#Proerosia

[pomegranatehymns]

PERSEPHONE

A informational post about Persephone:

Persephone is the goddess of spring, and passing of seasons as well as the queen of the Underworld. Kore being the epithet heavily associated with her connection to spring, translating to “the maiden”. Persephone also using many more epithets for diffrent aspects Associated with her. Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Persephone Deione- “Daughter of Demeter”. Being one of her many epithets.

"He [Zeus] came to the bed of all-nourishing Demeter, and she bare white-armed Persephone whom Aidoneus [Haides] carried off from her mother; but wise Zeus gave her to him.” (theoi.com- PARENTAGE OF PERSEPHONE)

stuff Associated with Persephone:

Pomegranate

Bats

Deer

Spring

Underworld

Flowers

Skulls

Garnet, gems, coins (stuff Associated with hades)

Cerberus

Dogs

The Eleusinian Mysteries:

i feel like this link sums up the mysteries pretty well.

https://web.archive.org/web/20030920115808/http://www.uwec.edu/Philrel/faculty/beach/publications/eleusis.html

“The Homeric Hymn narrates the founding story for the Mysteries as well. Demeter, disguised as a human, arrives at Eleusis while searching for her daughter, and the city takes her in as a nurse. She feels obliged to reward the city for its hospitality and reveals herself. Then she shares her secret rites, which consequently become the central theme of the Eleusinian Mysteries. But initiation to these rites was no simple task. Participants had to prepare for at least half of the year or more and nurture themselves spiritually to embrace the secret revelation.” (Eleusinian Mysteries: The Secret Rites No One Dared Talk About" TheCollector.com)

Proerosia:

(Demeter related but can Also involve Persephone)

“The Proerosia, is about the things to be done “before plowing”. The first fruits festival was in May, when the “first fruits of the cereals” were harvested. According to H. W. Parke (74), the offerings to Demeter were made to invoke her blessing on the plowing and seeding to come.” (proerosia- hellenion.org)

Hymn to persephone:

Orphic Hymn 29 to Persephone (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :

"Hymn to Phersephone. Daughter of Zeus, Persephone divine, come, blessed queen, and to these rites incline: only-befotten, Plouton's [Haides'] honoured wife, O venerable Goddess, source of life: 'tis thine in earth's profundities to dwell, fast by the wide and dismal gates of hell. Zeus' holy offspring, of a beauteous mien, Praxidike (Avenging-Goddess), subterranean queen. The Eumenides' [Erinyes'] source, fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus' ineffable and secret seeds. Mother of Eubouleos [Dionysos-Zagreos], sonorous, divine, and many-formed, the parent of the vine. Associate of the Horai (Seasons), essence bright, all-ruling virgin, bearing heavenly light. With fruits abounding, of a bounteous mind, horned, and alone desired by those of mortal kind. O vernal queen, whom grassy plains delight, sweet to the smell, and pleasing to the sight : whose holy form in budding fruits we view, earth's vigorous offspring of a various hue : espoused in autumn, life and death alone to wretched mortals from thy power is known : for thine the task , according to thy will, life to produce, and all that lives to kill. Hear, blessed Goddess, send a rich increase of various fruits from earth, with lovely peace : send health with gentle hand, and crown my life with blest abundance, free from noisy strife; last in extreme old age the prey of death, dismiss me willing to the realms beneath, to thy fair palace and the blissful plains where happy spirits dwell, and Plouton [Haides] reigns.”

Here are some of Persephone's epithets:

Azesia- “of the Dried Fruits” and/or “Who Seeks”. The epithet is shared with Demeter

Brimo- “the Angry” or “the Terrifying”..

Carpophorus- “Bringer of Fruit”. This epithet was specific to Persephone in the role of Kore.

Chthonia- “of the Earth” (used by several chthonic deitys)

Deione- “Daughter of Demeter”.

Despoena- “The Ruling Goddess” or “The Mistress.”

Eleusina- “of Eleusis”. This epithet is shared by Persephone and Demeter.

Epaine- “the Fearful”. (More like feared by her worshipers)

Hagne- “Pure” or “Holy One”

Kore- “The Maiden”. Usually used when referring to persephone before she became queen of the Underworld. I use it in reference to her spring aspects

Leptynis- refers to wealth with her role as queen of the Underworld and being a chthonic deity

Megala Thea- “Great Goddess”.

Praxidike- “Bringer of Justice”.

Sources:

theoi.com- PARENTAGE OF PERSEPHONE

Hesiod, Theogony 912 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.)

theoi.com- Titles of Demeter & Kore: Ancient Greek Religion

The Eleusinian Mysteries, Edward A. Beach

Homer, The Iliad - Greek Epic C8th B.C.

The Homeric Hymns - Greek Epic C8th-4th B.C.

Orphic Hymn 29 to Persephone (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.)

Tareen, Zeynep. "Eleusinian Mysteries: The Secret Rites No One Dared Talk About" TheCollector.com, February 18, 2022, https://www.thecollector.com/the-eleusinian-mysteries-ancient-greece/.

https://www.tumblr.com/diana-thyme/737747722995712000/greek-gods-101-persephone?source=share

https://www.hellenion.org/festivals/proerosia/

[nothoughtsgayboy]

Is anyone doing anything for Proerosia? It's gonna be the first time I celebrate with someone else irl so i'm super excited!!

[diana-thyme]

Greek Gods 101: Persephone

Persephone is a goddess of the underworld, spring growth, agriculture, renewal, death and rebirth, and the cycle of life. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Flowers

Bones

Pomegranate and Pomegranate Products

Depictions or Imagery of Butterflies

Seeds

Tea

Dirt from a Dead Plant (or Person)

Wine

Depictions or Imagery of Pigs

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for her include:

Gardening

Taking Care of Graveyards

Visiting Forests and Fields

Learn About Local Plants, Flowers, and Herbs

Going Bone Hunting

Creating Flower Crowns

Creating a more Biodiverse Lawn/Backyard

Not Killing Animals (Spiders, Mice, Etc.)

She is celebrated in multiple Athenian holidays:

Lesser Mysteries

Eleusinian Mysteries

Proerosia

Stenia

Thesmophoria

Heliogenna

[hearthfirehandworks]

The Proerosia or pre-ploughing is a part of the agricultural festival cycle; it is the first such festival of the agricultural year and takes place before the fields are ploughed. It is celebrated in a number of regions including Eleusis, and most often honors Demeter although in at least one area Zeus is honored at this time. (Parker, Polytheism 479) In Eleusis it was held on 6 Pyanepsion (October 8 in 2024), and would have been held elsewhere at the proper time for ploughing, whenever that was.

[jamieroxxartist]

Today, Oct 12, also the #AncientGreeks were celebrating the festival #Proerosia.

* which prayers were offered for an #abundantharvest

( https://sites.google.com/site/hellenionstemenos/Home/festivals/proerosia )

Painting: Demeter Mourning for Persephone, 1906 by: Evelyn de Morgan oil on canvas

—–

a Custom #Commissioned #Painting I painted a few years ago:

‘Morning has Broken over the Heartland’

2013 acrylic & oil blend on canvas 20"x16" by @ArtistJamieRoxx #JamieRoxx ( www.JamieRoxx.us ) This Sold Painting is Not Available.

#HorrorPop #Zombie #PopArt

[the-mortuary-witch]

PERSEPHONE

WHO IS SHE?

Persephone, also known as Kore (meaning "young woman” or “girl" in Greek), is one of the main deities from Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the Goddess of the Harvest. She is also the wife of Hades, the God of the Underworld, and she is associated with spring, fertility, and rebirth.

BASIC INFO:

Appearance: Persephone is typically depicted as a young and beautiful woman, with long, dark hair and eyes. She is often shown wearing a white dress or robe, and she is usually associated with flowers, especially flowering plants that bloom in the spring. She is also often associated with pomegranates, which symbolized her wedding to Hades, and which she ate while she was in the Underworld.

Personality: Persephone is usually depicted as kind, gentle, and compassionate. She is often seen as a mediator and peacemaker, and a defender of the innocent and vulnerable. She is also often portrayed as a motherly figure who is caring and nurturing. She is also sometimes seen as defiant and rebellious, and she is known to have a more powerful side that can punish those who defy her.

Symbols: pomegranate, waxing moon, narcissus, bones, seeds of grain, bats, torch, flowers, and deer

Goddess of: spring, the dead, the Underworld, grain, and nature

Culture: Greek

Plants and trees: asphodel wheat, willow, narcissus, lily, ivy, cherry tree, lily of the valley, daisy, lavender, vines, roses, pomegranates, oak, and hibiscus

Crystals: rose quartz, pigeon’s blood, rosolite, star diopside, flower agate, grossular, balas ruby, chiavennite, red spinel, clinoptilolite, Mozambique garnet, heliodor, African jade, uvarovite garnet, biotite, green calcite, hiddenite, green agate, African emerald, quantum, vivianite, indigo gabbro, green jasper, diopside, garnet, clinochlore, aventurine, iolite, and snowflake obsidian

Animals: deer, bat, black ram, parrot, and monkey

Incense: rose, pomegranate, jasmine, apple, vanilla, almond, horal, bergamot, and cinnamon

Practices: death magick, ancestor worship, spirit work, growth, transformation, embodying the divine feminine, balance, and plant/earth magick

Colours: green, pink, black, light blue, purple, magenta, indigo, and yellow

Numbers: 3, 6, and 7

Zodiac: Virgo

Tarot: High Priestess and Ace of Pentacles

Planets: Earth and Pluto

Days: Monday, Friday, Ostara, Beltane, Lammas, Samhain, Lesser Mysteries. Eleusinian Mysteries, Proerosia, Stenia. Thesmophoria, and Heliogenna

Parents: Zeus and Demeter

Siblings: several paternal half-siblings and maternal half-siblings

Partner: Hades

Children: Melinoë, Zagreus, and Erinyes

MISC:

• Grains: due to her connection to the cycle of life and death. She is often depicted with grains, such as wheat, barley, and oats, which symbolize the cycle of life and death.These grains represent the cycle of life, as they are sown and then harvested, only to be sown again in a constant cycle. This symbolic representation of death and rebirth aligns perfectly with Persephone's association with the underworld and the cycle of seasons. Therefore, she is associated with grains to showcase the cycle of life and death.

• Spring: due to her connection to the changing of seasons and rebirth, she is often depicted as rising from the afterlife in spring, representing the renewal and rebirth of nature.This is because in the Greek myth, Persephone spends part of the year in the underworld with Hades, but returns to the land of the living in spring. Her return symbolizes the return of light and warmth, and the blossoming of nature.Therefore, she is associated with the season of spring as she symbolizes the rebirth and rejuvenation that comes with the new season.

• Pomegranates: according to the myth, Hades abducted Persephone and took her to the Underworld, where he forced her to eat a pomegranate. This act was a symbolic gesture of his hold over her, and it was also seen to symbolically represent her connection to the Underworld.The pomegranate became closely associated with Persephone and the Underworld, and it has remained a symbol of Persephone and her association with the Underworld ever since.

• Flowers: she is associated with flowers due to her association with spring. She is often depicted holding a bouquet of flowers, or being surrounded by blooming flowers.This is especially the case from the Greek festival of Anthesteria, which was a celebration in honour of Persephone's return from the Underworld. During this festival, people would decorate their homes and temples with flowers, representing the growth and renewal associated with Persephone's return.

• Birds: mainly doves, she is frequently depicted with a dove on her shoulder, and she overall shown with doves all around her.There are a couple of reasons for this. First, doves have long been symbolic of peace and tranquility, which aligns with Persephone's gentle and calming nature. Second, doves are often associated with symbols of fertility and rebirth, which aligns with Persephone's connection to the Underworld and spring.

• Water: she is associated with water for a couple of reasons. First, she is the Goddess of spring, and water is a vital factor for life and growth. Water is necessary for flowering bloom and green plants, so it is closely associated with the growth and renewal associated with spring. Second, water is also a symbol of rebirth and renewal, as it is a fluid element that is constantly changing and transforming. This fits well with Persephone's role as an Underworld Goddess and her connection with the cycle of life and death, as death and rebirth are represented as a transformation process.

• Gold: the Underworld is associated with riches and treasures that are commonly represented in the form of gold. This connection to riches represents the fact that the Underworld was a place of great wealth and abundance, and it represents the treasures that were found there, such as gold, jewels, and precious metals. This is another aspect of Persephone's connection to the Underworld and her role as a divinity of death and rebirth.

• Trees: they represent the natural cycle of life and death, as they grow and flourish during the warm months, then shed their leaves during the winter months, before starting the cycle all over again.Trees are also associated with fertility and rebirth, as they produce seeds and fruit that propagate new life. This ties in with Persephone's role as a Goddess of spring, and her connection with the Underworld and the cycles of nature.

FACTS ABOUT PERSEPHONE:

• She takes her role in the Underworld seriously.

• Her epithets included but were not limited to: Despoina (The Mistress), Melindia (Honey), Aristi Cthonia (Best Cthonic), and Kore (The Maiden).

• Unlike Hera and Amphitrite, Persephone didn’t have a husband that constantly cheated on her (she was married to Hades). However, there is a myth about her cheating on Hades with Adonis, depending on the version. As far as I know, Hades did nothing about the matter. I think that implies it didn’t count as cheating to him, or maybe Persephone only loved Adonis as her son, which makes sense to me since she raised him. But yes, it’s perfectly acceptable and legitimate to say she cheated on Hades.

• Persephone is often called a spring or vegetation Goddess but all that seems to mainly be related to Demeter, her mother, when it’s time for Persephone to return her. Truly incidental. Persephone was much more an Underworld Goddess than a flowery Goddess.

• There’s evidence to suggest that, as far as religious history goes, Persephone as a character in religion is older than Hades, and was an underworld deity too.

• Some sources suggest Persephone was the mother of Dionysus, but to be fair Dionysus has a bajillion origin stories.

• As far as I know, and correct me if I’m wrong, it wasn’t too popular to depict Persephone with red hair colours until the Victorian era, when a popular red-headed model was used for a famous painting of Proserpina (the Roman equivalent to Persephone). Before, she had occasionally been depicted with red hair, but black and blonde were just as popular. Nowadays, in media, she’s often portrayed as red or pink haired, although even that trend is dying again.

• Some people like to think Persephone was a minor or weak Goddess. That was simply not true. She was considered frightening in her own right.

• Someone tried to kidnap her right from the Underworld. Hades had him attached to a chair for eternity.

HOW TO INVOKE PERSEPHONE:

First, set up an altar or sacred space dedicated to her, you can then set offerings such as candles, flowers, and other symbolic items are also essential to respectfully honouring her. Prayers and incantations can be said to her to ask for guidance, support, and her blessings. Meditation and visualization can be used to feel Persephone's presence and connect with her energy. Feast days and holidays can also be celebrated to honour her.

PRAYER FOR PERSEPHONE:

“Lady Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld. I come before you in humility, I seek to find peace and healing to shed myself of pain and strife. I ask for your guidance and strength in my time of need to weather through the storms of life.”

“Thank you for your love and kindness. Please open my path to the light and give me the strength to continue to walk down this path. May we all find peace and healing, in the realm of both life and death. Hail Lady Persephone.”

SIGNS THAT PERSEPHONE IS CALLING YOU:

• A sense of calmness or peace around you.

• Feeling connected to nature and the changing of seasons.

• Attracting more birds or other doves.

• Seeing or smelling flowers in unexpected places.

• Having vivid dreams about death and rebirth.

• Experiencing a sudden increase in energy and motivation.

• Feeling connected to the Underworld and the realm of death.

• Having a deep feeling of contentment and acceptance within yourself.

OFFERINGS:

• Pomegranates/pomegranate juice.

• Honey.

• Floral tea.

• Breads.

• Flower crowns or arrangements.

• Dark chocolate.

• Flowers.

• Crushed mint.

• Animal bones.

• Jewelry.

• Art of bats, rams, or deer.

• Crystals: rose quartz, agate, black onyx, pink tourmaline, obsidian, coral, and jasper.

• Spring water.

• Grains.

• Plants.

• Incense: vanilla, almond, horal, bergamot, and pomegranate

• Sweets.

• Dirt from a dead plant (or person).

• Wine.

• Seeds.

DEVOTIONAL ACTS:

• Stop to smell flowers.

• Pair lace and leather together, she loves this.

• Singing.

• Plant flowers.

• Wear pomegranate scented things--perfume, lotion, lip gloss, etc.

• Tend to wild plants if they need care.

• Go barefoot more often and feel the way the ground feels on your bare feet.

• Honour the dead.

• Support local farmers and beekeepers.

• Honour the deaths of animals and if you can, bury them or leave them in a place where nature will care for them.

• Buy yourself a nice bouquet of flowers, or make your own.

• Place flowers on barren graves.

• Spread seeds of native flowers on the sides of highways or other unincorporated places (be sure to check local laws on this).

• Wear something fancy when you feel like it, make yourself feel like the royalty you are.

• Offer her fruits/nuts.

• Listen to music that reminds you of her.

• Wear a flower crown.

• Collect crystals like rose quartz, garnet, citrine, green tourmaline, and topaz.

• Rose quartz is a go-to stone for me for many Gods, Persephone being one of the many.

• She really digs topaz and the tourmaline in my experience.

• Love yourself, of course, just as she loves you.

• Gardening.

• Taking care of graveyards.

• Visiting forests and fields.

• Learn about local plants, flowers, and herbs.

• Creating flower crowns.

• Going bone hunting.

• Creating a more biodiverse lawn/backyard.

• Not killing animals (spiders, mice, etc.)

[iliosflower]

100% agree with all the above, and just wanted to add,

"The Panhellenic character of the cult is indicated by the establishment, perhaps in the fifth Olympiad (760 BCE) of a festival and sacrifice at Eleusis known as the Proerosia. About the time of that Olympiad a great famine desolated Greece. The oracle of Delphi ordered the Athenians to offer a sacrifice to Demeter in the name of all the Greeks before the beginning of the ploughing season. The sacrifice was held at Eleusis and the famine came to an end." Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries, G.E. Mylonas

"Ceres is the goddess of agriculture. During a drought in 496 BCE, the Sibylline Books ordered the institution of the worship of Demeter, Dionysus and Persephone, called by the Latin names Ceres, Liber and Libera." - Meditations on the Roman Deities, L. Triarius

I could go on in regards to Demeter, but other gods as well - how many cults started because of terrible things happening that they as gods had influence over - whether that was drought and famine with Demeter, or plague with Apollon, etc. The gods doing 'terrible things' in the myths was so important to the ancients that it showed up in cult practices/festivals that they held, aka it's valid as fuck.

Thinking thoughts about the “all worship is valid and the gods are always kind and myths are fake” idea.

People — including me! — love to speak on how the theoi appear and the physical influence we believe they’ve had on our lives.

Except the ancients right? The ones who wrote the myths we know based on their beliefs? For some reason their worship isn’t valid, their stories aren’t valid, their myths to explain their beliefs and experiences aren’t valid because they don’t match with modern sentiment.

[withlovetohestia]

does anyone have Proerosia, Puanepsia, Theseia, or Stenia plans? or Thesmophoria for that matter

[thegodsaremyhome]

Hellenic Festivals Masterlist

(I’ll add the links as I go)

-Attic Calender post-

-Monthly Holidays-

♡ Noumenia ♡ Agathos Daimon ♡ Hekate’s Deipnon

-Yearly Holidays-

♡ Adonia ♡ Anthesteria ♡ Aphrodisia ♡ Chloia ♡ Diasia ♡ Dikhomenia ♡ Dionysia ♡ Elaphebolia ♡ Genesia ♡ Kallynteria ♡ Khalkeia ♡ Kronia ♡ Plynteria ♡ Proerosia ♡ Pyanepsia ♡ Thalysia ♡ Theogamia

[thegrapeandthefig]

2022 ATTIC CALENDAR

Since it's already almost 2022, I made a new calendar. Same formula as last time aka most of the Athenian festivals and days are slapped on the modern calendar (friendly nicknamed "Civil Roman Calendar" lol) to make keeping track of events easier.

Compared to the 2021 iteration, I have made some changes to this one:

Have included information taken from Robert Parker's Polytheism and Society at Athens in addition to the dates that I used last time (which were taken from Jon D. Mikalson's The Sacred and Civil Calendar of the Athenian Year).

Have included for each Attic month the names of festivals for which the exact dates are unknown. I have not attributed dates but are mentioned so that each person can make their own decision as to what to do with them.

Still, festivals that are really too obscure have been omitted.

Festivals that have been added to the calendar are: the Lesser Mysteries, Asklepieia, Skirophoria, Great Nemesia, Kybernesia, Proerosia, Theseia, Stenia.

Like the 2021 version, the 2022 calendar is available in 1) an image-heavy PDF (meant to be viewed digitally) and in 2) a printer-friendly version (no image, black text on white background).

The complete list of festivals and additional information can be found on the last page of the calendar. Want to customize it to your own needs? Feel free to shoot me a message and I'd be happy to send the Powerpoint file your way.

DOWNLOAD

1 - Digital

2 -Printer-friendly

[diana-thyme]

Greek Gods 101: Demeter

Demeter is a goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Seeds

Flowers

Fruit

Grass

Vegetables

Grains

Bread

Oils

Tree Branches

Acorns

Plants

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for her include:

Planting Seeds

Harvesting Plants

Using Herbs in Recipes

Growing Your Own Herbs

Growing or Buying Flowers

Making Bread

Trying New Recipes

Cooking with Organic/Self-Grown Foods

She is celebrated in multiple Athenian holidays.

Lesser Mysteries

Thargelia

Skira

Eleusinia

Eleusinian Mysteries

Proerosia

Stenia

Thesmophoria

[dionysianmystery]

On the Festival of Kalamaia

Kalamaia: June/July (High Summer)

Kalamaia, a festival of Demeter, was held primarily in Eleusis, along with several other locations. It is known to have involved a sacrifice, as well as possibly a procession. Like its sister festivals of Chloia and Antheia, little mention of it is found outside of inscriptions. The name Kalamaia gave its name to the Ionian calendar month of Kalamaion, with the month falling in high summer; It is possible that the festival was for the protection of the grain before harvest, due to the name translating to ‘grain stalk’, but it is disputed. Other sources assume that it was a festival of ‘gleaning’, which is to say, the practice of harvesting leftover crops from fields that were not considered ‘profitable’ or worthwhile to harvest prior. It shares a cycle with the other festivals of Proerosia-Chloia-Antheia-Kalamaia, that being festivals that follow the agricultural cycle.

Works Cited:

IG_2².949

Mikalson, Jon D. Religion in Hellenistic Athens. Berkeley:  University of California Press,  c1998

Polytheism and Society at Athens, Parker. (Pages 195, 197)

[ofinkandstars]

Holiday Calendar 2021

So here’s my calendar for 2021! Happy New Year! I’m deciding to help myself ease back into the calendar, and figure out what works for me, I’m going to prioritize holidays instead of pressuring myself to do everything. 

January

New Year’s Day (Jan 1)

Haloa (Jan 10)

Lenaia (Jan 26-28)

February

Imbolc (Feb 2)

Theogamia (Feb 10)

St Valentine’s Day (Feb 14)

Helios, the Muses, Rhea (Feb 21)

Anthesteria (Feb 23-25)

March

Lesser Mysteries (March 4-10)

Ostara/Vernal Equinox (March 20)

Asklepia (March 22)

Dionysia ta astika (March 24-31)

Pandia (March 31)

April

April Fool’s Day (April 1)

Delphinia (April 18)

Mounykhia (April 28)

May

Beltane (May 1)

Khalkeia (May 2) artisans, first sunday in the arts, originally in November)

Mother’s Day (May 9) 

Thargelia (May 18-19)

June

Kallynteria (June 6)

Plynteria (June 7)

Arrephoria (June 14)

Litha/Midsummer (June 20)

Father’s Day (June 20)

Skira (June 23)

Dipolieia/Bouphonia (June 25)

Anniversary of the Capital Gazette shooting (June 28)

 July 

4th of July (July 4)

Kronia (July 22)

 August

Lughnasadh (August 1)

Panathenaia ta mikra (August 2-9)

Kourotrophos (August 25)

Hera Telkhinia (August 29)

 September

Zeus Epoptes (Sept 3)

Genesios (Sept 12)

Artemis Agrotera (Sept 13)

Mabon/Autumnal Equinox (Sept 22)

Eleusinia ta megala (Sept 22 - 28)

 October

Apatouria (Oct 10)

Proerosia (Oct 13)

Pyanepsia and Oskhophoria (Oct 14)

Stenia (Oct 15)

Thesmophoria (Oct 18-20)

Samhain (Oct 31)

November

Thanksgiving (Nov 25)

Elaphebolia (Nov 28) start of firearm deer hunting, originally in March 

December

Poseidea (Dec 13)

Rural Dionysia (Dec 15)

Yule (Dec 21)

Christmas (Dec 25)

New Year’s Eve (Dec 31)

[jamieroxxartist]

Today, Oct 12, also the #AncientGreeks were celebrating the festival #Proerosia.

* which prayers were offered for an #abundantharvest

( https://sites.google.com/site/hellenionstemenos/Home/festivals/proerosia )

Painting: Demeter Mourning for Persephone, 1906 by: Evelyn de Morgan oil on canvas

—–

a Custom #Commissioned #Painting I painted a few years ago:

‘Morning has Broken over the Heartland’

2013 acrylic & oil blend on canvas 20"x16" by @ArtistJamieRoxx #JamieRoxx ( www.JamieRoxx.us ) This Sold Painting is Not Available.

#HorrorPop #Zombie #PopArt

[sunshineandsisyphus]

Hi! Is it ok for me to ask how you built up a calandar to follow? Struggling to understand all the different stuff >.

Of course you can! I actually love celebrating festivals and building my calendar was a lot of fun! I totally get being confused, though. There’s a lot to keep track of and the Attic calendar is not very user-friendly. If you want to try to understand it more, here’s a neat post that sums up a lot of information in a pretty digestible way.

To start with, my calendar is definitely a revivalist calendar. The Attic calendar had shorter months than the Gregorian calendar, which is our calendar now, based off the cycles of the moon. A common reconstructionist approach to this is to essentially superimpose the Attic calendar over ours by day and celebrate on the days they line up, if that makes sense. This means the modern date of the festivals change every year. Figuring the days out is super labor intensive, so if that style of calendar is calling to you, I suggest checking out the calendar at Hellenion.org and using that as a starting point each year. If there are festivals you want to celebrate that aren’t on the Hellenion calendar,* then you can research the traditional dates of those holidays and find the corresponding date on the calendar.

This method is a super good one for a lot of people. It’s as historically accurate as we can be, given the circumstances, and it can be kind of fun to be following a calendar based off the phases of the moon, especially if you’re into witchcraft at all. That being said, it wasn’t really my personal favorite. I prefer the more macro view: in Ancient Greece, these holidays fell on the same day every year, the same way a lot of holidays celebrated now do. I decided that that was more important to me than strict reconstructionism, since, while I like to be historically accurate when possible, I’m not super specific about it. I also can never rely on my ability to wrangle my brain into doing what I tell it to, and the prospect of making a new calendar every year wasn’t one that I was sure I would have the spoons to do, so I adapted.

Though it’s far from exact, the Attic months do line up approximately with our months.

Keep in mind, this is very, very approximate, but it worked for my purposes. The way I created my calendar was essentially blind guessing. The Thesmophoria, for example, took place from the 11th to the 13th of Pyanepsion. Since Pyanepsion covers the end-ish of October to the beginning-ish of November and the Thesmophoria fell in the middle-ish of the month, I celebrate it during late October, the 25th-27th. Another option is to take the dates from the Attic calendar and just stick them on one of the two months, which would mean celebrating the Thesmophoria on either the 11th-13th of October or November. I don’t recommend this route, though.** It can be kind of hard to keep track of and it leads to a weird spread of holidays.

Another way I decided dates was by looking at the proximity of other holidays. For example, Kallynteria takes place on the 25th of Thargelion while Plynteria takes place on the 26th of Thargelion, so you bet they’re back-to-back in my calendar. I also look at the approximate order of the festivals. While my dates are different from the Hellenion calendar, I still celebrate Demokratia, then the Eleusinian Mysteries, then Proerosia and Oskhophoria. The order is approximately the same throughout the calendar.

Remember, you don’t have to make your calendar the way I did. If making a new calendar every year but not having to do much work for it and using what the Hellenion has on their website works for you, that’s awesome. If my method jives better with you, awesome. Feel free to use it. If you find another method that you prefer, also awesome. Celebrating the festivals shouldn’t be a source of stress. It’s a fun way to honor the gods and feel more connected to the people who lived in Ancient Greece, so whatever method of celebrating them works best for you is the right one!

*The hellenion is really almost exclusively Athenian. Since holidays in Ancient Greece were so incredibly regional, there are many festivals that aren’t on their calendar, just because they aren’t relevant to what the Hellenion is. I celebrate some spartan holidays that aren’t on their calendar, for example. Unfortunately, the information we have about festivals from anywhere other than Attica is very limited. But! If there’s an area of Greece you specifically feel drawn to, do some research and see what’s out there! Especially for the bigger city-states (Sparta, Thebes, Delphi, etc.), you might find something.

**EXCEPTION: some festivals are celebrated on days holy to certain gods. A lot of festivals to Artemis and Apollo, for example, were celebrated on the 6th and 7th respectively because those are numbers sacred to the twins. Similarly with Athena on the 3rd and Poseidon on the 8th. For festivals that fell on one of those sacred days, I tried to stay true to that.

[hellenismosonline]

Olympian Deities: Demeter

This is an overview of Demeter.

Realm: Goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread. She presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults.

Parents: Rhea and Kronos

Offspring:

By Zeus: Persephone

By Iasion: Ploutos, Korybas

By Poseidon: Areion, Despoine

By Karmanor: Eubouleus, Khrysothemis

Symbols: Sheaf of grain, cornucopia, chariot, torch, scythe (lost while she was searching for Persephone), bread, honey

Colors: Green, dark brown, gold, navy blue, pink

Offerings: Grains (barley, corn, wheat, etc.), cornmeal, rose petals, oak leaves, myrrh, lady's mantle, pennyroyal, poppies, sunflowers, vervain. Do NOT give her wine.

Sacred Animals: Snake, pigs, horses, grasshoppers, cranes, domestic animals, geckos, turtle-doves, red-mullets

Sacred Plants: All grains, mint, poppy, pomegranates (questionably, probably not a good idea in the winter), pennyroyal, oak trees

Element: Earth

Metal/Stones: Pearls, star sapphire, cat's eye, silver, ivory, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, amber, mercury, copper

Number: 8

Planet: In antiquity, no astrological correlation. In modern astrology, Demeter 1108

Time: Festival of Eleusis, Haloa, Chloia, Proerosia, Thalysia, Thesmorphoira, Skirphoira

Tarot Cards: High Priestess, The World, Strength

Altar Ideas: Earthly hues, orange blossoms, myrrh, olibanum, civet, patchouli, violet, cloves, cinnamon, honey, images of pigs, images of women, grains, images of farms, images of Persephone

Epithets:

Amphicty'onis: given to her at Anthela, because of the fact that a sacrifice was offered to her at the opening of every meeting

Anesido'ra: the spender of gifts

Antaea: Goddess that men may approach in prayers

Brimo: the angry or terrifying

Caro'phori: the fruit bearer

Chamyne: she for whom the earth opens

Chloe: the blooming, the protectress of the green fields

Chrysaor: Goddess with the golden sword, Goddess with golden arms

Chtho'nia: subterraucous, Goddess of the earth, protectress of the fields

Cida'ria: derived either from an Arcadian dance called Kidaris, or from a royal headdress of the same name

Despoena: ruling Goddess or Mistress

Eunostus: Goddess of mills

Sito: giver of food and/or corn

The'smia: law-giver

Cthonia: of the earth

Epogmia: of the furrows

Plutodotira: giver of wealth

Carpophorus/Malphorus: bearer of fruits

Thermasia: warmth, heat

Megala Thea: Great Goddess

Metala Mater: Great Mother

Thesmophorus: bringer of law

Protasia: patron, leader

Panachaea: of all the Greeks

Deo: of the earth, of Rhea

Horaphorus: bringer of the seasons

Polyphorus: all-nourishing, bountiful

Aglaocarpus: giver of godly fruit

Aglaodorus: she who bestows splendid gifts

Callistephanus: beautifully-crowned

Eustephanus: lovely crowned

Eucomus: lovely haired

Xanthe: blonde, golden-haired

Cyanopeplus: dark veiled, cloaked

Callisphyrus: beautiful, trim-ankled

Chrysaorus: of the golden blade

Dia Thea: bright goddess

Semne: holy, August, revered

Hagne: pure, chaste, holy

Anassa: queen, lady

Potnia Theaon: queen amongst Goddesses

Cydra Thea: glorious, noble Goddess

Rhea eucomus thugater: daughter of rich-haired Rhea