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Tuesday, September 22, 2015

What Does Hellenistic Revivalist mean?

Basically, that I practice Hellenism (religious worship of the Ancient Greek deities) but rather than go the reconstructionist route and try to recreate everything to the best of my abilities, I look at those same festivals, practices, and traditions that recons use, and I try to adapt them so that they can fit easily and naturally into my modern life. 
The Ancient Greeks’ lives were saturated with their religion, it was such a huge part of their society that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to separate the two. The traditional practices don’t fit into my life in that same way, they don’t have the same meaning and impact. It’s also very difficult for me to have access to the same things, so I adapt, I revive the practice.
Rather than go to a week long playwrite competition in honor of Dionysus for the Great Dionysia that finishes up with a feast, I’ll spend the week watching and critiquing movies with friends, dancing and partying and clubbing, having dinner parties, and playing acting games like charades. These are devotional acts for me, framed in a religious context, and it allows me the opportunity to soak my life in my religion the same way the ancient Greeks did by finding religious significance in every day activities and recreation.

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