Lenaia, Maenads, & Thracian Tattoos

As some of you know, I celebrated Lenaia this past weekend, and part of that celebration was henna tattooing some maenad tattoos on myself as a devotional act to Dionysos. The process was both very easy and very difficult.

So, first, we do know maenads had tattoos–especially those known as Thracian. We see it in art of the time; we have pottery showing tattooed Thracians killing Orpheus, and in Dionysian ecstasy.

Step one went great! We know of tattoos!

Step two was to select and pick a design. Which is much harder.

See, the maenads with tattoos in pottery often followed a theme, but two depictions showed exactly the same design. Snakes, and animals in general, were common. So was the sun sign, interestingly. Sometimes, though, there were just arrow shapes going down arms, or checked patterns on forearms and legs. This could certainly just be an artistic choice, making figuring out the design even more difficult.

Finally, I picked my design. It was modeled off the two depictions below (with what I replicated is in pink); One snake, two suns on the ankles, one sun on my arm.

The first thing I realized was that this would be MUCH easier with the help of a friend.

The second thing I realized was, wow, I want to be a devotee of Dionysos.

And finally, henna is excellent, and I should do this for every holiday. (I already try to, but I often forget).

So, my results:

So, there it is! It was a little wonky, because I was hand doing henna on my own body, but I’m proud of the work, and now I kind of want these as real tattoos some day

Praise Dionysos for My Name!

I forgot to share, but my legal name change went through at the end of last month. My new middle name is Dionisos, and I’m so happy and grateful.

Praise Zeus Nomos, praise Themis, praise Apollon Boedromios, and praise Dionysos Androgynos & Eleuthereus!

I need to make an offering, but for now, I’ll just share my joy and gratitude.

Khaire!

(Re)coining Teirsian and Iphisian

So, to be clear, I am these terms’ original coiners. But, for reasons elaborated in my last post, I am removing them from the website where they were originally coined. Additionally, I no longer define them the same as I used to. As such, I am redefining them today. The original definitions will be at the bottom of each for clarity.

Both are gender identities exclusively for non-cisgender Hellenic Polytheists. Period. I expect non-polytheists and cisgender folks to refrain from coining imagery or labels for these identities (and yes, I do need to make that disclaimer, unfortunately.)

With that out of the way, let’s crack in:

Iphisian

[ID in alt text]

Iphisian is a gender for Hellenic Polytheists who are AFAB (or natally female) and transgender, CAFAB intersex, transmasculine, transgender lesbians, and especially transmasculine lesbians. The gender is also oriented towards, but not exclusive to, worship of Aphrodite, Hera, and/or Isis (Kemetic). It is named after the figure in Greek Mythology, Iphis, who was a ‘woman’ raised as, and later turned into, a man. It is strongly associated with the theoi and the divinity of the transgender experience.

While being transmasculine or a lesbian are not a requirement to be Iphisian, being a transgender or intersex Hellenic Polytheist is, and the term refers mainly to transmasculine and transneutral Hellenists.

Original/outdated definition: Iphisian is a gender for Hellenic Polytheists who are AFAB and transgender. The gender is also oriented towards, but not exclusive to, worship of Aphrodite, Hera, and Isis (Egyptian). It is named after the figure in Greek Mythology, Iphis, who was a 'woman’ raised as, and later turned into, a man.

Teirsian

[ID in alt text]

Teirsian is a gender for Hellenic Polytheists who are multigender, CAMAB intersex, AMAB and transgender, and/or genderfluid. The gender is also oriented towards, but not exclusive to, worship of Apollon, Hermes, and/or Hera. It is named after the figure in Greek Mythology, Teirsias, who was transformed into a woman for seven years.

While being transfeminine or AMAB isn’t a requirement for being Teirsian, being a non-cisgender or intersex Hellenic Polytheist is, and the term refers mainly to multigender and genderfluid Hellenists.

Original/outdated definition: Teirsian is a gender for Hellenic Polytheists who are bigender, AMAB transgender, and/or genderfluid. The gender is also oriented towards, but not exclusive to, worship of Apollon, Hermes, or Hera. It is named after the figure in Greek Mythology, Teirsias, who was transformed into a woman for seven years.

Note: natal sex and AGAB are both listed because they are not the same thing. Natal sex is birth sex (male/female/intersex). AGAB is what the doctor said when you were born. Natal sex and AGAB are not requirements for either terms, but who the term is oriented for due to the contents of the myth.

Finally, I’d like to reiterate I’m not a MOGAI blog and I don’t plan to coin again soon (except to post my divine trans symbols, I suppose). I just wanted these terms off a Wiki that permitted disrespect of my religion, and to do that I needed to recoin them.

If you have questions, message me or reply. Khaire!

Edit: *honks clown nose* I forgot to include the flag meanings

Iphisian:
Blue-violet: Aphrodite, sapphic love, gentle masculinity
Blue: Hera, masculinity, grief and recovery
Light gold: The ouranic divine, Aphrodite/Hera’s gift to Iphis
Thin pink stripe: The love and resilience at the center of the myth, and the love and beauty of trans people
Gold: The touch of the divine, concrete divine influence

Teirsian:
Lavender: Gender nonconformity, fluidity, blurring of lines
Muted magenta: Love, femininity, beauty, divine gifts
Light gold: The ouranic divine, Zeus and Hera, Apollon
Thin fuschia stripe: Erotic love, the divine marriage of Zeus and Hera, the wounding of Tiresias
Gold: The gift of Apollon, the touch of the divine

Edit 2: Natal sex is used in Iphisian because Iphis himself was not AFAB, but an AMAB natal female who became biologically male through the aid of the theoi. Natal sex is used to mean sex at time of birth, and is a commonly used alternative to AGAB by many interesex and transsex individuals.