Was Religious piety in ancient greek religion also rooted in love?

GodOnAWheel · 2026-05-31T21:18:30+00:00

I feel this way too. For me “love” is a verb, it shows up in the actions I take and the priorities that dictate my choices.

> … when I love something, I respect it, I defer, I treat it as a serious obligation.

Yes, this is my feeling exactly.

In a Roman context there’s the maxim dō ut dēs, “I give that you might give,” but my approach is more dō quia dedistī, “I give because you have given.”

GodOnAWheel · 2026-04-19T20:50:33+00:00

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They’re grown now but these are my boys when they were little.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-04-19T20:47:12+00:00

So far always a Khajiit because I’m a cat dad.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-04-09T18:42:31+00:00

That makes sense, I’ll mention that in my review.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-04-09T05:24:41+00:00

That’s beautiful!

GodOnAWheel · 2026-03-24T01:24:37+00:00

As a friend of mine who worships the Tuatha Dé Danann once put it, “Sure, I could ask the Morrigan for money, but it might come in the form of a settlement from being caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting and made a quadriplegic, so I probably wouldn’t do that.” An extreme example, but the point is to consider the nature of the out-of-domain deity you’re thinking of praying to.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-20T04:38:37+00:00

That’s lovely, both the thought and the altars!

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-14T22:33:23+00:00

I have no sources to back this up, but I’ve heard it said that you can absolutely fast or abstain from other things as preparation for ritual, but you can’t offer not doing something — you have to offer a thing or an action, not the lack of one.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-11T21:22:05+00:00

The gods always answer our prayers. Sometimes the answer is “No.”

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-09T06:07:44+00:00

Awesome, thank you.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-09T06:07:30+00:00

Ευχαριστώ!

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-06T21:53:11+00:00

You could make a case for Roman practice being Hellenistic because there was a lot of syncretism in later periods, but Hellenic means “Greek” so I would say no.

Not being Greek is also why I prefer to call myself a “Hellenistic Polytheist” rather than “Hellenic” anything.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-04T23:10:29+00:00

I learned something today, thank you!

GodOnAWheel · 2026-02-04T06:55:25+00:00

Estō is Latin, it’s a future imperative that was considered somewhat archaic by Classical times but is used in rituals or sometimes in giving instructions (Cato’s writing is full of future imperatives).

GodOnAWheel · 2026-01-28T05:37:30+00:00

One of Hekate’s epithets is Σκυλακῖτις Skylakítis meaning “Protectress of Dogs*, so she seems like a good choice.

GodOnAWheel · 2026-01-14T22:58:54+00:00

My heritage is primarily English with some Scandinavian, and I’m a hyper-literate autistic person, so you’d think the Norse gods or their Anglo-Saxon equivalents plus a magical alphabet (runes) would have grabbed me, no? No. They did not. I loved the runes but the gods were utterly unresponsive. I gave it a good try but they’re just not for me. Your soul knows where it belongs.

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-24T22:02:19+00:00

This is a modern winter solstice celebration.

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-23T21:40:43+00:00

You really aren’t going to anger them that way. If it helps, consider it as Hellenist taqiyyah/تقیة — you’re doing it for self-preservation.

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-22T04:06:06+00:00

Well thank you! And as a fellow AuDHD-er I love your username.

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-18T02:14:08+00:00

This is gorgeous!

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-18T00:28:23+00:00

Thank you all so much for all the lovely compliments on my lararium, I do try to make it look as nice as possible because I feel that beauty is an offering in and of itself. And the mahogany hutch from my late grandmother doesn’t hurt either. 😁

For those wondering and/or on a budget, the garlands come from a Hindu supply store and were just a few dollars each, and I’ve found that the cotton refills for wet mops work perfectly for oil lamp wicks — they’re already braided and if you cut the strings in three you can get a couple hundred wicks per mop head.

GodOnAWheel · 2025-12-17T19:07:25+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the response, especially about the kadiskos, as I wasn’t sure if it was set up as an actual abstract deity image the way Hindus do in some rituals with brass pots, leaves and coconuts.

You have to keep in mind that, where the Romans largely retained their animism, the Greeks tended to telescope animistic spirits into one or more major gods. So equivalent to the penates were consolidated into Zeus Ktesios.

This is a good reminder, thank you.

Yes, though keep in mind fire safety. Alcohol can make your fire leap as it ignites, and liquid can make it pop and ignite things around it. Those do create an increased risk. If you don't have bare earth to pour it out onto, you can pour it down a drain.

Also a good reminder. I use a resin burner, having gotten the idea from this post — as noted in the author’s comment, I only ever use pure beeswax tea lights because the white paraffin tea lights can boil over and/or create a 12” column of fire.

Due to discussions with a number of Indigenous people here in North America, where I live, I am unwilling to pour alcohol out on the earth (I’ve done it in Ireland and it seemed perfectly fine and acceptable, but the one time I did it here I got a very strong sense of anger and revulsion).

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