The Hellenic Spectrum

Something that always makes me sad is the lack of moderates within the Hellenic community. There are usually two kinds of Hellenes reconstructionists (recons) and Neo Hellenes or as I like to call them Wiccans in a toga. Personally I consider myself a moderate and the reasons being will come to light here shortly.

When I first started practicing I found myself in a very conservative forum full of recons. They were very intelligent but very dull and extremely narrow minded. For the most part any topic not supported 100% by hard archaeological research was sent to Tartarus in a handbag. This kind of rigid ideology killed me spiritually. To top it off I found the same divine hypocrisy that drove me from Christianity. The ancient Greeks followed different ritual structures, festival dates, and in most cases different gods depending on which city they were in. The recons use only the Athenian festivals and the Athenian practices. They tended to shun the spiritual diversity that was so common to our spiritual ancestors. This to me was insane and forced me out of recon groups for good. 

After all how can we really construct a religion that has been dead for centuries? It's impossible because we simply can't possibly learn everything the ancients did. Besides our cultures is very different from that of Ancient Greece. We do not subjugate our women, xenophobia is no longer state sponsored, and we don't allow slavery just to name a few. Religious practices should adapt to the culture but keep their core values and beliefs. We no longer have to slaughter a cow at the altar because Walmart can sell us a steak.

After leaving those groups I found a few Neo Hellenic forums and online groups. Most of these groups were ran by Wiccans but they offered more freedom and creativity than the recons. I thought to myself "Great! Finally I've found some  like minded people." Ha I was wrong. I had very blindly walked into a den of spiritual (and political) liberals. Nearly every ancient custom was looked at like some archaic relic that no longer served a purpose. The formality that the recons had enforced, like Hitler's gustapo, was removed leaving nothing behind. Some of them used Wiccan rituals with Hellenic "twists" and most tried to force the Gods to fit into a view that They simply can't. For example Hekate is a goddess who protects infants and homes from witchcraft. Never does She teach or endorse the use of witchcraft. 

These things never really led to any conflict or anything major like my previous interactions with recons usually did. To be honest I fit in more with the Neos than the recons and I am thankful for their opinions on topics. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease applies to both sides. You can either have unity under a very stark and dull dogma or you can have freedom under anarchy. It is a personal choice and I have chosen neither. I am a moderate Hellene and I practice with a 4:1 ratio. Eighty percent of the time I stick to tradition changing little. But naturally moments come when tradition is truly out dated (animal sacrifice). At which point it should be modified but never changed completely. After all Hellenism is an orthopraxic religion  focusing on right practice as opposed to right belief.