The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum

I worship Dionysos, Ariadne and the Nymphs of Nysa in a modernised version of the mystery religion but I don't really worship the 12 Olympians.

I believe in Reincarnation and not in spending eternity as a shade in Hades.

My question is, would I still be considered part of Hellenismos?

I've read on a few Hellenismos websites how they don't want the mystery religions brought back and how they even forbid them.

If I'm not part of Hellenismos, then what am I?

I'm fairly new to this path, having followed Hinduism for many years, so still trying to discover things.

I worship Dionysos, Ariadne and the Nymphs of Nysa in a modernised version of the mystery religion but I don't really worship the 12 Olympians.

I believe in Reincarnation and not in spending eternity as a shade in Hades.

My question is, would I still be considered part of Hellenismos?

I've read on a few Hellenismos websites how they don't want the mystery religions brought back and how they even forbid them.

If I'm not part of Hellenismos, then what am I?

I'm fairly new to this path, having followed Hinduism for many years, so still trying to discover things.

 
What modern Hellenic Reconstructionists don't seem to acknowledge is that "Hellenismos" can be rather broad, as ancient Greek religion was, like most polytheistic traditions, quite diverse. There is no higher authority who decides whether your Hellenismos is valid or not, what matters is whether you are united with other Hellenic pagans in having a practice that follows basic Hellenic custom.

I would say that it has more to do with what you do rather than what you believe. What is important is the way you honour the gods. At the basic level, Hellenic Recons honour their gods through sacrifice, which does not have the same connotations as it carries in contemporary vernacular. It is not necessarily about killing animals or giving up something precious, it is about honouring the deities with sacred offerings. These usually consist of portions of food and drink, as well as incense and some form of fire, most commonly candles.

Candles, incense, and drink libations are the most common and convenient forms of sacrifices for the gods now. According to Hellenic custom, Hestia is offered the first and last portion of every sacrifice. Depending on the form of your offerings, this can be done in several ways. When I was following a Recon path, I would begin each sacrificial act by first lighting a white candle for Hestia and reciting her Orphic hymn, then lighting incense or more candles for other deities, and when I was finished, I would extinguish Hestia's candle last and offer her a prayer of thanks. If you are offering food or drink libations, offer Hestia the first and last portion. Traditionally, the heavenly gods receive sponde libations, in which you pour some for the deity and then drink some yourself. Underworld deities and the dead receive khoe libations, in which you pour out the entire liquid out for them without ingesting any yourself.

Following an ancient Hellenic calendar of sacrifice days for the deities is also a good way of putting Hellenismos into practice, though I think it's fine to adapt ancient calendars to what works best for you. Ancient Greeks followed lunar calendars, and the first few days after the new moon were devoted to honouring the major deities of the polis, with significant festivals occurring throughout the year. I think a good general rule is to honour the deities most significant to you at least once a month, and all of the major Olympians at least once a year, which can be done as simply as offering a sponde libation for them. Deities of the household like Hestia, the Agathos Daimon, and certain forms of Zeus and Apollon, might be honoured more frequently.

Personally, I found it helpful to follow the basic structure of the Attic festival calendar, as it helped me deepen my relationships to deities I didn't have much personal interest in beforehand, like Athene and Apollon, and ended up having deep respect for them as my regular practice progressed. Like I said, the calendar can be heavily adapted, don't feel required to follow the ancient Attic calendar to the letter. For example, if you don't live near a body of water and seafaring isn't a big part of your life, you may not feel the need to honour Poseidon on a monthly basis, and giving him a libation only at his major festivals once or twice a year may be sufficient.

I worship Dionysos, Ariadne and the Nymphs of Nysa in a modernised version of the mystery religion but I don't really worship the 12 Olympians.

I believe in Reincarnation and not in spending eternity as a shade in Hades.

My question is, would I still be considered part of Hellenismos?

Just as Hellenismos embraced a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices in the past, it may embrace a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices today. The term Hellenismos was coined by emperor Julian to denote all pre-Christian religions in the Roman Empire, which is reasonable, since most of them had been hellenized from the time of Alexander the Great onwards, anyhow. Culturally, they they had all become Greek.

Plato retold the myth of Er in his dialogue The Republic, and the myth of Er describes reincarnation, so it is obvious that some Greeks (and their cultural heirs in the Roman Empire) believed in reincarnation.

It is possible to acknowledge the Olympians (and related deities, such as the Mother of the Gods and The Sun) without having them as one's own main religious focus. One way to do that, would be to perform a libation 'to all gods and goddesses' once a month. Which place does Zeus Ktesios and Agathodaimon have in your practice?

Just as Hellenismos embraced a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices in the past, it may embrace a wide spectrum of beliefs and practices today. The term Hellenismos was coined by emperor Julian to denote all pre-Christian religions in the Roman Empire, which is reasonable, since most of them had been hellenized from the time of Alexander the Great onwards, anyhow. Culturally, they they had all become Greek.

Plato retold the myth of Er in his dialogue The Republic, and the myth of Er describes reincarnation, so it is obvious that some Greeks (and their cultural heirs in the Roman Empire) believed in reincarnation.

It is possible to acknowledge the Olympians (and related deities, such as the Mother of the Gods and The Sun) without having them as one's own main religious focus. One way to do that, would be to perform a libation 'to all gods and goddesses' once a month. Which place does Zeus Ktesios and Agathodaimon have in your practice?

To be honest I'm still figuring that out. I'm a very informal person, I've only done two libations so far, both for Dionysos and I've made an offering of incense to the Nymphs of Nysa. Like I said I'm new to this, when I was a calling myself a 'Hindu' it was all about chanting and meditation which just didn't do it for me.

I worship Dionysos, Ariadne and the Nymphs of Nysa in a modernised version of the mystery religion but I don't really worship the 12 Olympians.

I believe in Reincarnation and not in spending eternity as a shade in Hades.

My question is, would I still be considered part of Hellenismos?

I've read on a few Hellenismos websites how they don't want the mystery religions brought back and how they even forbid them.

If I'm not part of Hellenismos, then what am I?

I'm fairly new to this path, having followed Hinduism for many years, so still trying to discover things.

My advice would be to ask yourself why this matters. I don't mean to say that it shouldn't matter, but rather that you need to know why it does.

I'm currently in a similar position to you--I'm working with Dionysos primarily in an attempt to reconstruct an ancient triad associated with Greek mystery religion and its possible origins for a modern purpose (providing a ritual framework for gender transition). But I don't consider myself part of Hellenismos or Hellenic reconstructionism. I suspect that's because my public religion is Reform Judaism, and performing some of the basic rituals of that gives me something to ground myself in; in addition, my history as a Jew gives me a cultural backdrop even if I stray from it now. (The fact that I keep straying by embracing gods that my ancestors deliberately shunned is a thing, it seems.)

If you ask yourself, "Why does it matter whether I'm part of Hellenismos?" and get an answer like, "Because I feel the need for something more stable than the Mysteries to ground myself in," or, "I feel like it would be meaningful for me to be part of a broader religious community," or something like that, it would probably be a good idea to start looking into the general practices of Hellenic reconstructionism (there's some good advice on that upthread).

On the other hand, if you find yourself motivated by insecurity or a need to legitimize yourself to others, for example, those may be things you can work on in other ways, and you might be looking at a more eclectic path as best for you.

In any case, best regards from this eclectic Dionysian Jew.

I worship Dionysos, Ariadne and the Nymphs of Nysa in a modernised version of the mystery religion but I don't really worship the 12 Olympians.

I believe in Reincarnation and not in spending eternity as a shade in Hades.

My question is, would I still be considered part of Hellenismos?

I've read on a few Hellenismos websites how they don't want the mystery religions brought back and how they even forbid them.

If I'm not part of Hellenismos, then what am I?

I'm fairly new to this path, having followed Hinduism for many years, so still trying to discover things.

 
Well, as a lot of people have said above in different ways, most Pagan religions are  orthopraxic, not orthodoxic, meaning that performing the correct actions is more important than having the correct beliefs.  This isn't to say that belief isn't at all important, but performing the correct actions was the most important thing.  A good analogy is building a house.  You have to follow the instructions (performing the correct actions).  You do not have to paint the interior, but some people would want to paint it (correct beliefs).  

As for your beliefs on the afterlife, keep in mind that many Hellenistic Pagans/polytheists view the myths as metaphor and so to them, Hades wouldn't be an eternal place, it would be a metaphor.  Or maybe they interpret the mythology in a way that allows reincarnation.  And there was an Ancient Greek belief in reincarnation that some held.  Again, it comes back to correct actions vs. correct beliefs.

Hope this helps!!