One of HoM's members, who is also a practicing Heathen of the Norse Tradition, commented on the article:
"That's why in terms of Heathenry the worship of the gods was and continues to be a group thing. Much easier to enter into a gift-cycle with them as a group. [sic] This is not to say that you can't have your own personal reverence of the gods, or even be drawn to particular ones, but you don't necessarily want to have personal relationships with them.
For example, in the lore if a god was in a personal relationship with a human, it usually didn't bode well for the human."
This comment got me thinking about Hellenismos, and whether or not it is appropriate to incorporate the modern Pagan ideas of Patron/ess deities, and personal relationships with the Theoi.
For those of you who are not familiar with the terms 'Patron and Patroness', here is a definition by Elani Temperance on her blog Baring the Aegis:
"Modern patronage, in this context, is the support or encouragement of a patron, where the patron or patroness is a divine being. In these relationships, the active party is often the deity in question, who claims the passive human. Some will describe a sense of 'being owned' by their patron. The human becomes a conduit for the work and will of the patron in question, and is required to spend large portions of their lives in active service to that deity. The bond between deity and human is personal."
Lets also note that Patron = Male God, Patroness = Female Goddess.
While the idea of Patron deities is a popular one among Neo-Pagans, it's not exactly a well supported idea in Hellenismos. Here is what Elani has to say on the subject:
"... patronage is not part of Hellenismos, and it was not part of ancient Hellenic life.
Hellenism has its own beautiful system of kharis (religious reciprocity), and because of that, there is no need to bring in a modern concept like patrons. When we, in Hellenismos, petition the Gods for aid, we always do so with an offering. This offering can be incense, a libation, a food offering or anything else. It must be something tangible. Good thoughts and intentions don't count. This offering is given freely, joyfully, with pleasure, out of respect and love for the Gods. We ask what we feel we need--sometimes that's a new job, sometimes just a sentiment like honor and prosperity to the household--and never expect to be granted this request. Petitions aren't bribery. We give to the Gods and should They feel inclined to grand us our request, we thank Them by offering to Them again, to which the Gods might respond, to which we will sacrifice, and so on. This circular practice of voluntary giving is called kharis, and through it, we built relationships with all Theoi.
In ancient Hellas, there were priests; most of them were chosen through hereditary lines and often served short terms in the temple of a deity their family was connected to, either through the family line or by choice. There were also priests who chose to come into the service of a Theos or Theia; they were voluntary priests and they devoted themselves to the God(s) they were drawn to or especially thankful to. Neither type of priest would have worshipped only the deity they were in service to, and all would have attended state festivals, and most likely had a household practice that included a large number of deities. Note that the active party in these relationships is the human, not the deity in question.
There are a few (mythical) exceptions to this rule that could be seen as patronage: Athena was a guide and aid for Odysseus and his son, and many Gods were (temporary) aids of Hēraklēs. These were heroes, chosen by the Theoi to suffer a specific fate and to rise above it as heroes. If you are Hellenistic and you feel you are being divinely aided to make it through such a path then by all means, say you have a patron. If not, it feels like hubris (excessive pride or self-confidence) to me to make that claim. Of course, there is a degree of personal viewpoint here (i.e. we can never judge the lives of others; what feels like an epic quest of hardship to you, may seem like a breeze to me and the other way around), so for safety's sake, I stick with my viewpoint that patronage has no place in Hellenism, because as much as our lives may feel like an epic journey, we are not all Odysseus."
As we can see in the above quote, and Elani is a reliable source, patronage was not a part of ancient Hellenic practice. Also, there is the issue with modern Neo-Pagans whom 'take on' a Patron/ess and do not work with any other members of the pantheon. While there is essentially nothing wrong with this, this is not polytheism, and especially not Hellenismos.
"Polytheism means that many gods are worshipped not only at the same place and at the same time, but by the same community and by the same individual; only the totality of the gods constitutes the divine world. […] To overlook or despise a god is to curtail the richness of the world and hence the fullness of man. - Walter Burkert
To practice Hellenismos, is to honour all the deities of the pantheon. Our levels of worship may ebb and flow depending on our lives, our personal struggles and situations, (example: if your marriage is struggling, you'll feel a pull to work more with Hera, Goddess of Marriage), but all in all, one must remember to honour all the Olympians, lest one get offended. As the article 'Our Gods Are Not Safe' mentioned, especially when it comes to the Greek Gods, jealously is a common thread that flows through the mythos of our gods. And if you view the Theoi in a slightly Jungian archetypical view point as I do, as expressed in my blog post 'Asteria's Personal Theogony', you will understand that favouring one deity over others for a long period of time will stunt your growth in spiritual development/enlightenment.
To conclude this post, be wary of the person who claims to work with Hekate (or other Greek deity) and is therefore a practicing Hellenic. Hellenismos is the inclusion of all the Hellenic deities, with special focus on the Olympians, not just a focus on one or two.
A link to Elani Temperance's full blog post can be found here.
EDIT: I just wanted to add that a form of patronage did take place in Ancient Greece, but this was in a group setting and formed the basis of the religious cults. Cults sprung up all over Greece and were usually area specific. For example, the Cult of Aphrodite would appear on Cyprus where the Goddess was said to have sprung up from the sea foam (where she was "born"), or the Cult of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis, which was tied into the myth about Persephone's return from the Underworld. However, even members of these cults still paid their respects to the other Olympians.
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