Sean posted this on Hellenion_Chat and I thought it was an excellent way to reflect on the modern custom of celebrating Thanksgiving:
So, even though Thanksgiving in modern times is an American and
Canadian holiday, the spirit of the holiday is present in many other
cultures. I have only found one in Hellenic faith that seems to fit
(below)… does anyone have any others?
—
Apaturia (Greek: ὰπατούρια) were Ancient Greek festivals held annually
by all the Ionian towns, except Ephesus and Colophon (Herodotus i.
147). At Athens it took place on the 11th, 12th and 13th days of the
month Pyanepsion (mid-October to mid-November), on which occasion the
various phratries, or clans, of Attica met to discuss their affairs.
The name is a slightly modified form of ὰπατόρια = ὰμαπατόρια,
ὁμοπατόρια, the festival of “common relationship”. The ancient
etymology associated it with ἀπάτη (“deceit”), a legend claiming that
the festival originated in 1100 B.C. as a commemoration of a single
combat between a certain Melanthus, representing King Thymoetes of
Attica, and King Xanthus of Boeotia, in which Melanthus successfully
threw his adversary off his guard by crying that a man in a black goat
skin (identified with Dionysus) was helping him (Schol. Aristophanes,
Acharnians, 146). On the first day of the festival, called Dorpia or
Dorpeia (Δορπεία), banquets were held towards evening at the
meeting-place of the phratries or in the private houses of members. On
the second, Anarrhysis (from ὰναρρύειν, “to draw back the victim’s
head”), a sacrifice of oxen was offered at the public cost to Zeus
Phratrius and Athena. On the third day, Kureōtis (κουρεῶτις), children
born since the last festival were presented by their fathers or
guardians to the assembled phratores, and, after an oath had been
taken as to their legitimacy and the sacrifice of a goat or a sheep,
their names were inscribed in the register. The name κουρεῶτις is
derived either from κοῦρος, “young man”, i.e., the day of the young,
or less probably from κείρω, “to shear”, because on this occasion
young people cut their hair and offered it to the gods. The
sacrificial animal was called μείον. The children who entered puberty
also made offerings of wine to Hercules. On this day also it was the
custom for boys still at school to declaim pieces of poetry, and to
receive prizes (Plato, Timaeus, 21 B). According to Hesychius, these
three days of the festival were followed by a fourth, called ἐπίβδα,
but this is merely a general term for the day after any festival.
Source:
Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the
public domain
Now, what I’m wondering, is how one can integrate these ancient traditions into the modern practice of celebrating Thanksgiving. Would this mean holding Thanksgiving no later than the second week of November for example?
The general consensus seems to be that since Apaturia took place at any given time over a month, that pushing the celebration to the modern date of Thanksgiving would not be in conflict.
I also liked the idea, which I heard from the Hellenion_Chat list, that there are patron gods over Thanksgiving and it is an appropriate time to sacrifice the first portion of the feast to Them, and aknowledge their blessings with thanks. These would be: Hestia for the warmth of her hearth, Artemis for the sacrifice of the meat, Demeter for the bounty of her grains, and lastly Hestia once more for the fires that make possible the small sacrifice I give as first-portion to the gods.
Addendum: There have been some lively comments in response to the post below, but there seem to be misapprehensions that 1) I am calling all Atheists fundamentalists, and that 2) I am defending Abrahamic faiths, or that this blog is about Abrahamic faiths.
This is not so.
First, I am talking specifically about intolerance – when it appears among Atheists. Extremists (who are often marked by intolerance) are found in every group, and Atheists are no exception.
If you are Atheist and tolerant of other people’s religious and spiritual beliefs, then this article is NOT about you.
If you feel it could be about you, well, then try to take home the message of the golden rule, ‘Do unto others as you would have done to you’.
Second, please read “About the Author” And “About Helleneste kai Grammateus” before posting.
The label is meant for those who don’t believe in any deity (soft or hard) and view the influence of any religion or spirituality as a threat to reason and science and fight back. They believe that religion inherently fosters ignorance and war and fight aggressively against beliefs in anything spiritual. Theirs is called the New Atheism movement.
I would agree that one can be Atheist and be Fundamentalist about it. One doesn’t have to believe in spirituality in order to be so adamant about that belief (or non-belief if you prefer) to proselytize and show intolerance. Continue Reading »
Have you thought of giving to charity as an offering in the name of Zeus Sôtêr “the Savior” and Epidôtês “Giver of Good”?*
You can do it remotely from the computer, and without spending anything!
I’ve added the option to my sidebar for folks visiting Helleneste kai Grammateus to donate to charity. How? By clicking on the icon for Hunger and Poverty, the sponsor(s) will donate towards this charity, and feed the impoverished. The sponsors will change, but the cause was my choice: Hunger and Poverty. My goal is to raise 400 points.
You may be asked to participate in an “event”. The one I just did rated an advertisement video by PowerBar (fitting, hu?). When I spent my time on this, I earned points for the charity, which works to feed those who need it most.
Consider a donation of your time to the charity as an offering. Say a prayer to Zeus,the Savior and Giver of Good when you do so! : )
http://www.socialvibe.com/?r=706516
Reference
* SOTER (Sôtêr), i. e. “the Saviour” (Lat. Servator or Sospes), occurs as the surname of several divinities:– 1. of Zeus in Argos (Paus. ii. 20. § 5), at Troezene (ii. 31. § 14), in Laconia (iii. 23. § 6), at Messene (iv. 31. § 5), at Mantineia (viii. 9. § l), at Megalopolis (viii. 30. § 5; comp. Aristoph. Ran. 1433 ; Plin. H. N. xxxiv. 8). The sacrifices offered to him were called sôtêria. (Plut. Arat. 53.) 2. Of Helios (Paus. viii. 31. § 4), and 3. of Bacchus. (Lycoph. 206.) Theoi.com
The church denounced Galileo’s theory as dangerous to the faith. Tried as a heretic in 1633 and forced to recant, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, later changed to house arrest.
The ruling helped fuel accusations that the church was hostile to science — a reputation the Vatican has been trying to shed ever since.
In 1992, Pope John Paul II declared that the ruling against Galileo was an error resulting from “tragic mutual incomprehension.”
The exhibit, and other Vatican initiatives to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope and the U.N.-designated International Year of Astronomy, is part of the Vatican’s continuing rehabilitation effort.
Archaeologists have found traces of a temple built for the Greek goddess of divine retribution, Nemesis, during excavations in the ancient city of Agora in the Aegean port city of İzmir. Akın Ersoy of Dokuz Eylül University’s archaeology department and heading the archaeological excavations in the ancient city, told the Anatolia news agency on Monday that they speculated there might be a temple built for Nemesis in the area.
“We found traces of such a temple during our excavations in Agora,” he said.
“We want to concentrate our work to unearth the temple in the future.”
It has been suggested that we don’t need clergy to teach us the basics of our religion. Instead academics, “serious amateurs”, and those with a degree in the classics can serve as our sole experts.
However, there are a couple of problems I perceive with this proposal of relying solely on those immersed in academia. Continue Reading »
There is a lot of negative feeling currently among (at least one group of) Hellenic Recons surrounding the terms “clergy”, “priest”, “minister”, etc. because of how some monotheistic branches have employed these positions in combination with proselytizing. Some don’t recognize clergy ordained by Hellenion (or other groups) and don’t want the creation of clergy in Hellenismos at all. I think this comes from lingering resentment towards the dogma and attitude of some members of Christianity and Islam in particular.
Yes, historically there are cases of abuse – hence, in Christianity, the entire thrust of the Reformation – but that shows how Christianity itself hasn’t had a united view of church authority.
Yet, I think Hellenic clergy can, and will be, what we make of it. It need not be modeled on another faith, or have a disrespectful, dismissive, abusive, or personality worship approach. No, I don’t think that there is an inherent danger to making clergy, I don’t agree that it’s human nature to abuse these positions. I think clergy in Hellenismos can do a lot of good and that we can make it what we want it to be. Continue Reading »
The excerpt below was posted to one of the groups I read as a possible response to evangelical Christians who aggressively put down others’ beliefs. I think it’s worthy of discussion, particularly as we (followers of Hellenismos) begin to gain more visibility in the public eye: Continue Reading »
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