In Search of the Greek Gods
I have been hesitant about writing any book on Greek religion but I am convinced I should write one because I sense a desire out there for something historically grounded and spiritually mature.
I am closer to a general idea of what kind of polytheistic book I want to write. A title came to mind recently, and I will share it once I flesh out the book a bit more and present it to my publisher for a contract.
I have been hesitant about writing any book on Greek religion for a while now, mainly because I do not want to contribute to a problem that seems unfixable. The problem is the messy handling of academic work in the Pagan community and people’s behavior of ruining what you write through intentional and unintentional actions. But I am convinced now that I should write something because I sense there is a desire out there for something historically grounded and spiritually mature.
Starting a book is the hardest part for me. Where does one begin on a subject such as Greek religion for modern devotees? I plan to start the book by grounding the reader in a well-rounded religious history that explores my favorite subject, the shift from polytheism to monotheism, using the history of the Greeks as a case study of this change. This and a solid history of the Greeks themselves are essential. You must understand the Greeks themselves, the ancient world, and the story of how it all changed before you can even jump into talking about the Gods of the Greeks, let alone worshipping them.
I came to this conclusion while revisiting the research paper I did for my independent study course while finishing my MA program. That led me to revisit Roderick Beaton’s The Greeks: A Global History, which helped frame my perspective even more and what I hope to impart to my readers.
In the preface, Beaton writes:
The Greek language is one of only three, among those now spoken and written anywhere in the world, that can boast a continuous written tradition stretching back for more than three thousand years. The others are Chinese and Hebrew. The collective heroes and heroines of the story told in this book are all those people who have spoken and written the Greek language throughout the long centuries of its recorded evolution….
The Greeks of the title and the pages that follow are to be understood as speakers of the Greek language. The story of these Greek speakers will turn out to be a story about identity— or rather, about identities, in the plural. Greek speakers have been adept, ever since we first get to know them through their earliest writings, at asking questions and interrogating themselves. The answers they have come up with have differed greatly over the centuries, according to cultural changes and changing historical circumstances….
This book asks: What can we learn from the accumulated experience of those who have spoken and written this language, during three and a half thousand years, about how identities are created, perpetuated, and modified or reinvented over time? We all rely on perceptions of the past to establish our own identity in the present.
In a world ever more threatened by the clash of mutually exclusive, monolithic identities, we might all do well to reflect, on a more informed basis than we often do, on the ways in which these identities come to be formed and also adapted as the world around us changes. The story of the Greeks, based on their own words, that can be traced all the way back to the earliest period of recorded history, sheds light on this process rather than on any single identity, seemingly fixed and given at any one time.
Beaton’s presentation of the Greeks struck a chord in me. He presents the Greeks as a people of ongoing reinvention of self. I resonated with this because I reflect on my identity and what being a Greek in the diaspora means, especially as a Greek who worships the Greek Gods – I stand apart from other Greeks religiously. Beaton asks his readers to consider “[w]hat can we learn from the accumulated experience of those who have spoken and written this language, during three and a half thousand years, about how identities are created, perpetuated, and modified or reinvented over time?”
Many people searching for the Greek Gods are in the process of creative change with their own religious and spiritual identities. I hope that my journey and my self-reflection will help others in their journey and self-reflection as well. I think that whatever book I write, it will be something that genuinely helps shape people’s religious worldview and historical understandings of the Greeks, the ancient world, ancient religion, and how to approach these subjects in a meaningful and appropriate way.
Can't wait!