Could Solon Solve Our Economic Crisis?

Class warfare isn't unique to America. The rich and poor have really never gotten along, and have had periods when they are ready to literally start throwing punches, especially when an economy deteriorates into those who have it all and those who have nothing. When the middle class vanishes, the society fractures. It's why Plutarch said that an imbalance between rich and poor is the most common and fatal error of all republics.

In our current political and economic atmosphere in the United States, we once again have the extremes that Athens faced some 2,500 years ago. We have the extremely rich and the extremely poor, and those in power and society who are for the rich or for the poor. Really no one stands on middle ground anymore. But in ancient Athens, one famous Reformer and Lawgiver seems to have done such a good job with these issues that his face was hung inside the United States House of Representatives, although it remains to be seen as to whether or not our government will ever live by his example. His name was Solon, someone who loved the Gods and the people.

He himself was not poor, but he also wasn't dishonest, deceitful or uncaring, which is why the poor loved and trusted him to improve their society. He did not make it illegal to be rich. He allowed success. But he also didn't permit it to be gained through the oppression or destruction of others. He forgave the debts of the poor and outlawed slavery as a condition for repaying debt, as was a custom at the time. In other words, no one could any longer turn you into an involuntary servant just because you owed money. He also repealed the harsh Draco Laws. These laws gave the death penalty even for minor offenses, which probably impacted the poor more than anyone else. Finally, he gave all citizens a voice in the government and established a kind of Athenian congress known as the Boule. Solon literally made life livable for all people.

Last night, I was thinking about how Solon would handle the situation today in the United States, which is much like the one he faced so long ago. What if the best way to handle our social and economic problems is not to destroy one side or the other, but to simply institute and enforce humanitarianism and civilized justice? And more so, has our country lost those two things? I think it has. We have become so obsessed with success and wealth that we actually devalue and exploit people who don't have it. The imbalance that Plutarch called the fatal error of all republics is growing by the day, and we are far past the declaration of war between the two classes; it's already raging.

Perhaps Solon would tell us to be humane and fair, that the best way to solve our problems is to simply give everyone the best quality of life possible. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Why Are Greeks Returning To The Ancient Gods?

Pagan and Polytheistic revivals are popping up all over the world, and Greece isn't an exception. More and more Greeks, perhaps slowly but also surely, are returning to the worship of the Gods of their ancestors, aka the Greek Gods. While it's important for Hellenists and Pagans to celebrate, it's equally important to know and understand the reasoning behind this emerging societal shift. It will help us understand our past, be solid in the present, and push on into the future.

Recently, I went online and caught up with Vlassis G. Rassias, a leading spokesperson in Athens, Greece for the modern ancient Greek religious movement and founder of the YSEE (Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes), to ask him what he thinks about the resurgence. According to him, when freedom and democracy began to regain a foothold in Greece in the 80's after the nightmarish military dictatorship of 1967-1974, the ethnic Greeks began to resurface. In fact, he said, religious freedom had been oppressed ever since the formation of the Neo-Greek Christian State in the 1830's after Greece won independence from the Ottomans. In short, a serious lack of oppression has allowed the ancient religion to come back. I finished by asking Vlassis about his personal devotion and what brought him to ancient Greek religion. According to him, the final straw came in 1976 when a Christian monk literally smashed apart the statue of Zeus outside the Ministry of Education in Athens. Thus began his rebuking of Christianity and his allegiance to the ethnic religion of Greece.

I noticed that in talking with Vlassis, two things stand out. One, that Greeks are returning to the old Gods because they are now free to do so, and two, they have seen what the Christian church has done and wants to do to Greece. They are realizing that their ancestors were converted by force, which was still being applied in the late 20th Century. This realization, I think, also makes people realize they have been lied to and enslaved by the present establishment, and it makes them want to seek their true identities that were taken from them. To this day, ancient Greek religion continues to grow, with 5,000 to 10,000 in Greece (which can't account for the number of people who may still be in hiding), and among the Pagans of America that number over 1 million, there are certainly many who worship the Greek Gods as well, if not exclusively like myself.

I feel I should include my own self in the topic as well, since I am also a Greek Polytheist. Although I'm not from Greece, I am still part of the ancient Greek religious movement abroad. In spirit, mind and deed, I am certainly a Hellene. Of course, mostly everyone knows of my conversion story from 2009, when the Greek Gods answered my prayers in the time of my family's greatest need, but I can also relate to the things said by Vlassis. I grew up Christian, and learning about how so many parts of the world had been forced into conversion, lessened my trust in the church and the religion. Not to mention the persistence, especially in the southern states, of trying to force Christianity on everyone, whether they wanted to accept it or not. There was still, of course, freedom of religion, at least on paper. But many parts of society and even the state and local government officials don't always want to respect it. Then, of course, there's the simple fact that Christianity just isn't the right religion for many people.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.

Heinrich Schliemann Converted To Hellenism On His Death Bed

Heinrich Schliemann was the 19th century archaeologist who proved to humanity that the world of Homer existed when he unearthed the ruins of Troy and Mycenae. Being born and raised in Germany, he was no doubt heavily steeped in Christianity, but he also developed a great love for the ancient stories of Greece, especially Homer's Iliad. Becoming obsessed with it, he declared that one day he would set out and prove to everyone that the Age of Heroes and the legendary citadel were real. 

Archaeologists and historians of his time laughed at him, being sure that Troy was barely even a myth. But around 1871, on a deserted plain in northwest Turkey, following the details in Homer's writings, Schliemann and his workers began digging and eventually brought to the surface the ruins of Troy and its many levels throughout its ancient life. Although some of his statements and conclusions about the site were inaccurate, such as the mistaken dating of the Treasure of Priam, the site itself was irrefutable proof that there was a Bronze Age city on this spot, and that it perished in war. Other scholars didn't even believe anything existed there at all before Schliemann. So his career was far more successful than the willful ignorance that would have remained with archaeology had he not pursued his visions.

Heinrich loved travel and exploration, and he learned several languages throughout his life, including Greek. It seems that the more and more he pursued his dream of finding the world of Homer, the more he fell in love with ancient Greek religion itself. He married his final wife, Sophia, in 1869. She was a Greek Christian, but Schliemann wasn't too enthralled with the idea of raising his children in her religion. He didn't even give his children Christian or modern names. Rather, he gave them the ancient Homeric names of Andromache and Agamemnon. It took a lot of consideration for him to allow his wife to finally baptize the children, and even at the ceremony, Schliemann placed a copy of the Iliad upon them and recited lines from the text.

1890 would be the last year of Schliemann's life. He developed a growth in his ear, which he underwent surgery for back home in Germany. Although the doctors initially declared that they had removed the infection and growth, it's obvious that they either didn't get it all, or it returned following Schliemann's reluctance to stay in bed. He instead continued his work, which he pursued until he could no longer stand. As he lay dying, as with many people, the thoughts of religion and prayer came to mind, but he was fighting to decide whether he should pray to the Christian god, or to Zeus. In a final letter to his son, however, he wrote "I pray" that Father Zeus and Pallas Athene will give you many days of happiness throughout your life. The official cause of death was cholesteatoma. Schliemann was buried in Athens, Greece in a magnificent ancient Greek style tomb. His body still rests there today in the First Cemetery. 

Schliemann's final religion was never officially listed as Hellenism or Hellenic Polytheism, but it's obvious to me that he made his choice as to who he would pray in his final days.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris Aldridge.

Work Cited:

Durant, Will, The Life of Greece, Simon and Schuster INC, New York, 1939. Print. (pp. 25-26).

The Enduring Faith of an Ancient Greek

Last night, I was going through new background art for my website. I enjoy bright and positive images for my religion and life, so I was very much drawn to the ruins of ancient Greek temples in the daytime. Although I found some worth using, at first I didn't really grow to like them on my background. I thought I should use something that shows more of the active Hellenic religion of today, instead of the ruins of the past. However, I came to realize that the ruined temples make a huge statement that I don't think many people think about.

In the past, there have been times when I've posted pictures of completely ruined sanctuaries or temple grounds on Facebook, often consisting of nothing more than a few scattered stones, and said, I would rather worship here than at the biggest cathedrals. In other words, I'd rather be here among these ruins, praying to the Gods with a few of my brothers and sisters of Hellas, than to be in a giant Christian church supported by millions of followers. Ancient Greek religious followers in Greece today still idealize worshiping at old temple sites, although from what I have heard, the state wants to charge them a significant fee to do so. This, of course, is absurd. They wouldn't charge Christians to go to church, so why charge the Hellenes to worship at their own temples that their ancestors built for that specific purpose?

Worshiping at, or displaying ruined sites, as a Hellene, has a profound message and realization for Hellenes and the world. No matter how much ruin their temple is in, the Hellene will still go there willingly and lovingly, and pray to the God it represents. Whether there are a hundred shining columns or a few rugged ones leaning over in the loose soil, the presence of heaven still radiates there for the Hellene. The faith of an ancient Greek is unconquerable. For us, it doesn't matter what the temple looks like now, or how many worshipers still choose to come there. The Gods never die, and we know this. They are still as real and glorious today as when their temples were the wonders of the world; humans and time don't change this factor.

I came to realize that the ancient ruins are not symbols of something which is dead, but rather, something which can never be killed; the Gods and the spirit that resides within every one of their followers. The ruins do not represent something which has passed, but rather, they stand as a reminder that the ancient Greek spirit shall never leave the Earth.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris Aldridge.

How To Build An Outside Sanctuary That Will Withstand The Elements

For 2.5 years, my Sanctuary of Artemis has stood completely unmoved without cement, glue or nails, despite the fact that the area gets heavy snow and ice in the winter, and hard and powerful rain and wind storms in the spring and summer. You too can build these kinds of natural worship areas with little labor and low cost. All you need is a little land and personal drive.

Step One: In ancient Greece, sanctuaries were sometimes built in caves, which no doubt provided amazing protection. This did not go unnoticed by me when I built my own sanctuary. I chose sturdy terrain and surrounding buildings. As you can see from the first picture on the left, the sanctuary is basically in a cave-like area. The only fully open direction is the front, or the entrance where the sunlight mostly penetrates. The back, left and right are all cut off by bigger, stronger structures, like my house on the right, my concrete carport behind, and another building on the left that isn't my own. It sits on other property, but is still close enough to protect the smaller structures around it. The sanctuary has no doubt been spared natural destruction in its past because of these factors. The other nice thing is that it provides you with a good level of privacy when you want to go there to worship, pray, sacrifice, or just be alone for a while. So step one is to surround the sanctuary with naturally stronger things. These can be as complex as buildings, or as simple as large trees. Something that is left completely out in the open, is going to get hit by everything around.

Step Two: I employed the soil of Earth Herself to help me stand the structures of the sanctuary. The column in the center that holds the statue of Artemis is actually nothing but a hard and hollow plastic, very light weight. So how does it stay in place without cement or something extremely heavy on top? Answer: soil. In the picture on the right, you will notice the base of the column. The very bottom platform of the column is completely buried by dirt and mud. When the soil was loose and wet, I dug a hole big enough to place the base of the column in, then I packed it extremely with the surrounding mud. Once it dried and hardened, the column basically became part of the ground itself. It's hard to move the ground unless there's an earthquake.

Step Three: Simply put, make sure the vital structures are made for outside, or can at least hold up in such natural conditions. My statue of Artemis is made of pure bronze, and while that may sound expensive and toilsome to carry, it's not at all. I believe the statue was a little over $100 when I bought it, and it's not anymore than 5 or 6 pounds, I'm certain. Yet it's heavy enough to not be moved easily, and strong enough to not be broken down by natural weather. Combine this with the natural footings and the protections of a cave, and you have an amazingly strong sanctuary. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,
and Blessings to you all, my friends,

Chris Aldridge.

How Monotheists Created Make-Believe History

We all know the stories of the persecution of Polytheistic cultures at the hands of Monotheism, but what I want to talk about is something rarely noticed, and because it's so easily missed, the campaign against Polytheism continues to gain ground in the academics even of today.

As followers of ancient religions, one thing that puts us at a disadvantage today is the fact that our ancient literature is translated not by people like us, but by Christians or other forms of Abrahamic religion. Not only was there an attempt to wipe the old cultures from the Earth, there was and still is a revision of history by the conquerors.

Yesterday, I came across a copy of Plato's dialogues, a book of "complete works." This copy, however, was quite old, published in 1960. I picked the book up and started looking through the pages because I simply adore old literature, especially if it's from my religion and culture. I thought I would have a nice morning with some light reading of The Apology from this particular publication. For those of you who don't know, this dialogue is the defense of Socrates against the false charges levied against him by his prosecutors. It's certainly one of the most noted of Plato's writings. Any student of Socrates no doubt has this dialogue come to mind when his name is mentioned.

I didn't even get a few pages into it before I noticed clear religious errors in the translations. These were repeated, which means they were not mistakes. Of course, as per usual, it centered around the continued insistence that Socrates was a Monotheist and didn't believe in the Greek Gods, something we now know is a lie but that some continue to propagate even now. When Socrates talked about his mission from Apollo as given to him by the Delphic Oracle, the text kept omitting from Socrates' speech the word "the" before "God." So for example, the text quoted him as saying, "only God is wise." When in actuality, he said, "only the God is wise," meaning Apollo. That simple omission by modern writers and translations is something few people really notice, but it's one of the simple ways that modern mainstream theology sways history into its worldview, thus continuing to hold rule over the religious and theological minds of the people.

Monotheism counts on people being too simple to research what they see at face value. Socrates was a devout Hellenic Polytheist. He declared himself to be on a mission from Apollo to enlighten the Greeks, and that he would NOT give up this mission even at the cost of his own life. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't believe in the Greek Gods. That sounds like someone who has the utmost devotion and dedication, as well as assurance in his belief. Just because he may have rebelled against some of the social norms of his time, doesn't mean he renounced the Gods of his people and culture. For example, the American colonists completely rebelled against England, but many of them were still Christians just like the British soldiers marching against them. The Americans didn't consider themselves to be fighting against Jesus even though they routinely shot at the flag that displayed his symbol. Theology and social ideal are not necessarily dependent on each other. Needless to say, I placed a post-a-note on the cover that said, "Inaccurate Translations."

History, it is often said, is a craft of the presenter. There's a lot of talk these days about "fake news." I don't know about all that, but I do know there is certainly "fake history."

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris.

America's Pagan Heritage

While many either like to ignore, or simply don't know its reality, America's Pagan heritage is abundantly clear. In this post, I hope to reveal that reality to a wide range of American readers. This is a topic I have wanted to cover and share for a very long time because I hear so many people in our country trying to say that America is only meant for one kind of people and culture, when in fact we have always been a pluralistic nation for everyone from everywhere.

Take a look at the picture to your left. What is that? That's the US capitol. In fact, the House of Representatives, White House and many other government buildings and courthouses have this ancient Greek and Roman architecture, and the reason we mirror it is because ancient Greece was the first democracy and ancient Rome was the first republic. If you take a stroll inside our House of Representatives, you will see the faces of many historical lawmakers throughout the world's history on the wall where our lawmakers meet, among them being the Greek Polytheists Solon of Athens and Lycurgus of Sparta. The cradle of Western Civilization has always been in the hands of the ancient Greeks in so many ways.

What about this picture to your right? Surely you know what that is, right? It's the Statue of Liberty. But have you ever asked yourself, who is the statue depicting? The person you see is Libertas, the Roman Goddess of liberty. Speaking of New York, have you ever been to the amazing Grand Central Station? If not, pictures of it can be easily googled. Above the entrance, a God stands with a winged hat and a caduceus. He is Hermes, the Greek God of Travel and the Patron of Travelers. Some would also interpret Him to be Mercury, the Roman God. Several other statues of Greek Gods can be found at notable places around our nation, such as the golden Prometheus at Rockefeller Center.

Take a look at the picture to the left. Recognize that? It's the famous Washington Monument, which was built in honor of the commander of the colonial army against British tyranny in the American Revolution, George Washington. He was, of course, also our first official president of the new United States nation. It stands amazingly over 500 feet tall. It's definitely not something that would be easy to miss, but a lot of people probably don't know that the structure is an ancient Egyptian obelisk. The ancient Egyptians were among the most religious people in the world's history, and they worshiped the well-known Egyptian pantheon. The obelisk is considered one of ancient Egypt's most popular religious structures, one of their functions being to commemorate Egyptian spirituality and religion. 

Many Americans and westerners don't realize it, but if all of the Pagan heritage was taken away, there would be very little left. We stand upon the values and images of the ancient world, and I think it's time to, one, realize that truth, and two, understand that we can all live together without trying to push one another out for the sake of dominance. America is for you as well as me and everyone else. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris.

Artemis Is Not A Vegetarian, An Abortionist, or A Man-Hater

Some people in the modern Pagan community (though not the norm), are ripe with their own versions of the ancient Gods, which in itself isn't a bad thing. But when they basically create their own Gods and give them ancient names and images, that's when I find myself compelled to say something. One of the most common of these has to do with Artemis. She's one of the most commonly-adopted Deities by Neo-Pagans and Wiccans. While these people are a minority in the community, there are still Pagans who want to start a culture, gender or race war within Paganism. Therefore, being a historical Hellenist and someone who has worshiped and studied Artemis since 2009, I want to set the record straight about the Goddess. These are not opinions, these are facts of religious and cultural Greek history.

Claim #1 - Artemis Is Against Hunting

The argument that Artemis is against hunting or meat eating should, in and of itself, be an obvious ridiculousness from the start. She's the Goddess of the Hunt. The first sentence of the Homeric Hymn to Artemis calls Her the "slayer of stags," and talks about her chasing and striking down the wild beasts. To say that Artemis rebukes hunting or opposes the consumption of game that was killed in ancient times specifically for eating, is a blatant historical falsehood.

Claim #2 - Artemis Supports Abortion

Whatever your views on abortion are, that's not the concern here. Not everyone has the same beliefs on the issue. Some are pro-life, some are pro-choice, and some are moderate; I understand that. But to say that Artemis revels in abortion, is simply not supported by anything other than someone's own personal theory. Artemis is the Goddess of childbirth and the protector of infants and children. She carries no historical epithet that refers to Her as an abortive Goddess whatsoever. She fiercely protected the weak and vulnerable. When Atalanta's father threw Her away at birth, it was Artemis who came and saved Her life. Another manifestation of Artemis is the legendary Artemis of Ephesus, which is a multi-breasted form to symbolize Her as "the Great Mother." The ancient Greek religion, in many cases, took a stance against abortion itself in some of its main cultural declarations. For example, the famous physician's Hippocratic Oath, which swears before "all the Gods and Goddesses" to not give an abortion. People in ancient Greek myth who harmed children were also dealt with very severely by the Gods. A good example would be Lycaon, who dismembered a young boy and tried to offer the remains to Zeus, who was so repulsed and offended that He wiped out the entire Bronze Age of Greece.

The historical fact of the matter is simply that Artemis never possessed a title, epithet or function even remotely similar to abortion. Quite the opposite, actually. 

Claim #3 - Artemis Is A Matriarch Who Hates Men

This idea mainly comes from a misunderstanding about Her refusal to take a husband and the death of Actaeon. While She did not marry, She always remained in recognition of the Supremacy of Zeus, the King of all the Gods. In fact, She sought His permission to remain chaste. She did not take it upon Herself to make the decision without Him. She also never decided that She was going to run everything. Zeus was always Her dear Father and the Ultimate Authority. All of the Gods, male and female, called Zeus the King. It wasn't as if the male Gods weren't expected to revere Zeus. The King was the King because He was King. It's that simple. While women worshipers today can find a great deal of independence in Her Divinity, She does not think of Herself as the ultimate ruler, or that She has a natural right to be at the top of the rule because of her gender, as a Matriarch would. The fallacy that people have here is the idea that one must be a gender-supremacist in order to be free, strong and independent. Nothing could be more untrue. One can be those things without crushing the opposite sex. Artemis is strong, powerful, wise, free and independent, but She doesn't try to usurp Zeus as we would think a Matriarch would, nor does She feel that He is a threat to Her own greatness or Her own rule over Her domains. There is no competition or war. To call Artemis a Matriarch, is to basically call Her a sexist, and the Gods are far above such human pettiness. 

As far as the man-hating label She routinely gets tagged with, this comes from the myth that the hunter Actaeon secretly spied on Artemis naked in the forest, and after She spotted him, turned the hunter into a stag and his hounds attacked and killed him. This probably had a far broader ancient meaning. Artemis didn't like sex, and therefore, did not want to be sexualized, and sexualization in those days was largely portrayed between male and female. But Artemis had and still has many male worshipers who show Her proper respects and don't end up on Her bad side. In fact, I built a sanctuary to Her in my yard and She was one of the main Gods I prayed to for help in saving my son's life when he was born prematurely. I am doing fine and so is my boy. I don't think we need to get so caught up in gender that we make everything about gender or sexism. Why can't we be great together?

Conclusion

There's nothing wrong with having UPG in your own private religious life, but to make it a universal declaration of the religion or the Deity, is quite another matter. In closing on this issue, I think back to something Susan B. Anthony once said. "I distrust those who know so well what God wants, because it's always the same as their own desires."

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Chris.

Who Were The Trojans?

We all know the famous story of the Trojan War (City of Troy VII), how the Greeks and Trojans across the sea, fought each other for ten years, until the Greeks, led by Odysseus, tricked the Trojans with the famous Trojan Horse. The story is enshrined in the human imagination, and thanks to Heinrich Schliemann, is also embedded in the books of human history. But who were the Trojans of this time, really? Has that question ever been successfully answered? 

The first possibility is that they were a group of Greeks themselves. The Greeks came from the east and settled in mainland Greece. Troy is also in that direction. Remember, the Greeks had differently named settlements. Homer doesn't even call the invaders of Troy "Greeks," but rather Argives and Achaeans. So it's entirely possible that Troy itself was a Greek settlement, just called by its name instead of identifying with an entire ethnic category. It's also possible that the Trojans were Hittites, as the Hittite Empire was in Asia Minor, which is also where Troy was located. 

Some people think that the Trojans went on to become the Romans. Legend has it that, when Troy fell, a Trojan named Aeneas, fled the city and founded what would become Rome, which, as Karma would have it, later conquered Greece. However, if it's true that the Romans were the remnants of the Trojans, it would be very, very early Rome. Remember, Rome became a mighty empire, and many different bloodlines lived and populated there. Even today, a Roman citizen might not be the same as a Roman even five-hundred years ago. I think it would be very far-fetched to go to Rome today, point to someone and say, "you're a Trojan." I think the Trojan bloodline is basically extinct, that it died out a long time ago, certainly as history knew it.

Who were the Trojans of the famous war? I think the fair answer is that we don't really know. But we do know that there was a Troy, and we know it as a fact because it was excavated by Schliemann, proven to the world, and we do know it was one of the greatest times of Gods and Heroes ever written about in the history of humanity. The brave men on both sides live forever in history and in our hearts.

In the Goodness of the Gods,
Chris.

Did Ancient Egypt REALLY Build Ancient Greece?

As a Hellenic Polytheist, I have grown weary of this absurd claim. Not the claim that Greece borrowed things from its neighbors. It most certainly did. I am weary and sick of the claim that Hellas and Hellenism is nothing but a rip off of Kemet (Egypt) and Kemeticism. So, in this post, I will explain how these two ancient civilizations were fundamentally different. I would like to begin by saying that I have some Kemetic friends, and this is certainly not aimed at attacking them, their religion or their culture. It is aimed at historical honesty and reason. In fact, it may even help to give their religion back its independence in some ways. I don't have time or the room to talk about it a whole lot, but I will cover some basics. 

There are several things we can look at to show the immense difference between Egypt and Greece, one being their governments. As we know, Greece is credited with having established democracy. Egypt, however, was never a democracy, they were a dictatorship with a God-King, worshiped by his people as a God. At one point, Egypt was even a united land, while Greece maintained a division of city states, each with their own unique culture, mythology and religious practice. 

Since we're on the subject of religion, that would be another great place to start exploring since religion immensely differed in these two nations. Now, in both countries, religion was central to life. However, the beliefs, practices, mythology and Gods surrounding that were distinct in their own. The Greeks and Egyptians did not even believe in the existence of Deity the same way. According to renowned Egyptologist and Kemetic religious leader, Tamara L. Siuda, the Egyptians looked at Deity through the eyes of soft polytheism, which means that all Deities come from one Divine Source. The Greeks, however, were most certainly hard polytheists, which is the belief that all Deities are their own Divine Source. They don't come from anything other than themselves and are not dependent on any Source for their existence and powers other than themselves. The religious structure in Egypt and Greece was also completely different. The Greeks did not believe in the practice of magic like the Egyptians did. Certain spells were designed to dictate the actions of Deities, and the Greeks would have looked at this as high hubris. The Greeks were not the same or next to their Gods, they were under their authority. In Greek religion, there was also no book to gain access to the afterlife, you instead paid Kharon to boat you across, which is why the dead were buried with coins. 

Egyptian and Greek Gods also get compared to one another on a daily basis. It was not uncommon in ancient times for people to see other Gods as different manifestations or extensions of their own Gods. That is not something contested. What is not, however, a fact, is that the Greek and Egyptian Gods were the same, or that the Greek Gods came from the Egyptian Gods. If one looks hard enough, they can find comparisons between any two Gods in any pantheon. For example, one could compare Aset (Isis) to a host of other Mother Goddesses in the world, but that doesn't mean the Egyptians stole Aset from all those places. While some of the Greek Gods did not originate in Greece, they also did not originate in Egypt. For example, Dionysos, who constantly gets labeled as being a mirror copy of Wesir (Osiris), actually originated in Thrace and a place in modern Turkey called Phrygia. Apollon was also a God from Asia Minor. Aphrodite's birthplace was Kypros. In fact, because of geography, some of the Greek Gods are incompatible with Egypt. For example, there are no forests in Egypt, so where would you place Artemis since the forest is one of Her closest domains? Switching around, Gods like Khnum, Sobek, and Hapi were explicitly connected to the Nile, but there is no Nile in Greece. So where would they be placed in Greek religion? The answer is, no place. Egyptian religion was heavily tied to the surrounding land mass. It was not a universal system. There is also far more nature in Greece, which means that many of the Greek Gods could not have originated in Egypt because such natural things did not exist there. Remember, Egypt is mostly desert, and Greece flourishes with natural beauty. The sex of Deities also differed. For example, The Moon and Earth Deity is male in Egypt, while female in Greece. Somethings were not only different, but complete opposites.

The idea that the Greeks and Egyptians had a consensus on religious belief is absolutely absurd!

Architecture is another big difference when it comes to Greek and Egyptian culture. Certainly, the idea of columns that hold up roofs is a very general one, but what of the immense difference in structure and art that we see between these two cultures? Temples were not even structured the same way. Compare the Parthenon with the temple at Karnak. 

The last thing to remember is that, while the Greeks did incorporate other ideas and Gods from other cultures, they did not do so haphazardly. They did so based on whether or not it could fit into the Greek views and beliefs, and very, very few things within Kemeticism can fit into the Greek way of thought. The things they borrowed, adopted and incorporated HAD to be compatible with Greece, which means that the things they allowed into their culture were already Greek in the first place. They did not "steal" it, they simply agreed with it. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

Courage and Honor,

Chris.