Húbris and the work with greek deities.

Image: The fall of Icarus - Peter Paul Rubbens

My relationship with the divine is a path filled with quests and identity crises. Six years ago, I was an Umbanda practitioner conflicted by the religion's whitened origins; I asked Exu to reconnect me with my own ancestry, to move away from that feeling of cultural 'theft.' The answer came unexpectedly: a vivid dream of Apollo, confirmed by a Hellenist friend, which opened the doors to a dialogue with the Greek gods. What began as an isolated call became a mission when Hermes guided me to create tools and systematize knowledge, giving rise to the new phase of Alquimia da Lari. Now, as I fully immerse myself in Hellenism, I understand that Hubris (a concept from Greek culture representing the arrogance that challenges the gods) has become a constant vigilance in my own spiritual path, a result of deepening my studies.

I'm always asked how to start worshipping the gods, to which I reply: with respect and humility. Recently, in my studies, I've realized I was channeling rites very close to traditional ones, with adaptations that made sense given my limitations. This is because I am a very experienced medium and have always preferred to ask questions in meditations and ask for signs rather than fall into the traps of my ego. It is in this context that some practitioners commit the dire mistake of thinking the deities work for them, and not the other way around. This is Moira, the denial of human limits.

Perhaps you've heard the story that telling someone "You are more beautiful than Aphrodite" is a way of cursing them, right? This is because the human ego is fragile to validation and praise. It only takes one compliment for us to believe we are the best thing since sliced bread. In this case, both the person who says something like this—with the intent to hurt their enemy—and the person who accepts and believes it are seized by hubris. And what happens to those who let arrogance go to their heads? Punishment by Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution. But I believe it's more instructive to bring some references from Greek stories, of characters known for their mistakes:

Oedipus: His arrogance in believing he could escape the gods' oracle (that he would kill his father and marry his mother) is a form of Hubris. His fall is terrible.

Prometheus: Challenged the gods by stealing fire to give to humans. He was punished by Zeus.

Arachne: A weaver so skilled she challenged the goddess Athena to a contest. For her Hubris, she was transformed into a spider.

Niobe: Boasted of having more children than the goddess Leto and insulted her. As punishment, all her children were killed.

Furthermore, in Greek tragedy, we have Agamemnon and Ajax (Iliad), who commit acts of Hubris and are the subjects of long plays narrating the inevitable and catastrophic punishment that befalls them, serving as a warning to the audience.

Therefore, I recommend that avoiding hubris and maintaining a position of hospitality (which I will cover in another post) is the best way to begin worshipping a Greek deity. Set up your protections, cleanse your space and body, and offer incense and a candle to start inviting this energy into your life and build at least a friendly relationship with these ancient energies.