Sunday, April 26, 2015

Olympieia & Thargelia 2015

Khairete!

Our two most recent festivals were Olympieia (April 19) and Thargelia (today).

Olympieia


For the Olympieia, offerings of pictures of Pegasus were given to Zeus in honor of the horse races that used to be held in His honor for this festival in Athens.   To incorporate the gaming aspect of the festival, those present played Settlers of Catan.



Thargelia


To celebrate the Thargelia, birthday of Apollon and Artemis, we began with a Pharmakhos ritual to cleanse ourselves and our community, then processed into the main Temple for the main ritual.  We offered vegetable calzones as thargeloi or first-bread with first-fruits, as well as individual birthday cakes (cupcakes) and a newly-invented treat known alternately as Sweet Goulash or Whathafa (essentially a widely varied trail mix glued together with peanut butter and Greek yogurt).

To the left of Apollon's bust, you may notice a covered picture. This is the khoanoi, or the original image of Apollon used in the Temple, which is only revealed during this ritual and otherwise remains hidden.

Coming Up

Sunday, May 17, the Panaphobeia
Sunday, May 31, the Skiraphoria
The Hephaistia has been rescheduled again, date to be determined.

Until next time, may the blessings of the Gods be with you.

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