#hellenic mythology

[flaroh]

Persephone 👸🍂💀🦇

[susiephone]

this can't be just me

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Pomegranates are so scrumpus and delicious, Persephone was so right to take those seeds like i get it girl!!!

[dhampiravidi]

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ahhh such a pretty Apollo

[dvudushnydiaries]

There’s something so peculiar about the way a lot of neopagans (at least on the interwebs) make the choice to defang and declaw certain gods versus the ones they make the choice to demonize. It’s this wild combination of mythic literalism, lack of study, and lack of unpacking personal issues and thought processes about religion. There are so many examples of the defanging; Baba Jaga, Apollon, Ares, Aphrodite and then the villainization of Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite (yes She’s on here twice because so few people can be normal about Her), and the rest.

Idk. I have a lot of opinions on how and why this happens and how it can be amended, because it certainly needs to be amended.

[virgils-muse]

Thinking about how Athena and Pallas were raised together. And how Athena accidentally killed Pallas. And then Pallas became an epithet for her and in the entire Iliad she’s always referred to as “Pallas Athena”. And how Odysseus, her favorite devotee, is referred to as Pallas Odysseus because of that. Totally not sobbing. Definitely.

[ofthesunlight]

I prayed to Athena for a good time in class today. I used my prayer beads in the hall and everything!!! I felt her presence in the hallway, and I am super grateful that she heard me 💙🦉

Hoping that class does indeed go well today, and if not, hoping that I'll at least have some peace back at my dorm :)

[tarobombb22]

Hey! I’m very interested in Hellenistic Polytheism (haven’t converted yet but I will be once I leave my household!) and I made a small altar for Aphrodite and I was wondering if this is okay?

(Also, are there any tips on how to make the altar more discreet? Because I know my family would be against Hellenistic Polytheism since they all are Baha’i — they’re kinda inclusive🧍‍♀️)

[moonagedaydreamsofrhiannon]

The parallels between Yellowjackets and the myth of Persephone and Hades…

The Yellowjackets are Persephone, ripped from their old life in the sun, and trapped in hell. The Wilderness is both Hades and the underworld itself. Both the kingdom and the ruler. The only way to survive is to eat the fruit, but by consuming the pomegranate seeds, they’ve sealed their fate. Once they’ve tasted the food of the dead, they can never leave. A piece of them will forever remain trapped in the Wilderness, always calling them back. Those who didn’t partake in the feast never made it out, but at least they found escape in death. Those who made it out will never truly escape, they will be tethered to the Wilderness for the rest of time. This is a vow that can never be broken. This is a tie that can never be cut. This is the price of survival. Eat and be consumed, or abstain and be eaten.

[hecatesdelights]

Medusa, one of three sisters known as the Gorgons, a chthonic monster in tales from Classical Antiquity, whose gaze turned men to stone.

[ladyofavalonseas]

Hi hi

I'll make a proper intro soon

But I am creating an online hellenic polytheist group/coven to learn and grow together soo look out for more info soon

[flaroh]

Mother 💃🏻🐍👁️‍🗨️🌿

May’s illustration is simply called ‘Mother’ as the figure depicted is not one specific goddess, but a personification of the primordial maternal deity all Ancient Mediterranean mother goddesses seem to have sprung from🪴

During my trip through Sicily I became fascinated with the origins of the gorgon and what she represented to the ancient people of Sicily and Magna Graeca. I learnt in some cases the gorgon would be depicted in the pose of the Potnia Theron, Mistress of Animals, who much later had associations with many of the female Olympians. This took me down a rabbit hole, reading up on the Scythian snake-legged goddess who sometimes had the form of the gorgonic potnia theron, the Minoan snake goddesses brandishing snakes, and then the chthonic poppy goddesses of the Cyclades who inhabit the border of the living and the dead. There’s even connection to the goddess Cybele or Bona Dea, who similarly encompass that space of overall Mother of the Gods.

From reading about all these divine mothers from all over the Greek world, I wanted to encompass them all together in their origin. I feel a bit conflicted because it is heavily my own interpretation and I don’t want anyone to feel mislead, but I just wanted to capture the vibe of a powerful, intimidating, ancient goddess who has heavy ties to the balance between life and death✨

[astro-witchery]

Beautiful Fish Crow

—Video and Story Below Cut!!—

Yesterday I had this experience with a crow that I’ve never had before! I was eating my lunch by the water, and this fish crow came right up to me! It was cawing so loud and I’ve never had a wild bird, let alone a crow, this close to me before! It was a very beautiful bird.

I think it was Lady Hekate trying to contact me. I had been thinking about and considering heavily all morning the beginning of worshiping her and making a shrine for her. I had definitely been feeling her call as a cosmic/lunar witch and with the full moon last night. So I thought it was very interesting that this crow appeared, right by the ocean where I was sitting. The crow stayed for a while too. The crow definitely wanted my sandwich, but maybe it was hekate who wanted it lol. The crow was very adamant and demanding, which felt very symbolic as well. Needless to say I took the leap and made her the shrine & prayed to her at it, and I also gave an offering to her along with Lord Ares at the Chthonic altar last night.

Even if the crows presence wasn’t related to her at all, it was still really cool and I wanted to share this beautiful bird with you all ~

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Symbolism of Melinoe

💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭💀💭

Dark goddess of funeral, of nightmares, and of ghosts and the dead, Melinoê is the dual goddess of the light and the day, said to be charred black on one side in her chthonic nature, and bright and white as snow on the other, contrasted by her heavenly half, Melinoe is a goddess to be revered and respected, and here are some of the symbols and sacred icons you can use to do so.

———————-————————————————

•🌈 Colors:

Representative of her dualistic nature, the analogous colors of black and white are the best colors, or rather lack there-of, to iconize and represent this frightening goddess, like a black and white tintype photograph from a nostalgic, forgotten era.

•🐴 Animals:

- Ravens: the most iconic bird of the dead, a specter and epiphet of all chthonic deities, crows are the most obvious choice for an animal to represent the power and idolatry of lady Melinoe.

- Moths: an insect of the night, bound and destined to follow the white light in the dark, moths are rather reminiscent of the lost souls and ghosts guided by melinoe to those who seek them from the afterlife.

•🌸 flowers & Herbs:

- White Poppies. Long considered a symbol of ancient afterlife, and a bringer of nightmares, poppies are often considered a deeply paranormal flower, and it makes since that because of this, they are often seen as being iconic of melinoe, especially the white ones.

- Mhyrr. An incense of great respect and value, myhrr has historically been left as an offering at funerals for the dead, a sign of luck and prospect in the afterlife. This was especially common in ancient Egypt, but there’s also evidence to suggest that it was regarded in a similar way in Ancient Greece during the Hellenistic period!

•🍗 food:

- Pomegranate: as the daughter of Persephone and Hades, pomegranates played a pivotal role in the conception of lady Melinoe, and are a great food offering or libation to her, if one wants to communicate or connect to her, perhaps a good way to do so would be to snack on a palm of pomegranate seeds, or to make a tea from its rind?

•💎 crystals & gemstones:

- Ancestralite. A somewhat rare natural combination of hematite and iron, Ancestralite is considered a great gateway stone to communicating with the spirits of dead ancestors or family members, as well as a stone of protection from death itself. These qualities make it a rather great option for a stone to use in crystal work with lady Melinoe!

- Snowflake Obsidian. Obsidian, a lavic stone that has long been used in darker magic, and especially Chthonic magic, is a natural fit for iconizing Melinoe? And the stones signature black and white “snowflake” speckles are great representation of her dual nature between light and dark, though, any variety of Obsidian will work in theory!

- Jet. Often worn to funerals as intricately carved mourning brooches during the Victorian era, jet is a stone of deep Black Death, and highly representative of mourning and the afterlife, with the history to back it up. I actually own one of these antique brooches, and have found it to hold a very dark, but not evil, energy! Jet is a great, and very absorbing stone to work with in chthonic or black magic!

•🪐 planets:

- The moon. Like almost all chthonic deities, the moon is iconic of lady Melinoe, as the domain of nightmares and ghosts she reigns over is most active when it is at its fullest phase! Take advantage of the moon cycles if you wish to communicate with any chthonic deity, Melinoe included.

•🏅other symbols:

- Graveyard dirt. A common offering or ingredient used in black divination, spirit work, and dark magic, a jar of (ethically sourced, pls don’t dig in peoples graves lmao) graveyard dirt is a perfect offering of loyalty and reverence, or iconic symbol of respect, to the goddess Melinoe, as funerals are perhaps her most sacred event!

So there you have it, some helpful starters to begin your reverence of the symbolism and iconography of lady Melinoe of Hades, daughter of Persephone and Hades, mother of ghosts and nightmares. I hope you learned something about her, and will consider her in your future practices! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more posts about the intriguing and powerful deities of Helen! 💙🏛️💙

@xxfox0-chillingxx

[dhampiravidi]

Apollo wearing black lipstick is a whole life I have never lived. But I’d live it—

[dvudushnydiaries]

Altar box designs! (we're ignoring how Achilles' is technically unfinished on the lid) I've started selling commissions of these on my ko-fi