Hellenic Polytheistic - Tumblr Posts
To defy justice is to defy the will of the gods; in the face of such dishonor, no mortal shall escape the ruin that follows.
Praise Themis
Themis, the just and righteous one, may your wisdom guide us all.
Praise to Themis, the guardian of law and order, who ensures fairness and justice for all.
May Themis's scales of justice always remain balanced, and her laws uphold the righteous.
Let us honor Themis, the goddess of divine law, and strive to live in accordance with her principles.
Themis, the embodiment of justice, may your light shine upon us all.
As a cosmic principle tied to the natural order and the will of the gods. To defy justice is therefore to challenge a higher, universal truth that governs the world.Titaness Themis personification of justice, represent the idea that justice is woven into the fabric of existence. Violating it is not just breaking a human law, but a law of the universe, leading inevitably to ruin or downfall, because one cannot escape or bend universal truth.the personal consequences of immoral actions. It presents justice as a moral force, where to act unjustly is to commit a dishonorable act, one that is inherently wrong not only by societal standards but by the higher moral code as well. This view suggests that individuals who act immorally and defy justice will face inevitable consequences, not just from human institutions but also from a higher cosmic or divine order.The importance of moral integrity and righteousness. In ancient and even modern moral frameworks, honor is closely tied to living a just life, and to act unjustly is to bring dishonor upon oneself. The moral lesson here is clear: wrongdoing has personal and broader consequences, and no one is exempt from the moral law of accountability.the concept of fairness, accountability, and the impartial nature of justice. To defy justice is to engage in unethical conduct, violating principles of right and wrong that are fundamental to the proper functioning of society. The ethical dimension here is rooted in the idea that justice is impartial and applies equally to all.Justice may take time, but in the end, those who act unethically will face the consequences of their actions.justice is a divine, immutable principle that cannot be evaded. Morally, it underscores the personal dishonor and inevitable downfall that accompanies unjust actions. Ethically, it emphasizes the impartiality and accountability of justice, highlighting that no one can escape the consequences of unethical behavior. Taken together, these perspectives convey the idea that justice is not merely a human institution but a higher truth that governs both the moral and ethical dimensions of life, ensuring that those who defy it will face the consequences.
Justice may move slowly, but when it arrives, it strikes with precision, sparing none who stand against It.
Praise Dike
Dike, the goddess of justice, may your scales always be balanced."
Praise to Dike, the upholder of righteousness and fairness.
Let us honor Dike, the goddess of justice, and strive to live in accordance with her principles.
May Dike's light guide us toward a just and equitable world.
Dike, the embodiment of justice, may your presence be felt in all our affairs.
Justice is viewed as inevitable, even if it seems delayed. The slow nature of justice suggests that it is a process governed by reason and deliberation, not haste or emotion.the belief in natural law or a universal moral code—justice might seem distant or delayed because it requires careful consideration, but it cannot be evaded. When it does "strike with precision," it is because it finally aligns with the natural or moral truth that has always existed.the concept of accountability. Individuals who act unjustly or immorally—those who "stand against" justice—may evade consequences for some time, but they cannot do so forever. Morality dictates that actions have consequences, and this quote reinforces the idea that no one is exempt from those consequences.
From a moral perspective, justice here represents fairness and righteousness, punishing wrongdoing and rewarding virtue. The delay in justice may test people's patience, but it emphasizes that wrongdoing cannot remain hidden or go unpunished indefinitely.Ethics concerns itself with right and wrong conduct, and justice is central to ethical behavior. The phrase "strikes with precision" suggests that justice is not arbitrary but measured and intentional, ensuring that those who have acted unethically or unjustly will face the proper consequences.Ethically, this highlights the importance of due process and fairness—justice doesn’t rush, but it ensures that everyone is treated equally under the law. The fact that "none are spared" speaks to the impartiality of justice: regardless of status, power, or influence, those who act unjustly will face the same standard of accountability.the inevitability and objective nature of justice. Morally, it stresses accountability for wrongdoing. Ethically, it reflects fairness and impartiality. Together, these dimensions suggest that while justice may be delayed, it is not denied—and when it finally arrives, it is exact, impartial, and inescapable for those who act against it.
Children of Light
In my dreams, I envision Elysium, a spiritual rebirth where the rule of polity is upheld by the Titaness Themis, seated high in the infinite cosmos.
Elysium: "Children of Light"
The Eternal Divine, the creator, watches over all.
The Titans, created to govern the cosmos, and the gods, appointed to rule over humanity, work in harmony."
If moral virtue is knowledge, then is it proof that someone has knowledge if he lives a virtuous life? But might not someone be virtuous without knowledge -- if invalid reasoning has led him to the good? Is not the good the good regardless of the path that leads to it? (Or can flawed reasoning never even accidentally arrive at the truth?).
"If moral virtue is knowledge, then is it proof that someone has knowledge if he lives a virtuous life?"if you truly understand what is good, you will act in accordance with it. From this perspective, a virtuous life is indeed a manifestation of knowledge, because moral errors would be rooted in ignorance. So, yes, for Socratic intellectualism, living virtuously is proof of knowledge.
"But might not someone be virtuous without knowledge — if invalid reasoning has led him to the good?". You might argue that someone could stumble upon the good through flawed or incomplete reasoning. Aristotle, for example, suggested that habituation (repeatedly practicing virtuous actions) can lead to virtue, even if one doesn't fully grasp the reasoning behind those actions. So, someone might act virtuously without intellectual knowledge of why those actions are good.
"Is not the good the good regardless of the path that leads to it?".the objective goodness of an action is independent of how one arrives at it. In that sense, yes, the good remains good, whether one reaches it through flawless reasoning, intuition, or even chance.
"Or can flawed reasoning never even accidentally arrive at the truth?". Flawed reasoning can sometimes lead to correct conclusions, even if the reasoning process itself is faulty. For example, someone could hold a superstitious belief that by helping others, good fortune will come to them, leading them to act virtuously. While their reasoning is flawed, their actions are still good. Aristotle acknowledged that people could behave in ways that are accidentally virtuous, but true virtue requires both correct reasoning and correct action.
While Socratic intellectualism would reject the idea that someone can be virtuous without knowledge, other perspectives—like Aristotle's—acknowledge that virtuous behavior can occur even without perfect understanding. However, true virtue for Aristotle requires more than just accidental or habituated actions; it requires practical wisdom, which is a form of knowledge.
I ask for Apollo for a similar reason to you - he's the first god I started worshipping so it feels sort of empty if I leave him out of tarot readings. I also ask for Hermes because he's concerned with communication so I find Tarot readings are a lot easier when I ask for his help. If the question has a specific theme I might ask for other deities too - e.g. study-related I'll ask Athene or lgbtq related I'll ask Dionysus. I've been meaning to start asking for father Zeus' help but he's very intimdating so I don't do that just yet - maybe later lol.
Who are some of the deities you guys ask for help from when doing tarot?
I mainly ask for Lord Apollon as he’s the first god I ever worshipped so I started doing tarot with his guidance, and Lady Asteria seeing as I’m attempting to become a devotee of hers and she has a strong connection to divination
Zeus loves queer people
Poseidon loves queer people
Hera loves queer people
Demeter loves queer people
Aphrodite loves queer people
Athena loves queer people
Artemis loves queer people
Apollo loves queer people
Ares loves queer people
Hephaestus loves queer people
Hermes loves queer people
Hestia loves queer people
Dionysus loves queer people
The Creation of Humanity
(the creation of humans, the Day of Fire, Prometheus' punishment)
The Gods were bored and needed something to do, something to provide them with entertainment. So Zeus set the Gods to work - having them each mold the creatures to populate the Earth with. They quickly busied themselves with their jobs, and soon all of the Earth's creatures were formed.
Next the creatures needed abilities - something to set them apart from others and give them a fighting chance of survival, after all, it wouldn't be very entertaining if they all died of within a couple hundred years. For this job, Prometheus was chosen. Prometheus is the Titan God of forethought, making him very suited for the job of ensuring species' survival. However, Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus (Titan God of afterthought), wanted a chance to prove himself and asked to do Prometheus' job, promising that he would let him inspect his work before they presented it to the rest of the Gods.
Prometheus begrudgingly agreed and Epimetheus began his work, taking great care with the abilities he gives to the creatures. Once he had finished his job he proudly showed his handiwork to his brother. Prometheus was pleasantly surprised, until he noticed a neglected figure that hadn't been given any abilities. He turned to his brother, asking him about the creature. Distraught at his mistake, Epimetheus admitted that he didn't have any abilities left to give to the creature - the 'human being'. There was no time to make amends and the creatures were presented to the rest of the Gods, who - delighted with their creations - populated the Earth with the various species.
It was immediately clear that humanity would not survive very long, their lack of abilities put their species at a huge disadvantage. Despite them being doomed to extinction, Prometheus felt a strong affinity towards human beings and realised that they needed a unique ability to survive as a species. And so he gave them one.
It came down like a lightning bolt, and suddenly the previously helpless humans were gifted Promethean intelligence.
Their newfound intelligence allowed humans to develop speech and spread survival techniques amongst themselves. The rest of the Gods naturally assumed that intelligence was humanity's ability. The Gods realised that due to their intelligence, human beings could fear the future.
And of course, the Gods were doing this for entertainment, so they made it so humans had to offer sacrifices to the Gods and ask them for the future to turn out the way they wanted. In order to give sacrifices they needed to have fire. Prometheus realised this quickly and convinced Zeus to allow humans to have fire in exchange for a portion of the human's sacrifices. Zeus declared that 'this is the Day of Fire,' adding that 'What is done today is final.'
Prometheus is given the task of separating the portions of the sacrifice for the Gods to decide which sections would be offered to the Gods. Prometheus wraps all of the best bits of meat in the cow's stomach, giving it the appearance of haggis. Next he covered the skeleton with fat and put the hide back on it. Zeus picks the skeleton.
When he realised he had been tricked Zeus was enraged. As punishment for Prometheus' deception, he took the fire away from the humans, wanting Prometheus to have to watch the humans he loves so dearly die out. Prometheus still wanted to help humanity to survive, so he broke into Hephaestus' workshop in a last ditch effort. He stole fire from the workshop, hiding it in the stalk of a fennel plant. Once he gave human beings fire, they celebrated and danced all night, overjoyed at the gift of fire. No matter what the Gods wanted to do, what was done that day was final.
Safe to say, Zeus is pissed. Prometheus is bound with chains forged by Hephaestus. He's dragged down from Mount Olympus and the chains binding him are driven into a rock. Everyday an eagle ate his liver. Overnight his liver regenerated and his body healed only for the eagle to come back again the next day.
And so he was stuck in his cruel punishment until 30,000 years later when Heracles is tasked with killing the eagle that has been tormenting Prometheus. He succeeds and Prometheus is left bound and naked, but at least the worst part of his punishment was over.
Years later, Prometheus negotiated with Zeus, offering him information on his and Thetis' future son in exchange for his freedom. At Mount Olympus Prometheus is made to wear a garland around his head, as a constant reminder of his chains.
His job was done - humanity was well and truly alive.
What kinda things do people do for Hekate's Deipnon?
I'm reading some books I borrowed from the college library (Bacchus by Andrew Dalby, and Apollo by Fritz Graf) and making notes on them (partly for religious stuff partly for school). When I've finished reading them-
I hear Hermes in the noise of a train when it stops in front of my platform.
I hear Apollo in the loud bass line in a song.
I hear Poseidon in the snorting of horses as they go past a car.
I hear Dionysus in the laughter coming from the bars.
I hear Ares in the noises of pride parades and protests.
I was wondering about this because I dont know where i stand (?) on it so i'd be curious as to what yall do
A picture from when I was on the way to Delphi
I felt Apollo's presence so strongly all the way to and at Delphi. We went to his temple and I got some photos. I hope I can go back here again. <3
Father Ares is a kind god to me. He has given me the strength to keep going - no matter how hopeless things seem. I hope he gives me the courage to continue to do what I need to despite the family and society that never cease to push back against my existence and joy.
Hence, he and Father Zeus are the only gods (as of now) I call 'Father' although I am devoted to, worship, and recieve support and blessing from other gods (Apollo, Hermes etc.). Both Father Zeus and Ares' guidance is more similar to the stern yet gentle encouragment from a father-figure, always there to tell me to 'get back up and fight'.
Art depictions of Goddess, Aphrodite <3 part 2
The gods like it when you show you need Them and ask for help, actually
memes by @dionysiandevotee
Pre-transition hellenic polytheists: the gods love and will accept you
A question I have received multiple times was pre-transition and usually closested trans hellenic polytheists asking me if the gods will accept them. This question is most commonly asking about Artemis in particular, as modern media likes to portray her in a very ahistorical light.
Let us address Artemis first. She will absolutely accept you. Artemis rules over transitions, especially those from childhood to adulthood and such — these liminal spots in life are ruled over by her. Artumes (Artemis, Artumes being one of many translations of Artemis’ name into Etruscan) in Etruria could actually be a man himself. Yes, himself. Artumes in Etruscan religion displays a lack of determinative gender, much akin to the Etruscan gods themselves. While this may be confined to Etruria and therefore Artumes — this is still a part of Artemis.
Secondly, the gods can definitely help you with transitioning. Many relate to different gods for their transition in different ways (which is honestly beautiful and lovely), let us focus on the transitioning goddess of par excellence: Leto. I bring up Leto due to her favour of Leukkipos. Unfortunately the translation is rather insensitive, but here it is:
Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 17 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.) :
“When Galateia [of Phaistos (Phaestus) in Krete (Crete)] became pregnant, Lampros (Lamprus) [her husband] prayed to have a son and said plainly to wife that she was to expose her child if it was a daughter. When Lampros had gone off to tend his flocks, Galateia gave birth to a daughter.
Feeling pity for her babe, she counted on the remoteness of their house and–backed by dreams and seers telling her to bring up the girl as a boy–deceived Lampros by saying she had given birth to a son and brought the child up as a boy, giving him the name Leukippos (Leucippus). As the girl grew up she became unutterably beautiful. Because it was no longer possible to hide this, Galateia, fearing Lampros, fled to the temple of Leto and many a prayer to her that the child might become a boy instead of a girl …
Leto took pity on Galateia because of her unremitting and distressing prayers and changed the sex of the child into a boy’s. In memory of this change the citizens of Phaistos still sacrifice to Leto Phytie (Phytia, the Grafter) because she had grafted organs on the girl and they give her festival the name of Ekdysia (Ecdysia, Stripping) because the girl had stripped off her maidenly peplos. It is now an observance in marriages to lie down beforehand beside the statue of Leukippos.”
Leto has an entire epithet can be used for transitioning — Phytie. Leto is the transitioning god of par excellence and is the mother of Artemis and Apollon. If your parents are transphobic, Leto is your mum now.
One of Leto’s sacred animals is also noted for the gender duality that the animal possesses:
Aelian, On Animals 10. 47 :
“The Ichneumon (mongoose) is both male and female in the same individual, partaking of both sexes, and nature has enabled each single same animal both to procreate and to give birth … Ichneumons are said to be sacred to Leto and the Eileithyiai (Goddesses of Birth), and the people of Heraklepolis (Heracleopolis) worship them, so they say.”
Leto and the rest of the theoi will absolutely accept you. Feel free to come out to them — they are accepting. Your identity deserves respect. You are loved and if you need Leto, she’s just one prayer away.
The gods will accept you and will adjust to your pronouns. I’ve seen it happen many times, where a transguy for example comes out to Apollon and Apollon protects him. Apollon is the protector of young boys/men, after all. I’ve seen transwomen come out to Hera and Hera immediately protects and supports her as her own.
If you’re wondering if they will accept you, they will. They may even help you through the process. Especially Leto, but what matters is who you feel comfortable with. Many seek out Hermes, Artemis, Ares, Apollon, Aphrodite, etc. The gods will not reject you — they’ll take you as one of their own.
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tldr; The gods will absolutely accept you. Especially Leto, the transitioning goddess of par excellence.
Me after work tbh
me when i get too high
Yall just ever think about the names you call yourself as a deity type figure and then realize that one of them belongs to a god, and you never asked said god how they feel about it?
Yeah. Well my spacekin is also a deitykin (kind of), and silly ol me just remembered that one of their names is Apollo. I never asked the guy how he feels about a deity using his name!
I have absolutely no idea how he feels about this type of stuff, so I asked a server I’m in (which I know has people who have alters for him) if they could ask him for me. Someone said yes! So now I’m waiting for them to get home so they can ask me for me :)
I need to plan ahead sometimes man 😭
And if you’re wondering why I’m so pressed about this, it’s cause I want to know how Apollo feels about this. I don’t want to disrespect him or make him uncomfortable, and I definitely don’t want to make him mad. Cause keep in mind this is for my deity (type) kin.
Like I’m aware not very god will want their name to be used some deity, and some gods don’t want their name used at all. Other might not care
So I’m just doing this so I know how Apollo feels, and if he would rather me use a nickname or something.
Trying to respect the guy’s boundaries okay? I want to be a good deity for once and also not piss off more gods than I have already.
My kins and gods have some funky relationships lol
Update as of 9/16/24 : I got an answer! He said no, so Apollo has been removed 🫡
Have some loosely inspired names instead lol