Hellenic
Spirit's ritual to Ares and the Heroes will be held Sunday, November 28
at the Unitarian Hall at 175 St. Clair Avenue in Toronto, starting at 3
pm and will conclude with a light feast and Greek music and dancing.
All are welcome!
We will begin with a very special offering: the singing the Homeric
Hymn to Ares in Ancient Greek, likely the first time it has been performed at a public ritual in more
than 1500 years. The hymn ends with the
prayer: “O blessed one, give me boldness to abide within the harmless laws of
peace, avoiding strife and hatred and the violent fiends of death.” Since the
Homeric Hymn is more than 2700 years old, we can see that the struggle for peace and
freedom has a very long history.
We despise
war, violence, destruction and death. And no one would deny that it is
better to live by law, negotiation, and mutual respect. In fact, the
Delphic Maxims say, ὁμόνοιαν
δίωκε, “Pursue concord.” But now, as in antiquity, war is a
reality. Sometimes we find ourselves confronted by those who do not live
by law, negotiation and mutual respect. And when we are threatened, we
have to defend ourselves. Again, as the Delphic Maxims say, θνῇσκε ὑπὲρ πατρίδος, “Die for your country.”
Sometimes, also, the forces of nature
assault us, as well as accidents and other unforeseen events. Where do we
find the strength to put our own well-being aside to protect all we love?
How do we find the courage to put our lives on the line? Even when we
know we must protect what is more important and more enduring than ourselves,
fear may hold us back.
The
ancients realized that the
strength to defend comes from a divine source and that the ability to
ignore
our personal survival, and see beyond our small part in the universe is
not an
ordinary human trait. In this ritual, held in the same month as
Remembrance Day, we will honour that divinely given strength and
self-discipline; we will honour the sons, and daughters of Ares, the
people who have
shouldered the responsibility to protect and defend us. And we will
honour the
deity who inspires that trait.
As the Maxims say: Θεοὺς σέβου! [the-OUS SE-vou] “Honour the gods!”