What is Hellenic Polytheism? | Hellenism 101

First part of a new series: HELLENISM 101, an introduction to Hellenic Polytheism, a pagan path. Please post any and all questions in the comments below and subscribe to see more in this series!

RESOURCES & SOURCES:
• Greek Religion by Walter Burkert
• A Companion to Greek Religion by Daniel Ogden
• Understanding Greek Religion: A cognitive approach by Jennifer Larson
• The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Greek Religion by Esther Eidinow and Julia Kindt
• Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler
• Ronald Hutton
• The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan
• The Iliad by Homer *
• The Odyssey by Homer *
• Theogony by Hesiod *
• Works and Days by Hesiod *

* indicates primary source

YOUTUBE CHANNELS

Sections:
00:00 Introduction
1:23 Common terms and definitions
4:54 Defining Hellenism
7:17 Key concepts and values in Hellenism
8:25 Xenia (Hospitality)
10:13 Kharis (Reciprocity)
10:56 Piety and Impiety
11:28 Lyma, Miasma and Agos
14:17 Oaths
15:01 Chthonic vs Ouranic Entities
16:35 Are there rules in Hellenism?
18:44 Magic and Hellenism?
20:14 Reconstructionism vs Revivalism
21:25 Hellenism vs Modern Witchcraft
24:31 Fel rants about the paradox of historical accuracy
25:35 Beginning your HelPol journey
29:31 Conclusion

Song is "Crossing" written and produced by me, contact me for use.

[desfox]

I've never really considered myself a religious person but a month or so ago when I discovered this practice, I found myself comfortable and drawn to it, I'd always been interested in the Greek gods as well! While I'm still very much a novice, I hope the gods will bring me success in my journey!

[fmfm]

I am an Amazigh. My ancestors are Carthaginians. Unfortunately there is nothing left of Amazigh polytheism and punic religions that my ancestors practiced before Christian and Arab colonization. Hellenismos is the closest thing I have of what they practiced before Abrahamic colonization. I abandoned Islam for Hellenistic polytheism. Instead of Allah I now worship the Greek gods especially the goddess Hera and I have never been more happier and spiritually fulfilled.

[Batnbee]

"Reaching back so we can reach forward". That is just so absolutely perfect. 💚🖤💖

[stelkins]

Thank you so much for your videos! I’m dipping my toes into Hellenic Polytheism and have honestly been turned off by some of the practitioners I have encountered as they come off as gatekeepers and have a “better than you” attitude. You have given me so much information in an honest and nice way. It felt like I was chatting with a friend! It is so appreciated! Definitely subscribed!

[ollie]

this might sound silly, but after having watched this video, i feel a little like i might cry (in a good way, lol). i've been trying to do more helpol research to see if this is the path i want to take, and despite my self doubt and heavily ingrained skepticism wrt religion and spirituality (thanks, christianity), it feels like everything is pointing to this. like it has been for years. research has been rough though, because it seems like every time i come across something explaining one concept, it introduces several more i haven't heard of, so it makes the whole thing kind of hard to understand. i was starting to despair last night, afraid i might just not be cut out for this, but then i found this video and it was exactly what i wanted. thank you so much.

[gretablackwell]

This is the first genuinely accessible resource I have found for beginners to helpol like myself. I’ve spent a couple months hoarding links and trying to understand important terms through context clues alone, so having the basics laid out so clearly and succinctly makes me feel a bit less overwhelmed.

[Reddmor]

So awesome to see that people are putting out new vids about this topic, so many of the videos are years old. Keep up the amazing work. 😊

[ambina]

You are gorgeous and I love your outfits! Also, thank you for mentioning that we don't have to be 100% historically accurate. For a moment I thought I had to pressure myself into it to please the gods more, but then you helped me realize it's not possible. I love your passion and personality! Keep being you, Fel!

[nder_juln]

I'm trying to learn because I felt called, but I live in a full Christian family (me my brothers and my mom are the "black sheep" in the family because I don't like going to the church, my older brother isn't Christian, and my mother didn't want to be a pastor like my grandparents and my uncles, my younger brother is the only who's following the rest of the family) and we're Brazilians

[jinx]

i’m a bit late to this but thank you so much for making this video!! i’m an ex-christian, n’ for years i’ve felt a calling towards Helpol (though i didn’t know the exact name of it at the time) n’ nature and paganism in general. i’ve just started researching the history and stuff behind it, but there are so many concepts to unravel and it is honestly overwhelming at times. especially since i am also considering some witchcraft or practices (but not mixing the two). overall, i want to find my path and over time create a practice and find a religion that truly speaks to me (so far it is Helpol), but i needed help finding where to start. this video was a perfect intro for this concept and it helped me understand more of it. overall it was a really good summary. hopefully i’ll find what is right for me :] thanks again!!

[SebastianSeanCrow]

11:14 IVE heard piety as like being “religiously correct behavior” and which honestly is quite helpful cuz when you grow up in a very Christian setting people throw the word pious around quite a lot without ANY explanation

[batmaneatingfish]

I might not believe in this religion (I’m an atheist) I find it very important to not only protect the religion but also normalize it because as a huge mythology fan (and a Greek guy) I think we must protect these stories and this religion does that, also I believe that as long as you are not hurting anybody believe in whatever you want

[Ashketchup]

When I first came to this video (after having it recommended by a friend) I was like "ugh, this is a half hour long" but while watching it I got genuinely intrigued, I'm very interested in learning more about hellenism. Thank you for making this!

[thatnerdtori]

This is absolutely the best hellenic paganism video I've seen. It's exactly the kind of approach I've been looking for!

[mercury]

Im part greek and Celtic and im very intereste in their ancient culture so im glad i found this channel its very interesting! Im alao a witch and im thinking about getting in to somthing like this

[armstrong]

As an Indian I love seeing this. The world slowly exploring their spiritual roots.

[WafflingWillow]

I would say the closest thing to "sin" in hellenism is found in greek philosophy, specifically found in Pythagoras and Democrates' verses. Sin is "to miss the mark", to go off your path. It's not as serious as the Christian adaptation.

On oaths, i did make one a few years ago. Not to get into any specific detail, but even though i did break my oath, i wasn't strongly punished. The real punishment was heartbreak and... Something else that could be fixed. But it ultimately felt like i was being guided into my oath, to live and breathe it. And now i fully understand the meaning behind why i made the oath to begin with. It might depend on the content of your oath and how you break it. I wouldn't know since that was the only oath I made. I suspect I wasn't deeply punished mostly because i was still *trying* to live it, and that was indication enough that i wasn't fully backtracking.

[magzthawriter]

I learned so much about Hellenism. I didn't know about those differences in terms tho (e.g. Hellenistic vs Hellenic). Looking forward to see more! :3

[katebushlover]

i started just really liking Hephaestus and keeping every single significant metal i find in the streets. my cousin went to Greece and she brought me a statue of him. so now im learning how to do the things respectfully. thank you!

[delphinea.]

I am so incredibly grateful to have found your channel! For someone who's interested and feels a certain pull towards, yet has limited knowledge, finding this video is like winning the lottery. Thank you!