Religion: Cultus for the Living Immortals



"cult |kəlt| noun a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object"



The word cult derives from the verb cultus, which means to offer up veneration to a deity, hero, or other divine or semi-divine being. The Gods all have their cults, and the nature of those cults depends on the aspect of the God or Goddess in question. Taking Dionysos and Athene as examples, we find that the cults of these two Gods were very different from each other, but also that the different cults within the confines of each deity's sphere vary as well.

One can have a Cult of Athena Parthenos (The Virgin Athena) that has a very different character from that of a Cult of Athena Areia (The Warrior Athena) or Athena Poliouchos (Athena, Protector of Cities.) A cult of Dionysos Dendrites (God of the Tree or Giver of Foliage) would have a different character from a Cult of Dionysos Lampter (Dionysos the Torch Bearer) and as a result of this, it is important to know that when one speaks of cults, one is speaking of very individualistic groups of people who worship a God or Goddess, or a group of Gods, in a distinct way as they have experienced them.

In my home, for example, Hestia, Athena, and Artemis are given cultus as Virgins at the hearth. Athena and Hestia are given cultus as protectors, and Artemis as tamer of the wilds. Hera is given cultus as Queen of Heaven and as protector. Ares, Hermes, and Apollo as Warrior, Traveler, and Healer respectively. Aphrodite is given cultus as Ourania and Pandemos (The upper and lower aspects which can be interpreted as Love and Lust, Heavenly and Common, or Starry and Of the People.) Dionysos is given cultus as Lord of Intoxication and bringer of madness (Good reason for this, I assure you) and Helios is often given cultus as Watcher of all things.

With these more common acts of cultus also come others in which I invoke the Gods in unison.

Modern cult, however, has to be viewed almost the way the Wiccans see a Coven, but unlike that structure, the cult is less hierarchical, essentially forming, with a priest selected to perform the lead in the common rites, and then disbanding. However, cults could also be long standing permanent organizations with detailed rules concerning the selection of priests, and with modern cults, even the establishment of tax free organizations designed to draw people to a particular religious activity or deity.

In this sense, an organization like Hellenion, which is essentially a Church, can be seen as a cult. However, I do not see Hellenion as a cult, but rather as a Polis within which many cults exist and are encouraged as long as they abide by the laws of the Polis. And like a Polis, an organization like Hellenion has its official cultic activities and the people have their personal cultic activities. As it once was, so it is again.

In keeping with the general meaning of cultus, though, at any time when you are offering up incense, or other sacrifice, to the Gods, ritual, prayer, etc. you are offering cultus, and any time you do so with others, you are in cult.