By Zeus! (Greeks return to paganism)

Guardian ^ | February 1, 2007

[NYer]

It was high noon when Doreta Peppa, a woman with long, dark locks and owlish eyes, entered the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. At first, tourists visiting the Athenian temple thought they had stumbled on to a film set. It wasn't just that Peppa cut a dramatic figure with her flowing robes and garlanded hair. Or that she seemed to be in a state of near euphoria. Or even that the group of men and women accompanying her - dressed as warriors and nymphets in kitsch ancient garb - appeared to have stepped straight out of the city's Golden Age.

To the astonishment of onlookers, Peppa also began babbling Orphic hymns, before thrusting her arms upwards into the Attic skies and proceeding, somewhat deliriously, to warble her love for the gods of Mount Olympus. But, then, for the motley group of modern pagans coalesced around the temple's giant Corinthian columns, this was a special moment. Not since the late fourth century AD, when the newly Christian Roman state outlawed all forms of pagan worship, had a high priestess officiated on the sacred site.

Armed with white doves, Peppa, a former advertising executive, was not going to hold back - even if it meant defying the furious Greek officials and riot police gathered at the second-century temple's gates, unwilling to stop the ceremony for fear of provoking a violent confrontation. "Sixteen and a half centuries is a very long time to wait," she said. "After so many years of Christian persecution we were finally able to call on Zeus, our king-god, to bring peace to the world ahead of the [2008] Olympics. For us, it was a very, very big thing."

[snarks_when_bored]

Another attention-seeker gets her wish...

[NYer]

Ninety-eight per cent of the population may officially be Orthodox Christian, but in many ways Greeks remain bonded to their pagan past. "OK, the ancients had hubris, but the concept of sin was totally unknown to them, as indeed it is in modern Greece," Dimou says. "Greeks today don't observe many of the 10 commandments. Their outlook on life and values are much nearer to pagan ideas than those of the austere Judaeo-Christian faith."

This trend of returning to paganism is spreading. Several months ago, there was a thread on Scandinavians worshiping their ancient gods. All of this is simply feeding the growth of Islam.

[sarasota]

Don't Hindus worship various gods? So why can't Greeks? Just curious; no flames please.

[NYer]

Ninety-eight per cent of the population may officially be Orthodox Christian, but in many ways Greeks remain bonded to their pagan past. "OK, the ancients had hubris, but the concept of sin was totally unknown to them, as indeed it is in modern Greece," Dimou says. "Greeks today don't observe many of the 10 commandments. Their outlook on life and values are much nearer to pagan ideas than those of the austere Judaeo-Christian faith."

This trend of returning to paganism is spreading. Several months ago, there was a thread on Scandinavians worshiping their ancient gods. All of this is simply feeding the growth of Islam.

[NYer]

Ninety-eight per cent of the population may officially be Orthodox Christian, but in many ways Greeks remain bonded to their pagan past. "OK, the ancients had hubris, but the concept of sin was totally unknown to them, as indeed it is in modern Greece," Dimou says. "Greeks today don't observe many of the 10 commandments. Their outlook on life and values are much nearer to pagan ideas than those of the austere Judaeo-Christian faith."

This trend of returning to paganism is spreading. Several months ago, there was a thread on Scandinavians worshiping their ancient gods. All of this is simply feeding the growth of Islam.

[sarasota]

How does this "feed the growth of Islam". Seems that this is a totally different form of worship in that it's for multiple gods, not "Allah".

[CarrotAndStick]

Don't Hindus worship various gods?

Not just various, but the same, related Indo-European gods. In India, it never died away.

Zeus

Zeus, poetically referred to by the vocative Zeu pater ("O, father Zeus"), is a continuation of *Dyaēus, the Proto-Indo-European god of the daytime sky, also called *Dyeus phaetēr ("Sky Father"). The god is known under this name in Sanskrit (cf. Dyaus/Dyaus Pita), Latin (cf. Jupiter, from Iuppiter, deriving from the PIE vocative dyeu-phetēr), deriving from the basic form *dyeu- ("to shine", and in its many derivatives, "sky, heaven, god"). And in Germanic and Norse mythology (cf. *Tīwaz > OHG Ziu, ON Týr), together with Latin deus, dīvus and Dis(a variation of dīves), from the related noun *deiwos.

To the Greeks and Romans, the god of the sky was also the supreme god, whereas this function was filled out by Odin among the Germanic tribes. Accordingly, they did not identify Zeus/Jupiter with either Tyr or Odin, but with Thor (Þórr). Zeus is the only deity in the Olympic pantheon whose name has such a transparent Indo-European etymology.

In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical Zeus also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is envisaged by Greek artists especially in two poses: standing, striding forward a thunderbolt levelled in his raised right hand and seated in majesty.

Aside from forced transformation, Zeus is known to punish those who veered out of his pleasure with lightning bolts.

[Notwithstanding]

This is sort of like the fake wicca "religion" that masquerades as an ancient religion.

Its all made up - there is no link to any past celts or druids or whatever they think they are keeping alive.

They have created wicca ex nihilo and pretend it is an ancient tradition.

Given the absence of any Greek pagans for over a thousand years, this too is new-age claptrap. Then again, it was claptrap back in the day, too, but now they can't even claim a real link to the ancient pagan past; that link was lost centuries ago.

[Antoninus]

They have created wicca ex nihilo and pretend it is an ancient tradition. Given the absence of any Greek pagans for over a thousand years, this too is new-age claptrap. Then again, it was claptrap back in the day, too, but now they can't even claim a real link to the ancient pagan past; that link was lost centuries ago.

Exactly. When these people start sacrificing bulls, then I'll believe that they're real pagans. Until then, they're just delusional individuals who are so out of touch with reality that they prefer to live in an escapist fantasy world.

[Antoninus]

Armed with white doves, Peppa, a former advertising executive, was not going to hold back - even if it meant defying the furious Greek officials and riot police gathered at the second-century temple's gates, unwilling to stop the ceremony for fear of provoking a violent confrontation. "Sixteen and a half centuries is a very long time to wait," she said. "After so many years of Christian persecution we were finally able to call on Zeus, our king-god, to bring peace to the world ahead of the [2008] Olympics. For us, it was a very, very big thing."

Unless she killed those doves as an offering, Zeus was probably pretty mad at her for profaning his temple.

[Lee N. Field]

Temple prostitution.

Somehow modern feminist Asherah cults never get around to that. What do yo bet these guys will?

[Gengis Khan]

"All of this is simply feeding the growth of Islam."

"Paganism" is not Islam. And Islam is not "Paganism". By the way "Paganism" is good for feeding the growth of Hinduism ;)

[Gengis Khan]

Ping!

[Mrs. Don-o]

What they're saying is that

• this indicates the spiritual vacuum afflicting Greece (and much of Europe) and Islam flows right into spiritual --- as well as demographic--- vacuums. By the way, the total fertility rate in Greece is 1.3 children/woman, and the media age of the population is 40. So, way, way below replacement, and not going to be getting better..
• If you think the Muslims are antagonistic to Christians and Jews, it looks like a love-fest compared to their historic aggressive campaign to wipe out polytheists. Thus this Apollo-stuff will feed their militancy.

That's the hypothesis. I guess we'll see, won't we?

[Mrs. Don-o]

You're quite right that Islam is not paganism. But I don't think that's what was meant. See #15 --- if I'm not mistaken.

[Gengis Khan]

Being against Islam does not mean I should also be against Paganism.

[Gengis Khan]

"this indicates the spiritual vacuum afflicting Greece (and much of Europe) "

Believing in a polytheistic religion is "spiritual vacuum". So Hinduism in India is "spiritual vacuum" and only Christianity is true spiritualism?

"If you think the Muslims are antagonistic to Christians and Jews, it looks like a love-fest compared to their historic aggressive campaign to wipe out polytheists. Thus this Apollo-stuff will feed their militancy. "

Or maybe the "Apollo-stuff" is what it takes to fight evil. Christians cant fight Muslims.

[sarasota]

Appreciate your knowledgeable feedback. Now I get it and yes, we will see.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"Being against Islam does not mean I should also be against Paganism."

Depends on how or why you're "against."

You could say I'm "against" Mormonism, because I am convinced it is based upon erroneous religious texts and teachings; nevertheless, I can honestly say I have never met a Mormon I didn't like; much in the everyday practice of the LDS faith is true, valuable and sincerely admirable; and Mormons are not an aggressive earthly threat to me in any way whatsoever.

I can't think of any Pagans offhand that are a threat, except for the ones I've met that staff abortion clinics (and they could just as well have been apostate Christians or secular Jews.)

Islam, however, is a explosive, bloody-handed, socio-political menace; not that there are not peaceable Muslims, but that their religious texts and their putative prophet (unlike, say, Christ or Gaia) explicitly incite religious violence.