The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I have come to learn that Hellenic culture was more diverse than that, and that it's not unusual for people to follow various traditions, but some of that conditioning is still there and makes things difficult.

I have come to learn that Hellenic culture was more diverse than that, and that it's not unusual for people to follow various traditions, but some of that conditioning is still there and makes things difficult.

The egyptian goddess Isis and the Thracian goddess Bendis were introduced into Greece already in the Classical age, and somewhat later the Anatolian moon god Men became popular, so Greek religion was not static, even before the Imperial Age. In the Orphic hymns we see the incorporation of Hellenized Anatolian deities into the Greek pantheon, and, at the time of Proclus, and by the means of Intrepretatio Graece, deities of the entire Roman empire were incorporated into a grand theogonical scheme of Hellenismos (in the sense emperor Julianus used the word Hellenismos).

It all depends on which point in time and which geographical area you choose to base your reconstruction on. It seems like some reconstructionists want to preserve Hellenismos in the state it found itself somewhere between the Bronze Age collapse and the Ionian philosophers. It is good for them, but it is not the only possible way of reconnecting to Classical religion.

For an alternative way of doing it - intentionally connecting to the time of the Ptolemaeans and Seleukids, and to the Imperial Age - take a look at Neos Alexandria:
http://neosalexandria.org

And I would very much be surprised if Neos Alexandria is the only example out there.

An example I forgot in my last message is Brexiza, close to the not unfamiliar place Marathon in Greece. A series of excavations document a sanctuary to the Egyptian deities there.

I've also drifted out of strict Hellenic reconstructionism. Hell, I'd argue that I never was fully in "just" Hellenismos, and certainly not the Classical Greek focus that most Hellenists have. I've, nearly from the beginning, had a secondary practice of venerating my Celtic ancestors and their gods. And my Greek practices led me to venerating Roman gods as well, with Roman traditions and customs.
I'd hesitate to describe myself as a Roman reconstructionist, though, because my main practice and household cult is centred on Greek gods and goddesses. My monthly libations are dedicated to Greek gods. Some festivals I celebrate are Hellenic, though I mostly avoid the Attic calendar because I feel it doesn't connect with me. But a significant enough part of me is geared towards a Roman syncretic practice.

Hence why I describe my religion as Hellenistic: it encapsulates both the Greek and Roman cultural spheres, and to an extent the cultures they influenced in Western Europe through Romanization. I employ reconstructionist methodology in my practices, but my religion is syncretic.

Is Sannion a nom-de-plume of Dr. Butler? His studies on Proclus are fascinating, although I, after reading Radek Chlup's book about the thought of Proclus, doubt the reductionist interpretation that To Hen is just the henads. Sad to hear that the quality of the activity and books of NA is lower now.

I think that Hellenistic religion of the Hellenistic and Imperial age is an important segment of the pagan landscape: The mystery religions (with the exception of Eleusis, Andania and Samothrace that are older) belong there, and so does theurgy, the PMG, Aion, Serapis, Jupiter Dolichenus, Jupiter Heliopolitanus, Venus Heliopolitanus, Artemis Sidonia, Simios, Sol Invictus, the integration of Hipta and Areimanios, the growing importance of Physis and Sabazius, and Cicero's overview in De Natura Deorum (although his tendency in giving the overview is skeptic).

Nah, Sannion (H. Jeremiah Lewis) is his own person. He was also a guest on Sannion and Galina's podcast back when it was running.

I've come to understand Hellenic culture and "religion" (whatever that means) as my main foundation, while I think of...pagan witchcraft as having the function of mystery cults in the ancient world rather than all-encompassing exclusive religions.

Really, the Mediterranean mystery cults that modern witchcraft takes inspiration from all have a very similar theme of overcoming death, and connecting the natural cycles with this concept of death and revival/eternal life.