A Beginner's Guide to Hellenismos

by Timothy Jay Alexander

A Beginners Guide to Hellenismos provides an overview of Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism. Hellenismos is an emerging religious movement attempting to reconstruct the ancient Greek religion. This book supplies the beginner with a guide for practicing Hellenismos. Contrary to the popular misconception, Reconstructionist religions are in no way rigid or dogmatic. In A Beginners Guide to Hellenismos, Timothy Jay Alexander explains how liberating, innovative, and adaptive the modern Hellenic religion is. This book provides the reader with an easy to use and understand guide to begin their worship. It explains in detail modern Hellenic practices and the reasons behind them, and serves as a common sense guide about this fast growing modern religion.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2007

Reviews

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A more complete guide to Hellenismos than Alexander's Hellenismos Today, this book covers a lot of the same ground (the theory and practice of Hellenismos, or Greek Reconstructionist paganism), but in much greater detail. This book also has some fairly nifty appendices, including a great listing of the epithets associated with the various Greek gods, and a listing of technical Greek terminology used in Hellenismos.

[Rebecca Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't consider myself a Reconstructionist, but I am curious about Hellenic practices and certainly consider myself a Neopagan with Hellenic leanings. That being said, I found this book a little rigid in tone but intelligently written and researched. Seeing as over half the book is appendices, I would have liked to have seen the book fleshed out a bit more, perhaps more examples of rituals, modern takes on devotions and festivals, and personal experiences. Still, it is one of the FEW books available on this topic and as such was a helpful resource.

[Max Van Dyke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative book on reconstructionist Hellenic polytheism. It's gives a very nice overview of how to practice daily rituals, libations, etc. It also gives examples of basic prayers to the gods, and how to go about practicing Hellenismos in the modern world. The appendices in the back of the book are also very helpful.

[Lark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously very informative and does what it sets out to due: provide the reader with a practical look at the application of Hellenismos and the diversity of said application.
I can appreciate a value to not abandon wisdom just because it is ancient, but as a beginner’s guide I do wish there was a bit more apologetic bent to the book. Not that PROVING a religion is at all, like, possible, but this feels like it has presented to its readers much of the same thing Christianity now offers:
“Take solace in the fact that (the) god(s) is (are) real, and they care. It’s a two-way street, but one side is inscrutable AND personal, so while personal gnosis is COOL you must still abide by ancient rites as interpreted by people whose existence is a PUZZLE to us to which we don’t have nearly all the pieces. Not all values will ~gel~ with what your society is getting on board with, with what you live amongst, but that’s because real religion doesn’t care about your comfort ultimately but also is personal to you specifically”
It is a good introduction to the world, but the connection for many to Hellenismos is tangled with the history of “western” identity. What claim do we have to the Greek gods? Why them, aside from the fact that the imperial sense of cultural identity is rooted in a democracy that still dehumanized most of its area of reach? The Greeks were outrageously xenophobic, and no matter how much the author cites “common decency” in his contrast to “other options”, what we are given is more of the same the American Christianity church offers:
An ancient religion changed by the inescapable effect of an unfathomable number human trains of thought overtime that we are told we have some inherited claim to, whose faith does NOTHING for the world around it except isolate and grow itself in contrast to it.
What does Hellenismos have to offer the world? That was never answered

[Παλλαδία Σόρια · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very basic level but is an amazing book from the beggining of the Path with the Greek Gods.

[The Hellene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good introduction to the practice of Hellenic religion. Written from the perspective of an American Hellenist.