Ellinais ( el, Ελληναίς or ΕΛΛΗΝ.Α.Ι.Σ.), also known as The Holy Association of Greek Ancient Religion Believers (Ελλήνων Αρχαιοθρήσκων Ιερόν Σωματείον), is an

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

-based religious organization intended to promote the spread of

Hellenismos Hellenism (Ἑλληνισμός) in a religious context refers to the modern pluralistic religion practiced in Greece and around the world by several communities derived from the beliefs, mythology and rituals from antiquity through and up t ...

, the modern worship of the ancient

Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

. Ellinais was founded in 2005 and has over 30 official members; including academics, lawyers and other professionals. The group has received state recognition of the religion. It is demanding that its offices be registered as places of worship, which could allow the group to perform weddings and other rites. The group believes in world peace, ecological awareness, and the right to education. The group has three high priests, one of whom is Kostas Stathopoulos.

2007 Temple of Olympian Zeus rite

On 22 January 2007 Ellinais held the first known ceremony of its kind at the 1,800-year-old Temple of Olympian Zeus since the ancient Greek religion was outlawed by the Christian

Roman empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

in the late 4th century. In defiance of a government ban, the 90-minute event included hymns, dancers and torchbearers. Worshipers, dressed in ancient costume, recited ancient hymns calling on

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

, "King of the Gods and the mover of things", to bring peace to the world. The priests celebrated the nuptials of Zeus with

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

, the goddess of love and marriage, below the imposing Corinthian-style columns in the city centre. A herald holding a metal staff, topped with two snake heads, proclaimed the beginning of the ceremony before priests in blue and red chitons, or robes, released two white doves, symbols of peace. A priest then poured libations of wine and incense burned on a tiny copper tripod while a choir of men and women chanted ancient hymns under the watchful eye of "guards", dressed as ancient Greek

hoplites Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The fo ...

, or soldiers.By Zeus!

Guardian Unlimited TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

, February 1, 2007

References

External links

Official international chapter site
{{in lang, el Modern pagan organizations established in the 2000s Modern paganism in Greece Religious organizations established in 2005

2007 Temple of Olympian Zeus rite

See also

References

External links