Hellenic Polytheism

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[ChildOfDiomedes]

I know I am interested in Hellenic Polytheism, although raised christian. I am young but very intellectual I am considered to be somewhat advanced for my age. My question would have to be what god should be my patron god? The god I most feel closest to is Hades, master of Erebus and Husband of Persephone. The second is the goddess of war and wisdom Athena  I wish to learn how to fully be pagan and loyal to Hades or Athena, yet respect the gods and not be cursed. I have studied the history of Ancient greece along with the epic of Homer and I know the gods that took part in the great Trojan war. My favorite hero from the war of Troy is Diomedes, Favoured by Athena, fought immortals and lived, and who's only human match was great Achilles. Although Zeus, Hera, Athena, and apollo are the usual patron gods to other hellenic polytheists, I would like to worship and know Hades. I hope my aid from you will someday help me walk the Elysian fields. Or also dare say Isles of the blessed where all great men dwell. I also have a small interest in Norse gods. I don't know really what gods to worship, seeking help.



                    "The man who fights the gods does not live long"
                      -Dione mother of Aphrodite after Diomedes wounds
                          Aphrodite.
                       

[fiamma]

I know I am interested in Hellenic Polytheism, although raised christian. I am young but very intellectual I am considered to be somewhat advanced for my age. My question would have to be what god should be my patron god? The god I most feel closest to is Hades, master of Erebus and Husband of Persephone. The second is the goddess of war and wisdom Athena  I wish to learn how to fully be pagan and loyal to Hades or Athena, yet respect the gods and not be cursed. I have studied the history of Ancient greece along with the epic of Homer and I know the gods that took part in the great Trojan war. My favorite hero from the war of Troy is Diomedes, Favoured by Athena, fought immortals and lived, and who's only human match was great Achilles. Although Zeus, Hera, Athena, and apollo are the usual patron gods to other hellenic polytheists, I would like to worship and know Hades. I hope my aid from you will someday help me walk the Elysian fields. Or also dare say Isles of the blessed where all great men dwell. I also have a small interest in Norse gods. I don't know really what gods to worship, seeking help.



                    "The man who fights the gods does not live long"
                      -Dione mother of Aphrodite after Diomedes wounds
                          Aphrodite.
                       

Hello....there are several Hellenic polytheists of varying flavors here...have you checked out the Hellenic SIG? Definitely a good place to start looking and posting.

As far as patron gods...no one can tell you for sure but you and the gods. There are many views on the subject of patron gods.

Some good places to start reading, aside from this forum (and, like I said, the Hellenic SIG in particular)

http://sponde.com
http://www.theoi.com (the best Greek mythology site in existence, to my knowledge....you'll be here for hours.)
http://www.winterscapes.com/
http://www.winterscapes.com/sannion/  (this is not a mistype, I did mean to post these separately)

[fiamma]

I don't know really what gods to worship, seeking help.

Specifically, in what are you seeking help? Knowing which gods to worship? Honestly, no one can tell you that but you and the gods.

Have you tried meditation? Prayer? Reading about the gods? Have you started worshiping any? Had any sense of being called to any in particular? You mention Hades and Athena. what is it about them that makes you feel closest to them? Have you just found their myths interesting or have you had any personal experience with either one?

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Athena.html
http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Haides.html

[Star]

Welcome to the Cauldron!

I know I am interested in Hellenic Polytheism, although raised christian. I am young but very intellectual I am considered to be somewhat advanced for my age. My question would have to be what god should be my patron god?

Fiamma's got some great advice, but I wanted to add a couple of thoughts...

First off, don't feel like you have to have a patron.  It's not a requirement by any means.    If you don't feel particularly drawn to a specific deity, then there's no need to seek one out just for the sake of having a patron.

Second, I'm wondering from your message if your problem is also partly "who should I follow, Athena or Hades".  If that's the case...  Unless one or the other (or both) of Them are putting up resistance to the idea, you don't necessarily have to choose.  Provided They're both OK with it, there's no rule that says you can only have one patron. 

And this caught my eye in your post too:

Although Zeus, Hera, Athena, and apollo are the usual patron gods to other hellenic polytheists, I would like to worship and know Hades.

Whatever you wind up doing, I recommend against choosing a patron just because they're popular.  Just because those deities have more people running around saying, "I follow THIS god!" doesn't mean that you also have to choose one of them as your patron.  My advice is to choose based on which deities you feel a connection to or a call from, not based on who everyone else is following.

[Melamphoros]

I'd like to start off by saying welcome to The Cauldron.

I second the advice the previous posters and I will give more once I can think coherently (just got out of bed).

[ChildOfDiomedes]

I have friction to deciding inbetween Hades and Athena because im closer with hades, ever since I've learned mythology even from a christian veiwpoint when I learned that mythology Hades was my favorite god. But recently I feel drawn to Hades, the only reason I have doubts is because Athena, who sponsored my favorite hero  Diomedes, seems more active in her worshipper's prayers. But I feel Hades because he seems to me one of the most powerful of gods and has never been provoked to prove it. He commands all the shades that dwell in Tartarus, and has the helm of invisibilty he can be anywhere and see anything and know it. I realize he probally will give diffrent dreams than the other gods, being used to things that many people now are so afraid of. I would like to be loyal to Hades enough to be blessed. I have a foolish want to be a Champion of Hades as So many heros were champions to Athena. Of course that is silly and foolish. But I want to worship him well enough to be familiar with him and him familiar with me.  And I dont know if hades would allow me to worship other gods than him if I am so strong in worshipping him in the beginning of my new belief.

[Melamphoros]

I have friction to deciding inbetween Hades and Athena because im closer with hades, ever since I've learned mythology even from a christian veiwpoint when I learned that mythology Hades was my favorite god. But recently I feel drawn to Hades, the only reason I have doubts is because Athena, who sponsored my favorite hero  Diomedes, seems more active in her worshipper's prayers. But I feel Hades because he seems to me one of the most powerful of gods and has never been provoked to prove it. He commands all the shades that dwell in Tartarus, and has the helm of invisibilty he can be anywhere and see anything and know it. I realize he probally will give diffrent dreams than the other gods, being used to things that many people now are so afraid of. I would like to be loyal to Hades enough to be blessed. I have a foolish want to be a Champion of Hades as So many heros were champions to Athena. Of course that is silly and foolish. But I want to worship him well enough to be familiar with him and him familiar with me.  And I dont know if hades would allow me to worship other gods than him if I am so strong in worshipping him in the beginning of my new belief.

Well, do you feel as drawn to Athena as you do Hades?  I admit that I don't know Hades well, but he might let you worship other gods.  I suggest following some of the advice already given and try preform rituals and prayers and see if anyone responds.  You may get an answer.

[ChildOfDiomedes]

Thank you guys for all the support. I have prayed.. somewhat, to hades. I'm looking up info on what to sacrifice, and I dont have any figures or anything I dont have an altar, and im having to keep things quiet, my parents would go crazy and my family, telling them im a hellenic polytheist wont tell them anything, in their ears i said "im a pagan" and they it would be like me telling them i do cyrstal meth (i dont its wrong). And i dont have transport freely so I cant really get books or buy things. I will start the rituals and I have prayed. Like i said im getting things in perspective, what to sacrifice to hades, trying to figure out what a good decent prayer is to hades. I really don't know what my relationship with Athena is, I am not a fool, She is a great goddess that has done much for mankind. But my relationship with hades is just, iron I want to worship him and sacrifice to him and even if I can have a dream from him, bad or good would be a sign.

[fiamma]

Thank you guys for all the support. I have prayed.. somewhat, to hades. I'm looking up info on what to sacrifice, and I dont have any figures or anything I dont have an altar, and im having to keep things quiet, my parents would go crazy and my family, telling them im a hellenic polytheist wont tell them anything, in their ears i said "im a pagan" and they it would be like me telling them i do cyrstal meth (i dont its wrong). And i dont have transport freely so I cant really get books or buy things. I will start the rituals and I have prayed. Like i said im getting things in perspective, what to sacrifice to hades, trying to figure out what a good decent prayer is to hades. I really don't know what my relationship with Athena is, I am not a fool, She is a great goddess that has done much for mankind. But my relationship with hades is just, iron I want to worship him and sacrifice to him and even if I can have a dream from him, bad or good would be a sign.

give it time, relationships with the gods don't develop overnight. If you can't have a large, open altar, it's ok. You can still pray and meditate on the gods. You can still make offerings (One of the most common traditional offerings is a libation...all you need for that is something to drink and a small bit of ground to pour it on. Water is one of the most common libations, and it's definitely easy to come by. You can pour it out and simply say "for *insert deity name* or you can say a prayer along with it.)

If you can get to a grocery store though, barley is another traditional offering and is very inexpensive (where I live, it's generally less than a dollar for a bag). Is there somewhere that you can set up a candle and a small bowl to make offerings? You don't need big expensive statues. If you have access to a printer, you can find images on http://www.theoi.com or on google's image search and print them out and put them in a small frame, or glue them to cardboard to make them a little sturdier. You could get a small box and use it for an altar, and when not in use, you can store these things inside the box

If not, don't sweat it. There's still plenty that you can do, like writing hymns or essays in honor of your gods. Or just paying attention to your surroundings and the things that remind you of them. What's most important is your sincerity and willingness to do what you are able to do. If you're truly limited to offering them water and writing some prayers, they're probably not going to beat you up for it (too much... :-P They might come up with some interesting ideas as to how you might serve them though.)

One of the most important things I think you can do though, is to learn as much as you can about the gods- talk to other people, there's plenty of forums and email groups all over the web. Read books- one of the things that is very fortunate for folks practicing Hellenic religion is that there is so much information about it, and who is going to question you for reading a history or mythology book? Heck, if your parents see it, they might mistake it for school work (and if you are studying ancient Greek history or mythology in school, then it could even be helpful to your work.) That and spend time with them- talk to them. Listen to them. They may be subtle, they may be explicit. They might be both.

Make like Nike and just do it, in time, things will fall into place.

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