s - Illustrated Glossary of Hellenic Polytheism

s - Illustrated Glossary of Hellenic Polytheism

BEING A DICTIONARY OR BRIEF ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HELLENISMOS, THE ANCIENT PAGAN GREEK RELIGION

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PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this Glossary, you will find fascinating stories. These narratives are known as mythology, the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally; a literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is often concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.

The statue of Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς) at Olympia was a gigantic chryselephantine (χρυσελεφάντινος, i.e. overlaid with gold and ivory) statue created by the famous sculptor Pheidías (Gr. Φειδίας). The gigantic ágalma (religious statue; Gr. άγαλμα) was almost 43 feet tall (13 m), seated, and was constructed such that it appeared that if the God were to stand up he would crash through the roof. Pafsanías (Pausanias; Gr. Παυσανίας), the ancient geographer, gives the following description: "On his head lies a sculpted wreath of olive sprays. On his right hand he holds a figure of Victory made from ivory and gold....In his left hand the God holds his scepter inlaid with every kind of metal, and the bird perched on the scepter is an eagle. The sandals of the God are made of gold, as is his robe, and his garments are carved with animals and with lily flowers. The throne is decorated with gold and with precious stones, with ebony and with ivory." (translation as found in The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, edited by P. Clayton & M. Price, 1988, p. 66) The throne was decorated with many scenes from mythology. After emperor Theodosius I banned the practice of pagan religion, the temple of Olympia fell into disuse. The statue was one of many transported to Constantinople where it was destroyed in 462 CE by fire. The Artæmísion (Artemisium; Gr. Ἀρτεμίσιον), as the temple of Ártæmis (Artemis; Gr. Ἄρτεμις) in Ǽphæsos (Ephesus; Gr. Ἔφεσος) is called, was designed by the architect Khærsíphrohn (Chersiphron; Gr. Χερσίφρων) of Kríti (Crete; Gr. Κρήτη); this was the newer temple begun around 600 BCE, funded by Krísos (Croesus; Gr. Κροῖσος) of Lydía; Gr. Λυδία) and burnt to the ground by the insane arsonist Iróstratos (Herostratus; Gr. Ἡρόστρατος) in 356 BCE. Although this temple may not, to some, have the allure of the other ancient wonders, Antípatros (Antipater; Gr. Ἀντίπατρος) of Sidóhn (Sidon; Gr. Σιδών) the poet thought that "those other wonders lost their brilliancy" when he beheld the Artæmísion. Plinius (Pliney) says that the temple was 377 feet long (115 m) and 180 feet wide (55 m) making it approximately three times the area of the Parthænóhn (Parthenon; Gr. Παρθενών). The Kolossós of Ródios (Colossus of Rhodes; Gr. ὁ Κολοσσὸς Ῥόδιος) was an enormous statue of Ílios (Helios or the Sun; Gr. Ἥλιος) 110 foot high (33m) made by the sculptor Kháris (Chares; Gr. Χάρης) of Líndos (Gr. Λίνδος). Some scholars believe that it looked similar to the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island in New York harbor, with the naked God holding a torch in one hand and a spear in the other. The common belief that it stood in a harbor is not supportable. It was toppled by an earthquake in 226 BCE. Ptolemy III of Egypt offered to finance the restoration of the statue but the Rhodians were prevented from accepting his offer by an oracle.

The other traditional wonders of the ancient world are: the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Mafsohleion (Mausoleum; Gr. Μαυσωλείον) at Alikarnassós (Halicarnassus; Gr. Ἁλικαρνᾱσσός), and the Pharos (lighthouse) at Alexandria in Egypt. But there are other competing lists, and of particular interest, one includes the altar to Apóllohn (Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων) at Dílos (Delos; Gr. Δήλος), constructed entirely of (some say, goat) horns:

"The Temple of Apóllohn was, according to Ploutarkhos (Plutarch; Gr. Πλούταρχος), of great antiquity, and its altar of such extraordinary construction and magnificence, as, in his opinion, to have deserved a place among the wonders of the world. It was formed of the horns of various animals, so ingeniously adapted to one another, that they hung together without any cement. This altar is said to have been a perfect cube; the doubling it was a famous mathematical problem, problema Deliacum, among the ancients, and is affirmed to have been originally proposed by the oracle of Dælphí (Delphi; Gr. Δελφοί) for the purpose of freeing the country from a plague, which was to cease when the problem was solved." (CM p. 301)

Sickle - The ancient Greek word for sickle is δρεπάνη. Cf. Adámos Dræpáni.

"As regards the attitude of the philosophic schools, the teaching of the Pythagoreans condemned suicide. According to Orphic or Pythagorean doctrine, the soul is undergoing in the body a penitential discipline for ante-natal sin. Hence, suicide is an unwarranted rebellion against the will of God on the part of the individual, whom it behoves to wait until it please God to set him free." (James Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 1908-1927, Vol.11, from the entry Suicide (Greek and Roman), 6. Philosophy on p.30) According to the same source, the Academic, Peripatetic, and Epicurean schools were all opposed to suicide.

In the Nicomachean Ethics (V. xi. 1-5), Aristotle discusses suicide and condemns it as an injustice.

Plato repeatedly denounces suicide:

Socrates: "...any man who has the spirit of philosophy, will be willing to die; but he will not take his own life, for that is held to be unlawful." (Plato's Phaedo 61; translated by Benjamin Jowett 1892; found in the 1937 Random House edition of The Dialogues of Plato, Vol. I; on p.444)

Socrates: "I suppose that you wonder why, when other things which are evil may be good at certain times and to certain persons, death is to be the only exception, and why, when a man in better dead, he is not permitted to be his own benefactor, bu must wait for the hand of another....

There is a doctrine uttered in secret that man is a prisoner who has no right to open the door of his prison and run away; this is a great mystery which I do not quite understand. Yet I, too, believe that the Gods are our guardians, and that we are a possession of theirs. Do you not agree?"

"Yes, I agree to that," said Cebes.

Socrates: "And if one of your own possessions, an ox or an ass, for example, took the liberty of putting himself out of the way when you had given no intimation of your wish that he should die, would you not be angry with him, and would you not punish him if you could?"

"Certainly," replied Cebes.

Socrates: "Then there may be reason in saying that a man should wait, and not take his own life until God summons him, as he is now summoning me." (Ibid., Phaedo 62; p.445)

Socrates states that the result of suicide will increase one's suffering:

Socrates: "And what shall he suffer who slays him who of all men, as they say, is his own best friend? I mean the suicide, who deprives himself by violence of his appointed share of life, not because the law of the state requires him, nor yet under the compulsion of some painful and inevitable misfortune which has come upon him, nor because he has had to suffer from irremediable and intolerable shame, but who from sloth or want of manliness imposes upon himself an unjust penalty. For him, what ceremonies there are to be of purification and burial God knows, and about these the next of kin should enquire of the interpreters and of the laws thereto relating, and do according to their injunctions. They who meet their death in this way shall be buried alone, and none shall be laid by their side; they shall be buried in-gloriously in the borders of the twelve portions of the land, in such places as are uncultivated and nameless, and no column or inscription shall mark the place of their interment." (Ibid., Laws IX, 873; Vol.II; p.618)

Successionism - Hellenic polytheistic successionism is the observance of Hellenic religion as taught in an unbroken lineage from ancient times, usually through family clans and teachers. From the point of view of successionists, the idea of reconstructing the religion is irrelevant. Nonetheless, successionists share much in common with reconstructionists because they both respect ancient religious practice. Hellenic polytheistic successionism does not imply any kind of superiority, it is simply a claim of unbroken lineage.

sunset or dusk - Sunset (not midnight) is the beginning of the Hellenic day.

suppliant - You will find this term more frequently in Hellenic literature than its synonym, supplicant. The suppliant is under the protection of Zeus himself. The word "stranger" is often associated with the suppliant because the suppliant is in a vulnerable position and asks for protection, as King Priam, alone in the camp of his enemy, held the legs of Achilles and begged for the body of his slain son. Therefore, the suppliant is humble and beseeches one who has the power to do him harm.

swan song - "...swans (ed. a bird sacred to Apollo) with respect to divination, who, when they perceive that it is necessary for them to die, sing not only as usual, but then more than ever; rejoicing that they are about to depart to that Deity in whose service they are engaged." Plato's Phaedo 84e-85a (TTS XII, Works of Plato Vol. IV, p. 264)

swastika - (Gr. σβάστικα) The swastika is an ancient Greek symbol representing progress, the soul as it turns to the light. It is also called the grammathion (grammadion; Gr. γαμμάδιον) because it consists of four representations of the letter gamma (Gr. γάμμα), each at 90 degrees from the previous gamma. Because there are four gammas, it can also be called a tætragammathion (tetragammadion; Gr. τετραγαμμάδιον) or the tæssæra gammathion (tessera gammadion; Gr. τέσσερα γαμμάδιον), tetra and tæssæra both meaning "four." The swastika is used in many of the ancient religions of the world including Hinduism and Buddhism.

The swastika was used by the German Nazis to represent their party during and before WWII in the twentieth century (1920-1945), but the Nazis changed the direction of the swastika, making it go clockwise. The ancient Hellenic symbol, when properly represented, should go counter-clockwise. Because of the atrocities committed by the Nazis, the swastika is viewed as a polluted symbol, whether clockwise or not, and should never be used in connection with Hellenismos, which condemns the concept of a master race of any kind and many other ideas of the Nazis.

Sympanællinæs - (Gr. Συμπᾰνἐλληνες, ΣΥΜΠᾸΝἘΛΛΗΝΕΣ) Sympanællinæs means all the Greeks together. (L&S p.1680, right column)

Sympárædros - (symparedros; Gr. συμπάρεδρος, ΣΥΜΠΑΡΕΔΡΟΣ. Etym. συμ "together" + πάρεδρος "sitting beside," a form of συμπαρεδρεύω, "sit beside.") The sympárædros is the assessor, one who makes judgements jointly with another. In particular, the great Olympian God Apóllohn (Apollo; Gr. Ἀπόλλων) is sympárædros, the joint-throne-holder, with Zefs (Zeus; Gr. Ζεύς), his father, and he executes his will.

ABBREVIATIONS: A list of abbreviations used in the glossary can be found on this page: GLOSSARY HOME PAGE

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