Hellenion’s Calendar
The 2024 Calendar is available as:
The 2023 calendar is still available as:
This calendar is the working calendar of Hellenion, a diverse group of Hellenic polytheists sharing the common goal of living a life of piety and proper respect for the Gods of Olympos and ancient Hellenic tradition.
The calendar is based on the monthly and annual observances and festivals of the ancient Athenians from about 800 BCE to 323 BCE. This version was created using information derived from www.numachi.com/~ccount/hmepa [archived version] and from timeanddate.com/moon/phases as well as sources:
- Greek Religion by Walter Burkert (Harvard University Press, 1977, English translation: Basil Blackwell Publisher and Harvard University Press, 1985)
- Old Stones, New Temples by Drew Campbell (Xlibris Corporation, 2000) and
- Festivals of the Athenians, by H. W. Parke (London, Thames and Hudson, 1977).
- Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship, by Christos Pandion Panopoulos, Panagiotis Panagiotopoulos and Erymanthos Armyras; English translation: Mano Rathamanthys Madytinos and Lesley Madytinou (Athens, Greece, LABYRS, 2014).
This calendar is a work in progress, and as research and reconstruction proceeds, the calendars of future years will reflect this. The on-line version of this calendar, contains links to descriptions of all the special days noted on this calendar and suggestions about how to observe them in the 21st century.
You are under no obligation to observe all the occasions and days mentioned here; in fact, that would be all but impossible at present, since none of us live in a wholly polytheistic city. Every observance is optional. This calendar is made available to you as a learning tool, and as a framework to begin or extend your practice of ancient Hellenic religious tradition. Needless to say, ancient Hellenic religion involved many more practices than are implied by the calendar.
The calendar outlines ancient monthly practices, such as Hekate’s Deipnon (on the darkest night, honoring Hekate, the “Bringer of Light”, by a donation of food at a crossroads or to a charity), Noumenia (new moon, beginning of the new Athenian month) and the Agathos Daimon (honoring one’s own personal spirit, a destiny, a characteristic, a blessing, inherently neither good nor bad) and indicates those days each month that were dedicated to specific gods (as defined in Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship, pp 84-85) It also lists ancient Athenian festivals, on the exact dates where these are known. Where the exact date has not been revealed by research, a question mark follows the name of the festival. Information about the specific observance can be found in the references mentioned above, or on our ALPHABETICAL LIST OF FESTIVALS. Note that the date of the new moon is determined by when the crescent is visible in Athens; check local sources for the exact time and day in your locality if you wish to be precise.
In addition to ancient festivals and observances, certain modern occasions are listed as well. This includes the Hellenion monthly libation (ensuring that at least one day a month is shared by a community, albeit scattered, at the same time, and also ensuring that each of the twelve Olympians is honored at least once during the year). Note that this libation is not an official practice of Hellenion but a voluntary activity endorsed by many Hellenion members. Other modern observances we’ve added are memorial days to Alexander the Great, Socrates, the Roman Emperor Julian, and Hypatia of Alexandra, as well as secular holidays widely observed in the Americas.
Some modern festivals are also listed, such as Heliogenna, held over several days during the shortest days of December. Gods’ names in italics indicate the gods receiving special honors on that day.
Remember that, among the ancient Greeks, the day begins at sundown of the previous day. Days in gray indicate days observed by Hellenion members, including new moon/beginning of Greek month and Hellenion monthly libation.
Transliteration of Greek month names and festivals below used “y” to represent the short “u” of Greek, “kh” is used to represent “chi” (χ), a sound which does not exist in English, and “e” represents both epsilon (ε) and eta (η). Έρρωσο!