Research, Research, Research

Well folks, I have to say that so far, getting this book written is coming together better than I thought. With the unfortunate exception of my partner having to drop out, things are sailing along quite smoothly. With the addition of a Lesser Aresia, I’ve found at least two more festivals to reconstruct for my book: The Areia, an Athenian festival near the end of Metageitnion/beginning of Boedromion (about mid August) celebrates Ares and Athene Areia, possibly as founder gods and supporters of the Ephebes, and probably involves choral contests, among others; the second is the Enyalia, a celebration re-enacting the victory of the Athenians over Salamis, and involves a running procession to a promontory. I haven’t quite tracked down a date for this, but a review of the history books should suffice. But hey, awesomeness, right?

On another note, I’ve also been reading up on ancient battlefield religion, and how closely tied Ares, Apollon, and Artemis are in those respects. You can expect a few simple rites and prayers to come out honoring those three and others, too. More and more, this book is becoming liturgical more than philosophical, which appeases my inner “priestly” side greatly. It’s one thing to understand Ares through droll discussion and supposition, but it’s greater to follow behind him in practice, prayer, and ritual in my not-so-unbiased opinion.

Thank you all who have helped, are helping, and will help in this endeavor. I received an oracle from Sannion and Dionysos that the effort is well appreciated, which is very motivating. While I may not be blogging as frequently right now, I am thinking about you all! Hail Ares!

Apologies

Memorial Day is a day of remembering death, so today, I dedicate my blog to the men I couldn’t save during my tour of duty. Bear with me, but here are their names:
Gallo, Giovanni
Lewis, Lex L.
Marchini, Scelto Roberto
Tuccillo, Gaetano
Soufrine, Eric D.
Miotto, Matteo
Ville, Sebastian
Pedone, Marco
Manca, Gianmarco
Vannozzi, Francesco
Romani, Alessandro
Farley, Derek J.
Repkie, Robert K. L.
Justesen, Anthony T.
Cartwright, Charles I.
Ochoa Jr., Alfonso
Ramirez, Joel A.
Wren, Charles J.
Atim, Paul J.
Hutchinson, Dea
Wood, Robert
Marshall, Kyle Cleet
Lewis, Conrad
Hendry, Lewis
Swanson, Aaron M.
Beckett, Colin
Pyeatt, Lucas T.
Dalzell, David
Muhr, Shawn A.
Campbell, Joshua R.
Bell, Martin Simon George
Amores, Jason G.
Whitehead, Joseph C.
Enig, Samuel
Giese, Joseph R.
Tate, Jacob A.
Vatubua, Joseva Saqanagonedau
Htaik, Maung P.
Wood, Charles
Nguyen, Tevan L.
Misener, Garrett A.
Corzine, Kenneth A.
Dunn, Steven Thomas
Crouse IV, William H.
Torbert Jr., Eric M.
Maldonado, Jose L.
Osterman, Sean A.
Schmalstieg, Justin E.
Hernandez, Jose A.
Green, Stacy A.
Geary, Michael E.
Peto, Jason D.
Rusk, Colton W.
Wyatt, Derek A.
Howard, John
Scott, Lucas C.
Abbate, Matthew
Wade, Chad S.
Donnelly IV, William J.
Buenagua, Ardenjoseph A.
Smith, Jason T.
Davies, Christopher
Ortiz Rivera, Javier O.
Jørgen Randrup
McCormick, Aaron
Stack, James B.
Huse, Dakota R.
Kelly, Robert M.
Braggs, Randy R.
Emrick, Jordan B.
McCluskey, Jason J.
Pearson, Brandon W.
Broehm, Matthew J.
Zimmerman, James R.
Blanchard, William
Land, Brett W.
Honeycutt Jr., Terry E.
Jørgensen, Mikkel
Barnsdale, David
Jackson, Francisco R.
Cullins, Joshua J.
Villarreal Jr., Jorge
Tawney, Ian M.
Boelk, James D.
Catherwood, Alec E.
Lopez, Joseph C.
Ceniceros, Irvin M.
Cain, Justin J.
Vinnedge, Phillip D.
Rodewald, Joseph E.
Dew, Victor A.
Johnson, Raymon L. A.
Zaehringer III, Frank R.
Rayner, Peter Anthony
Sparks, John T.
Gonzalez, Edwin
Sockalosky, Stephen C.
Lynch, Scott A.
Gurung, Suraj
Vogeler, Lance H.
Matteoni, Anthony D.
Jackson, Timothy M.
Fabbri, Ralph J.
Thomas, Matthew
Rosa, Anthony J.
Jørgensen, Simon Mundt
Ose, Joshua S.
Jones, Andrew James
Howarth, Andrew Martin
Fleming, Scott J.
Johnson, Timothy L.
Deady, Darren
Bishop, John C.
Charte, Philip G. E.
Shukvani, Mukhran
Griffiths, Andrew
Pool, Joseph McFarlane
Balthaser, Jesse M.
Carver, Ross S.
Twigg, Joshua T.
Rodgers, Christopher B.
Roberts, Cody A.
Bovia, Joseph A.
Sikka, Herdis
Goetz, Dale A.
Infante, Jesse
Kessler, Kevin J.
West, Matthew J.
Clements, Chad D.
Holley, Floyd E. C.
Ide, James R.
Fedder, Daniel L.
Swink, James Michael
Newton, Robert J.
Rodriguez, Ronald A.
Calo, Jason D.
Bancroft, Jordan Dean
Schultz, Nathaniel J. A.
Childers, Cody S.
Boyd, Christopher J.
Oratowski, Kevin E.
Gurung, Ishwor
Foster, Darren
Bock, Michael A.
Kulung, Remand
Sanderson, John Charles
Saenz III, Jose L.
Greer, Kristopher D.
Petersen, Jimmi Bøgebjerg
Rolandsen, Erik Berre
Gammone III, Vincent E.
Cornelius, Kevin M.
Donahue, Max W.
Brown, Adam
McCallum, Dale Alanzo
Holbrook, Jason E.
Warren, Kyle R.
Martin, Shane R.
Howard, Abram L.
Smith, Mark
Vazquez, Frederik E.
Weis, James M.
Carazo, Mario D.
Pløger, Jonas Peter
Monkhouse, Stephen Daniel
Stenton, Matthew James
Vargas, Julio
Miller, Paul J.
Wrightsman, Joe L.
Eastman, Christopher L.
Monkhouse, David Thomas
Linley, Brett George
Griffiths, Kinikki “Griff”
Crookes, David Thomas
Bartelt, Justus S.
Santos, Dave M.
Harrison, Matthew
Pun, Arjun Purja
Turkington, Neal
Bowman, James Joshua
Antonik, Christopher J.
Roads, Tyler A.
Raney, Daniel G.
Robinson, Samuel Joseph
Hart, David Charles
Sephton, Thomas
Wisniewski, David A.
Stephens, Seth
Harris Jr., Larry D.
Kirkpatrick, Jamie
Gilbert, Stephen Raymond
Richards, William T.
Caskey, Joseph D.
DeBoer, Daane Adam
Horton, Martyn Simon
Ramsden, David
Isaac, Alex
Halliday, Douglas
Darbyshire, Steven William
Taylor, Michael
Patino IV, Claudio
Cueto, Kevin A.
Warren, Paul
Serwinowski, Timothy G.
Hollington, Richard
Smith, Ashley
Ortega, William
Rogoiruwai, Taniela Tolevu
Bailey, Michael C.
Standfest, Jeffrey R.
Tagitaginimoce, Ponipate
Birdsall, Steven James
Kristiansen, Martin
Breeze, Andrew
Brummund, Gavin R.
Monk, Jonathan Michael
Plank, Michael G.
Flores, Michael P.
Gentz, Joel C.
Smith, David C.
White, Benjamin D.
Chandler, Mark
Walters, Zachary J.
Shanfield, Derek L.
Rankel, John K.
Bury, Brandon C.
Hernandez, Derek
Marler, Donald M.
Webster, Terry
Cochran, Alan David
Hotine, Anthony Dean
Bruun, Sophia
Taylor, Scott Gregory
Dilisio, Anthony A.
Suter, Jake W.
Leicht, Jacob C.
Curley, Stephen Paul
Cusack, Zak
Fingar, Jason D.
Walker, Stephen
Clark, Philip P.
Xavier Jr.,Patrick
Paradarodriguez, Nicholas D.
Perkins, Adam L.
Wood, Zarian
Desforges, Joshua D.
Lamar II, Donald J.
Johnson, Jeffery W.
May, Jr., Kenneth B.
Shea, Kurt S.
Harrison, Christopher Lewis
Comfort, Kyle A.
Davis, Joshua M.
Penny, Richard R.
Rangel, Christopher
Barrett, Brandon A.
Buxton, Barry
Roy, Daryn
Holmes, Harvey Alex
Rivers Jr., Thomas E.
Caron, Joseph T.
Durkin, Sean M.
Burgess, Jonathan Antony
Turner, Mark
Swenson, Curtis M.
Sweeney, Michael
World, Frank J.A.
Griffin, Tyler O.
Holkham, Daniel
Woodgate, Jonathan
Ross, Jacob A.
Centanni, Rick. J.
Cottle, Robert. J.
Campbell, Steven
Wilson, Justin J.
Clarkson, Joel D.
Grigg, James
Hardy, Scott
Driver, Martin
Porto, Jonathan D.
Gamble, Garrett W.
Thompson, Stephen
Keogh, Tom
Maughan, Liam
Allott, Jonothon Michael
Paci, Anthony A.
Olsen, Nigel K.
Green, Richard
Apolis, Carlo
Aragon, Carlos A.
Fox, Paul Maurice
Kinggett, Martin
Hanson, Matthias N.
Ward, Eric L.
Peak, Adam D.
Eckard, Christopher W.
Stultz, Gregory S.
Birchfield, Joshua H.
Dalzell, Douglas
Walker, David “Davey”
Dunn, Kielin T.
McQueary, Jeremy R.
Coutu, Kyle J.
Johnson, Larry M.
Yazzie, Alejandro J.
Currier, Eric D.
Pier, Noah M.
Mellors, Guy
Estopinal, Jason H.
Dawson, Sean
Marshall, Mark
Greenhalgh, Dave
Turbett, Jacob H.
Hicks, Darren
Markland, David
McDonald, Sean
Moore, John
Shaw,Graham
Riley, Liam
Freeman Jr., Michael L.
Smith, David J.
Cooper, Daniel
Smith, Zachary D.
Angus, Daniel M.
Poole, Timothy J.
Kane, Jeremy M.
Aldridge, Peter
Farmer, Luke
Brownson, Corporal Lee
Hrbek, Christopher R.
Read, Daniel
Ingham, Matthew N.
Lowe, Jamie R.
Uzenski, Nicholas K.
Meinert, Jacob A.
Juarez, Mark D.
Hoffmann, Simon Sejer
Hayes, Robert
Watson, David
Howell, Aidan
Brown. Tommy
Roebuck, Omar G.
Roney, Christopher
Pritchard, Michael David
Kropov, Serge
Hornby, Simon
Jalakas, Kristjan
Kirkness, David Leslie
Brown, James Stephen
Campbell Jr., Anthony C.
Latorre, Xhacob
Drane, Adam Paul
Taylor, Jonathan A.
Amer, John Paxton
Nielsen, Kenneth Patrick
Hand, Nicholas J.
Loughran-Dickson, Robert David
Marlton-Thomas, Loren Owen Christopher
Fentiman, Andrew
Hefner, Shawn P.
Swanson, Justin J.
Bassett, John Samuel
Allen, Philip
Scott, Phillip
Webster-Smith, Nicholas
Chant, Darren
Major, James
Boote, Steven
Telford, Matthew
Schmid, Olaf Sean George
Ruiz, Cesar B.
Stanley, Cody R.
Mitchell, David S.
Fleury, Gregory M.W.
Jones, Eric A.
Van De Giesen, Kyle R.
Ebert, Michael
Oakland, James
Baker, David Raymond
Cauley, George W.
Taylor, Aaron J.
Hill, James
Janes, Jamie
Hill, Kevin O.
Wojtak, Marcin
Carse, Nathan B.
Carroll, Patrick R.
Lancaster, Joshua T.
Creamer, Zainah C.
Near, Robert J.
Beckerman, Michael J.
Javier Jr., Conrado D.
Martin, Steve
Collins, Sean M.
McLawhorn Jr., Willie A.
Deans, Patrick D.
Necochea Jr., Kenneth E.
Simonetta, Derek T.
Villacis, Jorge E.
Middleton, William K.
Flannery, Sean M.
Holder, Kyle M.
Culbreth, Justin E.
Senft, David P.
Carroll, Jacob C.
Carver, Jacob R.
Rivadeneira, Juan L.
Paranzino, Michael F.
Young, James C.
Meari, Andrew N.
Curtis, Jonathan M.
Dickmyer, Adam L.
Sadell, Charles M.
Dupont, Steven L.
Jenkins, Gerald R.
Powell, Matthew C.
Johnson, Daniel J.
Prentler, Joseph T.
Board, Cody A.
Officer, Justin A.
Morrison, Donald Scott
Simpson, Mark A.
Buras, Michael J.
Yates, Eric
Newman, Jaime C.
Snow, Deangelo B.
Kramer, Aaron K.
Weaver, Todd W.
Pinksen, Brian
Noziska, Mark
Grochowiak, Casey J.
Meletiche, Pedro A. Millet
Maldonado, Alexis V.
Brown, Jason
Karch, Christopher N.
Rappuhn, Bradley D.
Nicol, Andrew C.
Stout, Kyle B.
Stansbery, Michael L.
Collier, Brian
Piercy, Brian F.
Allen, Justin B.
Tilton, Jesse R.
Winters, Leston M.
Jarrell, John H.
King, Brandon M.
Goeke, Christopher S.
Stout, Christopher T.
Tate, Sheldon L.
Moon, Christopher J.
Garvin, Nathaniel D.
Ainsworth, Jesse W.
Cabacoy, Christopher F.
Wood, Edwin C.
McGarrah, Clayton D.
Jefferson, David
Miller, Andrew
Giesebrecht, Kristal
Loredo, Edwardo
Palmer, Scott Travis
Aplin, Timothy James
Chuck, Benjamin
MacNeil, James Patrick
Silk, Brandon M.
Hunter, James P.
Park, Benjamin J.
Adams, Christian M.
Neenan, Brendan P.
Goudreault, Martin
Theinert, Joseph J.
Peney, Jonathan K.
Rudd, Larry John Zuidema
McKay, Kevin
Blake, Douglas Craig
Coleman, Mark W.
Laborde, John K.
Ingram Jr, Michael K.
Todd, Tyler William
Brunkhorst, Scott W.
Santos-Silva, Carlos M.
Fitzpatrick, Darren James
Whetten, Glen J.
Dikcis, Alan N.
Gelig, Ian T.D.
Southgate, Luke
Gorra, Marcos
Salvacion, JR Robiniol
Reiners, John A.
Wittman, Jeremiah T.
Pagan, Bobby J.
Baker, Joshua Caleb
Williams, Charles A.
Gill, Carlos E.
Pena, Paul
Ginett, Adam K.
Faught, John
Wright, Kyle J.
Smith, Bradley R.
Dion, John P.
Lengstorf, Joshua A.
Bowman, Brian R.
Miok, George
Taylor, Kirk
McCormack, Zachery
Chidley, Garrett William
Johnston, Jason M.
Gutierrez, David H.
Nuttall, Andrew
Ware, Albert D.
McLeod, Jason A.
Lewis, Joseph M.
Aamot, Aaron S.
Gooch Jr., Gary L.
Marshall, Steven
Boyes, Justin Garrett
Bates, Jr. Brian R.
Gonzalez, Luis M.
De La Rosa, Fernando
Griffin, Dale R.
Jackson, Issac B.
Williamson, Patrick O.
Stanker, Jared D.
Walz, Christopher I.
Mason, Thomas
Michel, Devin J.
Coumas, Kyle A.
Dahl Jr., Michael A.
Rudzinski, Christopher M.
Stivison, Jr., Glen H.
Flores, Jr. Jesus O.
Lawson, Daniel C.
Styer, Brandon M.
Sklaver, Benjamin A.
Newton Jr., Alan H.
Sanchez, Roberto D.

Sorry I failed, gents. I’ll see you in Hades when my time comes…

Community Conflict and Force Continuum

Though it was published only moments ago, my last post left me wanting to expand more on conflict in our small little religious community. More importantly, I want to look at how we handle conflict in our little community and what we can do address those issues on both a micro and macro scale.

When addressing conflict in the military, we used something called a force continuum. The central premise of the force continuum doctrine is one should apply only as much force is necessary in a given situation. Can we handle the situation with less than lethal means? If lethal force is necessary, what sort of munitions need to be used; can we use a bullet or do we need a bomb? Conflict in our religious community can get out of hand, often because there is no accepted norm of what “force” is necessary to resolve the conflict. Little things can get blown out of proportion quite easily, because someone brings a cannon to a seed-spitting contest. I want to address how we can avoid going in guns blazing to avoid escalating conflict and making mountains from mole hills.

First, what are the problems? In my experience, when conflict arises in Hellenismos, it comes in at least one of these three forms: conflicts of practice, conflicts of communication, and conflicts of culture. While these three aren’t the catch-all of conflicts, the majority do fall within one or more fo these categories. The inability to move past them hurts our community. So let’s take a look at how these conflicts play out, and how we can resolve them.

I’ll focus first on conflicts of communication, because these are probably the most numerous and easiest to resolve. It’s pretty common knowledge that the majority of communication takes place non-verbally. However, unless you live in a large metropolitan or urban area such as LA or Athens, chances are you probably do most of your communicating with coreligionists on-line. So, whenever you send a message, post a blog, or write an article, your audience is missing up to 90% of what you are trying to communicate. Add in the factor of ineffibility possessed of religious experiences, and congrats: you’re lucky if you get through at all! With the cards stacked against you, it’s easy to see how conflicts can arise. Simple passing statements or jokes can come off as offensive or even aggressive. People get hurt when they feel someone is attacking them, even if you don’t know that person. Even worse, some use the anonymity granted by a screen to actually make personal attacks.

Threat Level: Minimal

In my experience, the best way to resolve conflicts of communication are to either be as specific and detailed as possible, or to avoid saying something altogether. Free speech isn’t so much a right as it is a responsibility. Words can be like a loaded gun, and you have to know how to use them safely and deliberately. It’s also important that when you disagree, you go after the argument, not the person. For example I might disagree with a Dionysian like Sannion about the amount of freedom that is healthy for an individual and society. It is the idea I disagree with, not the person. If we lose that basic level of respect, everything from that point, every interaction, every comment, is poisoned by that lack of respect. Thankfully there’s room for a lot of divergence within Hellenismos.

This brings me to my next conflict type: conflicts of practice. A simple scan through the historical record will show how varied the cults of a single god could be. For example, as I described in an earlier post, Ares had two festivals where only one gender or the other could attend. Behaviors you could get away with at one temple could get you booted at another. In addition, different localities meant diverging traditions. And yet, we modern Hellenes seem to take this slightly out of context. Folks on either side of the continuum can take an extreme position, from Hellenismos essentially becoming an orthodoxy, to the other side of the coin wherein the religion is so highly syncretic as to be void of definitive features. Let’s take a common example of divergent opinion: opinions on magic. Some seem to want to grab the torches and pitchforks, others say bring on the spell books. History shows that while magic was certainly taboo, it didn’t stop many people from using it. Yet this minor deviation in practice has led to flame wars and groups fracturing.

Threat Level: Moderate to High

Figuring out how to address this sort of conflict can be tricky, because obviously style here is very personal. To avoid relations from souring quickly and permanently, honesty and a willingness to communicate concerns is a must. This is especially important when forming a group, and must occur from the outset. For instance, if you and friends decided you wanted to create a reconstructionist group, you still need to discuss what practices you want to reconstruct, and from what era. Little details like these can make it or break it for some folks. You need to decide on an appropriate level of compromise, too, which is also deeply personal. Assessing your own values and preferences is paramount; as the temple wall said, “Know Thyself”. It is also important to note when it’s not you, it’s me. If you’re the only one with an issue, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth causing a fuss over. That takes strength, but the community may be better for it.

The last major conflict zone is conflicts of culture. Hellenismos is an ethnic religion, so a certain amount of ethnocentrism is to be expected. There have been individuals who claim that one must be ethnically Greek to practice Hellenismos, and I don’t doubt some still hold that opinion. Political, social, and economic differences also fall in this category. Some interpret different sources, evidence, and philosophy as mandating specific views on how we should operate culturally. This of course affects how we interact with each other on the most base levels. Conflicts stemming from this zone get out of hand the fastest and do the most damage.

Threat Level: High

Unfortunately, these conflicts are seemingly impossible to overcome. As I see it, there are essentially two options: to ignore the conflict, or to ignore the conflicting party. Ignoring the conflict can be simple if it is smaller, but over time, resentment can grow and come to a head. Ignoring the offending party is the other option, but doing this without burning a bridge can be difficult, especially if you view that person as a trusted (or formerly trusted) resource. There is no easy answer for this one, and it helps to occasionally hit reset and hope to move forward. Again, it is important to know yourself and decide what you are willing to compromise in return for harmony.

 

Always remember that in such a small community, your words and actions have increased effect. As a religion, we must remain dynamic, relevant, and harmonious to survive and flourish; one big flame war is all it takes to kill a movement this small. To do this we much each be willing to play our roles responsibly, whether we take them or they are thrust upon us. With courage and patience, we can all rise to the occasion. The gods ask, and deserve, nothing less.