First published on hellenismos.org on June 21, 2021.
Wikipedia's updated article on «Hellenism (religion)»
is a masterpiece of propaganda and misinformation. Reading it you learn
everything Hellenismos is not. The authors interpret the Hellenic
revitalization and re-Indigenization as «revivalism.» They do not mention
Plethon or Marullus, Kyriakos of Ancona or the Hellenic Jacobins. Not once. The
focus here lies solely on «Ancient Greece,» without being concrete. Are they
referring to Archaic Sparta, Classical Athens or Hellenistic Corinth? And why
are they looking to ancient times to «explain» Hellenism? Where is the circle
of Plethon, the «stratioti», the «Attiki Etaireia» (Attic Society), in short:
Hellenism's living presence? Nobody knows. If the authors believe that Hellenes
are trying to «reconstruct» an ancient past, they are not qualified to write
such an entry.
A culture is defined by its present
form. Just like Hindus are not «reconstructing» an ancient Hinduism and
Japanese are not practicing ancient Shinto, Hellenes are not living in some
undefined ancient time. Apart from this, it would make no sense to
«reconstruct» the «ancient Greek religion,» simply because the ancestral cults
are much more dominated by local than by pan-Hellenic moments. It would not
make sense for a Pontic Greek (Ionian tribe) to «reconstruct» the cults of the
Spartans (Dorian tribe) or to worship the city-god of Athens. The entry is full
of generalized statements, omissions and contextless references. And Wikipedia
is no exception. (For example, most articles about Hellenismos written in
English contain extremely disconcerting claims.)
Instead of writing something about
the «Attiki Etaireia» or the cult of St. Demeter in the village of Eleusis,
they talk about Hermeticism, Wicca and neopaganism (or more correctly
Neo-Occultism), which is the exact opposite of Hellenism, and quite
anti-Hellenic, at least when it comes to its AngloAmerican branch (a brief look
at Reddit will give you a good idea of what paganism's intolerance and toxicity
against the Hellenes looks like).
On top of that, the writers have not
even bothered to differentiate between Hellenes and Hellenists, or at least to
explain what a Hellenist is, namely a person who is Greek in language, style
and way of life. And to cap it all, they confuse «Hellenic» or «Greek» with
«Hellenistic.» It appears they are not interested in explaining Hellenism,
rather they are interested in directing people how to think about it.
They also do not differentiate
between Hellenic organizations and non-Hellenic polytheistic organizations. By
doing so, they mislead the public and distort the nature of Hellenic
organizations. Most Hellenic organizations are not just religious communities
but safe havens, places where our people can safely express their
ethno-cultural identity without having to worry about discrimination or others
misunderstanding them. The non-Hellenic organizations mentioned in the text
(Hellenion, Neokoroi, Elaion) do not play a role in Hellenism. We do not know
them and we are certainly not responsible for what they do, say or believe.
They simply bear no relevance to our people.
The whole entry evokes a wrong
mental image in the reader's mind. The very first sentence is wrong: Hellenism
is not a «religious movements» [sic!] but the indigenous culture of the
Hellenic people. It is our customs, history, identity, fatherland, the stories
of our grandfathers, our grandmothers' traditional fig jam, our culture of
memory, the language we dream in. The organised collective effort for the
revitalization of our ancestral ways, known as re-Hellenization (Epanellinisi),
is an indigenous cultural movement; it is not just about religion. It is about
the indigenous Hellenic culture as a whole. This alone shows that the internal
perspective and self-understanding of the Hellenic people is irrelevant to the
author/authors, which in turn discredits the entry.
Actually, the article is reminiscent
less of an encyclopedia entry than of narratives written and spread by neopagan
colonialists who, as the Supreme Council of ethnic Hellenes (YSEE) has rightly
said, disguise themselves «as ‹Hellenes› for reasons that exist hidden within
the depths of their own minds.» Hellenism is under attack in the New Age
Movement. Therefore, using typical pagan concepts and terms in order to define
or allegedly «explain» Hellenism to the public is frivolous if not deceptive.
And to be quite honest: using Wikipedia in order to impose one's culturally
determined views, values and concepts on another culture or cultural group, is
deplorable and disgusting. The terminology used by the author/authors reflects
a very specific and well-known attitude toward ethnic religions that is
anything but Hellenic. Considering that this is an attitude that is opposed not
only by the Hellenes but also by the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people (see
«Declaration of War Against Exploiters of Lakota Spirituality», June 1993), we
must ask ourselves the question: what purpose does Wikipedia's entry on
Hellenism serve? The answer may be different depending on the indicators or
characteristics considered. Only one thing is certain: it is not intended to be
enlightening for the public.
After reading this entry and some
other articles, I am glad that most sources of medieval and later
Hellenism, including the
relevant ethnographic material, have not been translated to other languages and
are accessible only in Greek. Knowledge is power, and power is used too often
as a weapon to harm and destroy. After centuries of persecution, expropriation
and genocide we do not need more weapons to fall into the wrong hands.
I took the time to compile all statements
in the text that are false and, of course, not backed up by any source,
credible or not. In the end, it becomes obvious that the entry neither meets
encyclopedic standards nor is it culture historically correct.
Wikipedia entry «Hellenism
(religion)», all false statements:
- More broadly, Hellenic Polytheism
describes groups ... various religious movements which revive or reconstruct
ancient Greek religious practices, and which have publicly emerged since the
1990s.
- The phrase Hellenic Polytheistic
Reconstructionism refers specifically to the methodology used by some
practitioners to recreate the religion based on academic sources, rather than
the religion itself, and not all Hellenic Polytheists are reconstructionists.
- Modern Hellenists believe that by
living up to one's full potential.
- The festivals typically
commemorate events in Greek history, honoring deities that the festivals
celebrate, and connote spiritual themes.
- The majority of modern historians
agree that the religion practiced by the ancient Greeks had been extinguished
by the 9th century CE at the latest and that there is little to no evidence
that it survived (in public form at least) past the Middle Ages.
- Emically speaking,
"revival" accurately describes the religious activity occurring in
Greece (and its diaspora) since one of the main hallmarks is group gatherings
and public festival celebrations.
- Revivalists view Hellenic
Polytheism as a living, changing religion. Hellenic Revivalism allows room for
practitioners to decide what feels right to them, and to adapt historical
religious practices to modern life.
- In contrast to revivalist
traditions, Reconstructionists are culturally oriented and attempt to
reconstruct historical forms of religion and spirituality, in a modern context.
Therefore, Kemetic, Canaanite, Hellenic, Roman, Celtic, Germanic, Baltic and
Slavic Reconstructionists aim for the revival of historical practices and
beliefs of ... Ancient Greece.
- Most Hellenic polytheist groups
unequivocally state that reconstructionism is not the only correct method of
practicing the ancient Greek religion
- The first successful revival
attempt was made by the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes (or YSEE).
- The first modern Hellenic temple
dedicated to the Hellenic Gods was started in 1994 just outside Thessaloniki in
the village of Oraiokastro and completed in 2009. Another temple, dedicated to
Alexander and the Earth opened in the nearby village of Mesaia in 2019. [These
so-called Hellenic temples belong to the Omada-Epsilon that have a modern
atheistic ideology.]
