Im my dream last night I met hermes. He had something important to tell me (its now lost to the dream). He was fighting to make himself make sense within the dream, to tell me something without dream memory and scrambling in the way.
I haven’t been into hellenism very long, not enough to understand what happened. He didn’t seem very happy. He was also in Danny devitos body, which I thought was interesting. I also didn’t cry, and I normally cry when I meet gods. It was more like?? Id caught him, realized he wasn’t part of the dream. Then he told me something I don’t remember.
Does anyone know anything about this? I know hermes appearing in dreams is comon in the mythos.
Any help is very welcome and id be very greatful. I have some big life stuff and I feel like I can’t ignore this omen.
Other Names: Bacchus, Zagreus, Liber Epithets: Bakkhos (frenzied), Bromios (the roaring), Eleutheros (the liberator), Meilichios (the mild/gracious), Maenoles (the mad), Nyctelius (of the night), Nyctipolos (night-stalker), Staphylites (of the grape), Theoineos (god of wine), Agathos Daimon (good spirit), Oenops (wine-faced), Antheos (the blooming), Kisseus (of the ivy), Kittophoros (ivy-bearer), Dimetor (twice-born/of two mothers), Dimorphos (two-formed), Dithyrambos (of the dithyramb), Areios (warlike), Kryphios (hidden), Karpios (of the harvest), Hyes (of moisture/the dripping), Ekstatophoros (bringer of ecstasy), Boukeros (bull-horned), Aigobolus (goat-slayer), Melanaegis (of the black goat-skin), Lysios (loosener/deliverer), Lenaeus (of the wine-press), Limnaios (of the marsh/liminal), Psilas (giver of wings), Psilax (uplifted on wings), Soter (savior), Khthoinios (of the Underworld), Dendrites (of trees), Eubouleos (of good counsel), Polymorphos (many-formed), Khryphion (hidden), Khoreutes (the dancer), Melpomenus (singer/of the tragedy play), Phleon (the luxuriant), Omadios/Omaphagos/Omestes (flesh-eater), Bassareus (the fox), Androgynos (androgynous), Agronios (wild, savage), Oinops (wine-dark/wine-faced). Domains:Wine, ritual ecstasy and trance, festivals and revelry, pleasure, madness, hallucinations, intoxication, liberation, fruit, androgyny, GNC and LGBTQ+ people, viticulture, theater and choral songs, life-force, reincarnation. Appearance: He appears to me as an androgynous and beautiful young man with long, curly hair that flows over his shoulders (it’s usually dark brown but seems to change color, being occasionally blond, black, strawberry, etc.). He has wild eyes that are vine-green or the pinkish-purple of grapes, and they’re usually either bright and laughing or disturbingly mad-looking. He typically has ruddy cheeks and a bright smile. He’s usually not wearing much beyond a cloth draped over his body (in white or purple) and/or a leopard pelt, but sometimes appears in in casual modern clothing with a leopard-print jacket. He often wears a grape headdress, and he sometimes has horns resembling a bull’s, ram’s, or goat’s. His laughter is both musical and utterly insane. His aura is the reddish-purple of grapes. Sacred Days and Festivals: Greater/City Dionysia (10-17 Elaphebolion). Lesser/Rural Dionysia (10 Poseideon). Lenaia (12-15 Gamelion). Anthesteria (11-13 Anthesterion). Oskophoria (8 Pynapsion). Haloa (26 Poseideon). Agrionia (nocturnal women’s festival). Symbols/Attributes:Grapes, thyrsus, masks, drinking cups, ivy leaves, tambourine, winnowing basket, honey, phallus, animal skins, leopard-print fabric. Sacred Animals: Leopard/panther, bull, serpent, goat, fox, bee, frog, bat Sacred Plants: Grapevine, ivy, fig, pine, fennel, orchis, thistle. Elemental Affinity: Earth, water, darkness. Planet:Neptune (modern) Colors:Purple, green, gold, burgundy, black. Crystals: Amethyst, grape agate, black diamond Incense:Grape, fig, fennel, musk, cinnamon, frankincense, storax, vanilla, cannabis. Tarot Cards: Temperance, The Hanged Man, The Fool, The Devil, The Hierophant, The King of Pentacles. Retinue: (called the thiasus) Maenads/Bacchantes, satyrs, seilenoi, Ariadne, Silenus, Pan, Thyone (Semele), Kotys, Korymbos, Aristaios, Phales, Methe, Telete Associated People: Actors, social outcasts, women, androgynous/LGBT+ people. Offerings: Wine, honey, grapes, figs, other fruit, ivy, pinecones, milk with honey, mead, sparkling juice, masks, stories/poetry/plays, dance, donations to community theaters or big cat conservation. Syncretized With: Liber Pater, Sabazius, Osiris (though personally I think Shezmu fits better), Serapis, Tammuz, Shiva, Flufluns
Hymns to Dionysus
Homeric Hymn 26 to Dionysus
I begin to sing of ivy-crowned Dionysus, the loud-crying god, Splendid son of Zeus and glorious Semele. The rich-haired Nymphs received him in their bosoms from the lord his father And fostered and nurtured him carefully in the dells of Nysa, Where by the will of his father He grew up in a sweet-smelling cave, Being reckoned among the immortals. But when the goddesses had brought him up, a god oft hymned, Then began he to wander continually through the woody coombes, Thickly wreathed with ivy and laurel. And the Nymphs followed in his train with him for their leader; And the boundless forest was filled with their outcry. And so hail to you, Dionysus, god of abundant clusters! Grant that we may come again rejoicing to this season, And from that season onwards for many a year.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysus
Dionysos I call, loud-roaring and divine, Primeval God, a two-fold shape is thine: Thy various names and attributes I sing, O, twice-born, thrice begotten, Bacchic king: Wild, ineffable, two-form’d, obscure, two-horn’d, With ivy crown’d, howling, pure. Bull-fac’d, and warlike, bearer of the vine, Endowed with counsel prudent [Eubouleos] and divine: Triennial, whom the leaves of vines adorn, Of Zeus and Persephone, occultly born. Immortal daimon, hear my suppliant voice, Give me in blameless plenty to rejoice; And listen gracious to my mystic pray'r, Surrounded with thy choir of nurses fair.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysus Khthonios
Dionysos Khthonios, hear my pray’r, Awakened rise with nymphs of lovely hair: Great Amphietos Bakkhos, annual god, Who laid asleep in Persephone’s abode, Did’st lull to drowsy and oblivious rest, The rites triennial, and the sacred feast; Which rous’d again by thee, in graceful ring, Thy nurses round thee mystic anthems sing; When briskly dancing with rejoicing pow’rs, Thou move’st in concert with the circling hours. Come, blessed, fruitful, horned, and divine, And on these rites with joyful aspect shine. Accept the general incense and pray’r, And make prolific holy fruits thy care.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysos Lenaios
Hear me, Zeus’s son, blest Bacchus, god of wine, Born of two mothers, honor’d and divine, Lysian, Euion Bacchus, various-nam’d, Secret child of gods, holy, fam’d Fertile and nourishing, in whose liberal care Earth’s fruits increases, flourishing and fair; Sounding, magnanimous, Lenaean pow’r O various-form’d, medicinal, holy flow’r: Mortals in thee, repose from labour find, Delightful charm, desir’d by all mankind: Fair-hair’d Euion, Bromios, joyful God, Lysian, invested in the leafy rod. To these our rites, benignant pow’r incline, When fav’ring men, or when on Gods you shine; Be present to thy mystic’s suppliant pray’r, Rejoicing come, and fruits abundant bear.
Orphic Hymn to Triennial Dionysus
Bacchus frantic, many-nam’d, blest, divine, Bull-faced Lenaean, bearer of the vine, From fire descended, raging, Nysian king, From whom initial ceremonies spring: Liknitan Dionysos, pure and firey bright, Eubouleos, crown-bearer, wandering in the night: Pupil of Persephone, mysterious pow’r, Triple, ineffable, Zeus’ secret flow’r, Ericapaeus, first-begotten nam’d, Of Gods the father, and the child fam’d, Bearing a scepter, leader of the choir, Whose dancing feat, frantic Furies fire, When the triennial band thou dost inspire. Loud-sounding, Tages, of a firey light, Born of two mothers, Amphitios bright: Wand’ring on mountains, cloth’d with skins of deer, Apollo, golden-ray’d, whom all revere. God of the grape with leaves of ivy crown’d, Bassarian, lovely, virgin-like, renown’d, Come blessed pow’r, regard thy mystic’s voice, Propitious come, and in these rites rejoice.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysus Bassarius:
Come, blessed Dionysus, various nam’d, bull-faced, Begot from Thunder, Bacchus fam’d Bassarian God, of universal might, Whom swords and blood and sacred rage delight: In heav’n rejoicing, mad, loud-sounding God Furious inspirer, bearer of the Rod By Gods rever’d, who dwells’t with humankind, Propitious come, with much-rejoicing mind.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysus Liknitos:
Liknitan Dionysos, bearer of the vine, Thee I invoke to bless these rites divine: Florid and gay, of nymphs the blossom bright, And of fair Venus, goddess of delight, Tis thine mad footsteps with mad nymphs to beat Dancing thro’ groves with lightly leaping feet: From Zeus’ high counsels nursed by Proserpine And born the dread of all pow’rs divine: Come, blessed daimon, regard thy suppliant’s voice, Propitious come, and in these rites rejoice.
Orphic Hymn to Dionysus Perikionios:
Dionysos Perikionios, hear my pray’r, Who mad’st the house of Cadmus once thy care, With matchless force, his pillars twining round When burning thunders shook the solid ground In flaming, founding torrents borne along, Propt by thy grasp indissolubly strong. Come mighty Bacchus to these rites inclin’d, And bless thy suppliant with rejoicing mind.
Verses from the first Hymn to Dionysus in Euripedes’ Bacchae
O blessed is he who, happy in his heart, Knows the initiation rites of the gods, Purifies his life and Joins his soul to the cult, Dancing on the mountains, with holy purifications Celebrating the Bacchic rituals. O blessed the man who dutifully observes The mysteries of the Great Mother, Kybele. Swinging high the thyrsus And crowned with ivy He serves Dionysus. Onward you Bacchae, onward Bacchae, Escort the roaring Bromios home, A god an the son of a god! Escort him Down from the Phrygian mountains into Greece’s wide-wayed streets, Streets wide for dancing, Bromios the Roaring God! […] Sweet is the pleasure the god brings us in the mountains. when from the running revelers he falls to the ground clad in his sacred fawnskin. Hunting the blood of slaughtered goats for the joy of devouring raw flesh he rushes through the mountains of Lydia, of Phrygia. Hail to the Roaring God, Bromios our leader! Euoi! The ground flows with milk, Flows with wine, Flows with the nectar of bees. The Bacchic One, lifting high the bright-burning flame of the pine-torch, like the smoke of Syrian frankincense, springs up and rushes along with his thyrsus. Running and dancing he incites any wanderers, shakes them with shouts of joy tossing his luxuriant locks to the wind.
(Translation by Stephen Esposito)
Horace’s Hymn to Bacchus
Bacchus on the far-off rocky hills, teaching his chants – you who are still to come, believe me – I saw him and his student Nymphs and goat-footed Satyrs and their pointed ears.
Euhoë! – my soul trembles with that moment’s fear, Bacchus possesses my breast and I madly rejoice. Euhoë!, spare me, god of freedom [Liber], spare me, god of the fearful thyrsus of power.
I must celebrate your inexhaustible revelers, and the fountains of wine and full rivers of milk, and mirror in song honey dripping from the hollows of trees;
I must celebrate your bride and her constellated crown, and Pentheus’ palace shaken to bits in a mighty downfall, and the destruction of Lycurgus of Thrace.
You control the streams, the savage sea, you are hot with wine as on distant hilltops you bind Bistonian [Thracian] women’s hair with a knot of vipers that do not harm them.
And when the rebellious army of giants tried to climb the heights to the Father’s kingdom, you were the one who threw back Rhoetus and his terrible lion’s claws and teeth;
Although you were said to be more suitable for dances and fun and games and were labeled unfit for a battle, yet you took your part in war as well as in peacetime.
You were graced with golden horn when Cerberus saw you: he was harmless, and softly wagged his tail, and as you were leaving, he licked your legs and feet with all three of his tongues.
(Translation by Joseph P. Clancy, University of Chicago Press, 1960)
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Disclaimers:Descriptions of the gods’ appearances are purely a record of how I personally see them. Gods are shapeshifters that can appear however they wish, and will be perceived differently by different people. My own perceptions of them may or may not match ancient artwork. Correspondences listed are mostly modern. Festival dates are based on the Attic calendar. Offerings listed are all specific to the deity in addition to standard ones. Translations of hymns are from Theoi unless otherwise specified. Sources: THEOI GREEK MYTHOLOGY, neosalexandria, HellenicGods.org, κοράκι/crow’s grimoire
Promethia (Prometheia): Date Unknown, Possibly Summer Solstice
A festival to Prometheus. The festival featured a torch ‘relay race’ that began at the altar of Prometheus at the grove of the Academy- the race, which, as the name suggests, was run with lit torches, from the Academy to the Acropolis, passing through the ‘potters quarter’ of the city. If a runner’s torch went out, they would be considered forfeit from the contest. This cult was closely associated with the cult of Hephaestus, and as such, both the Hephestia and the Promethia had choral competitions, as well as gymnastics contests, and further similarities can be expected between the festivals. Due to the relation of Prometheus and Hephaestus to Athena, Athens was one of the only places that held any major festival or celebration for the two.
Works Cited: Polytheism and Society at Athens, Parker
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, William Smith(566)
