Witch Willows WanderingsGive Me that Old Time Religion
February 15th 2007 16:09
The Sanctuary of Zeus
On February 1st, Doreta Peppa entered the Sanctuary of Zeus, wearing a flowing white robe and garland laced in her hair. Along with her were a group of people dressed as warriors and nymphs. The scene seemed like it had been ripped out of a Hollywood movie, but it was actually a homage to the great Greek Gods. Doreta began speaking Orphic hymns then raised her arms upwards and announced her devotion and love to the Gods of Mount Olympus. This had not been done since the 4th century, especially since the Christian Roman state outlawed the practice of Paganism.
Doreta stated that “Sixteen and a half centuries is a very long time to wait. 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."
The ceremony lasted approximately 1 hour and included such things as white doves. Not too soon afterwards, the Greek Orthodox Church was up in arms over the entire ordeal, especially since this has caused a growth in Paganism and worship of the old Greek Gods once again.
I say “well done” to Ms. Peppa and her group of courageous companions. It seems that she has set the wheel in motion to bring back the one true “old religion”. Good for all of us Pagans, bad for the Christians. Why bad for the Christians? Because they have already begun losing members of their congregation in the Orthodox Church. People are wanting to get back to their roots, which means brushing the Church aside and worshipping the Gods and Goddesses.
I’m sure there will be more fall-out over this as it grows more and more widespread. But the Christian church is virtually helpless to stop it. All they can do is “pray” and possibly complain and make threats. It’s going to be interesting to see what the outcome will be from all of this.
Blessed Be
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Comment by Wendi
It feels to me like each culture in each era had their own versions of gods and/or goddesses, but that when you strip away the names and locations and focus on the "meaning" of each, they all seem very similar. There's a god of war, a goddess of poetry, a god of words, a goddess of love...
I think this is one of the problems I have with organized religion. It's the "My god is better than your god" battle that never seems to end.
If I had to define myself by religion (which I don't), I'd probably be categorized more as pagan than as anything else (couldn't even tell you how many times I've been called "witch"), so I celebrate when I see an oppressed belief system revived. I celebrate diversity and the right to practice as we choose, but I'm still confused by the whole history and variations of Gods and Goddesses and am still troubled by concepts of religion.
Comment by Abe
God's Stormtrooper
"Zeus was the supreme god, the master of all gods and men. He lived on Mount Olympus and ruled over the society of gods. Zeus was omnipotent, he saw everything, he knew everything, and he could do everything. If all the gods together were pulling one side of a golden rope trying to pull Zeus they would fail, but Zeus could, if he wanted to, pull them all up together with the Earth and the sea, and tie them to the Mt. Olympus' top. Hera, Athena and Poseidon tried once to chain him, but they were unsuccessful. When Apollo and Poseidon confronted Zeus, they had to serve mortals. On several occasions Hera disobeyed his will; as a punishment for oppressing Heracles, Zeus tied her up with the golden rope and hanged her upon the clouds."
What the.......? I mean, it doesn't even make sense! The REAL God exists outside of time, is omnipotent, is One God and yet is a Trinity, became man and died to cleanse of us of original sin (which we inherited from Adam and Eve). He is all-loving, but hates gays, atheists, shellfish, and lots of other things. That makes sense! No wonder the Greeks gave up on their "gods". Their stories are nuts! Zeus... *chuckles to self*
I think they these people need to put down their doves and pick up their Bibles!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Plus the stories attached to the Greek deities are engrossing tales to rival the Christian mythology of the Bible. All good reads is what Im getting at.
The Roman gods were also quite versatile, I wonder if they will come back in flavour too.
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
What if they got into an argument?
I agree about their stories, theres an extremely popular game 'God of War' that is on the Playstation 2 based on stories about greek gods. Crazy, violent, nutty stuff.
Comment by Sho Kosugi
Shoukai
Comment by Abe
God's Stormtrooper
Comment by Miss Faith
The Truth about non-Christian Religions
Who Pee'd in My Cauldron?
And Sho....great short clip, however my Goddess could kick all of your butts any day
Comment by Sho Kosugi
Shoukai
Comment by Francis
Passionate Apathy
How much political clout does the Orthodox Church have over there? I wouldn;t put it past them to agitate for laws against the Pagans.
Abe posts:
Outside of Time... is One and yet is Three... died to save us... Wow! Now it all makes sense!
Doctor Who is God!!
Sho Kosugi:
Gojira has Come, Gojira has Risen, Gojira will Come again!
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Hi Ahmed, the Greek Gods used to fight all the time. Thats what I love about greek mytholgy, there gods have human frailties which makes them all the more entertaining.
Though the christian god is a grumpy dude too who smited alot of people on personal whims. And some of the revenge he took on people shows he too was an emotional being who often overreacted with plagues and such. Like a deity terrorist really, all in the name of religion.
I love the drama and adventure of most mythology from any region of the globe, Christian included. Consistent violence, sex and mayhem throughout and important messages, its just good storytelling, nothing more nothing less. I dont think that any are worth devoting your life too, but all are essential reading.
Comment by Ahmed
techy.Bytes
Video Gamer Kids
Little Green Foosballs
PolyKicks
Qwerk
Cinema Three
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Hi Ahmed,
The Norse Gods rule, they could possibly be my favourites....You speak of The mighty Thor, and his hammer of thunder.....a fiesty one for sure, pretty fun cartoon series too.....so many great characters....no wonder so many end up in comic books
Comment by Abe
God's Stormtrooper
Comment by Francis
Passionate Apathy
I think Harlan Ellison summed up the Old Testament God perfectly in "Deathbird": A spoiled child who breaks his toys.
Ahmed posts:
When a God's only superpower is a hammer, every miracle looks like a nail.
Abe posts:
Heh. When I was in school that sounded pretty much like a typical weekend.
I like the Daleks for Jesus: "Original sin is futile; your sins will be forgiven! FOR-GIV-EN! FOR-GIV-EN!!"