One of the disadvantages of a solitary religious practice, for me, is the tendency to focus on–well, solitary religious practices! In saying that, I don’t mean to disparage solitary practice. I’ve always […]
Festivals: A List of Greek Pagan Festivals and Holy Days
The following is an alphabetical list of Greek festivals and holy days. It is incomplete, and it is a work in progress. Most of the festivals on the list are Attic, but […]
Festivals: Poseidea
Although only one festival of this name is attested and that in the region of Marathon, it does seem likely, given the existence of a month called Poseidion, that at one time […]
Festivals: Boreaia (An Exercise in Modern Festival-building)
As far as I know, there was no ancient Greek festival that went by the name of Boreaia. If there were, it probably would not be thematically similar to this one. There […]
Festivals: Maimakteria
The festival of Maimakteria is very obscure, but surely took place in the month of Maimakterion, and likely honored Zeus Maimaktes or “blustering Zeus” Given the name of the month and the […]
The Peplos of Athena
One of the traditions associated with ancient Athens’ greatest festival, the Panathenaia, was the presentation of a new peplos to Athena Polias on the Acropolis. This was no mere symbolic gift; the […]
Festivals: The Chalkeia
The Chalkeia was held in Athens on the last day of Pyanepsion; it was a festival of smiths and artisans honoring Hephaistos and Athena. The festival appears to have included a procession, […]
Greek Pagan Basics: Finding a Ritual Calendar
For a modern Hellenic polytheist, a ritual or festival calendar is, while not strictly a necessity, certainly very helpful. You can clearly honor the gods outside of festivals; for many if not […]
Festivals: The Genesia
The Genesia was held as a public festival honoring the dead on 5 Boedromion in Athens. It is uncertain how the Genesia related to private or family rites honoring individual ancestors (held […]
Greek Pagan Basics: Honoring the Dead
For a lot of modern pagans, this is the time of year when it is especially appropriate to honor the dead. The Irish Samhain, widely observed in the modern pagan community, the […]
Hearthfire Handworks 