Olympianism.
Sounds grand but what is it?
The
usual definition is, the worship of the Olympian Gods, especially
as the dominant cult or religion.
The term is
capable of two interpretations first as an umbrella term
for all Classical Pagans; second Olympianism, strictly speaking,
refers
to the cult of the Twelve Gods of Olympus.
According to legend the cult of the Twelve Gods was founded by
Herakles
at Olympia, where the Gods were worshipped collectively as a
group rather than individually. References in classical literature
to
altars to the Twelve Gods founded by Greek heroes imply that the cult
existed in Greece during the late Bronze Age: Pindar refers to the
altars founded by Herakles at Olympia.
When
I started the Olympianism yahoo group it was with the first
interpretation in mind but quickly realised that others would
be
drawn to Olympianism because of the second interpretation. Of course
the interpretations are not mutually exclusive
and in some way, imply
each other. My use of the term varies from one to the other.
Although I readily acknowledge
that Olympianism is in origin Hellenic
Polytheism I believe that the culturally specific term lends itself
to what I
would call an ethnic view of the Gods and religion, in
distinction to the universality associated with the Olympians in
antiquity.
The
twelve gods were formally instituted into Roman religion some
time before the third century B.C. From Rome their
worship was spread
to all parts of the empire. In 217 B.C.
Rome had suffered a serious
defeat at the hands of Hannibal, the Roman Senate ordered the
Decemviri to consult the Sibylline
books and determine how to appease
the wrath of the gods. They were informed that a sacred banquet
should be held to
honour the Olympian Gods.
By the end of the pagan era the Olympian Gods were worshipped by
Greeks, Romans, Celts
and Germans as well as others. They were not
viewed as being exclusively the Gods of the Greeks or for that matter
the
Gods of the Empire, as though national pantheons hover over each
appropriate part of the globe, but as the Gods of the
whole world.
According to the Neoplatonists they are the creators, animators,
harmonizers and sustainers of the universe,
the Gods of the entire
Cosmos.
People ask if there is a unifying principle to Classical Paganism, I
would say
yes there is, the Dodecatheon, the Olympians, the twelve
Gods. There are variations as to who constitute the twelve and
lists
vary but the standard is now generally accepted as being. Hestia,
Demeter, Hera, Aphrodite, Athena, Artemis, Hermes,
Ares, Apollo,
Hephaistos, Posidon, Zeus.
The cult of twelve major deities, although not without precedent, is
what
marks out Classical Paganism as unique. It represents its
contribution to the world of religious thought and expression.
Olympianism
presents the divine as the fullness of perfection rather
than a meagre singularity. What I like to call infinite diversity,
in
eternal unity.
So why twelve major Gods? Well Neoplatonists answer `because twelve
is the number of perfection'.
Various quotes indicate that what they
mean by this is what in mathematics is the `Sublime number'. In
mathematics,
the sublime number is a positive integer which has a
perfect number of positive divisors (including itself), and whose
positive
divisors add up to another perfect number. 12 is the sublime
number, because it has a perfect number of positive divisors
(6):1,
2, 3, 4, 6, and 12, and the sum of these is again a perfect number:
28.
Hermeias the Neoplatonist said.
"Even though there are an infinite
number of Gods, we will say there are twelve." Sallustius has it
that, "While these
twelve in the primary sense possess the world, we
should consider that the other Gods are contained in these. Dionysus
in
Zeus, for instance, Asklepios in Apollo, the Charites in
Aphrodite."
It has been said that the philosophers and
poets were at odds with
each other about their respective visions of the Gods. Plato has been
accused, mistakenly in
my opinion, of being the founder of western
monotheism. Homer has been accused of falsely representing the Gods
as liars,
adulterers and cheats, who con people for the affections by
buying them with favours. Unfortunately much of this thinking
informs
modern paganism and people are less likely to explore the teachings
of the philosophers if they really think
that their teachings
ultimately lead to monotheism.
Neoplatonism was arguably the final expression of ancient philosophy,
being
as it was it was a synthesis of all previous schools of
thought. It was a mystical religious tradition more than a dry
philosophy
offering a truly philosophical polytheism. Yes they taught
that there is a unifying principle but note I say unifying not
singular.
The One (Gk `To Hen') means something more like unity and
unity implies diversity. This is in distinction from the Greek
Monos
which means alone, a subtle distinction lost on many. Given this
understanding The One is the foundation
not the negation of
polytheism. The later Neoplatonist philosophers expounded and unfold
the divine fullness in hierarchies
or choirs of Gods Hypercosmic,
liberated as well as the cosmic and mundane. As one contributor to
the group once said.
"Anyone who calls Neoplatonism monotheistic,
clearly knows absolutely nothing about Neoplatonism!"
As far as Homers
representations of the Gods are concerned to the
philosopher with his or her idealised view of the Gods makes the Gods
seem
remote almost impersonal. I find Homers view of the Gods quite
refreshing. On one message board one poster said that "it
makes the
Gods seem more real". Yes they may have awesome powers and represent
lofty ideals but as Homer portrays them
they seem more like real
people. Sharing and dealing with the same problems that confront us
mere mortals. How can we
judge them according to our standards when
we have no idea how we would cope having the problems we do whilst
possessing
divine powers? The word hubris springs to mind!
Clearly we need a synthesis of the two views, which I suggest is the
synthesis
of principle and practice.
In principle the Gods have unlimited power especially over us and the
cosmos, either
individually or collectively. Not to assert this is a
spiritual dead-end. In practice however the Gods have their
limitations,
I don't profess to know how or why, that would be their
problem and it certainly seems from Homer et al that they have
their
restrictions, not least of all fate. So lets, allow the Gods to be
the Gods!
These twelve Gods then are
shared by Greek and Roman, Poet and
Philosopher and its this universality which exemplifies Olympianism.
This deity-centric
rather than any culturally specific term or
philosophical approach, is a more appropriate designation for, as
well as
representing the unifying principle of, Classical Paganism.
Can we worship the Olympians in a way that is both historically
attested
without being culturally specific or ethnic? Plato (c.427-
c.347 BCE) believed the Twelve should have a central role in
the
ideal city. In his Laws, he proposed that the ideal city should hold
a festival each month for one of the Twelve
Gods. In 293 BCE, perhaps
inspired by Plato's ideas, the months of the city of Demetrias in
Thessaly were named after
the twelve Olympians. This is the earliest
association of the twelve Olympians as a group with the months.
By employing
the scheme used by Manilus of identifying the Gods with
the months we can reconstruct an Olympian calendar thus:
Olympian
Calendar
Heraion – Matronalia January Hera - Juno
Posideon - Neptunalia February Posidon
- Neptune
Athenaion - Minervalia March Athena - Minerva
Aphrodision - Veneralia April Aphrodite - Venus
Apolleon
- Apollonia May Apollon - Apollo
Hermaion – Mercuralia June Hermes - Mercury
Deios
- Jovalia July Zeus – Jove
Demetrion – Cerealia August Demeter - Ceres
Hephaistion
– Vulcanalia September Hephaistos - Vulcan
Areios - Martalia October Ares - Mars
Artemision –
Dianalia November Artemis - Diana
Hestios - Vestalia December Hestia – Vesta
So why
Olympianism? Because as you can hopefully now see, it's all
about the Gods, it's their religion and not the property of
any one
ethnic group or interest. If we are to have a unified religion and I
for one wholeheartedly agree with that
wish, it can only unified by
the Gods of Olympus!
M Crahart 15 December 2006
Bibliography:
Homer:
The Iliad.
Plato: The Laws.
Pindar: the Odes
C Long: Twelve Gods of Greece and Rome.
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