Top products from r/HellenicPolytheism

Always happy to help! For more info on Dionysus:

Subreddits:
/r/dionysus

Books to learn more about Dionysus (I used Amazon because it is easy, you may find these cheaper elsewhere):

Dionysus Myth and Cult - Considered by some Dionysians to be the Dionysian Bible.

Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life - Also very helpful scholarly source.

Ecstatic - Written by a Dionysian priest, this is a really good book for beginning to know the god.

Tending the Bull - Written by the same guy, focuses on a more specific aspect of Dionysus, within the Starry Bull tradition (Will explain more in the website section). If you do find yourself interested in the Starry Bull tradition, this author has several other books on amazon, you can find them on his author page.


Websites:

The Dionysion - Kinda old, lots of sites missing, but still has some useful info.

Temple of Dionysus - Another old site, might be of some use though.

The Theoi page for Dionysus - Lots of scholarly info on the god.

The Bakcheion - This is the website of the Starry Bull. It's a bit much at first, but the information is well sourced and presents a side of Dionysus many don't see. Please be sure to practice khernips before exploring their pantheon page, but their Dionysus page has a lot of great things, specifically the Feast of the Senses and Devotional Activities for Dionysus.

Here is my post after my first attempt at Enthousiasmos (Possession by the god)

Here is my post about one of my early rites for Dionysus.

Labrys, a Greek polytheist group, also celebrates Phalleforia, a Dionysian festival, once a year in Athens, and has some pretty good videos of the festival. Here are some:

2017 Phalleforia - 7:33 The official video of the festival

2017 Phalleforia - 4:19 A better edited version

2016 Phalleforia - 28:02 Unofficial video of the festival

2016 Phalleforia - 18:11 Official video of the festival

Finally here is Daemonia Nymphe's Hymn to Bacchus, probably the most well known musical hymn for the god.

Edit: Sorry if this is too much, but I missed one thing. The Bacchae's Sacred Chants from the Greek movie Two Suns in the Sky.

I highly recommend Fire Gel. My specific favorite is Swissmar Fire Gel, which is a little less intense than some of the camping fire gels out there. Here's an amazon link to the stuff I use and love.

My setup looks like this:

1. I start with a container about 2.5x the size you want for the fire (I use basically a copper cauldron, but honestly something ceramic would be better - the copper cauldron has awesome properties with the air flow and capturing heat which make the flames rise to be huge, but that may not actually be what you want).
   
2. If this container is at all conductive (as my main one is), put a ceramic plate under it.
   
3. Fill this with sand until you're going to have at least an inch of sand clearance - ideally incense sand, but definitely not any sort of dirt that might be at all wet. Stones could also likely work for this - anything that insulates.
   
4. Then put a smaller container (I use a small metal bowl about 3" across, but anything able to handle fire should do) and put the gel alcohol in there.
   
   Lighting it lasts me about ~20-30 minutes which is about perfect for most of my ritual needs. It's beautiful, reliable, and safe/stable enough to not cause issues in ritual. It is also smokeless (Except for any burned offerings, which obviously can leave smoke).
   
   A few important notes:
   
   

• DO NOT PUT BURNING OILS INTO THE FIRE GEL/ALCOHOL. The oil will boil and 'pop' out, while still on fire, and spew forth burning sparks. The radius from this 'spewing' is larger than might think. I was VERY glad I did this experiment on a non-flammable surface. If you must burn olive oil just get an olive oil lamp to do it with. It will not be clean/smoke-free though so honestly I recommend treating olive oil like a libation offering and pouring it out somewhere rather than burning it.
  
  
• Run trials of your setup outside of ritual before you try to use it in an offering context. I learned a great deal about size-of-fire, safely putting out my fire (I like a ceramic plate over the whole setup), how hot everything gets (surprisingly hot! This is not a candle, it's a full freaking mini-bonfire) from running some trails.
  
  Also, as far as offerings... it's highly unconventional, but I personally did a vegan marshmellow to Hestia to open my rite and it both seemed to work and left my entire house smelling absolutely delicious. If you must burn things inside it's worth thinking about what sort of smoke they're going to leave behind. I suggest, as I always do, running trials in a non-ritual context before you try actually making a formal offering of it.
  
  Fire safety is no joke, but it's entirely possible to have a lovely and significant fire setup safely if you treat it all with the seriousness it deserves.
  
  Edit - A couple images of my setup:
  
  
• An overall look at the setup
  
• A little better view inside

Ok, first off it's important to note that while the concept of patron deities is popular in neo-paganism, it was not nearly as common in ancient times. That's not to say it didn't ever happen, but it's not as if the ancient Greeks thought that everyone automatically had a close personal relationship with a single specific god. Generally, you might have a patron deity connected to something about your life - for instance, if you are a metal smith you might consider Hephaistos your patron, if you are a farmer you might have a close relationship with Demeter, etc. That's one type, and while it can be personal and intimate it can also resemble having a cherished mentor or something of that sort. Then there are the type of patron relationships where you're just particularly drawn to a god because of something inside you, and you spend years and years getting to know Them better and devoting yourself to Their worship and living Their values. And then there are the types where a god just grabs you by the hair and that's it, whether you like it or not. And there's overlap, of course.

My personal feeling is that it's kind of presumptuous to go looking for a patron god. It seems like that comes from a place of wanting to be special, rather than a genuine connection. As you worship, as you develop your practice, a god may start coming into focus for you, as it were, and you feel drawn to Them, and then over time you can develop that further. It's a lot of work, so you have to really want it. You might also choose to pay special attention to a deity that rules over an area of life that's important to you - again, it's extra work.

A patron is usually a long-term relationship but not necessarily a lifetime. Sometimes you change and grow with Them, sometimes you need to move on for various reasons, sometimes the relationship was only about one thing and that thing ends.

And really it's quite impossible to recognize most deities, there are hundreds of gods, and no one in ancient times did that. You generally would have worshipped the gods of your city/region, gods that traditionally looked over your family line, gods of your vocation, etc.

I've written a couple blog posts that address some of these issues in more depth: see Varying Deity Relationships and Evolving Patron Relationships. Also, while I try not to promote my own stuff too much here, since you have so many questions you might want to read my book Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored, which covers a lot of these topics. I'd also highly recommend, if you aren't doing so already, that you read some scholarly books on ancient Greek religion and not rely solely on other people's interpretations - especially since a lot of modern polytheists are being influenced by neo-paganism as much as or more than ancient tradition.

I adore the Homeric Hymns and strongly encourage you to give them a try. It's true, as the other commenters wrote, that they're mostly narrative instead of devotional, but some of these narratives touch my soul.

If you want a good laugh, try Hymn 4, the adventures of the infant Hermes, possibly the funniest thing ever written in dactylic hexameter. An ambitious troublemaker from the day of his birth—imagine a divine Bart Simpson—Hermes endeavors to steal cattle from his elder half-brother Apollo. These sons of Zeus clash at first, then earn each other's respect.

For bittersweet drama, try Hymn 2, Demeter's search for her missing daughter, Persephone. For something sexy, try Hymn 5, where Aphrodite has her intimate encounter with Anchises.

In my opinion, Ares deserves more respect than he usually gets even from Hellenic polytheists. (As much as I loved the Wonder Woman movie of a few months ago, I found it rather unfair to recast the god of war as, essentially, Satan.) Paradoxically, counterintuitively, Hymn 8 credits him with the power to conquer our bloodlust and let us remain at peace.

Please give them a try. I recommend this translation by Charles Boer.

If you're looking for reliable information on modern Hellenic practice (Hellenismos/reconstructionism) the best book would be "Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship" by Labrys, which is an ethnic Hellenic polytheism organization.

They also have an introductory article about household worship on their website.

There are other books on the market but this would be the most solid in terms of information and most current. The first book on the subject was "Old Stones, New Temples," by Drew Campbell and published in 2000. It's an accessible starter book but it was in need of a rewrite which never occurred as the author converted to another religion. The Hellenic group Hellenion currently owns the right and I believe still makes it available (for free) to new members. It is still possible to find hard copies of it but often they're very expensive and, truthfully, the book simply is not worth the asking price. If you can find it at a discount shop, go ahead and pick it up. (Also look on this board for more discussion regarding buying and pirated downloads.)

"Kharis" by Sarah Kate Istra Winter isn't worth picking up UNLESS you can find a first edition copy (hard to do). It is not strictly Hellenic Recon and is peppered with the author's own UPG and ideas. It's better suited to individuals who are more Neopagan or Eclectic with Hellenic leanings than for someone who's drawn more to traditional Hellenic practices.

Timothy Alexander is another author and he has a few titles out. Also very easy to read, though (IMO) repetitive from one to the next.

If you're only going to buy one book atm, I would suggest Labrys'. Followed by Campbell (if you find it), then Alexander. Then Winter (depending on your leanings.)

Hey emnot3,

The beauty of polytheistic systems is that they are compatible with a variety of other systems! You absolutely don't have to stop following the teachings of the Buddha to practice Hellenism!

On where to start, sadly there aren't a lot of good resources at the moment. We are a still small and growing population and most of the starter books in publication that aren't academic texts are just. . .bad. While I haven't read it, a variety of people recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Kharis-Sarah-Kate-Istra-Winter/dp/143823192X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421108087&sr=8-1&keywords=Kharis

I would also recommend "A Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece" so that you can contextualize certain things, "Greek Religion" by Burkert for historical information, and "Athenian Popular Religion" by Mikalson for further contextualization.

I think frankincense was widely used because it was valuable in the ancient world and thus a considerable sacrifice in the old days, but you can easily order it online which is easier than offering him barley and cakes (which were also used as offerings to apollo).

https://www.amazon.com/Frankincense-100-Therapeutic-Grade-Essential/dp/B00O13KZ70

If you'd like something more Hellenic than Tarot, I can always suggest the Greek Alphabet Oracle (maybe even my own style) or knucklebone divination. Even a simple coin divination is useful for yes or no, which is often all you really need when confirming Work with them.

Well, it's not about modern worship, but I found Worshipping Aphrodite: Art and Cult in Classical Athens by Rachel Rosenzweig to be really useful.

http://www.amazon.com/Worshipping-Aphrodite-Cult-Classical-Athens/dp/0472113321

I doubt greek epic poems would tell me how to worship and how to view the world as a hellenic pagan?

Was thinking something more like this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0738733873/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492611596&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=asatru

A general guide of sorts.

https://www.amazon.com/Hellenic-Polytheism-Household-Worship-1/dp/1503121887

Is that the book?