Hellenismos (religion)
Hellenismos or Hellenic polytheism ( Greek Ελληνική εθνική θρησκεία ), also dodecatheism , after the twelve gods of the classical Greek religion, is a new religious movement that is based on the traditional religion of classical Greece , reconstructed from ancient and scientific sources and based on the modern World is adapted.
history
A fundamental difference to monotheistic religions is the enormous variance of the polytheistic religion already in antiquity , both synchronously in the different landscapes and diachronically due to the later introduction of foreign deities such as Cybele and Isis . Also, the ancient religion was not a religion of faith like today's Abrahamic religions , but a religion of the community in which "belief" was secondary. The communal cult practice (e.g. public animal sacrifice followed by a feast) was in the foreground.
The term Hellenismos is literary for the first time in the 2nd Book of Maccabees (4:13), a text from the 2nd century BC. BC, occupied. There he describes the imitation of Greek customs such as building a gymnasium and wearing Greek hats. The ancient Greek word “hellenizein” means “to speak Greek, to be Greek”. The Latinized form of Hellenism is used in cultural history for the epoch from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra's death (based on Johann Gustav Droysen ). The use of the name for a religion is based on "Hellenistic" groups in the USA today.
The modern view
Hellenistic groups exist in Greece , the United States , Great Britain , France , Belgium , Austria and Germany , among others . Essentially, most of these groups are limited to the worship of the main deities (see below) and the cult acts of the classical era. Due to the variety of ancient ideas with regard to the origin, nature and veneration of deities, even modern Hellenists often have different points of view. Some limit themselves to the reconstruction of the classical Homeric rites based on scientific knowledge, others include the thoughts of the ancient philosophers, up to the Neo-Platonism of late antiquity . Since there are no binding “ holy books ” and no regulative religious organization (as there was none in ancient times), it is up to the respective groups to decide how they set their priorities. The Greek organizations (see web links) are increasingly striving to obtain official religious recognition as an original ethnic religion.
Aspects
Important aspects of teaching are:
- Reconstruction of the original, pagan belief system of ancient Greece. The Olympic gods are worshiped as the main deities .
- A commitment to real polytheism (English "hard polytheism"): The gods are recognized as real and personal beings with individual properties. The diversity of the manifestations of our world is often cited as a reason for the existence of numerous gods.
- Hellenismos is a life-affirming, worldly religion. A “ belief in the hereafter ” does not play an important role.
- The outstanding importance of the family and the local cult community for the practice and transmission of the faith.
Differences from Other Neo-Pagan Belief Systems
The main differences to syncretistic and eclectic forms of neo-paganism are:
- Many supporters of Hellenism refuse to be labeled as neo-pagan or neo-pagan, as current neo-paganism is primarily a post-modern phenomenon and is largely rooted in occult or new age ideas, while viewing Hellenism as a modern ethnic religion However, based on the word Ethnicus , they do not define ethnically or nationalistically , but rather as a Hellenic ethos and decidedly non-Christian. Accordingly, Hellenismos did not emerge from modern neo-paganism, but was much more diametrically related to it.
- The emphasis on "real" polytheism as opposed to forms of polytheism in which either several deities from different cultures are placed side by side or deities are reduced to archetypes .
- The rejection of eclectic practices, i.e. the synthesis of modern neo-pagan religions from elements from various other religions, cults and traditions.
- The skepticism towards modern “unifying theologies”, such as B. the duotheism of Wicca (focus on The Goddess and The God - "all gods are one god and all goddesses are one goddess") and the paradigm of the " triune goddess " (virgin-mother-old) etc.
In the rejection of these elements, all reconstructionist directions of neo-paganism agree, for example Hellenismos, Ásatrú and Celtoi .