#hellenic history

[wordsmithic]

𒀭 10 + 1 Greek words for the Divine 𒀭

Please note that the full and/or root words mentioned here, like most Greek words, are still in use since antiquity. As a Greek speaker, I love sharing my interesting language with people like you! 𖦹

1. ενθεογόνο (entheoghóno, n)

"Entheogen" – A type of substance believed to induce spiritual experiences or connect one with the divine (e.g., certain psychoactive plants). Literally: "Generating the divine within."

From εν- ("in" or "within) + θεός (God) + γόνος ("Generating" or "producing")

2. θέωση (théosi, n)

Literally, deification or divinization.The process by which a person, usually a saint or a holy figure, is believed to become divine or achieve a state of union with the divine.

from θεός (god) + suffix -σις, which denotes the process or state of something.

3. αποθέωση (apothéosi, ν)

Literally, “deification”. It is used as “glorification” or as the state where the crowd claps and shouts, exalting an artist on stage.

from από- ("away from", "off") +  θεός (god) + -σις (a suffix indicating action or process.)

4. ένθεος (énthéos, n)

Literally, "god-filled," being possessed by god.

From ἐν ("in") + θεός (god).

5. θεόρατος (theóratos, adj) 

Of awe-inspiring in size. Colossal, gigantic, or immense. Literally, "godlike in appearance", or "(so big that it's) seen by the gods".

from θεός (God) + οράω (to see)

6. θεότρελος (theótrelos, adj) 

Literally, "God-mad", interpreted as "so mad that their madness goes high, to the gods/god".

From θεός (God) + τρελός (crazy or mad)

θεο- is added as a prefix in adjectives to accentuate them, to showcase their extreme degree.

7. ξεθεώνομαι (ksetheónome, v, intransitive/self-contained form) 

Literally, "to be beyond god/gods themselves". We use it as "being pushed beyond limits". To be exhausted, worn out.

From ξε- ("to the utmost" or "completely.") + θεός (God) 

8. θεόσταλτος (theóstaltos, adj)

Literally: God-sent.

From: θεός (god) + στέλλω (to send)

9. θεόπνευστος (theópnefstos, adj)

Literally, "breathed into by God." Metaphorically, "God-inspired / Divinely-inspired". This is used to describe holy books, like the Bible, that were said to be inspired by the divine, and not the human mind.

From θεός (god) + πνέω (to breathe or to blow) + -στος (-stos, A suffix denoting a state or condition.)

10. θεοφάνεια (theofánia, n)

Literally, "appearance of God." Refers to the Christian feast of Theofany (Epiphany), which commemorates the baptism of Jesus.

From θεός (God) + φαίνω (to appear, to manifest)

11. θεομηνία (theominía, n)

Literally, "God's wrath." Metaphorically, a calamity or disaster seen as a manifestation of divine wrath. Refers to natural disasters or catastrophic events, such as floods, earthquakes, or storms.

From θεός (god) + μήνις (wrath or extreme anger)

▣ ━ My masterpost with similar posts on Greek Language ━ ▣

[chthonic-sorcery]

i can't stop making these

[within-stars]

or like arts and crafts or something

[thetelesterion]

Demeter, goddess of fertility and the harvest, an image likely based off of a Roman original. (Updated description due to deeper research!!) After doing digging this image is not in fact from the temple of Eleusis but is rather a modern version of a (possibly) Roman relief of a similar kind!

The image which likely served as the basis for the modern one, photograph taken in 1864. Image source Right now it's really unknown where this original relief came from as there's little to no information from the museum listing I found this on, but I will continue to update this as time goes on if I find more info. For anyone else, feel free to update and reblog if you find more info before I do! UPDATE: original image source has been found for the Roman relief, it is located at the Lourve! Source

[crazycatsiren]

In ancient Greece:

Boys and men worshipped Artemis, she had priests as well as priestesses.

Maidens, married women, and mothers worshipped Artemis. Her cults were not for girls and virgins only.

Artemis was a goddess of transitions, of the constant moving states of being, of the process of going through the stages of life; she helped her worshippers be born, grow up, get married, become parents, grow old. In this manner, she presided over virginity as well as the inevitable loss of it as one left childhood behind and entered adulthood.

[templeofelysium]

some ancient greek holidays

these holidays follow the lunar/athenian calendar, so I will either be providing the moon phase or Athenian date and the corresponding Gregorian months. also this is pretty obvious but these are just very general descriptions of these holidays, to give you an idea of which you think you'd like to practice. no one is forcing you to do every single one of these, nor is it expected. do whatever works for you.

if there's anything you think I should add, let me know

HEKATE'S DEIPNON

when: during the new moon phase purpose: honor Hekate and the souls of the restless dead, cleanse self and home activities: a meal set out at Hekate's altar (often including garlic, raw eggs, cake, leeks/onions, or fish), a sacrifice (usually of an animal, but it can be your choice), and burning of incense and/or cleaning house as purification deities honored: Hekate, the dead

NOUMENIA

when: the first day a sliver of the moon can be seen purpose: a day of rest and feasting activities: offer frankincense, flower garlands, wine, and barley cakes on the altars that had been cleaned the day before deities honored: household gods like Hestia, Hermes, Hekate and Zeus, celestial deities like Apollo and Artemis, or personal protective deities (like Athena was for Athens)

AGATHOS DAIMON

when: the day after Noumenia purpose: it's personal to each family but is often a ritual to honor the intermediary(ies) between mortals and gods, and to ask for things like good luck or protection activities: wine/other libations, offerings placed on an altar personal to the Agathos Daimon which can include incense, food, and things related to snakes deities honored: deities commonly associated with snakes, like Dionysus and Hermes, as well as the goddess of luck, Tyche, and Zeus, who is often called Agathos Daimon

RURAL DIONYSIA

when: during the month of Poseideon (december/january), but the festivals often happened on different days depending on the place purpose: honoring Dionysus and cultivation activities: a procession of men carrying phalluses, girls carrying baskets of bread, people with water, bread, cakes, and wine). dancing and singing contests, possibly even dramatic performances, and choruses of dithryambs. deities honored: Dionysus

CITY DIONYSIA

when: 10th-17th of Elaphebolion (March/April) purpose: honoring Dionysus activities: a reenactment of Dionysus being rebuffed from Athens, one or several dramas/plays, dramatic competitions, singing and dancing, feasting and offerings (especially of bread or phalluses)/libations (often of wine) deities honored: Dionysus

PANATHANEA

when: 23rd-30th of Hekatombaion (July/August) purpose: celebrating the birth of Athens activities: a huge procession showing off a large tapestry woven by only women, a torch race, a meal of meat for everyone in the city, athletic games deities honored: Athena

THARGELIA

when: 6th (for Artemis) and 7th (for Apollo) of Thargelion (May/June) purpose: celebrating the birthdays of Apollo and Artemis activities: the beating and banishment of an ugly man and woman (as purification, but you could just do the usual cleaning and incense burning) on the 6th. offerings of the first harvests were given to Apollo (but you could just cook a dish and offer part of it), a procession of children carrying a wreath with fruit, honey, wine, oil, and bread along with singing on the 7th. deities honored: Artemis and Apollo

THESMOPHORIA

when: 11th-13th Pyanepsion (October/November) purpose: honoring Demeter's loss of Persephone to the Underworld activities: a procession of women up to a space where men were banned, sexual activity was abstained from, they lived primitively (fasted and sat on a floor of branches), and sacrificed of piglets in the first days. then had feasts and prayed (often for things Demeter could provide, like good harvests or fertility) on the last day deities honored: Demeter and Persephone

DIASIA

when: 23rd of Anthesterion (February/March) purpose: honor Zeus Chthonius activities: solemn but joyful night rites of sacrifices, sheep/pig shaped pastry offerings, feasting, dancing, and hymn chanting deities honored: Zeus

KRONIA

when: 12th of Hekatombaion (July/August) purpose: honor Kronos (and to some extent Rhea) activities: feasting in large groups, where slaves can join their masters at the dinner table. like an early version of Labor Day deities honored: Kronos

THEOGAMIA

when: 27th of Gamelion (January/February) purpose: to celebrate the anniversary of Hera and Zeus' marriage activities: feasting, offerings/libations, and possibly also hosting a person's own marriage deities honored: Hera and Zeus

[d-ovee]

Erato, Muse of Love Poetry

Albertina • Vienna, Austria

[tessawinterbourne]

Ancient Greek hairstyles and headdresses

[elkanach]

apollo driving his chariot

honestly i made this one month ago but onpy posted it on my old tiktok. gave up on drawing the other horses sorry

[hecatesdelights]

The Oracle at Delphi

[along-the-silkroad]

Golden aureus of Marcus Aurelius, Rome, c. 171-172 CE. British Museum (ID: R.12617)

[wordsmithic]

❁ Romantic Greek Words for Nature and Affection ❁

Please note that the full and/or root words mentioned here, like most Greek words, are still in use since antiquity. As a Greek speaker, I love sharing my interesting language with people like you! ❁

1. σύζυγος (sízighos, n)

Spouse. Lit.: Someone who is "yoked" with you, in the sense of a shared life or union.

From συν- (prefix “with”) + ζεύγνυμι (to yoke).

2. ανθορροώ (anthoroō, v)

To bloom. Lit. Τo flow with flowers.

From άνθος (flower) + ρέω (flow").

3. αξιολάτρευτος (axiolátreftos, adj)

Adorable. Lit. "Worship-worthy"

From ἄξιος (worthy) + λατρεύω (to worship).

4. θρόισμα (thróisma, n)

The root θρόισ- (throís-) is related to a sound, often associated with soft, continuous noises, like the soft rustling of leaves.

From θροΐζω (to rustle, to murmur)

5. κελάρυσμα (kelárisma, n)

It’s used for the sound of flowing or murmuring water, typically a quiet or soothing sound. It can also describe a quiet, melodic sound, like that of a distant song or melody.

From κελάρω ("to murmur" or "to hum" (often used for sounds like the murmur of water or soft singing).

6. προκυμαία (prokiméa, n)

Lit. "She-which-is-before-the-waves". Refers to the structure extending into the water before the waves. Used for: Dock, quay.

From πρό (before) + κύμα (wave)

��� ━ My masterpost with similar posts on Greek Language ━ ▣

[chthonic-sorcery]

🚩🚩"Witch/Pagan" community PSA 🚩🚩

Goêteia is not evil, you dipshits.

I'm so sick of these neo-pagans getting all their information from Tumblr, Pinterest and TikTok.

Goêteia is literally just the Greek term for magic, for sorcery, which were one and the same.

Ancient Greece didn't have the word "witchcraft" it had Goêteia, and then later mageia, where we get our modern term magic from, although mageia was a misappropriated term from Zoroastrian priests or Magi.

It's so funny seeing baby witches claim Goêteia to be evil on one hand, then on the other worshipping Hekate, literally the goddess of Goêteia. The goddess of sorcerers and necromancy.

It screams puritanical morality policing. It's such a christian-centered way of looking at ancient religion.

Y'all need to open a damn book.

Goêteia was described as a "lesser" form of magic (mainly in the later Medieval period, roughly starting around the 8th century,) not meaning any less powerful, just simply the easiest or "closest" thus "lower" magic to achieve. This ability to more easily achieve success in magic was later taken and used by christian theologians to paint goêteia and Goêtes as "lesser practitioners."

There does seem to be little difference between Theurgy and goêteia as well,

Surprise!

Both Goêteia and Theurgy sharing the same goddamn workings through evocations of gods, the animation of statues, mediumship or what could be considered "divine possession" having a god or spirit speak through you, the use of iynx wheels / iynges, and mystery rites.

The only 'real' difference Theurgists claim, is that they "don't practice secularly/for selfish reasons" but supposedly rather to become closer to the divine. It's a nice sentiment, but total bullshit, because even in the Theurgic doctrine the Chaldean Oracles they bind the goddess Hekate to do their will.

Additionally, Theurgists had a more Neoplatonic belief, they essentially viewed a singular Oneness as supreme, the emanation from which all things return, a concept which was picked up by early christian theologians and is likely why while Goêtes were demonized in the later centuries mainly by early christians and christian philosophers, Theurgists on the other hand were seen as "pure" and "holier" despite Theurgical and Goêteic practices being pretty much exactly the same down to the tools and incantations.

(Agustine of Hippo for an example of these theologians, who wrote in "De civitate Dei contra Paganos", or "On the City of God Against the Pagans" how all "pagan" (non christian) gods and beliefs were secretly agents of Satan and evil, here to trick humanity into sin and that paganism, essentially any non christian faith, must be stopped–

He also wrote about how sorcerers/magicians (Goêtes) were charlatans, tricksters, that magic and sorcery were merely tricks of an invisible opposition to the divine and how only god could hold such supreme power. These ideas still seem to be deeply embedded into christian faith, particularly Orthodox and Evangelical, today.)

Practitioners of goêteia, the Goēs, was also understood to have the ability to initiate souls into mystery religions, or, in other words, to ensure through his superior knowledge of the Underworld and its workings that the souls under his care would receive preferential treatment after death, an easier way to paradise, such as the Orphic Hymns.

This likely also helped "other" the Goēs, as most practitioners of magic, of goêteia, of these mystery cults were made up of societies "unwanted" or marginalized people, such as women, foreigners, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, and the elderly. Early goêtes were described as being Thessalian (primarily women, particularly described as "old or decrepid") or. ethnically, not considered "fully Greek" to many of the era. Many critiques and fears of goêteia come from this "otherness," the fear the ruling classes of Greece had of groups they continued to harm, they feared the power they held within these mystery rites and practices.

With reliable accuracy from these critics, goêtes were (perceived to be) moral transgressors, who operated from the fringe of society in a private mago-mystical setting, offering their service for coin.

Or, in simpler terms, the Greeks were just really fucking racist

which is nothing new.

In fact, because goêteia itself is a synchronization of mainly Egyptian and Jewish magic, the Greeks and later christians went extra-hard into villifying it because they saw these people as lesser, as barbaric.

We have to understand where the fears and judgements of these critics were coming from, and continue to remain impartial. The ruling elite feared these practices because they feared losing their power, especially rich Greek men, and those early christian philosophers who saw everything outside their own faith as lies, manipulations, or tricks from "the Opposition" as well as the extremely racist and ethnocentric beliefs they held.

[aphroditedevotion]

Venus and Mars.

Where I live currently both Venus are Mars are visible tonight,

Glory to Lady Aphrodite and Lord Ares blessed lovers as they are.

[thetelesterion]

I wish more people could understand that the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece were not just fictional characters that they wrote stories and plays and songs about. They were part of their religion. They were worshipped, prayed to, given sacrifices. The temples were not just there for looks. They were functioning aspects of the religious fabric of the Greek world.

[book-of-forbidden-knowledge]

Magic in Ancient Greece: An Introduction

I have seen some people claim that magic or witchcraft did not exist in Ancient Greece. This is not the case. So, I thought I'd take the opportunity to introduce you all to the strange and wonderful world of Ancient Greek magic!

First, what do we mean by "magic"? Radcliffe Edmonds, one of the leading scholars on Ancient Greek magic, defines "magic" as "non-normative ritual behavior." In short, what makes something magic, and not just normal religion, is that people in a given culture think it's weird. The word "magic" itself refers to the magi, Zoroastrian priests — the Ancient Greeks thought they did magic because to them, Zoroastrianism was foreign and weird. They also thought that Ancient Egyptians could do magic for the same reason — what the Greeks thought was spooky magic was just normal religion in Egypt. Within their own culture, magic was basically heteropraxic religion. Magic was not considered hubristic, at least not inherently.

There are multiple Ancient Greek words that refer to magic. The word μάγος, magos, itself means "magician" or "charlatan." There's also γοητεία, goetia, usually translated as "sorcery." The word most often translated as "witchcraft" is φαρμακεία, pharmakeia, the use of drugs or herbs to transform or influence people. This is what Medea and Circe do.

One of our best sources on Ancient Greek magic is the Greek Magical Papyri, or PGM, a set of magical texts from Hellenistic Egypt. When I first learned about it, I thought it was too good to be true, but here it is: uncorrupted ancient pagan magic! Essentially, the PGM is one of the oldest known grimoires, and the ancestor of the entire Western magical tradition. The papyri contain spells and rituals for almost every purpose: curses, love spells, divination, dream oracles, summoning daimones, necromancy, even full mystical rites. Most of them include invocations to various gods, which are heavily syncretic. Helios/Apollo (treated interchangeably) is invoked the most often. Aphrodite appears pretty often, too. Hekate-Artemis-Selene-Persephone (conflated with a whole bunch of other chthonic goddesses, including Ereshkigal) has her own set of spells. You'll even find the names of Egyptian gods and Hebrew angels in there.

One of the most common features in PGM spells is voces magicae or barbarous names, nonsense words that are supposed to be the secret names of the gods, which give you the authority to call them up. They act almost like a written form of glossolalia. Most are supposed to be spoken or chanted aloud. Some sound like actual names, or are well-known magical epithets like ABRASAX. Some are just strings of Greek vowels. Some of them are palindromic; there's lots of spells that use the "abracadabra" disappearing-letter-triangle format. There's also charakteres, apparently-meaningless magical symbols, the distant ancestor of modern sigils.

Another major source for Ancient Greek magic are defixiones or katadesmoi, curse tablets. They're little lead leafs called lamellae, which are inscribed with curses and then deposited in wells, graves, and other chthonic places. Thousands of them have been found.

Here's the text of a curse tablet that invokes Hekate and Hermes Kthonios (copied from Curse Tablets and Binding Spells from the Ancient World by John G. Gager):

Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia Let Pherenikos be bound before Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia. I bind Pherenikos’ [girl] Galene to Hermes Khthonios and to Hekate Khthonia I bind [her]. And just as this lead is worthless and cold, so let that man and his property be worthless and cold, and those who are with him who have spoken and counseled concerning me. Let Thersilochos, Oinophilos, Philotios, and any other supporter of Pherenikos be bound before Hermes Khthonios and Hekate Khthonia. Also Pherenikos’ soul and mind and tongue and plans and the things that he is doing and the things that he is planning concerning me. May everything be contrary for him and for those counseling and acting with…

Another curse tablet, which invokes Hekate to punish thieves, includes a drawing of her and charakteres. This is how she's depicted:

From Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in the Ancient World by John G. Gager

It's supposed to be a woman with three heads and six raised arms, but to me it looks like Cthulhu, which is honestly appropriate.

There was a very fine line between love spells and curses in Ancient Greece. Some love spells in the PGM call upon the spirits of the dead and chthonic gods to torture a poor girl until she submits to the magician. Just as many defixiones attempt to forcefully bind a lover. But there's another, gentler kind of love spell described by Theocritus in Idylls, in which a witch named Simaetha invokes the Moon and Hekate and uses an iynx wheel to make a man love her.

If you want to know how to apply all of this in modern practice, I'm still working that one out. I've found the PGM very hard to adapt, because a lot of its requirements are dangerous or impractical. Many of its spells require gross ingredients worthy of the Scottish play, or plants that scholars can't identify, or procedures that I don't plan on attempting. And if you haven't noticed by now, most of them fly in the face of modern magical ethics. (Don't let anyone tell you that the gods will punish you for doing baneful magic, because that's clearly bullshit.) On the other hand, Crowley adapted his Bornless Ritual almost word-for-word from PGM V. 96—172. So far, the best resource I've found on modernizing Ancient Greek magic is The Hekataeon by Jack Grayle. Its material is clearly historically-inspired, but still doable, and spiritually relevant. I really recommend getting it if you have the means, especially if you have an interest in Hekate specifically. I'm happy to have it as a model for how to adapt ancient magic for myself in the future. To me, it strikes the perfect balance between historically-informed and witchy, which is right where I want to be.

If you can't access that one, here's some other books I recommend:

Drawing Down the Moon: Magic in the Ancient Greco-Roman World by Radcliffe G. Edmonds III: An introduction to Ancient Greek magic, both scholarly and accessible. It covers the definitions and contexts of magic, curses, love spells, divination, theurgy, philosophy, basically everything you need to know.

The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation by Hans Dieter Betz: The definitive English edition of the PGM. A must if you plan to study ancient magic in-depth, especially as a practitioner.

Curse Tablets and Binding Spells in the Ancient World by John G. Gager: An English edition of the texts of many curse tablets.

Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds by Daniel Ogden: a sourcebook of ancient literature concerning magic.

The Golden Ass by Apuleius: A Roman novel about a man who is turned into a donkey by a witch. A very entertaining story, also our source for "Cupid and Psyche" and one of the best sources on the Mysteries of Isis that we have.

Ancient Magic: A Practitioners Guide to the Supernatural in Ancient Greece and Rome by Philip Matyszak: A simple and straightforward introduction to Ancient Greek magic, less scholarly but very easy to follow and directed at practitioners.