#PLEEEEASE let me know

[aphrogeneia]

Altars in Ancient Greece

A disclaimer before we get into it: this is a brief explanation of how altars functioned in ancient Greece. I am not telling you how you should set up your own personal altar(s). Rather, I hope this can serve as foundational knowledge for you to consider while figuring out what works best for you and your practice.

Pentelic marble altar from the ancient agora of Athens. Dedicated by the Athenian Boule to Aphrodite and the Graces. c. 194-193 BCE.

The purpose of the altar is to receive offerings for the deity. It is the sacred place where worshipers pour their libations of wine, deposit their gifts of fruit, honey, or cakes, and burn a portion of the sacrificial animal. Offerings in ancient Greece were a key component of religious life; it is how mortals express their honor and build χάρις (kharis, favor). The altar is a highly important point of contact with the divine, and is an essential physical element for any cult to be established.

In fact, we can determine whether or not a deity was worshiped in ancient Greece based on if there were any altars dedicated to them. A god or daimon with no altars was very likely only part of the mythological or literary tradition and did not receive any sacrifices or worship. Altars were generally dedicated to one god or a group of related deities. In rarer cases, they may be dedicated to the whole pantheon (example: the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora).

An altar for a heavenly (ouranic) god would be a raised surface or pedestal, and it would be oriented towards the East. The typical Greek altar consisted of bricks which were white-washed with lime, or it was carved from stone such as marble or limestone. They could be plain, or they could be decorated with volutes and narrative scenes. They often had the name of the deity inscribed into them. Altars could also come in a variety of shapes, the only real requirement being that the surface on top was flat so it could hold the offerings.

More prominent cult sanctuaries may feature a large, elevated altar with steps leading up to it. There were also natural rock altars, or in very rustic sanctuaries, a collection of stones was grouped to form an altar. If one was worshiping a khthonic god who dwells on or within the earth, they would provide sacrifices at a low-lying altar such as an eschara, or a simple open pit called a bothros.

Indoor altars were very uncommon. At sanctuaries, the altar would be outside of the gods temple, often in front of the entrance. Though a sanctuary could contain several altars and sacrificial sites. Households would have had one in their courtyard for private worship. Other altars were located outside of public buildings or in community gathering places like an agora.

The reason for being outdoors was so that the gods who reside in the sky could observe the sacrifices being made and enjoy the rising smoke of the incense. Meanwhile, a libation poured directly onto the bare earth would seep down below to the khthonic gods. Every altar was ceremonially sanctified when its first sacrifice was performed; from then on, it was considered part of the property of the deity.

Below are my sources. I'll likely make a part two of this post where I go over some ideas for how we can construct our modern altars. Thank you for reading!

Ancient Greek Religion, Jon D. Mikalson

Greek Religion, Walter Burkert

Ancient Greek Cults, Jennifer Larson

[starrydeww]

MORE WYNN ART DUMPS BECAUSE I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO PLAY DUE TO COMM WORK SO I HAD TO MANIFEST MY INSANITY AS A LOOOOT OF WYNN MIKA DOODLES AND BOB AND TASIM AND REDRAWING SCREENSHOTS AND AND AND AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[butwhatifidothis]

It's been a few months since that whole thing with that Edelgang mod peddling genocide rhetoric, I wonder if they ever moved on from believing such horrific things and using such horrific rhetoric-

...so the answer to that is no. They have not.

[gotchibam]

Just a heads up, I might open commissions soon since I'll need extra budget for the next month! I know I still have a backlog of ko-fi doodles I need to work on but I'll try my best to do them alongside the comms 😤💪💪💪

[artaelyn]

I'm so cringe but I am on top of the world about it.

Bonus:

[nozunhinged]

LFTCOT spoilers

I’m genuinely confused about ep 3 & 4 what does dohoi mean he failed the exams??? Didn't he go without knowing anything so in theory he should’ve passed just fine??? Did he lie?? And why does juyeong apologize did he not successfully manage to stop his dad?? Or is there some kind of aftermath I don’t understand because I don’t know the process of entrance exams in korea??

Or are we purposely missing some information here and are supposed to be confused at this point of the story???

Don’t get me wrong I’m in shambles I loved every second of both episodes I stared at my blank screen for an hour because this show is so good BUT I NEED TO KNOW IF I MISSED SOMETHING WAAAAAAAAAH

[theroyalbeaumont]

I cannot wait until he gets dumped next update. 😒

[mello-when-hi]

The amount of WIPS I have legit makes me wanna cry

[syoddeye]

I wake up every morning I hear your feet on the stairs You're in the next apartment I hear you singing over there This groove is out of fashion These beats are 20 years old I saw you lend a hand to The ones out standing in the cold Strange Overtones in the music you are playing I'll harmonize It is strong and you are tough But a heart is not enough

User spottedrhino on AO3 recommended this song for the For the Record playlist a while back, and it fits extremely well. After this fic is finished, I'll hear this song and think of it.

[pertinax--loculos]

Last Line (Not) Tag

I was tagged by nobody (or potentially I was aeons ago and I've forgotten), but as this is my blog and my rules, I'm gonna share a last line anyway. :D

In the spirit of seeing what everyone else is up to, I'm tagging @winterandwords (I know you're sorta between WIPs but gimme a line anyway if you want), @thegreatobsesso , @kd-holloman (share your favourite line from TTG! Self-promote!), @inkovert (fav line from Act I of SCIF maybe?), @minutiaewriter , @nikkywrites , @blind-the-winds (maybe something from a short? :D), @drabbleitout (if you happen to be around ^_^), and @dontjudgemeimawriter . (No pressure! Even if I've commented on your name! I'm just trying to prove I have been around even if I've been lurking. 0.o)

Also I tag anyone else that would like to share their last lines! Let me know what you're working on. What's been your favourite part recently? Tell me anything! I want to know!

So, last line! Spoiler alert: I have a new WIP, guys. I'm gonna be trying my hand at sci-fi horror. 😱 This is not very indicative of that, but it's something. ^_^ (Also, I'm experimenting with exaggerated POV voices as an exercise to get them distinct in the first draft, so if it feels like too much, that's why. :D)

“We’ve got a situation here, Verreynne,” Flack said. “And I think you’re more valuable to me alive.”

The shotbolt dropped away. Flack slipped it back into the holster. And Verreynne laughed.

It weren’t a real laugh, truly, far too bitter and twisted to be mistaken for the real thing. But hell, the mirth behind it was real enough. As if Verreynne hadn’t said those exact fucking words to Flack. As if that mercy or greed weren’t what ended him up in this very fucking situation.

“Yer gonna regret it,” he said.

Flack had his thumb back at his mouth. “I know.”

He stopped and let that settle a moment. Then he said, “We’ve got a situation.”

“Christ. You gonna fill me in on the fucking situation or you gonna just keep going on about it? Whaddya want me to do, fucking beg?”

Should’ve kept his mouth closed there. Something sparked in Flack’s eyes and he tilted his head. Considering. Fucker.

“Maybe later,” he said, and Verreynne kicked himself harder, cuz as if that weren’t the worse option, “For now let me tell you what we know.”

Verreynne had figured he were fucked. Hadn’t figured it could get much worse than being caged and chained with fucking Flack wandering around, all trusted and loose.

Turned out he was wrong.

He fucking hated how wrong he were.

[abigail]

:0 where are your shoes from?? theyre so gorgeous

!!! they’re from koi !!! they also have them in pink/purple :-) but yeah they’re super super comfy tbh, I’ve only worn them out a few times so far so can’t comment on the quality yet but I’ve had shoes from koi before (like… many years ago though like they’ve gone way up in price since rip) and never had any issues and these seem good too so !!! should be ok I’d defo recommend them hehe <3

[myfriendtheghost]

.

[dyed-red]

Me before: *lived one province away from where supernatural filmed for most of my life and didn't really think about this or care, despite being a fan*

Me before: *visited Vancouver multiple times during those years and never thought/cared about that proximity to the cast*

Me before: *has been to Texas 3 times and never once thought about j2 while there*

Me now: why did I book a trip to South Australia next week instead of to Tasmania why can't I be where Jared is what kind of fool am I whyyyy

-

Anyway being active in a fandom gives you brain rot

[princessmo]

it's been almost a month since i applied to that place and no response im gonna start maiming. i know i need to apply to other places but i have no idea where because i'm not good at anything! and other jobs like the one i applied to usually involve tasks i cannot physically complete. hell world

[zainmalik]

.

[t4tbruharvey]

god i wanna dm a game so bad