιλοφρόνει πᾶσιν : Deal kindly with everyone
Εὐπροσήγορος γίνου : Be courteous
Ἔχθρας διάλυε : Do away with enmities
Hellenic Deity Subreddits
Other Related Communities
/r/Hellenism
54,416 Subscribers
here is some channeling drawing with Apollo hes really funny (I request him to draw gods and also drew himself singing) its really fun
11:34 UTC
Sono bellissimi
Li ho appena comprati sul mercatino dell'usato, appena li ho visti ho pensato subito a Zeus, infatti li metterò proprio sull'altare dedicato a lui
11:17 UTC
How are rituals usually/historically done?
I’d like to do some rituals for Apollon on Sundays just as I feel I don’t often have enough energy to make lots of offerings (Yes I know that I don’t have to but I’d like to have consistent offerings).
The thing is, every time I google how to do a ritual, I just get prayers and offerings and such. Is this what a ritual is and I’m misunderstanding? In my mind a ritual is something that takes a long time, for example a ritual for Aphrodite maybe could be a long bath/shower (like an everything shower). I don’t exactly know how to do that for Apollon.
I also want to try do things at least a little bit historically accurate, if that’s possible, so advice would be appreciated :)
Also if anyone could share some resources that would be super cool (which is why I put the flair how I did)
09:34 UTC
Lémón (yes I laughed)
07:41 UTC
rearranged apollos altar
07:38 UTC
Souls on the Banks of the Acheron - Adolf Hirémy-Hirschl (1898)
Hermes in his chthonic aspect, waiting for Charon to pick up a new batch of souls.
06:51 UTC
Any other Calypso worshippers?
I'm going to be honest, I use the word worshipper very lightly as I only grew an interest, and started looking into her properly a few days ago. At first I was worried that she wasn't classed as a goddess but thank the gods for google bc I got that out of the way, but now I'm wondering abt so many other things! First of all, does she have any clear representation, like how certain gods are represented by certain animals, is it the same for her? And also i know this is like yelling into the void but does anyone have prayers to her, despite an avid writer I am HORRIBLE at writing prayers or anything like that. Any other help or advice is greatly appreciated too, do your thing reddit.
01:51 UTC
My Hekate altar
Here’s my altar from when I honored Hekate on deipnon
23:29 UTC
Had an affirming encouter with Athena after a long while of not praying
I used to pray to the Gods nightly. I really liked it, it helped me unwind and was nice to chat. I would consider myself very casual when it comes to worshiping the Gods, so we have one-sided chats a lot 🙂
I had asked Athena for something, and then asked her for a clear as day sign of what she'd like as an offering in return (I often struggle to discern signs from delusion 🙄.) I got a really sudden thought just pop into my head: olive oil. I even saw like a little image of a bottle in my imagination.
As an ex-Christian who often struggles with believing in the divine, this was a really nice experience to have to reinforce my belief. Athena is so sweet 😊
05:09 UTC
Internalised sexism & approaching goddesses
So, I would say that Aphrodite is one of my main figures of worship. And yet, when I have an issue, I find it easier to go to, say, Ares - whom of which I barely pray to, and really don’t feel particularly drawn to, not to mention I tend to lean away from masculinity in general - than to ask Aphrodite about it.
Similar thing with Artemis and Apollo. While Apollo is another of my main figures of worship, I feel like it would maybe be more appropriate to go to Artemis for more obviously female-related issues, and yet I don’t. And I feel like I sort of can’t? Like, it’s illogical to feel I can’t, I know, but I can‘t stop feeling like there’s a block there.
I also don’t know how I would go about starting a casual ”conversation” with female deities, but I can very easily do so with Dionysus.
I just wanted to start a conversation around this, because it’s been really weighing down on me lately. And I am female! So it’s probably an issue if internalised sexism, and I’m having trouble moving on from it. And it’s not making me feel any better avoiding it, so I thought I’d post about it. Get a wider community’s opinions, ya know?
So, what are y’all’s thoughts? Do you have trouble with this too?
05:00 UTC
When should I pray?
I normally pray right before bed, which is normal for a lot of religions, but what I want to know is, should I pray to different gids at different times of the day? I'm new to Hellenism and will gladly accept any advice.
04:29 UTC
Playlist?
So I’m creating some devotional playlist for aphrodite and Apollo. If you guys have any suggestions let me know!
03:09 UTC
Books
I'm looking to get The Odyssey by Home, possibly some other ones. Any suggestions?? There's too many choices, I don't know which one would be the best.
02:16 UTC
Found her at the flea market!
got her for 10€, cleaned her up a bit and now she looks perfect :)
01:35 UTC
Silly wallpaper
I made a silly wallpaper about Dionysus and Lady Aphrodite and put it on my home screen.
I intend to make one of Hermes and Apollo too. While I liked it, I didn't like it. I'm in doubt 🤡
00:45 UTC
Is this a good thing to add to my Lady Aphrodite Altar
00:44 UTC
Minecraft temple for Lord Hermes
It’s basic as I’m not the best at building but I am very proud of it. I worked really hard on it and really hope Lord Hermes likes it too!
00:12 UTC
Words
Guys, what Greek words do you use to greet the gods in a ritual? I completely forgot the ones I use, even though I said them about 3 days ago🤡
00:10 UTC
Im just realizing how drawn to the gods domains(?) i was even when i was little
I always loved Greek mythology when I had it in school (i know they aren't reliable but still) I always loved drawing drawing and listening to music and just being creative in general. I love theater and acting and all of those types of things. I just love how I was drawn to Lord Apollo and Lord Dionysus and wanted to share
23:43 UTC
Statue of Lady Athena
So I drawed statue of Lady Athena for my school animation project... Idk if I should put the whole animation here later... Also I did changed her hair because I'm sorry but I just can't draw her hair just like from her statues I'm sorry but I can't 😅
22:32 UTC
Not sure what to call a holiday
I'm eclectic Pagan and I honour Norse and Greek deities. I plan on holding on a rite to the ancestors, Asklepios and Hephaestus on the BC family day long weekened. The theme is healing the family line and shadow work. The closest Hellenic holiday I know of is Anthesteria which honours the dead, but different deities. The Romans have Parentalia which is closer. I have mostly Italian ancestry so this might work. Or does it not really matter what the holiday is called?
21:01 UTC
can people have ‘guardian’ greek deities?
so not a hellenist nor looking into the path for a new religious faith, just a question i thought you guys might be able to answer.
over the past few years i’ve learned that people have assigned guardian entities (just what i choose to believe! :) — whether that be angels, demons, spirits etc. but is it possible for a greek god/goddess to be someones assigned guardian?
21:57 UTC
Aphrodite Prayer for Body Confidence
Praise be to you, Mother Aphrodite, for you are Loving
Touch upon my uneasy heart
Remind me that I am your Daughter
Beautiful, Lovely, and Pure
Wise, Strong, and Capable
Through you, all is in my reach
Following your guiding hand, I need not fear failure
Under your guidance, may I overcome all that lies in my path
Emulating your example, may I reflect the Divine Feminine in all ways
Praise be to you, Mother Aphrodite, may you forever be our Beacon in darkness.
21:21 UTC
Questions about curse tablets and the polis
So I know curse tablets were common especially in the realm of law and politics. I also know that the Ancient Greeks only turned to them when they felt they had no other choice. I have seen some that call to Hermes Khthonia but do you think it would be appropriate to petition Nemesis and the Erinyes to enact divine justice on law and oath breakers on a state basis? Would Athena, Themis and the Eumenides be more appropriate? I am aware that the Erinyes are the Eumenides after Athena essentially gives them a new job title. Also would a curse tablets be best address to the specific persons breaking the oaths or the “house” it’s self like in the curse of the house of Atreus. Obviously that was not caused by a curse tablet but the curse applied to the entire house. Asking for a friend 😏
20:48 UTC
Awesome Remixed Album of Daemonia Nymphe
So freaking awesome. Just found this awesome album by Daemonia Nymphe, hymns to the Gods and Nymphs in Ancient Greek remixed amazingly. Just wanted to share this 😁
20:20 UTC
Just realized that 3 of the 4 Gods I give daily offerings to are Chthonic; questions on appropriate ways of giving offerings
So I know Hestia is given first and last libations in household worship and I also have a longer daily prayer that I say to her but I also pray to Zeus Ktesios, Hermes and Hekate are is considered Chthonic, I know Zeus and Hermes are also Ouranic in other aspects and I know that there could be considered Ouranic aspects of Hekate mentioned in the Chaldean Oracles. How do you think I could approach giving offerings and libations? Do you think I should separate my larger prayer to Hestia as it’s own thing and the then at a later time give offerings to the Chthonic ones while giving a small praise to Hestia? Or do you think it’s fine if I do them together? Most my daily offerings are burnt, frankincense, sandalwood and cedar, with wine that I pour in libation to Hestia and all the deathless Gods which I drink the rest after giving to Hestia in the beginning and at the end.
I know I’m being hyper specific and I understand that the Gods won’t be angry at me but I am trying to approach this from an Orthopraxy Reconstructionist perspective.
Edit: I do give chocolate coins to Hermes occasionally which I let him know that we will share in celebration of good things at future time.
19:58 UTC
nervous to start building kharis with aphrodite :/
before anyone comments this, yes, i know the gods are very difficult to piss off.
however.
i was in a year-long situationship with a devotee of aphrodite. she was his patron. i know for a fact that he’s prayed to her a great deal about me, because he told me as much. the situationship was rocky, on-and-off, and ultimately fell apart several months ago due to mutual wrongdoing and external circumstance.
last month, we were talking about why our situationship had failed. for context, during one of our “off” periods, i met a girl who i liked a great deal. she was my co-star in a show over a year ago. i found out i was bisexual instead of gay that way. it wasn’t infidelity, since he had broken things off with me a few weeks beforehand, but he was telling me he didn’t think my feelings for him could ever compare to my feelings for her.
as he was telling me this, my ankle that i injured during the show where i met this girl started hurting so sharply that i had to sit down. it was so freakishly painful to stand on it or walk on it. mind you, i injured this ankle over a year ago, and these flare-ups happen pretty rarely. the timing was absolutely eerie.
i interrupted him to tell him what was happening. he found it pretty funny and we both agreed that there was a solid chance that it was aphrodite, because what are the odds?
he assured me that he hadn’t spoken ill of me to her, but that he has thoroughly filled her in on his side of things.
as a result both of that incident and the general discomfort of knowing that he’s built way more kharis with aphrodite than i have (i’ve built none), i’ve felt pretty isolated from aphrodite. i told myself that it was fine, because i’m not much of a romantic anyway, and i’m satisfied being single. it makes me feel closer to athena not to be in a romance anyway.
well! famous last words. lol.
there’s a girl now. i really like this girl. i haven’t had feelings for someone in so long. she makes me smile and i can’t stop thinking about her. she very clearly likes me. i desperately want this to go well, so i want to begin worshipping aphrodite to invite that divine force of love into my life, but i’m nervous. i just feel so isolated from her. gah. i don’t even know how to start. i decided over winter break that i wasn’t going to worship her routinely, so i left all the materials at home that i would’ve brought to college to build an altar with (which i gathered and actively chose to leave behind).
yeah. don’t know what else to say. i’m just in the trenches 😭
19:56 UTC