Ashtyn and I have been tossing around the idea of learning Ancient Greek. One of the most common types of Ancient Greek that actually has Ancient documents is Koine. This is also the language the original New Testament was written in. While the Greeks do not have any religious book that is to them what the Bible is to the Christians, the Torah is to the Jews, and the Koran is to the Muslims, it is said that during the Byzantine conversion, many religious texts were believed to have been destroyed.

We must rely on history to follow Hellenismos (the polytheistic, ancient, Hellenic religion). We can only do that by what texts are available. One way to access these texts in their original form is by learning Greek. This is why learning Greek is important to us. Since the original New Testament is one of the few books we have, whether we believe in it or not, the source material is a teaching tool we can use. Not only that, but this is the original Biblical text. This does not contain all the dogmatic connotations that the past 2,000 years of leadership (both church and state) have applied to the text. I would rather learn through this kind of text (and take the New Testament for what it is - a bunch of fables/stories) so I can be able to read other Greek documents that have managed to have been preserved.

To learn Greek, I’ve joined a Yahoo Group that accesses a University of Houston online class website to self-teach Greek. The class is an Introduction to Ancient and Biblical Greek. I look forward to learning this way, but I’m also looking into purchasing a course in Ancient (Koine) Greek that Ashtyn & I can teach our son.

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It’s Christmastime again. The tree is up and the lights are lit. The house is filled with decorations that sparkle and shine. The presents are wrapped (for the most part) and the celebration is ready to begin. The celebration, for many these days, is now something that is entirely commercial in nature. I, like many, have never viewed the Christmas holiday as something that was supposed to be about Jesus or any of the stories behind the Christian faith.

While there are stories of the birth of Jesus and the relation to Christmas trees because of Saint Boniface, I realized that even if these myths were true (they aren’t by the way)the spirit of Christmas really has little to do with these ideas. Christmas trees are decoration and presents are material goods that do not make a person’s life better or worse.

As a believer in Hellenic faith, I am not one to consider Christmas my celebration. It’s mainstream. I tend to celebrate Winter Solstice instead because that makes more sense to me. The Christmas tree and decorations may be considered a Christian concept, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, much like Jesus’ December birthday, it’s a fallacy.

Some believe that Jesus really was born on December 25 and others have looked to January 6. Others tend to look towards the spring and feel that those dates are more relevant. The Bible does not offer an actual date. However, I find December 25 and January 6 interesting for a number of reasons.

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I have been thinking a lot about the holidays lately. The more research I do into the subject of religion and celebrations, the more I realize that Christianity has taken over polytheist celebrations. It is said this was done to try and wipe out polytheist celebrations and make those who were not so keen to convert to consider changing religions or participating in the new religion more actively.

As Christmas approaches, I find that I want to celebrate actual Christmas, less and less. You see, the Greeks were not the first to observe the Winter and Summer Solstices. The Winter Solstice occurred on the shortest day of the year. The date of the solstice was recorded by astronomers in Babylon and Africa, who were able to find out when it was by observing it as the darkest day of the year. The day is the shortest on the solstice. So, when the Ancients celebrated, they did so in honor of their Sun God. By appeasing the Sun God, the sun wouldn’t disappear for too long and spring would come with plenty of crops to feed the hungry populations after the winter had ended.

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I don’t understand something and I am hoping someone who is Christian can clarify this for me. Why are people Christians? Is it because it is currently the most popular religion? Is it because it is easier to go with the flow and be one to follow the crowd? The more I study and learn about Christianity, the more absurd I find the religion. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t dislike people who are Christians. I would never try to convert anyone to my beliefs. I merely have a major problem comprehending why people believe in Christianity due to the facts that are known about the religion.

First, we know the Bible was written by men. It was not written by God. These men claim they were encouraged to write the Bible because God told them to do so. They also claim to be writing the words of God. While this is a fundamental Christian belief, and one I grew up believing to be true, I have to laugh at my foolishness in retrospect. How do we not know these men were lying and trying to manipulate the common public into following their beliefs? The polytheist beliefs of the time prior to Christianity allowed for a lot more freedom for those who were religious. Perhaps it was just one way to try and control the masses?

I wrote a book. The Big Purple Barney Monster told me to write it. He told me to tell people what was right and wrong. He told me to tell people how to live. The Book is called the Mible. Those who don’t follow it will be tortured for all eternity after they die. They will be placed in hot goo to burn for the rest of their existence. Those who believe in the world of the Mible must be benevolent in their beliefs…or else I’ll cast them into the goo as well.

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I am a follower of Hellenismos. This means that I try to live my life as close to that of the Ancient Greeks. Religiously, culturally, and historically, I try to honor the beliefs of the Ancients and adapt them to a present day environment. While this may not always be easy, I feel great comfort in knowing that I live my life attempting to honor the Gods and the people who created one of the greatest (and first) democracies in all of history.

I first heard the word Hellenismos from a member of the YSEE (the Supreme Council of Ethnikoi Hellenes) and felt that it was the most accurate term for describing all that encompasses Hellenic polytheism. Some may call it Hellenic Reconstructionism. Others may call it Hellenes or the Hellenic religion. Hellenismos includes the culture, religion, language, and every day life of the Ancients. In order to fully understand their ways, it is necessary to use literature from the time period. There is no Bible or guide book, though there is much speculation that many of the books used by the Ancients for religious purposes were destroyed during the conversion in Greece to Byzantine religions.

It was this conversion that destroyed all public displays of Hellenismos. However, some of the ideals of the religion have been passed down from those who truly never gave up their Hellenic polytheistic beliefs. These beliefs had to be kept hidden for centuries because even as recent as just a few years ago, a person could be arrested or harassed for believing in polytheism. It is through the efforts of groups such as the YSSE that Hellenismos is slowly becoming a recognized religion again in Greece, where it was originally founded.

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