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Hellenion's Calendar

The 2013 Calendar is available as:

• A webpage with links to information about the festivals
• A PDF file to download and print

Previous year's calendars are available here

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 and from http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.html 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).

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).   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. 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.

Some modern festivals are also listed, such as Heliogenna, held over several days during the shortest days of December, and Prometheia, held in Greece on the summer solstice near Mt. Olympos (see http://www.ysee.gr/index-eng.php for more information about this festival).

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!

Many of the documents posted on this web site are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader software and would like to download it at no cost, please click on the “Get Acrobat” button below.