Difference Between A Sacrifice and An Offering

In Hellenism and contemporary Pagan and Polytheism, we are familiar with the terms sacrifice and offering. 

Some people use them interchangeably, and I suppose on the surface it's not really a big deal, as some consider sacrifice to be anything made scared, but I think it's worth discussing that the two are not historically the same thing generally speaking.

A sacrifice is normally something of exceptional cost or worth to you, that you give up to the Gods, and in so doing, make sacred. 

In ancient Greek times, this would have encompassed livestock a lot, because they met the above criteria. Giving up sheep, goats, and cattle was, or could be, very costly to the livelihood of the average person.

Yet that willingness to still risk the loss in order to show love, admiration, and request favor from, the Gods, is what made it a sacrifice and a sacred act. The willingness to go long was believed to have grabbed the Gods' attention more.

Today, of course, it doesn't have to pertain to livestock because most people don't live that kind of life anymore. Now our costly sacrifices would be things like money, valuable properties, and our physical time and labor. Even large portions of food and drink, things that take a lot of effort to put together, would be sacrificial.

An offering, however, is a general gift, such as a votive statue, libation, a valuable, or some appropriate foods. They are things that are more readily available and not as costly; easy for pretty much anyone to obtain.

If I give a fresh bar of soap to Aphrodite for Her baths, a libation of olive oil for Athena, or burn incense to Zeus, those would be offerings. This is a bit contradictory to me, because I have normally called all of my burned offerings sacrifices, but to be more accurate, I should use the term offering: my burned offering.

Then again, if it were a huge portion of incense, it may be able to be called sacrifice, but that would take an almost comical pile. Not something normally done. 

Often these days, I find myself paying more attention to how I term things, especially publicly. In many cases, I felt the term offering had been used in the religious communities almost to the point of being cliche or monotonous, so I didn't really like using it a lot.

But as a Reconstructionist Hellenist, I find myself more and more concerned with historical accuracy and appropriate piety on a regular basis. It's a lifelong learning experience. Do I think the Gods are petty and care about which term you use? Absolutely not. But the properness sets the human mind correctly. 

In the Goodness of the Gods, I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

In Another Solar System, Would I Still Call Him Helios?

The Sun is a God to ancient Greeks; they called Him Helios. Hence the terms mainstream still uses today that are named after Him, such as Heliocentrism and Heliotropium. 

Really, anything centered around the Sun could begin its term with Helio.

To Hellenists like me, Helios and Apollon are not the same Gods. I see Apollon as God of the sun and light, and Helios as the Sun itself.  Perhaps I will be considered the one to have coined the term "Extreme Polytheism" as a theological worldview.

Without the Sun, life would not exist. Not to mention that the Sun can actually cure humans of illnesses. The Sun obviously has a consciousness because it can intentionally move things from one place to another, or in and out of human beings. Put babies in this Divine light, and it will save them from jaundice. Stand in it on a daily basis, it will fight your depression.

But wait, can't it also give you skin cancer? Yes, it can, because within a God is also the power to destroy. Although most people are not harmed by an appropriate amount of sunlight. Quite the contrary, they are given life. Perfection is not needed in order to understand that the Sun gives far more benefits than disadvantages. 

It's no wonder that, for countless time periods, the Sun was worshiped across cultures as a God, because it is. Some historians and scholars still argue to this day that even Jesus is a sun god. But that is neither here nor there in this particular post.

Unlike the ancient Greeks, we today know that our Sun is not the only one out there. I suppose it's certainly possible that some Greek thinkers and scientists could have theorized such a reality as well, but not that there are 200 billion galaxies, and those are probably just the ones that we know of. 

There are, in fact, suns out there all over, some far larger than our own.  So if I were on another planet far outside the Milky Way, and there was a bright and wonderful Sun overhead like, or similar to, the one back home, what would I call it? The answer is still Helios.

Why? Because the power of Helios, like the power of all Gods, is not caged into a single body. That's why many of the myths show the Gods changing forms, and even changing the forms of the universe around them, at their whim. 

And for that matter, how do we know that every Sun isn't Helios? What if they are all His body or part of it?

Helios, at least in part, is a universal consciousness. For humans, the mysteries of the Gods dictate that we will never have perfect knowledge or even understanding of all things. Like I commonly tell people; I cannot tell you everything about the Greek Gods, but what I can tell you for certain is that they are real, because they've saved my family more than once.

Pick a nice summer sunset to sit and just look at Helios out there on the horizon, and think about the fact that the same Sun looked upon the dinosaurs, has watched over your entire life, and presided over all Eras and Ages in-between. And that's just the mystery and eternity of one of the Divinities. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Pendants From Greece Hold More Natural Power

In the modern Greek Polytheistic community, some people may not be too explorative about jewelry or necklaces, even if they are religious. 

In fact, with the exception of my own works, I haven't read a book on the topic that really puts any significance on it. I'm not being critical; it's just an observation.

But I am most certainly someone who loves anything I can carry with me that reminds me of, or connects me with, the Gods and Heroes, especially when its a remake of what once existed.

In the picture above, you can see my own that I recently purchased from Greece herself, Athens specifically. The coin is a replica of the Athena Tetradrachm, meaning it was worth the value of four drachmas in the ancient world, eventually working its way up to a standard form of currency. 

The silver mines were located probably in Laurium in the Athenian countryside. This particular coin originally came into being in the late 6th Century BCE. More importantly, the coin is a direct connection to Athena, not just by Her frontal image, but by the AOE on the back, 

AOE means Alpha, Theta, and Epsilon, or Of The Athenians. The coin embodies all that is Athena and Athens (the Goddess and Her beloved City).

After I received the pendant, I put a chain on it to wear around my neck during the day, not really giving it that much thought. I didn't even try to put any energy or blessings onto it myself. It was intended for purely cosmetic purposes.

But I noticed that when I wrap my hand around and just hold it, Athena's amazing presence comes over and calms me, no matter how frustrated, angry, sad or hopeless I may be feeling at the time. It's like a cure-all for the mind and emotions.

The only thing I can figure, as to the pendant's natural power, is that it is directly from the land of Athena Herself, and carries on that ancient connection that has existed for thousands of years. 

Not even pendants that I have bought of Athena in America and placed blessings upon have had this kind of natural, never-ending spiritual strength. And of course, when you have a pendant with this kind of natural power, adding prayers, hymns or other spiritual significance along with it will only strengthen it further for you, and perhaps others as well. 

I would definitely recommend to anyone wanting Hellenic jewelry for religious purpose, to consider Greek sellers. There is just a charm that you cannot get anywhere else.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge. 

Why Live On? The Gods Give Us Plenty of Reasons

God almighty Zeus, I normally say, when I look at how depressed, anxious, angry and fearful people are in my time. 

Certainly, even the most positive among us have hard times, even if in a smaller measure. But when I see how hopeless and even suicidal my fellow human is, I can't help but ask, why?

Statistically, people are more fraught and unhappy than ever before in human history, which makes no sense on the surface because we have it better than any other time preceding us.

Our ancestors of 1,000 or even 100 years ago did not even have the vaccines we do today, to say nothing of readily available clean food and water, education, clothing, housing, entertainment, freedom and protection. Yet we would be led to believe they were happier than us. 

It's true that we are also probably more overworked and underpaid than they were at times, but even so, I find it so lamentable and disheartening when I hear people talk about giving up, saying things like, "Why live on? What's the point?" My friends, the Gods give us plenty of reasons.

When I say they give us plenty of reasons, I don't mean they write out a list and directly hand it over to each individual. I mean to say that the Gods and the world, being wonderful and joyful to delight in, beget life. The Gods are life. The world is a reason. 

 

The Gods gave you a body to perfect, not destroy. They gave you a day to seize, not sleep through. They gave you women and men to love, not neglect. You are part of the reason to live on. If you do your best every day, if you become as successful as you can, and if you get yourself strong, healthy and focused, you'll find purpose.

 

In some of Greek myth, you find that one of the purposes of humans is to please the Gods. If you're not doing your best each day, you're not pleasing the Gods. That may sound selfish, but let me explain more.

 

The Heroes became Heroes because they refused to accept failure, to settle, to sit at the bottom of the mountain instead of climbing it. And the laziness is why most people never became Heroes either.

 

It's going to get hard, it's going to hurt, it's going to anger you, and there's going to be times when it gets hopeless; keep your eyes forward. You don't think it's hard for me to work, write and practice martial arts every day? If you spend your life only doing what's easy, you'll see no reason to live on.

 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Soul's Journey: Ancient Greek Afterlife from Start to Finish

"Not a man alive can send me to Haides until it's my time, and when it is my time, be I brave or coward, nothing can stop it." - Homer.

During my life as a Hellenist, I have more than once happened upon questions concerning the ancient Greek afterlife. What is it? Why would you want to go there? What happens? What are your goals? The curiosity and desire for possible knowledge never ends, and deservedly so. 

Especially in our time, it's only natural that people be exceptionally wonderous, for not much has been seriously written or thought about on the topic in over 2,000 years, certainly not in a serious religious context. Nevertheless, belief in the old Gods continues to rise and death impacts us all, from the passing of people we know and love to the realization that we will one day join them.

I intended to answer all of those questions and more. Although the interesting factor is that the afterlife is not the primary focus in Hellenism. We believe in an elaborate world full of possibilities, and yet, the beyond is not our primary target. It's also very relevant to say that not all Hellenists believe the same things about it. There is no holy book.

Using my own worldviews along with Greek myth and religion from times forgotten, I will attempt to paint the most vivid depictions possible, from the last breath to the final destination, if there indeed is one.

Section 1: Get Some Coin!

Bad news! Or maybe good depending on how you see it. You're about to take your last breath. Thanatos, the Spirit of death, is here. Hopefully, you're also being visited by Makaria, the Spirit of blessed death. 

But before now, did you ever stop to wonder what it's like to stop existing in your current form? What it's like to go to sleep, only this time, to never wake again?

Some indeed are terrified at the mere thought. Bad news certainly, although Plato said that death isn't the worst thing that can happen to a man. The truth is that you're not dead, your body is. Death is not the ultimate end but a transition. It may, therefore, be inaccurate to call it the afterlife because life does not cease, it simply changes.

Take the air in one last time, then exhale. Your whole life flashes before you, then you blackout. All physicality has ceased. Your current life is over.

Since most people today are not Hellenists, I hope you left instructions. Your body, being dead, is now considered a pollutant upon the living, and anyone who comes into contact with it will need to later cleanse themselves with sulfur to purify their own body and life. Although in today's time, the undertaker will probably bear most of the burden.

At your funeral, coin of proper value will have to be placed with your body. Why? Because soon, in the spiritual world where you now stand, you will meet Charon the boatman, and you'll need that transcendental payment for him to boat you across the rivers, but more on that a bit later.

The good news about the money is that the exchange rate from ancient to modern time is very affordable for even the poorest of people. One coin, or obol, would be placed in the mouth of the body. Today, that value would not even be one USD. So a single golden dollar would suffice. Traditionally, the coin was silver, but gold is worth more, and US currency is backed by gold and silver anyway, so I would say that a golden dollar is enough. There are also rare coins worth more than $1 that can be purchased through the US mint, but it would be very costly and probably not arrive in time. However, paper dollars can be exactly exchanged for gold coin dollars at most banks. The coin can be placed in the mouth, which would be the traditional method.

Why the mouth? It must have been believed that the mouth was the place from which the soul emanated, because part of the coin practice was to seal off the entrance the soul could use to return to this world. It makes sense. The mouth is where the very breath of life comes from. It was time for the soul to pass on and therefore had to be directed into the next realm. And so what better way to make sure the soul can retrieve the ferryman's fee?

I have also heard of coins being placed over the eyes or in the hand of the body, but I think that's more modern than ancient.

Coin Practice Continues Today!

Leaving coins for the dead has, in fact, never left the human condition. If you take a stroll through a large graveyard or cemetery, you may see a tombstone or marker with a variety of coins on it, especially if the deceased was military. The love of War Heroes is very ancient Greek. Heroism on the battlefield also wasn't only reserved for Kings and Generals. All of the Homeric warriors are Heroes, and a City or Locality in the ancient Greek world might even worship a soldier as a Hero if they came from, and died in service of, that City.

Coins left today on graves normally have several meanings depending on the value of the currency, usually having something to do with the visitor's relation to the dead person.

The Funeral

According to ancient Greek customs, your body must go through proper funerary rites. It must be washed and dressed in clean clothing or garments, something that, again, the undertaker would handle today. However, a female member of your family must anoint the body with olive oil.

"I anoint you in the good name of Hermes, the Guide of Souls, and for Haides, Receiver of the Dead."

Believe it or not, much of the same funerary customs in ancient Greece are still observed today in the West. All those years you may have spent as a Christian, not knowing you were performing Greek Polytheistic rites during the funerals of your friends or family.

The cleaning, dressing and laying out of the body for viewing with the feet facing the door and the head resting on a pillow, the area decked with funerary decorations, memorabilia, and emblems of mourning such as wreaths and flowers, the recitation of songs and prayers, accompanying the deceased to their final resting place, and even the feast or reception after, all originated from ancient Hellas. A laurel wreath should also be placed upon your chest. 

However, if it is all ancient Greek custom, your body will not be buried until nightfall, at which time you would have the pall bearers and a procession that includes friends and family. At the gravesite or cremation location, a final funerary speech would be given, hopefully in good praise of you.

The end comes when you are lowered into the ground or set ablaze in cremation. The only thing that will remain of your old self above ground is the tombstone or marker, although you are never completely separated from the living. 

In Greek belief, your grave is a direct link to you in the Underworld or afterlife, and libations can be poured down to you from that very spot. In fact, at the funeral, a declaration is recited to make your memory last forever, and then libations of water, olive oil, milk and honey are made, one for each declaration, then the vessels are broken onto the ground as the pourers turn away from the deceased.

Ideally, your friends and family will maintain religious honors for you each year. But that's their job. Yours is now to start your journey through the Underworld.

On The River Bank

The River Styx waits for you to cross it. While you stand upon the shore, think of all who have passed here before you, and even Achilles Himself who was dipped into the water as an infant. But why water or a river? How does this manifest into a reality of life after death? Simply put, water is not only the element of spirituality, but the eternal, recycling element of life through which all life must travel. Hermes Himself led you to the entrance where the river starts. Now you wait.

The Styx (Hate) in particular stands as a border between the world above and below, or rather, the living and dead. When Charon approaches you in his boat, you will hand over the gold coin that was left with you by friends or family. You can now board and begin your journey, but don't expect to see all rainbows along the way.

If you do not have the coin to pay Charon, there's bad news. You will not be able to board, and you'll have to wait on the shores for 100 years. But if that is indeed the case, look at it this way, you'll have lots of company especially in today's time.

We might modernly interpret this to mean that those who do not cross with Charon, for whatever reason, remain ghosts. In fact, even Plato talked about the phantoms that haunted the tombs and cemeteries around his area in the Dialogue of Phaedo. 

The Underworld is divided by 4 other rivers. These are Akheron (Woe), Kokytus (Wailing), Phlegethon (Fire), and Lethe (Forgetfulness). All of the rivers have something that links them with death. The hate people have for death and dying, the woe and wailing that comes from everyone effected, the fire that destroys and purifies the dead and the living, and the forgetfulness that the soul goes through to forget its previous incarnation or mortal life (perhaps this explains why reincarnated people cannot readily recall their past lives).

Judges of the Underworld

You probably thought you'd be meeting Haides Himself here, but no. He's very Supreme and has lots of lower officers, if you will, to handle the duties necessary; people He can trust and who lived greatly enough to be able to adequately judge the deeds of men. You will eventually face the 3 Judges of the Underworld. They are Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aiakos. 

These 3 Judges are also given access to different parts of the afterlife or Underworld. Haides entrusts His very keys to Aiakos. Rhadamanthys will be the one deciding if you get Elysion or not (some may consider Elysion to be the same as the Isle of the Blessed). And Minos who normally gets the last vote. 

The very interesting thing about Minos as a Judge of the Underworld is that we don't actually know who he is. Many automatically connect him with the Minos of Theseus, but historians now think that Minos was a dynastic title, not something reserved for only one person. The Minos of the Underworld is therefore technically not identified. Very fascinating and also a little unsettling, to my mind any way.

Where Will You Go?

With 3 Judges, it may not be outlandish to connect them with 3 commonly known realms of the afterlife. If you were a virtuous and pious person, Elysion is your reward, which is basically the ancient Greek version of heaven. It is nothing but an eternity of peace, beauty and bliss. If you were exceptionally bad, Tartaros will likely be your destination, which is the ancient Greek version of punishment and torment (although, as you will see, it's not always eternal). Finally, someone who has been neither good or evil may find themselves a resident of the Underworld or reincarnation.

Er Tells All!

Toward the end of the 10th Book of Plato's Republic, the philosopher describes a man named Er, who had a near death experience, but returned to tell of the amazing parts of the afterlife he had experienced. It is truly a fascinating account, but also very lengthy, so I will do my best to sum it up adequately. 

Er was a solider who fell on the battlefield, but unlike his comrades, he was not completely dead. He recovered, but during the penetration of the other side, he was told that he was to return to the physical world and tell people what he had witnessed.

He described people coming down from heaven and up from the earth, the ones from below being unpurified and the ones from above being holy. The two classes talked with each other about both places, the earthly wanting desperately to reach heavenly, but could not because, presumably, they were still on their journeys below to make up for the injustices they had inflicted on others during their life, each injustice having to be repaid 10 times over.

Er then describes the fate of the most wicked of people, Tartaros. They, he said, had not paid a sufficient penalty and thus heaven rejected them as they tried to go upwards. They were bound by their hands and feet, lacerated, and dragged to the entrance where they would be thrown into the bowels of the gloom. But Er also gives the impression that even if someone is sentenced to punishment, they can ascend after they have served their time.

Er now talks about the many facets of "the light and whorl" which hold all things together in many manifestations, and the souls of the many reaching it over all of heaven and earth. And that among these things, people are given new lives to return to, not always human lives either. Once all was decided, they were immediately launched up into their new births. In other words, Er not only saw people in the bliss of heaven and the atonement of below, but also in reincarnation. 

Of course, keep in mind, this is a very, very brief description; one needs to read the account completely to grasp the true amazement of it all. 

Conclusion

I cannot say for certain what your journey will be, nor mine, when the time comes. But what seems to be a consensus is that whether your next life will be happy, hateful or neutral, or what you may have to go through to get to the life you want, depends on how you have chosen to live the life you're presently in. Keep this in mind always, before every decision, before every action, before every word. Live a pious and virtuous life.

What're my goals? I'd say to reach peace and happiness. That may take a very long time, but that's where I'm headed, friends. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.

Sources

Adkins, Lesley and Adkins, A. Roy, Handbook To Life In Ancient Greece, Oxford University Press, New York, 1997.

Hellenic Council YSEE of America, Hellenic Ethnic Religion: Theology and Practice, New York, 2018.

Cooper M. John, Plato Complete Works, Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1997.

Mythology/Theology: To The Greeks, There Was A Difference

If you've been a Hellenic Polytheist for at least five minutes, you've no doubt heard others equate the Gods with the myths entirely. 

The first things to realize is that the ancient Greeks did not have a "holy book" of religion and myth.

Not only was ancient Greece a collection of City States completely independent from one another in government and beliefs, but there was no law dictating how someone could view the Gods or what stories they could accept or not.

In fact, it's kind of inaccurate to call it "The Ancient Greek Religion" because there were, in fact, many forms of ancient Greek religion and Cult. Sparta and Athens, for example, believed in the same Gods but did not have the same religion or culture. Not to mention the fact that there were cults everywhere that adhered to their own identities. 

So for instance, someone today might say that my beliefs on Artemis being gracious and kind to people is contradicted considering the myth of Actaeon, but there's literally nothing in Hellenic religion which says I have to accept that story as literal fact or accept it at all.

We do know that we believe in Artemis as She is, of course. But I don't have to believe everything that everyone tells me about Her. I have the right to my own experiences and perspectives, and it does not denote me as a Hellenist. 

It's also true that not only could a given myth vary in detail from City to City, but many of them were handed down by word of mouth, which can change and modify with each teller, especially as the time and culture changes. 

In fact, some of the myths we accept today as Greek, were not even composed by the Greeks. The story of raped Medusa that people commonly call Greek in our time, was actually written by a Roman. The original story, which says nothing of rape or punishment, was written by the Greek Hesiod.

This is also not a modern change to Hellenism either. Greeks were not forced to accept a given story. Historically, it's accepted that around the time of the Hellenistic Era, the myths as literal facts began to waiver as a concept. 

But considering people like Plato and Sokrates, I think it began much sooner than that. Those men clearly believed in the Greek Gods but were also philosophers and not necessarily mythologists. They wrote about people's experiences with the Gods instead of taking written myths and saying, "Here's the 100% truth."

Hellenic religion can be hard to understand, but once you manage to grasp the core, it'll make perfect sense to you.

In the Goodness of the Gods, I'll see you at the next Herm down the road.

Chris Aldridge.

When Myths Manifest, The Meaning Maintains

I think the fact that ancient Greeks had religion and life intertwined goes beyond just religious devotion. It was and is because the world of Gods, Heroes, monsters and myths were clear in everyday life.

Today while I was maintaining my temple's outside sanctuary, I noticed a spider resting on the Athena statue, and there were no spiders on any of the other several statues surrounding it. 

If you click on the picture, it will enlarge and you can see the insect.

Certainly nothing unusual about a spider on an outside object, but Athena's was the only one that seemed to draw the creatures. Why would this be relevant to Greek religion and how in the world could it possibly expand the mind into universal thought?

Simple enough on the surface. In Greek myth, the story is that Athena created the spider, but how and why She did it is a fascinating concept and mystery, and also one that continues to have a valuable teaching for us today.

Arachne was an incredibly talented mortal weaver, and a maker of wonderous tapestries. So much so that no other human being could outdo her. Eventually, she allowed arrogance to take over her mind and proclaimed that she was greater at her art than even the Goddess Athena, who is the Goddess of domestic art.

Athena heard and accepted the challenge, although tried to talk some sense into Arachne first, giving her the opportunity to rebuke her arrogance and let it go. Arachne refused. The mortal woman weaved her best work, but Athena, knowing the beautiful things of heaven and beyond that mortals could not possibly see, created a far more glamorous piece.

Arachne was defeated. As punishment, Athena turned her into a spider, but not without her talent remaining with her. To this day, spiders continue to weave beautiful and elaborate webs. I find it to be like looking upon the remnants of an ancient battle, and the side that lost doomed forever to drag along the ruins of what they once were.

So walking along during a typical day in 2023 CE, what does seeing a spider on Athena's statue wish to teach the passerby? That the Gods are supreme, and we are not. The lesson, as common as it may sound, is to look upon this and know who the Gods are. Even if you're not religious at all, the lesson is know who you are, know your place, know your limitations. 

Wisdom, in short, is knowing you are not a God. Stop and reflect on this truth. But also on the understanding that you don't have to be a God either. You are still capable of great wonders within your own boundaries. 

The tragedy of Arachne is that her ruin did not have to be. She could have lived a very successful life, if she had only realized that her talent came from Athena, and that without the Gods, she was nothing. 

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.