By Emma Melvin
Hellenic Paganism, also known as Hellenism or “Greek Mythology” is the polytheistic religion practiced commonly in Greece around 300 B.C.E. to 300 C.E. Although it’s not as commonly practiced in the 21st century, it still is practiced by some people today.
One of the main resources of information about Hellenic Paganism is The Iliad. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature that still remains popular today. It follows the story of the Trojan War, fought between Ancient Greek Kingdoms (Now located in the Western part of Turkey) with each backstory of the involved gods.
The religion fell about 1,000 years after 300 B.C.E. The main contributing factor was the lack of soldiers to protect the temples destroyed by Persian armies, Natural disasters, and groups of Christians.
Although resources are almost completely destroyed, there are about an estimated 200,000 people who still follow these beliefs.
In Hellenic Paganism, there is a belief of multiple deities. The most well known being: Zeus, The King of gods and the god of the sky, Aphrodite, The goddess of love and beauty, and Hades, The god of the underworld.
One very common misconception is that Hades “is evil/a demon.” However, this can not be possible because of the fact that demons are not a part of Hellenic Paganism. In this religion, everyone, good or bad, goes to the underworld. In other words, he can be seen more as the god of the afterlife.
Hellenic Paganism in the modern day is a bit different from the religion in Ancient Greece. For example, the people of Ancient Greece believed that Zeus controlled the weather. Now that we have Scientific proof of otherwise, not many people in the religion believe this today.
In modern day Hellenism, there is no specific one way to practice. However, one thing most Hellenic Pagans have in common is building shrines/altars dedicated to the Greek god or gods they worship, this can be something as small as a mint container holding small trinkets, crystals, drawings or any other offerings… or as big as a shelf or table space holding the offerings. An offering basically being a small gift in honor of them as a thank you for their work.
Not all Hellenic Pagans do offerings though. Some do devotional acts instead in honor of the gods they work with. For example, this can be writing a poem or song for Apollo (The God of the sun and music), or delivering messages to people or going for a walk in honor of Hermes (The God of movement and messenger of gods).
As a Hellenic Pagan, it is important to use the term “Hellenic Paganism” as opposed to “Greek Mythology” when speaking about it.
When Benicia High School student, Jacinto Caballero-George was asked about why this is important to do, He said “Hellenic Paganism was and still is practiced with true belief, but to call it “Greek mythology” would imply that the people who practiced it did not believe what they were practicing was real. Calling it “Mythology” to a person who falls under this belief can be disrespectful because you are basically saying their beliefs are not real.”
Overall, Hellenic Paganism still has it’s impact today. Whether it is being taught in schools, or being practiced, it should still be respected as it is a genuine religion practiced among some people.
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