valuesofold - Tumblr blog

[valuesofold]

Hello everyone! Here is another info sheet, this time on one of our favourite goddesses (they all are) Athena!

I hope you all enjoy it! I'm still trying to get used to krita on my tablet, so some things might not be too well aligned and some colours might be off, since for some weird reason it didn't allow me to use the preselected one on some specific occasions.

Some sizing might be different to the Poseidon info sheet (like the wreath at the very begining) but I tried my best to keep it as much consistent as possible, specially in case anyone would like to actually print it to use as an actual pamphlet.

[valuesofold]

I come back with another pamphlet! I know it is long overdue, but I hope all of you still enjoy this little info sheet on Poseidon, hopefully it helps!

[valuesofold]

* Kharis *

This is one of the central concepts of Hellenism, at its basic level we can say it talks about the reciprocity between us and the theoi.

>> Kharis in greek can mean multiple things, "from beauty to joy, delight, kindness, good will, grace, favor, benefit, boon, charm, attraction, appeal, elegance, gracefulness, pleasure, cheerfulness, wit, gratitude, thankfulness and gratification", as said in baringtheaegis' blog. But another word that isn't mentioned and can also fit here is charity.

The way we most often achieve this is by the giving of gifts to the gods but also as a thank you for prayers, favour given to you by the gods or just to keep up a relationship with them, this the basis for this reciprocal relationship in Hellenism. In short this means that you should give out of your own free will, love and thanks to the theoi, and in turn they might or not choose to also give you something back, be it the answer for your prayer or anything else. This relationship shouldn't be forced on either side.

Sometimes some people have this idea that if you pray you must receive an answer, or worse that you can bribe the gods with an offering, this is not true, it completely goes against kharis. If you gave something to your good friend because you wanted to, you wouldn't expect them to give something back to you, even if you went and mentioned it. This also shouldn't be grounds to end your relationship. It should be the same way with the gods, they only heed your request if they wish.

>> We must always strive to build a relationship with our gods, simply praying and making devotional acts also allows us to build Kharis with them. It is built on a cycle of offering and praise to the gods which builds our relationship with them, if they do decide to look upon these acts favourably then it is expected that we once more offer and praise them, creating this endless cycle for as long as we worship them.

>> I want to end this post with the long but accurate definition given by Aliakai in one of their videos:

“Kharis in ancient Greek meant many things. Calling it reciprocity and gift exchange hints at its meaning and purpose in Hellenism, but barely scratches the surface. Etymologically, it manes favour, goodwill, but also gratitude, thanks, influence, delight, gratification, grace, and elegance. […] it can mean a grace or favour felt on the part of the doer, but more frequently on part of the receiver, in the form of thankfulness and gratitude. It means a favour or gift returned, the delight of that return, a thing done for another’s sake and the pleasure it is done for. […] These favours are freely done, out of kindness, and this is how it is used when we refer to the Gods and the gift exchange between us and Them. The Gods need nothing of us, but through Their greatness and our Love of Them, we offer, and build our relationships through a lifetime. Kharis is the purpose of offering, but also its action. It’s a word that embodies layers of concepts in ancient religion and wraps itself in prayer, ritual, spectacle, festival. It is, for lack of a more concise definition, the culmination of the relationship each individual has built with each God and also the Gods as a whole, along with the community’s standing in the eyes of the Gods and God in question.”

---

Resources Used:

https://baringtheaegis.blogspot.com/2012/07/kharis-our-relationship-with-gods.html

https://www.tumblr.com/greeknatty/652264171243765760/kharis-the-reciprocal-relationship-with-the-gods

[valuesofold]

Guide to Offering

I made a little pamphlet for those who want an outline to start making your own offerings to the theoi. I hope it helps you all!

[valuesofold]

⋆ Offerings in Hellenism ⋆

Offerings are central to the veneration of the theoi - through a revivalist lens - it is how we build a relationship with them, through gift giving, and if the Gods will, gift receiving, this goes a bit into the concept of "kharis", which will be talked to more in depth on a later post.

Normally, when offering, one goes through the motions for any other type of ritual. This starts with purifying oneself of miasma, this can be done by simply washing the hands, or by washing the hands and face with Khernips.

>> What are offerings?

They are anything you give to one of the theos, this can be food, liquids, items, incense and much more.

It is possible an offering might be mentioned as a sacrifice, this word comes from the latin "sacrificare", meaning "any act by which one puts something in the possession of a God". This is not exclusive to animal sacrifices. As modern day hellenists, it is of my opinion this specific practice shouldn't be brought back. This is mentioned here to acknowledge that a sacrifice, despite what modern culture believes, can be the simple act of giving a piece of fruit, for example. Essentially it is the aspect of giving something up that counts.

You cannot bribe a God with an offering, these are meant to be voluntary gifts you give despite the outcome you receive, and the same applies to a gift a theos might bestow on you. The more you establish a relationship with a specific God, the more they will be likely to answer your prayers, after all we are more likely to help out a good friend than a stranger. In a similar fashion if you give a gift to that same friend, you typically don't expect a gift back, you do it so out of love for them and out of friendship.

>> Offering:

Generally, a prayer to the God you are offering would be given, followed by the giving of the gift. It is customary, in the house, to give the first and last prayer, along with a gift, to Hestia. In practice this would look like:

Prayer to Hestia -> Giving the offering;

Prayer to Choosen God -> Giving the offering (copy this step for as many Gods as you want to offer to, it should be done in this order, separately for each God);

Prayer to Hestia -> Giving the offering.

For Ouranic (theoi that live in Olympus), you can give a tiny bit of the whole you have, so for example, a cup full of wine, all you need to give is a little, the equivalent of a sip is enough. You can use from the remaining wine (in the cup) for other ouranic deities, pouring only a little at a time. Any remaining wine could be drank by you (if you are of legal age).

On the other hand for Khthonic (generally theoi connected to the underworld), you would pour all of the offering, so a full cup of wine, would be the whole cup. For example, in the case you were offering to Hades this would apply. You don't need to give a full cup if you only have a tiny bit on the cup, what is important is that it is the whole content of what you have prepared for the offering, be it a full meal or half a slice of bread.

>> Types of Offerings:

1. One of the most common ways of offering is by burning, typically, food offerings and/or libations (liquid offerings). All you have to do, is throw the offering into a flame. The smoke is thought of as going up to the theoi.

WARNING: Please be careful when working with fire, make sure you are outside or in a well ventilated area, it may, most likely, be unhealthy to inhale the fumes in concentrated quantities. Be also attentive about being a reasonable distance away from flammable materials, some offerings when burnt might project the flame higher, making it easier for the fire to catch on cloths, curtains, etc.

2. Another way, for those of us that can't easily burn our offerings, can be to simply place the offerings on an offering dish/bowl.

Further down, I go over ways to dispose of these offerings.

3. Lastly we have votive offerings. This is the offering, generally of an item, maybe a piece of artwork you did for a theos or a sculpture you just got. Even a necklace or other jewellery.

Generally speaking, once you give an item such as these to a theoi, in a votive offering, you do not use it anymore. It is to be left on the altar or on a specific place for the God.

This type of offering is mostly common as a thank you for something a theos helped you with, or in hopes that your prayer will be answered.

---

P.s. We typically assume a specific posture when saying the prayers and presenting the offerings, there are two main ones, one for the ouranic Gods and another for the khthonic Gods. I will go over these in another post.

>> Disposing of the Remnants of the Offerings:

The most agreed upon way is keeping the remnants (be it ashes or the offering itself) until you can go outside and bury it in the earth. Some agree that in case this is not possible for you, respectfully putting them in the trash/down the drain can be done.

Alternatively, and most debated in the community, is the option to eat the offering that is left out, this is from the belief that the Gods do not take the physical side of the offering, so once the rite is done they have already partaken in their part. Note that if you go for this option, under no circumstance can you eat the offering given to a khthonic deity, this is because of their connection to the dead, this means the offering now has miasma (pollution), eating it would be taking in this "pollution".

>> List of Non-deity Specific Items to Offer:

Food: fruit; grain; meat.

Plants: laurel; flowers.

Liquids (for libations): wine; wine with water; honey; milk; milk with honey; water.

Objects: statues; artwork; amulets.

For a step by step guide on how to make an offering ritual, check here.

>> Sources:

https://hellenicfaith.com/do-ut-des/;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/offerings-to-gods-in-hellenismos;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/proper-care-of-offerings-to-the-gods-in-hellenismos;

https://www.hellenicgods.org/libation-in-hellenismos---sponde.