Salvete
Before we can start describing why we chose our faiths, we could try ask the questions "what is Religio Romano?" and/or "What is Hellenismos?"
Sannion, a Hellenic Pagan from the yahoogroup Hellenic Pagan wrote an essay on the last question: what is Hellenismos. And it is worth reading. I have downloaded this from Sannion's website called Sannion's Sanctuary http://sannion.bravepages.com/ and i do have the permission to post his article here. We owe this guy alot because most of his work is very good. If he ever decides to join SVR, we will have another valuable member. Maybe we can put this on the site aswell. If the Aediles wishes to do so, please contact me. Anyway enough with the rambling. Here it is:
What is Hellenismos?
Hellenismos is one of the names for the religion that I practice. Other terms are Hellenism, Hellenic or Greek Reconstructionism, Olympianism, Dodecatheism, Greek Paganism, Greco-Roman Paganism, Classical Paganism, or simply Paganism. I prefer Hellenismos because it is the most accurate description, as it encompasses the whole complex of Greek ethnicity, language, culture, religion, and way of life. For the ancients, there was no word which corresponded completely to our modern concept of religion. The closest word is eusebia which means "pious interaction with the Gods." Obviously, we mean a great deal more than that when we speak of religion. When we ask someone "What religion do you practice?" we have an idea that their "religion" will refer to a specific kind of lifestyle, to a normative creed that codifies one's basic beliefs about
God(s), man, ethical existence, and the afterlife, and that they will only
belong to one religion at one time.
For the ancients, however, this was not the case. Religion wasn't something that you chose. It was something that had been passed down from a very long time ago
- perhaps even from the beginning of time - and everyone had always done it this way. Your great grandparents, your grandparents, your parents, you, your children, your children's children all formed part of an unbroken line that united the past with the future. Religion did not consist of a collection of proper ideas about things, but in the proper performance of the ancient rituals. Certainly there were basic ideas about the Gods, and life, and our place in the kosmos that most people shared in common - but there was also a lot of room for divergent opinions on the matter, and indeed people were encouraged to think these things out for themselves. But this - and properly so - was the concern of philosophy, not religion. Within this system there was also room to worship many Gods. In fact, impiety came from not worshipping the Gods. One could not only be a devotee of many different Gods, but also a priest in the Cult of various Gods. This was because priests merely officiated at the rites of large festivals. Most small rituals, such as daily devotions and libations, and funerals and marriages, could be performed by the individual, or by the head of the household if it was of great importance. The priest generally officiated at large, civic functions and performed the sacrifice or led the choral dance or song. It was often an elected position and lasted only a short while. There were, however, exceptions to this - such as the Priesthoods of Dionysos, the Two Goddesses, and some who presided
over Oracle centers. Religion, then, was about daily life. About performing the proper rituals, observing the cyclical changes, maintaining the ancient practices and customs, and passing them down for future generations. There was a seemingly endless series of rituals that one performed, covering every aspect of life. Birth, youth, adulthood, marriage, having children, growing old, and dying - all of the major life stages had specific rituals attached to them. Throughout the day, there were a number of libations, prayers, or sacrifices which were customarily performed, and on feast days there were extravagant celebrations.
For the ancients, religion was intimately linked with culture. We, as Hellenic reconstructionists, recognize that fact, and try to learn as much as we can about how the Greeks lived and thought, so that we can make our practices as valid as possible. "Why bother?" Some might say. "After all, two thousand years separate you from the ancient Greeks." This is certainly true, and even the staunchest reconstructionist will grant that his practices are not exactly like those of the ancients. Further, how we view the world, how we live in it, and interact with our fellows, is radically different than it was back then. But in a sense, we are still the same. The basic facts of our existence remain unchanged. We go through the same life changes. We have the same fears, hopes, aspirations that they had. Rituals which were created to deal with these things still have relevance, can still move us. If you have any doubt of it, read some of the ancient playwrights - particularly Sophokles, Aiskhlyos, and Euripides. While these men wrote for contemporary audiences, their words resonate across the ages, and stir our souls even to this day. Religion, which is a kind of artform, does so with even greater power. And, of all ancient peoples, we are probably the closest to the Greeks. Our art, drama, science, mathematics, philosophy, architecture, and politics we owe to them. Many of our dearest ideas were first given expression by Greek lips. Western civilization has been indelibly stamped with a Greek impression. So it is not all that great of a culture shock to practice the Greek religion.
While we may differ from the Abrahamic faiths in that we value orthopraxy (right practice) above orthodoxy (right belief) there are a number of beliefs which are common to those who practice Hellenismos.
more to follow