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The gods have horns and antlers and hooves. They have fangs and claws and whip-like tails. They have glowing eyes and skin made from steel and gold running through their veins. They have voices that sound like the cawing of crows and noses like that of wolves and ears that can hear a bee's wing fall to the ground from thousands of miles away. They have fists made from hurricanes and feet faster than the speed of light and bodies that come in shapes and sizes no mere mortal can ever even hope to comprehend.

And at the same time, the gods are soft and gentle. Their voices soothe our worries like honey soothes a sore throat. Their presences are felt in everything, from a calm drizzle of rain to the sweet caress of the sun's warm rays to the feeling of peace we feel in the rare moments of tranquility that we find in the chaotic whirlwind of life. They are the warmest hug that embraced us on our hardest days, the little voice in the back of our minds that encouraged us to hold onto hope, the soothing presence that reassured us of our safety in scary situations.

The gods are unknowable, yes, but that does not make them unreachable. They are there, extending their hands for us to grad onto when we need their support. Whether or not we can hear or see or even feel them, they are still there. They still remain.

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“When the earth blossoms with all manner of fragrant spring flowers, then from beneath the murky gloom shall you come again, a mighty marvel to gods and to mortal men.”

-Homeric Hymn to Demeter

A companion piece to the illustration of Hekate and Demeter I did a couple of months back.

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There is something so beautiful and sweet to me about the fact that Thanatos is the god of peaceful death.

When I die, I want Death to greet me as an old, childhood friend - unknown yet so familiar, intimidating yet so comforting. I want Death to take me gently by the hand, whisper in my ear, "It'll be alright," and help me stand to my feet as I walk towards a new life - a different kind of life - in a place I may have seen in a dream once.

I hope Thanatos greets me, in my final moments, with the softness and sweetness of an old friend. To me, that is peaceful. And it's so beautiful that he is so willing to provide such comforts to humans in their official transition from one plane of existence to the next. How kind, how compassionate, how admirable.

Death is a friend, in the end, and he smiles softly as he takes your hand.

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Random Greek Deity Facts

- Artemis has been associated with horses in the past.

- Ares has associations with owls.

- There are ancient gravestones with reliefs on them that historians still cannot tell if the art is of Dionysus or Jesus.

- It is common for historians to struggle identifying if a statue is of Artemis or Apollo because they often look so much alike.

- Hephaestus is a god of fire.

- Maia, the Mother of Hermes, was thought to assist in raising both Dionysus and Hephaestus.

- Hypnos is said to live in a massive cave, sleeping with thousands of his sons.

- Rather than blood, Greek gods are said to have something called Ichor running through their veins; no one is quite sure what "Ichor" actually is.

- Both Apollo and Artemis are deities of light; it is not just Apollo. Along with this, it is believed Leto may also be a goddess of light.

- It is commonly believed that the hyacinth flower is not actually the flower Hyacinthus was infamously transformed into; most sources seem to agree that it was likely either an iris or a larkspur.

- At one point in the Dionysiaca, Dionysus wages a war against India. The goddess Rhea is said to have gathered troops for him, and Zeus was said to have been the one to task Dionysus with going to war in order to allow him to join the gods on Mount Olympus.

- Demeter's chariot is pulled by two giant winged serpents; she has literal dragons pulling her around, and no one is talking about it.

- The Python was a child of Gaia, and before Apollo took up the Oracle in Delphi, there was actually an Oracle with Gaia in that location.

- The twins Castor and Pollux, who made up the Gemini constellation, were commonly worshipped throughout ancient Greece under the title of the "Dioscuri" or "Dioskouroi".

- Also regarding the Dioskouroi, the name "Castor" ("Kastor") may translate to "Beaver".

- The famous epithet "Paean" of Apollo was also listed on an ancient Mycenaean tablet that listed the names of separate deities. It is, therefore, possible that Paean was once a separate god who later became associated/merged with both Apollo and his son Ascelpius.

- Besides being an epithet, a Paean was also a type of devotional chant/song that was sung in honor of Apollo. Some ancient sources claim that the event of singing a Paean could actually be quite loud, involving clouds of stomping/banging and movement.

- The masculine version of Hekate's name, "Hekatos", was an epithet for the god Apollo; both names can be translated to "worker from afar".

- The first record of the more "traditional" view of a werewolf comes from the Greek myth about King Lycaon, when Zeus transformed into a wolf for ten years as punishment for tricking the gods into consuming human flesh (yes, you read that right).

- In the myths, Zeus and Hermes have a lovely Father-Son bonding trip of destroying an entire village (except for one home) for not showing either of the disguised gods hospitality as poor travellers.

- Both Apollo and Zeus were seen as gods who purified "blood-guilt" - a condition which was caused by the killing of another person and required immense purification.

- Cerberus is described as a fully sentient being who can communicate as other immensely powerful children of Gaia could, meaning he is akin to the gods in terms of intelligence rather than being like an overgrown dog.

- Hermes is said to be the inventor of offerings, specifically animal sacrifices.

- One origin of the Pegasus was Poseidon and Medusa doing the devil's tango.

- There is a tale that claims Hermes to be the one who granted Aesop his knowledge of fables.

- According to some ancient sources, Cerberus has as many as fifty heads, a mane of snakes, the claws of a lion, and a snake tail.

- Iris was not only the goddess of rainbows but was also the personal messenger of Hera and was prominently featured in The Iliad delivering many messages on behalf of the Olympian gods.

- Eros has been depicted as the child of Aphrodite and Ares, the child of Ouranos and Aphrodite, the child of solely Aphrodite, the child of Poros and Penia, the child of Ouranos and Gaia, the child of Zephyrus and Iris, and a primordial being who simply came into being. So, where did Eros actually come from? Your guess is as good as any.

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That's all for now! Let me know if y'all enjoyed these and would like more. 🧡

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|| Sources ||

- Theoi.com (of course)

- The Iliad by Homer

- Theogony by Hesiod

- The Dionysiaca by Nonnus

- Information from various museum trips in Athens and Delphi, Greece (sorry, I don't remember the exact sources 💀)

[hellenicpolytheistsblog]

Casual ways to connect with your deities

-Pray to them or just just talk with them and tell them about your day

-Light a candle and say your thanks

-Offer your meal/snack to them or bake/cook with them or for them

-Watch a movie in their honor

-Offer your morning drink to them or make a cup for them

-Assign them a plant and take care of it as a devotion to them

-Listen to music that reminds you of them

-Say good morning/good night

-Thank them for the things you see that you consider beautiful

[hellenicpolytheistsblog]

artwork dedicated to Lord Apollo, using colours He picked out

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There is no such thing as a beginner deity.

There is no necessary changes you need to make to your life in order to worship a deity.

There is no psychological preparation that needs to be done.

You don't need to break a habit. Reframe your psyche. Finish medical treatment. Reach a life 'milestone'. in order to worship a deity.

If anything you should approach a deity to help you through these things.

Learning the religion can occur at the same time as worship. They can be parallel events.

You can begin worshipping a deity the day you read this. There is no future point in time where you will somehow be more ready to approach a deity.

You are already ready.

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Hymn to Hermes the Night Before a Roadtrip

Hail Hermes Who flits along pathways Oh lord of travellers, I look at you amongst the thieves and passerbys You gaze upon everyone with a kindly eye They are headed in the same The opposite The right the wrong direction As you Isn’t everyone brethren on the road? Shoulder to shoulder in lonely gas stations Filling tanks in companionable silence Eating food that’s passable in a Passable space Hummingbird of my heart I feel you Amidst every row of gas station snacks In every ticking measure of my odometer If you’re in my tires, in my cabin, in the thrum That hisses in my elbow joints when I ride the rumble strips… Messenger, let me ride the rumble strips if I must But never over, never dangerous Til I’m safe on solid carpet ground Of the liminal destination Hail to you, Hermes

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sometimes just a glass of water is an offering. Sometimes just saying a deity’s name is an offering. Sometimes laughing or crying or letting yourself feel what you need to feel is an offering. Sometimes just existing is an offering. Not everything has to be a big, grand gesture. The gods understand so much more than we think they do. They’ve existed for eons, have had thousands, if not millions, of people pray to them and offer to them and become their devotees. Would they really curse one person, out of all these worshippers, for simply trying their hardest? Have more faith in them.

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Take things with humor, and do so genuinely.

You're allowed to drop things while handling your altar. It's okay if your throat makes that weird air sound in the middle of your silent meditation. You're allowed to do that one step in your ritual you keep nearly forgetting a little out of order.

No one is going to come scold you because it went a little wrong. Smile about it. Maybe imagine someone on the receiving end smiling a little bit, too.

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"There's also a statue on Cyprus that's bearded, shaped and dressed like a woman, with a scepter and male genitals, and they conceive her as both male and female. Aristophanes called her Aphroditos, and Laevius says: "Worshipping, then, the nurturing god Venus, whether she is female or male, just as the Night-Shiner is a nurturing goddess." In his Atthis Philochorus, too, states that she is also the moon and that men sacrifice to her in women's dress, women in men's, because she is held to be male and female."

— Saturnalia: Books 3-5, Volume 2, by Ambrosius Aurelius Theodosius Macrobius, edited and translated by Robert A. Kaster

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🌿🏺 Classicstober '23 Week 2: Icarus, Achilles, Asclepius, Pandora, Theseus, Arachne, Helen.

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Praying to Asklepios that your doctors, nurses, specialists, etc. listen to you and take your concerns seriously, and that you’re able to get the help you need, and whatever answers you’re looking for.

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Classical mythology, but make it medieval woodcut. I've been doing some October challenges, namely Classicstober from @greekmythcomix and WMGtober from Weird Medieval Guys.

I'll be posting a selection of them here, but if you'd like to check out my all of the daily entries that get posted on my story, feel free to follow me on Instagram.

These two came from WMGtober, specifically the day 8 prompt: hunting hounds, and the day 9 prompt: wine & ale.

[hellenicpolytheistsblog]

“When the earth blossoms with all manner of fragrant spring flowers, then from beneath the murky gloom shall you come again, a mighty marvel to gods and to mortal men.”

-Homeric Hymn to Demeter

A companion piece to the illustration of Hekate and Demeter I did a couple of months back.

[hellenicpolytheistsblog]

Odyssey

based on this poll