#I think I got the paper name from a google scholar search lmao

[beigebeignett]

I do love angst but I'm also a sucker for happy endings and re-incarnation, so here's my take on what happens (decades/centuries) after:

The sphinx and her lover: reimagined

Imagine that the sphinx ends up dying, as all living creatures do, and ends up reincarnated as a very smart yet terrifying young scientist. 

Her passion in her fields equals her distaste for other people; especially men who try to undermine her knowledge and talent at dates. So, she sets up a strategy to determine who is worthy of her time.

If you want to get a date with me, solve my riddles, wrong answers will get you blocked. 

There, done, she thinks. If that doesn't make men stop bombarding her with messages, she doesn't know what will (well, she can think of a few others, but she'd rather not spend more time and energy than she's already spending on such a silly matter). 

And so, she starts getting less messages, with only some men and women being brave (or foolish) enough to try and chat with her. 

The ones that try to answer her riddles don't usually last long; getting the second or third wrong. Some don't even last the first one; those are usually the most bothersome, acting as if she has no right to choose her partner, as if she's being too ruthless (when she'd been honest since the beginning). 

Weeks pass before she gets another message. And so, she does as she always does. This time though, something's different. He keeps getting her riddles right, over, and over, and over. 

How curious, she thinks. How curious indeed, when he asks her if he could try asking her a riddle. She scoffs at her phone, partially amused, and agrees. 

She gets the answer right, of course, so he keeps asking riddle after riddle and she does the same, as if they were playing a game of pass the ball. The riddles get increasingly difficult, and the time those three dots stay floating on the chat grows longer as well; but she doesn't mind. She can wait a bit more for this one. Plus, while she waits, she can get lab reports done instead of worrying about finding new questions to ask that man. 

Sometimes days go by without her seeing any new riddles for him; sometimes a week passes before he gets asked another one. 

She must be busy, he thinks. He must have other things to do, she assumes. 

Between riddles, they start to talk about more mundane things: his job, her career, his essay on ancient Greek marriage practices; her paper on nuclear magnetic resonance in chemical engineering… He sends her pictures of his cat napping on top of his dictionaries and encyclopaedias, basking in the sun; and in turn she sends him pictures of boards filled with equations and pictures of filled excel tables.

Soon, they start chatting more, asking riddles occasionally when they’re both tired of talking about themselves. 

She learns that he’s an Archaeology major, and he finds out that she’s already getting her doctorate; something about chemical engineering, she explains. He’s fascinated by the topic, asking her a million questions about what it’s like, her doctorate subject, how did she choose her career path… And in turn she asks him about archaeology; why did he choose to spend his life studying the past, what is it that he enjoys the most about his field of work… 

They agree to meet up at the local library two days later. 

Almost a foot taller than him; that’s how tall she is. She’s waiting for him sitting near the entrance, browsing through architecture magazines when he finds her. He smiles and warmly waves at her, formally introducing himself, and extends his hand for her to shake; so she stands up as well to take it and introduce herself as well. That’s when they notice.

Even though he’s not short himself (considering the standards) at 5'9", at almost 7 feet tall she towers over him. Their aesthetics seem to clash a bit as well: his outfit is quite simple: some basic jeans and a nice cream wool jumper paired up with some sneakers, and hers consists of a pleated red skirt and a shirt paired with black knee-high boots to combat the cold. Out of the chat, and now face to face, their conversation flows easily; they exchange book recommendations, and of course they ask each other some riddles to pass the time. 

Overall, their first date goes well. Better than she expected, honestly, which is why when he asks her for a second date, she agrees.

To be continued...?

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Hi!!! I just discovered your blog and I am definitely getting a lot out of it. I hope you don’t mind answering my question - do you think it’s possible for someone with no Greek background to… I don’t know if “worship” is the right word, but worship Greek deities? (Or however you would put that.) I myself have felt some connection to one or two, and done a lot of research! I try not to make unfounded claims (unlike some on TikTok lmao), but I know I lack the cultural background to fully understand what it’s really like. (continued)

Like a lot of American kids I came into contact with Greek myth through Percy Jackson and my book fair and I know that’s not the end all be all of the mythology and I’ve got a few books on my shelves as someone who is generally interested in Antiquity, as well as Hellenistic faith specifically. I’ve always felt a connection to love goddesses in particular and while I don’t claim to be a PRIESTESS (that’s very silly), I can’t deny that Aphrodite in particular draws me in (and her other counterparts in Ancient Mesopotamia). But I know that Greece is a real place, and it has its own culture, and I don’t want to be disrespectful yknow? (continued)

(Thanks for your patience, I’ve definitely rambled a little). My question is this: is it possible for me to continue down this road? (I mean, I hope so! Having a relationship with the Divine has improved my whole life.) And if it is, do you have suggestions of where to dig in deeper and learn more?

___________________ [END OF ASK]__________________________

Hello! Greeks agree that anyone can worship the Greek gods! It's not a closed practice and any faith is supported by the right to religious freedom. As you read, you can't exactly reconstruct the faith, but that doesn't mean you can't reach the deities in the ways that are appropriate for you, trying to follow some guidance from the past. I wouldn't recommend calling this worship "Reconstruction" for that reason, but I am sure you can at least practice something. You can have an altar, idols, offerings, and say the translations of ancient hymns.

It's true that you might lack some background knowledge and that can be balanced by years of reading ancient original texts (translated in your language ofc) about the deities and analyses by different scholars. Additionally, observe the iconography and the statues or idols of these gods to get an idea of how they are. Even many modern Greeks are not well informed about our ancient religion (because they might innately know some things but there is a lot of material to cover). In both cases you can only learn by studying.

If you don't have that feeling of what the line of respect is, you can acquire it by asking some Greeks who are Hellenic Polytheists and, if you can't find them, random Greeks who are decently informed about the gods (someone who won't call Zeus "a d*ck" unironically, for example :P). Many modern Greeks can feel the bs and when someone disrespects a deity, even though they are not in the ancient faith.

And there are some Greek Hellenic Polytheists who are only that in name and for them the worship is magic vibes, cool names and candles. So, always check what the individual knows and ask more than one person. Cross-examine the info you take with what you read on the ancient texts and the scholars. Don't forget to check the reputation of these scholars and if their claims have been debunked.

Search keywords on Google scholar and you might find papers that discuss matters that interest you. (Don't copy the DOI of the paper and definitely don't copy it into SciHub so you can download the paper - or the book, or article - for free! 👀👀👀👀👀)

I don't have a list of recommendations ready (and most of my books are dusting in a distant village) and I am not sure if my suggestions would help you. I am not a Hellenic Polytheist and I think you might find more suitable reads if you ask other Hellenic Polytheists what they have read or what they plan on reading. There are some who have a big collection regarding the gods!

I'll also cover that scenario: in case you want to worship 4 different goddesses from 4 different pantheons, that won't be a very consistent practice. Legally, nobody can or should stop you from doing that, but it will not be the most respectful thing on your part. While gods can be "imported" to other pantheons, first one has to be devoted to one pantheon and then import one or two deities from elsewhere. That means that to do it, you will have to focus on one pantheon and recognize and worship all the gods there. Meaning, if you only worship Aphrodite, it won't do it.

I've also noticed that a large portion of Hellenic Polytheists call themselves "Devotees" and that's not what they think it means. Being a devotee is closer to being a nun than having a deity that protects you. If you have one deity that protects you and you want to have their altar, that's not being a Devotee. That's more like a Christian aunty talking to their beloved saint. For someone to be a devotee, at least from what I know, they have to dedicate their life to religious worship on the temple of this particular deity. (Whilst recognizing the power of the other gods in the pantheon). I am not sure there is any place in the modern era when someone can be a devotee for a Greek god.

Lastly, I'd advise taking a look at this post for better terminology use. I get that a foreign vocabulary is difficult to use if you don't know the language. For example, you used "Hellenistic faith" and, unless you mean the state of the religion in the Hellenistic period of ancient Greece, the phrase doesn't hold the meaning you intended. Perhaps you mean "Hellenic faith"? Although the standard "Hellenic faith" for the last two thousand years is Orthodox Christianity xD So you better specify this by saying "ancient Hellenic faith".

A Greek Hellenic Polytheist was calling herself "Hellenic Greek" for her foreign audience but if she were to say this to a Greek she would sound like saying "I am a Greek Greek." And the Greek would tell her "of course you are a Greek if you are a Greek. What else would you be?" So she is misusing her own language, for what purpose I am not sure.

P.S. visit my tag #Aphrodite

I hope I covered your questions and if you have more I am here! As always, the post is open to anyone who wants to offer some more advice!