Hera the Blossoming

For the last post of this Hera series, I will be focusing on her Antheia epithet. This will be a rather short post, as information is limited, but I hope to cover the bases. Antheia means “blooming” or “blossoming” and is a word obviously closely linked to vegetation, and flowers in particular. While, as an

An updated list of Silenus epithet

Remember when I was bitching about Priapus having only 5 epithets on theoi.com? Well, Silenus has got one (1). This is honestly even more surprising since Silenus does have a known hymn, at least from the Orphic side. Taking this into account, I made up a few epithets for him, some are inspired by the

Hera Henioche, the charioteer

This will be a short deep dive into the curious epithet of “Henioche”, which translates to “charioteer”. This name is only found in Lebadaea in Boetia and is linked to the oracle Trophonius. In the context of this sanctuary, Hera Henioche received offerings alongside Zeus Basileus (“King”), implying that she was indeed worshipped in close

Hera and her ship models

When I wrote the post about the Samos Heraion, I quickly mentioned this impressive dedication of a boat in the sanctuary, but left out other ship and navigation related offerings that have been discovered there. The conservation state in Samos was expectional (allowing wooden objects to have survived!), which is why it is an important

Hera in Samos

Why Samos? Samos is an island located on the coasts of Asia Minor (of the coast of Turkey) which became, over time, one of the most important location of Hera cult. Her sanctuary gained in importance most likely thanks to trade. Despite this, the sanctuary has always been a local one and never became pan-hellenic,

Throwing barley

I’m again a bit too short on time for a complete post, so I’ve decided to fall back on an article summary (+ some thoughts). Today we will be discussing the ancient custom of throwing barley during sacrifice through an article written by Stéphanie Paul and titled “Les grains du sacrifice: le lancer d’orges dans

Spiritual protection in the Greco-Roman world

This was this week’s hot topic, so I’m using the opportunity to make some things clear from a purely hellenic and historical perspective. Needless to say I am tired of seeing modern magical concepts being slapped on ancient beliefs and I am not writing this post unbiased. AmuletsEtymologically, the word amulet probably means “something that

Why personal devotion matters

This week’s post is a commentary of K. A Rask’s article titled “Devotionalism, Material Culture, and the Personal in Greek Religion” published in Kernos, 29 in 2016 (you read the whole thing here). This 15-page article explores the notion of personal devotion in Ancient Greece and highlights the issues of academia on the matter. Yet, this article

Dionysus, this winter god

Having been a hellenic polytheist for several years has completely changed my way of considering the year. Because the Attic calendar’s New Year typically falls somewhere in July/August, I naturally consider the first Dionysian event of the year to be the Oschophoria, which I celebrated last month. I’ve often seen people be surprised by the

Healing shrines and incubation in Asclepian cult

Someone recently mentionned how cool it’d be to bring back sleeping in temples for healing purposes, which created a “hell yeah, let’s talk about incubation” reaction in me. So yeah, let’s talk about incubation as a practice. However, as always with topics that are linked to health and healthcare, I feel a disclaimer is needed: