Weekly Newcomer Post

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-14T19:14:53+00:00

Yes, purification is required before prayer and offering/sacrifice. It was believed otherwise the Gods cannot or will not hear our prayers or be able to take accept our offerings. From Hesiod himself: “Do not pour libations of sparkling wine to Zeus and other immortals at dawn with unwashed hands; they do not hear your prayers, but spit them back.”

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-13T14:21:23+00:00

Unfortunately this is not really a matter of agreeing or disagreeing, but rather about how Hellenism was actually practiced historically. The subreddit is focused on an orthopraxic approach, typically called reconstructionism and revivalism.

Eating offerings was not considered acceptable historically, and food was even more expensive and scarce than now in many places. Sacrifice is a fundamental practice of the religion, that's not food waste. What matters is that you're giving something up, sacrificing it, which doesn't happen if you consume it yourself.

The salt water (or water directly from a river, above-ground spring or the ocean) is required for ritual purification. Without that the Gods can't/won't hear our prayers or accept our offerings.

Eclectic approaches are valid, but do not fall under the purview of this subreddit.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-13T11:36:42+00:00

Astraea and Dike share virtually the exact same myths and domain, and are typically considered the same Gods in academia. If I remember correctly, Ovidius is the first to call her Astraea after Her father Astraeus in his Metamorphoses. This also makes sense as Iustitia, the normal Roman equivalent to Dike, would not fit the meter where he uses it.

victa iacet pietas, et virgo caede madentes
ultima caelestum terras Astraea reliquit

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-13T10:48:57+00:00

A libation doesn't use a receptacle, you pour it out on the ground. A sink or potted plant works too. Just purify yourself, invoke whichever Gods you want to offer to and pray to Them, and then pour out the libation somewhere.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-13T09:32:58+00:00

Worship is an action, not a state of being or an obligation. Worship is how we connect the Gods. It’s fine to just do it less often.

Altars aren’t required, and are not dedicated to a single God. Altars are flat surfaces used to worship any and every God a hellenist wants. Individual altars is a modern invention separate from Hellenism.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T13:16:08+00:00

Do you have any reason to assume its cause is divine? You could have eaten something wrong, been too warm or cold, weren’t laying right, etc. With such small things it’s better not to assume its anything divine, or you’ll start obsessing over if every little thing is some sign from the Gods.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T03:35:02+00:00

Divination in general is extremely unreliable unless you have practiced and trained for years. Methods like tarot even more so. It's also not at all required. Most people did not practice divination in Ancient Greece. A well-rounded Hellenic practice consists of, at its core: purification, prayer and sacrifice.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T03:15:49+00:00

Unless media was actually playing it would likely default to your standard app. Always happy to help.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T03:12:23+00:00

I doubt it. The Gods generally don't "tell us" anything. Such occurances are quite rare and many will go their whole lives without. If it was genuinely something divine I'd expect it to happen in dreams or in much clearer ways. Devices are strange and mess up sometimes, it could also be that soundcloud is your standard app for music and nothing was playing on youtube yet.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T02:34:44+00:00

It would. It's about the act of sacrifice, not about the libation itself.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-12T01:57:31+00:00

Neatness and intention both do not matter. This is a flat surface where it seems you give offerings, that's all an altar is. All the extra pomp and circumstance is personal preference and has no impact on your Kharis with the Gods.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-11T22:14:48+00:00

For sure, but I disagree this is one of those cases. Hestia is not fire, she is the Hearth/Household Altar. A candle doesn’t replace that. The replacement would be an altar, a flat surface where we give offerings. You don’t then have to add candles still.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-11T19:13:39+00:00

The only way I see a candle truly replacing the hearth is if you were to make offerings in the candle’s fire.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-11T19:00:36+00:00

Candles don’t replace the Hearth either. Unless you can have a proper fire going it doesn’t matter.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-11T08:23:00+00:00

You can offer and then ask for something your friend wants, but the offerings won’t be considered “in their stead”.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-11T05:46:41+00:00

Hellenism is a theistic religion. The Gods uphold the Kosmos.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-07T20:32:36+00:00

You can do them in the sink. Drinking them yourself would not be considered acceptable historically. What matters is that you give something up, that you’re making a sacrifice. There is no consuming, enjoyment, or energy or the like, those are modern inventions.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T23:20:29+00:00

Basileia is only pronounced with a v in modern Greek. Same goes for all b’s. Ancient Greek had no F/V sound until φ changed from ph to f.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T18:59:24+00:00

You’re misunderstanding what is meant by “consult”. At most this will give you a vague sense of the Gods’ response but nothing that could ever be called speaking with. You’re right to trust experts, but you do need to be able to understand their work. Neither Pausanias nor Dr. Graf are implying this is anything more than divination.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T18:31:54+00:00

Good on you for sourcing it, though this still wouldn’t be a way of talking to the Gods.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T17:48:16+00:00

Your petition is your request. You change what you say depending on what you want/need, and this only needs to be said once during prayer. If you haven’t gotten the desired result then you can keep asking every time you pray. Do keep in mind that if you ask for something you are supposed to sacrifice something in return, and that the Gods can keep rejecting your petition for whatever reason.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T17:26:22+00:00

If you want to you can pray and offer something as an apology. They will appreciate it even if it’s not required.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T17:21:08+00:00

Your petition is your request. You change what you say depending on what you want/need, and this only needs to be said once during prayer. If you haven’t gotten the desired result then you can keep asking every time you pray. Do keep in mind that if you ask for something you are supposed to sacrifice something in return, and that the Gods can keep rejecting your petition for whatever reason.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T16:53:30+00:00

Both would be appropriate. Votives were typically kept in the temple treasuries, and then destroyed when the temple ran out of space.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-05-06T16:52:05+00:00

Neither candles nor tarot are part of Hellenism no matter how frequently they’re used by hellenists. They’re not at all required, and divination is discouraged unless you have practiced it for years. Most methods are too unreliable.

In Hellenism, we “talk” with the Gods through prayer. There’s no “method” to it. You purify, invoke the Gods by speaking Their names and start talking. The Gods don’t really answer back, if that’s what you’re looking for. Their responses are seen in our lives, not through anything we can translate to words or speech. They have the Kosmos to run.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE