In one of my many conversations regarding Hellenismos, an individual told me he did not believe there was any good “basic” information regarding the ritual practices from the many sources online. The accusation seems to be that most new to Hellenismos should independently sift through volumes of texts, extracting the basics of practice, and as a result, most conversations were over the newbie’s head. Doing a quick search, I was actually surprised how sparse and scattered the most basic information was, and while I have addressed these more basic topics in The Beginner’s Guide to Hellenismos, I wanted to create a Quick Guide for those who are new. A Quick Guide is a document that is not intended to be all-inclusive, but provides the bare-bones essentials to start. No one can look at this work as all that is needed, but it does provide basic information for a person to create a working practice while continuing to learn.

The practice of Hellenismos begins with the Gods. Therefore, the first thing we must address is who do we worship. We begin with the Twelve Olympians, and then filter through a number of “subfamilies” based on those Gods who most affect and influence our lives day to day. It should be noted that most of these “subfamilies” are lead by one or more of the Twelve Olympians.

Divinities worshiped at a base minimum:

• Twelve Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, and Hestia.
• Household Gods: Zeus, Hestia, Agathos Daimon, Apollo, Hercules, Hermes, Hecate, and The Dioskouroi
• All Gods and Goddesses: in a general declaration of honor and worship.

Other common additions:

• Marriage Gods: Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Artemis, the Moerae, the Charites, the Erotes, et al.
• Gods of Country Living: Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Pan, the Centaurs, Nymphs, Naiads, et al.
• Gods of Divine Law: Zeus, Demeter, Apollo, Themis, Dike, Eunomia, Irene, et al.
• Other groups of spirits and divinities including the agricultural deities, local spirits, heroes, the dead, and many Gods of the sea, rivers, and winds.

There are three main types of ritual practices: rites of passage, rites of worship, and rites of personal devotion. Rites of passage include welcoming ceremonies and weddings; rites of worship are communal events that honor the Gods in public forums or within the family; rites of personal devotion include forms of individual worship such as solitary prayer or meditation. Worship does not require the use of an officially recognized or ordained priest or priestess, even in cases of weddings. No one stands between you and the Gods. The use of “professional” priests is most times limited to term officeholders who perform public festivals and maintain temples. No official recognition is required for anyone to perform most rites or rituals within Hellenismos, and as a result, there are five basic components that every practitioner should be able to perform with some level of expertise or understanding.

Prayer
Prayer is the act of communication with a God, Goddess, divinity, or spirit for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, as an act of propitiation, or to convey thoughts and emotions. Prayers regularly accompany sacrifices. They may consist of a joyful expression of praise, a chant of worship, or a formal petition. Prayer is appropriate also when some omen may indicate the presence of the Gods, when one passes a shrine, or if one is in dire need of divine help.

Formal prayers contain three parts. The prayer begins with an invocation citing the God’s epithets (titles), and can include a list of the God’s activities in this world or sphere’s of influence. The second section of the prayer attempts to make a declaration as to why the God should answer the prayer. This could include a list of past sacrifices and offerings, precedence set by the God having answered previous petitions, or an appeal for pity. Remember, our relationships with the Gods are based on reciprocity. The prayer will end with the petition itself.

Hymns
A hymn is written for the purpose of praise, adoration, or prayer. Often structured similarly to a formal prayer, a hymn is written with the intent of being sung or chanted, but music is often an afterthought. One can make use of hymns during processions or rituals. Of course, talent will limit proficiency with this item.

Votive Offerings
A votive offering is an object left in a sacred place as a gift to a God, ordinarily in acknowledgment of a God’s favor. In most occasions, a votive gift is either an offering of thanksgiving, or a payment of a vow. A votive offering is defined as a permanent memorial given freely. It differs from the sacrifice, which is not permanent, and from a mandatory tithing, which is not considered free will. This custom is safely presumed for the whole history of the Greek religion. In the most ancient sanctuaries, such as those of Crete, Argoa, Olympia, Sparta, and Ephesus, these offerings are found in excavations dating back to the earliest times.

Sacrifice
The word sacrifice means “to make sacred”, and is the practice of offering food (or the lives of animals) as an act of worship. The sacrifice is often represented as a communal meal where both Gods and men share consecrated food. The normal form of worship in Hellenismos consists with the sacrifice at the altar with hymns and prayers; portions are burned for the God, and the worshippers eat the rest. In today’s world, the most common form of sacrifice is “bloodless,” making use of vegetables, fruits, baked goods, flowers, incense, et al. In the context of a communal meal, “meat offerings” are appropriate to the Olympian gods in time of doubt, joy, or as part of daily life. The liturgy of our worship emphasizes the social and communal bonds that unite us with the Gods.

Important features of Hellenic sacrifice are the festive decorating of the “victim,” the lustration of the officiant, and the sprinkling of those present with “holy water.” In antiquity, if a living animal was used, the rite was believed unfavorable if the animal was unwilling, but if it nodded, all was well. Barleycorns were sprinkled on its neck in an act of consecration, and a lock of hair cut from its forehead and burned. The animal was clubbed, its throat cut, and the altar sprinkled with its blood. The animal was prepared and cut into portions. The God’s share burned on the altar while the remainder is cooked and eaten by participants.

Other types of sacrifice include propitiatory and mystical.

Libations
A libation is the ritual pouring of a drink as a sacrifice. Wine (or other liquid) is poured into a cup, a portion is spilled on an altar or ground, and participants share the remains. Libations can also be poured to solemnize agreements. Traditional libations include milk, honey, and mixed wine. The use of libations at a sacrifice and at banquets is universal. Additionally, the practice of making libations is used to reinforce prayers. In daily practice, this act begins or ends the main meal.

Purification
Rites of purification are sought to remove guilt or negative emotions. This negativity results in ritual pollution or miasma. Rites of purification is not as extreme in Hellenismos as it is in other religions, and in many cases, ritual washing may be enough to remove pollution. Miasma is most often identified attached to death. This blemish incapacitates from one appearing before the Gods. Childbirth also requires lustration. Furthermore, before rites of passage, such as welcomings and marriages, individuals must also be purified. Purification is required at the beginning of certain seasons and at the end of an illness. Before public events, a place must be purified with religious rites to guard against the possible presence of a polluted person. In a ceremony of purification the subject sits and is sprinkled with khernips (lustral water) while a prayer is offered. Libations (without wine) accompany this ceremony, and cakes are burnt on an altar. The burning of incense also can have a place in this ceremony.

Other forms of worship include processions, vows, oaths, and athletic contests.

Altars, Tools, and Sacred Places
An altar is any structure upon which sacrifices or other offerings are made, and where many ceremonies take place. Traditionally, they were found in shrines, temples, family courtyards, and other sacred places most often outdoors. Altars can be very rustic, created with unshaped stones or from the accumulation of sacrificial ashes, or can be grand monuments, and can be either temporary or permanent structures.

Ritual tools tend to be simple and few. Outdoor ceremonies need little more than a basket of barleycorns, a bowl filled with lustral water, a decanter of mixed wine or other libation, a goblet or chalice, the sacred fire, and a sacrificial knife. Indoor ceremonies would require the addition of offering bowls for sacrificial items and libations, and incense burners. Few people today make use of “traditional” garb for ritual, but it is appropriate for rites and festivals to dress in fine clothing that is predominantly white, and to wear garlands or wreathes of flowers and leaves.

Typically, a sacred place means a location that is “set apart” from everyday use for the purpose of worship. A site for rituals could begin as a location found to be sacred to a particular God or Goddess, and will include identifiable characteristics such as plants or animals associated with that divinity. Over time, a temenos can be established that includes a formal altar, and eventually a temple can be placed on the site. We do need to take this in context though. The Gods are everywhere. Therefore, virtually all locations can be said to be sacred to one God or another. To Hestia, the hearth and home is sacred, and we cannot very well set our home apart from everyday use. Having said that, because the home is a sacred place, it must be respected as such. This means that the home can never be a place for unscrupulous activity.

While this Quick Guide provides some bare-bones essentials for those interested and new to Hellenismos, more is needed. I provided very basic information to get a person started with a working practice while continuing to learn. For those interested, please review our recommended reading list, read through our other articles and essays, and post your questions to our forum. Hellenismos.us is here to provide you with valid, well reasoned, and well documented information for practicing Hellenismos. We are here to provide you with information you can trust.

May the Gods bestow their Grace upon you.

Tags: Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek religion, favor, Hellenismos, Miasma, obligation, petition, prayer, Propitiatory, purification, ritual impurity, sacrifice, thanksgiving, The Twelve, tradition, Twelve Olympians, votive offerings, worship