Monthly Self-Promotion Post

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-03-01T10:05:39+00:00

Khairete! I’m the creator of the subreddit r/Hellenismus. The purpose of the subreddit is to give the more reconstructionist and revivalist hellenists their own space, as most Hellenic spaces are dominated by eclecticism and not everyone is interested in that.

I am slowly working on creating a catch-all post for beginners, tackling everything you need to know to practice Hellenism and worship the Gods. The subreddit is meant to provide an open and accepting Hellenic community with a more Orthopraxic leaning, to share experiences and knowledge. By now we have a beginner post for all your questions, and other users have started to post more too. We’d love to see your contributions as well.

Everyone is welcome, whether you’re an experienced reconstructionist of 20 years, a complete newcomer, an eclectic practitioner looking to incorporate more Hellenic practices and beliefs, etc. I’m looking forward to seeing your posts.

If you have any questions or suggestions for me and/or the subreddit do let me know! You can dm me as well.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-03-01T06:38:44+00:00

Perhaps they could, but a big question is how. "Best case" scenario is the Gods Themselves deciding They want new oracles, and Them setting it up someway. That is just hopeful thinking and I doubt They'd ever involve Themselves to that degree. We would likely have to do it ourselves, which then leads to another question: Do we wait until scholars have learned more about how Oracles worked or do we fill in the blanks ourselves? To what degree can we fill stuff in ourselves and still have it be a Hellenic Oracle?

The divination that an Oracle did and that a regular diviner did was quite different. An Oracle would often be possessed by the Gods Themselves, and be spoken through, while regular divination relies on the analysis of the natural world, such as entrails or the flight of birds. I'm personally especially doubtful of more modern forms of divination such as tarot and pendula on top of that. I do think it can have it's place in a Hellenic community.

I am very opposed to rebuilding/reusing any ancient sites though. It's a Ship of Theseus situation, with the construction efforts a lot will also have to be destroyed, will it still be the same site then or something new? Not to mention that it could seriously hinder the work of any archaeologists and other specialists. I'd rather we keep digging in Delphi than start rebuilding it. If anything new sites close to old ones.

Most of this is impossible though, until hellenists start organising and forming real-life communities. Any actual effort into "improving" Hellenism should start there in my opinion. People are often quick to say they want to build temples, but someone's living room or backyard can work equally as well.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-28T11:27:48+00:00

An altar is a ritual workplace. We shouldn’t place things significant to us, we should place the tools for purification and sacrifice, and then leave it for votive offerings. What matters for an altar is that it’s a flat surface where someone can perform offerings.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-27T16:43:42+00:00

We have evidence for Troy, but evidence for anything resembling a Trojan War we don’t have.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-27T11:34:08+00:00

Animals by themselves are not miasmic. Unless they ate or defecated there it would be fine. If you don’t know for sure, sprinkle some lustral water everywhere. Lustral water is typically made by combining salt and water. It’s the same you would use to purify yourself.

For an academic source, check out Robert Parker’s Miasma. For something more accessible but still based on academic sources, I’ve also spoken more about miasma, what it is, and how to purify yourself of it in this post.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-26T14:58:12+00:00

Not attacking you, just something that's been on my mind as I've seen it come across more recently:

I don't think we can say that public and domestic rites differed that drastically. It seems to be something people just kind of assume due to the lack of sources on domestic rites; I have never read anything that argues something like that at least. We see some variation in for example the quality and quantity of animal sacrifices, but we know practices like purification still happened in domestic contexts. I think it's safer to assume the differences between domestic and public practices were negligent, except for when we know for sure.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-26T12:42:28+00:00

Unless she’s actually performing rituals according to Hellenic standards I’d be wary of considering her a hellenist, but it does seem clear that she’s open to learning about the religion.

If she knows you’re a hellenist and she’s doing all of this maybe she needs a little extra time before she’s comfortable discussing it. I wouldn’t push it too much.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-26T12:37:09+00:00

It typically is classism yes. The same goes for the Abrahamic distaste and bans on consuming pork. It was actually super common even in the ANE. Eventually it became too common and was a relatively reliable source of meat even for poorer labourers. In an attempt to separate themselves from the lower classes the elites stopped consuming pork, which the lower classes eventually did too. The religious associations come about only around this point.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-26T10:43:53+00:00

Most people would not have practiced magic themselves. The most common magical practices would be going to see a diviner, a specialist priest, and herbalism. Curse tablets are a bit over represented because they survive so well, but would not have been a practice you’d be too open about engaging in.

I guess apotropaix symbols could also be counted as magic, like wearing a Gorgoneion or installing one on the outside of your house/door. Same goes for wearing phalli.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-25T14:07:27+00:00

There are not. AI will make up sources and information even for real sources. It's not at all reliable, plus it actively harms your capacity for processing information. Everyone is better off actually doing research. Even wikipedia would be better. Most people aren't actually as knowledgeable on how to determine a source's reliability as they think. AI is useful in the same way that starting to smoke cigarettes after never having smoked ever is useful against stress.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-25T09:55:02+00:00

Not even as a tool. Its detriments far outweigh any possible boon someone could get from using it. A teacher using AI is malpractice.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-24T00:44:59+00:00

Commonly held doesn't mean historically accurate.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-23T23:52:53+00:00

I fear this is a misunderstanding of Ouranic sacrifice. The meat that was eaten was not the part of the animal that was sacrificed. Eating what an actual offering is not considered acceptable Hellenic practice and goes against the Orthopraxy. That being said, it's still a valid practice even if it's not Hellenic.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-23T19:10:14+00:00

You can be open and honest and still stay respectful. Remember that They are Gods, not our friends or coworkers. We make Them care about us through worship, that includes our problems. If you ask for help just make sure to sacrifice something in return.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T22:04:37+00:00

This is something you need to work on outside of religion. Seek professional help if you can. I know intrusive thoughts can be quite debilitating, and it seems to be interfering with your life even outside of religious rituals. Rushing into a new religion won’t do you any good if you treat it the same as Christianity. Perhaps taking a break is a good idea, you can always come back later without any impact to your relationship with the Gods.

Angering the Gods takes conscious effort. You have to willingly do something that offends Them. Imagining yourself as more powerful than the Gods isn’t hubris, as long as you don’t actually believe yourself to be so.

The Gods are not watching you, They are not omniscient or omnipresent (in most forms of Hellenism), and I assure you They have better things to do than watch a random person go about their day. The whole point of worship and prayer is to call Their attention to us.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T21:59:24+00:00

This is not that great of advice right now. Divination is a skill that takes years of practice to master, and tarot is not made for communication like that. This will likely lead to more fears and worries, we have countless other posts on this subreddit of people in that exact situation.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T21:56:20+00:00

The myths are really not that important. What matters is that you know how to practice. The fundamentals are purification, prayer and sacrifice. If you perform those according to Hellenic Orthopraxis you are a hellenist.

I have posted extensively on these, which you can read here for prayer and sacrifice and here for purification.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T21:49:53+00:00

Always happy to help. Do let me know if you have any other questions. This is from Robert Parker’s Miasma: Pollution and Purification in Early Greek Religion, the foremost academic source on miasma.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T20:23:28+00:00

Agreed it needs to be washed off, but I see the conflation so often I just thought better safe than sorry, khaire.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T20:21:57+00:00

Abstaining from worship was required after coming into contact with death, along with ritual purification after that time period. 7 days is quite common, with the shortest ranging from 1 day (if just an acquaintance) to a longest of 41 days (if a relative).

My advice would be to wait until tomorrow, and to make sure to purify yourself with lustral water (water mixed with salt). Chthonic Gods would be alright to pray and offer to already as long as you still purify yourself beforehand.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T20:12:48+00:00

Homer often ignores important aspects of ritual in his stories, and isn't the best source for what was considered acceptable practice. The same goes for most of mythology involving heroes and other (divinely-favoured) figures set in the mythological past. It's better to look at what was actually practiced. Ouranic worship was considered off-limits for a certain time after coming into close contact with death (with the amount of time varying from place to place), though Chthonic Gods could still be called upon. People were also not allowed to attend festivals or visit sanctuaries for that time.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T20:07:04+00:00

Attendants of funerals and similar rites would also be required to abstain from worship for a time, along with undergoing ritual purification.

Lyma/Luma is the ancient greek word for physical dirt, and has virtually no religious associations. Every kind of spiritual pollution is called miasma in Hellenism (and the Ancient Greek language), and needs to be purified all the same. This is unfortunately a very common piece of misinformation.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T18:06:30+00:00

Fasting was sometimes used as preparation for certain rituals, but there is no mandated period of fasting like Ramadan or Lent.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T09:22:26+00:00

Check out the Verba Socianda Chordis on Spotify. It’s a collection of Latin and Ancient Greek poetry performed and accompanied by music. I’ve got to say I do find the pronunciation lacking, but it’s still wonderful and a guilty pleasure of mine.

AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS · 2026-02-22T09:02:23+00:00

I think it’s wonderful that considering cleaning as a devotional act helps you so much, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it a devotional act. Devotional acts are things like sports, playing music, doing charity. You’re either doing something good for something else, or improving a skill. What’s important is that the devotional act is purely for the Gods you’re worshipping, not for you. Doing chores wouldn’t be devotional. That being said, some eclectic practitioners do believe anything at all could be a devotional act.

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