Why Hellenismos?

I was a polytheist before I became a Hellenic polytheist, and I had been varying flavors of pagan before I really came to understand and embrace polytheism. For me, the reason for Hellenismos is Apollon. When He came into my life, I underwent a paradigm shift from fairly eclectic (but mainly Welsh and Scandinavian based) polytheism to a distinctly Hellenic practice.

It seems to be a fairly common story to hear that many Hellenists were led into the religion by a particular deity who then introduced them (literally and metaphorically) to the rest of the pantheon. The Greeks don’t seem to work alone.

I shifted my practice from the eclectic mishmash that it had been to a Hellenic paradigm out of respect for Apollon. This led to growth and learning on my part as I learned how and what to do to please Him and the other gods that became a part of my life in the years that followed. That is the purpose of this religion – to form and maintain relationships with the divine that are both personally fulfilling and pleasing to the gods.

We do not pray or make offerings for personal power or glory, nor do we do what we do so that the gods will give us things or make things easier for us. There is nothing wrong with striving for personal glory, but you do this by bettering yourself, working hard, and sacrificing for others and for the common good. This is not something that is given by the gods. If anything, they will only give you challenges to overcome, but whether you can overcome those challenges and rise to glory all depends on your personal strength – often of mind, body, and character. Sometimes they do give us things and make things easier for us, but sometimes they don’t. It’s not something that we should ever expect. What they do is on their time and with their own purposes in mind.

When their hands are clearly at work in something in our lives, that is a beautiful surprise that we should be thankful for, one that reinforces the idea that our relationships are two-sided, and that we have not been forgotten. It is both our duty and our honor to do our part to maintain these relationships without thought for what one might get in return.

Kharis and xenia are two of the cornerstones of Hellenimsos, and these relate both to the way we treat the gods and the way we treat other people. Xenia is easier to define – it means hospitality. When we make offerings to the gods, we are not only building kharis, but we are also demonstrating or offering xenia. Kharis is sometimes defined as the relationship itself, or religious reciprocity, but it is really many things, perhaps the very definition of a good relationship – it’s beauty and gratitude, kindness and grace, good will and attraction, and so much more. You can spend a lifetime building, maintaining, and exploring kharis.