The Pillars of Hellenismos

Hellenic scholar Timothy Jay Alexander describes seven philosophical and religious pillars of Hellenismos for Hellenes to aspire to and use as a guide. His pillars are as follows:

• Ethike Arete – the practice of habitual excellence (ethics)
• Eusebia – reverence, loyalty, and sense of duty toward the Gods (of Greece)
• Hagneia – the maintaining of ritual purity by avoiding miasma
• Nomos Arkhaios – observance of ancient tradition, (religious) law, and customs
• Sophia – the pursuit of wisdom, understanding, and truth
• Sophrosune – the control of self through deep contemplation
• Xenia – adherence to hospitality and the guest-host relationship

Elani Temperance of Baring The Aegis instead identifies four pillars, but covering very similar principles:

• Eusebeia
• Katharmos – The act of being ritually clean
• Kharis – The act of giving to the gods so that they might give something in return.
• Xenia

I embrace the same concepts, but describe them through my own set of ‘pillars.’ Just as with Timothy and Elani, mine are also merely a guideline based on my experiences in life and with the gods. You may feel called to prioritize slightly different principles.

Eusebeia

Eusebeia, which may be translated as ‘piety,’ is loyalty and reverence toward the gods and the traditions and principles of Hellenismos. All acts of duty toward the gods are Eusebeia. Honoring tradition, respect for elders and ancestors, and rituals of devotion are acts of Eusebeia. But most of all, listening for the guidance of the gods themselves, and following their instruction is Eusebeia. Remember that a Hellene in all things and at all times is representing the gods to others around them. Every action should honor them, even outside the space of religious practice.

I consider the principle of Nomos Arkhaios to be subordinate to this. It’s not the blind following of tradition and religious law for its own sake which is important. Those practices are frequently no longer applicable to modern life, and the ones which are not should be either modified or discarded. The value of tradition is in how it connects us to the ancestors and can serve as a means of demonstrating our devotion to the gods.

I also agree with Timothy that Kharis is simply a part of Eusebeia. Kharis is the root word of charity, and is usually translated into English as “grace.” As in “by the grace of God.” The word grace as it appears in the Christian bible in reference to their god is a translation of Kharis in the Greek version of their book. A part of Kharis is unconditional love, and a spirit of reciprocity for its own sake. It’s important not to misunderstand Kharis as being a transactional concept. We are not doing things for the gods because we want the gods to do something for us. We are showing our love through acts of devotion simply because we want to, and the gods do the same.

I disagree with my two sources here, in that I also think the concepts of Hagneia and Katharmos can be considered part of Eusebeia. Cleansing and ritual purity are an important part of Hellenic ritual practice, and the first step of rituals is generally cleansing yourself before coming before the gods, but this can be as simple as dousing your hands and face in the kitchen sink before you get started. The entire purpose of the ritual cleansing is as an act of Eusebeia.

Sophia

The pursuit of understanding is deeply important to not only Hellenic culture, but all people, especially those who seek spiritual fulfillment. Seeking wisdom and understanding is a prerequisite to personal growth, to which we should all aspire.

I think we can safely consider Sophrosune to be a part of Sophia. Sophrosune, which embodies temperance, and soundness of mind, and self control, is a product of contemplation and the pursuit of knowledge of self. So we can conclude that a part of our pursuit of Sophia, wisdom, should be understanding of self through practices such as meditation and shadow work.

It does not matter in what other aspects of the world we focus our efforts to learn, but we should always be actively pursuing knowledge of something. To fully realize the concept of Sophia is to never let a day pass where you do not seek out something to learn.

Xenia

Xenia best translates as “Hospitality.” The honoring of the unspoken guest/host contract. That is, the host should honor all guests, and the guest should always respect the host.

We are called to welcome all visitors, to ensure that the needs of guests are met, and to give every guest the best we have to offer, without consideration for the station of that guest. My grandmother taught me to offer food and drink to everyone who comes to my home, including service people. Kindness and respect for everyone who comes to your door, especially strangers, is of paramount importance. You never know when a visitor may be one of the gods in disguise. There are many stories of gods and spirits visiting mortals in disguise to test their observance of Xenia, offering great rewards to those who pass the test, and terrible punishments for those who fail. As was the case for Baucis and Philemon.

The expectation of Xenia goes both ways. As you must honor your guests, so you must also honor your host. When in someone else’s space, be courteous and respectful, do not ask too much, do not over stay your welcome, and do not disrupt the peace of their space, whether it is a home, business, or something else.

A guest who does not honor the expectations of Xenia is no longer entitled to their protection. As with the ill-intentioned suitors of Penelope in The Odyssey, who disrespected their host and abused the hospitality of the household, and paid for their mistake.

Ethike Arete

This is a concept which literally translates to “moral excellence,” but is more complex than that. My personal interpretation, which may vary from other people’s, is that we are required to do what we feel is right in every situation. Not only must we never commit an act which we know to be wrong or unethical, but we also must assess every situation as unique and be able to make a decision of what is right in that moment, regardless of any more general principles or rules. In short, every rule or law has exceptions, including the ones laid out above, and we must be prepared to break the rules when they would prevent right action.

In short, no code will ever predict in advance what will be right in every situation. It can’t be done. All we can do is create guidelines, which must be ready to bend and change. There’s no way to know what the right thing will be to do, until you’re actually in the moment. We must be ready to decide what is right in any given moment, and always do that right thing.