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F- An Illustrated Glossary of Hellenic Polytheism

BEING A DICTIONARY OR BRIEF ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HELLENISMOS, THE ANCIENT PAGAN GREEK RELIGION

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PLEASE NOTE: Throughout the pages of this Glossary, you will find fascinating stories. These narratives are known as mythology, the traditional stories of the Gods and Heroes. While these tales are great mystical vehicles containing transcendent truth, they are symbolic and should not be taken literally; a literal reading will frequently yield an erroneous result. The meaning of the myths is often concealed in code. To understand them requires a key. For instance, when a God kills someone, this usually means a transformation of the soul to a higher level. Similarly, sexual union with a God is a transformation.

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ABBREVIATIONS: A list of abbreviations used in the glossary can be found on this page: GLOSSARY HOME PAGE

F, The letter - In most instances, we are using ph to represent PHI (Φ, φ, ϕ) in the transliteration of Greek words, except in rare instances where using the English letter f is more advantageous (example: Φθινοπωρινή, Fthinopohrini). See Pronunciation of Ancient Greek and Transliteration of Ancient Greek.

faith, belief, and opinion - See pistis; see doxa.

Fates, the (Moirae) [Lat. Parcae, Fatae] - the Greek Moirae means "allotted portion" and it refers to the sister Goddesses of one's fate. Although other descriptions of parentage are given to the Fates, Hesiod says that they are the daughters of Nyx. Elsewhere, he describes them as the children of Zeus and Themis. They are Klotho (the Spinner; Latin: Nona) who spins the thread of life, Lakhesis (Apportioner of Lots; Latin: Decuma) who measures the thread of life, and Atropos (she who cannot be turned; Latin: Morta) who cuts the thread of life. Another image of the Three Fates is that of a piece of yarn representing life [the first Fate], which has a beginning (birth) [the second Fate], and an end (death) [the third Fate]. A subject worth pursuing, read this articles for a more thorough description: The Fates. See also the glossary entry for: Destiny.

Ficino, Marsilio - Born near Florence in Figline 1433, died 1499 at Careggi. Ficino was a major figure of the Italian Renaissance for his work in the revival of Neo-Platonism and Hermeticism. He had been influenced by Byzantine scholars who were visiting Italy during the Council of Ferrara-Florence (The Council of Unity). One of these scholars was Gemistos Plethon. Cosimo de'Medici, the ruler of Florence, was impressed with Ficino and made him the first head of his newly created Platonic Academy, gave him a villa in Careggi, and commissioned him to begin the translation of the Dialogues. Ficino translated, in addition to Plato, many works by authors such as Proclus, Porphyry, Iamblichus, Plotinus, Psellos, and the Corpus Hermiticum of Hermes Trismegistus. Ficino's work played the leading role in the ensuing Neo-Platonic revival that has ramifications to this day. (source: Marsilio Ficino, edited Angela Voss, 2006, North Atlantic Books; mostly from the General Editor's Preface, pp.ix-xi by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke)

fifth element - 1) the fifth element, or Platonic solid, of which all the cosmos is made: the dodecahedron, called quintessence, the cosmic sphere, later identified with Æther. (ref. Plato's Timaeus) 2) Aristotle called Æther the fifth element: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Æther.

Fire - Thomas Taylor's translation of the word Æther.

firebrands - Firebrands is requested in the Orphic hymn To Night for use as an incense offering, as translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis (The Orphic Hymns, 1977; The Society of Biblical Literature, p.7). Thomas Taylor uses the word "torches." (The Hymns of Orpheus, 1792, p. 115) The actual Greek is dalous (Gr. δαλούς), which would appear to be a form of dalos (Gr. δᾱλός, δ, [δαίω] ), represented by the English word firebrands. (L&S p. 368, left column). Firebrands is defined as a piece of burning wood or other material (The New Century Dictionary of the English Language, 1927, The Century Co./Collier, 1944 edition, p. 575, left column); therefore, perhaps sandalwood, aloes-wood, Storax calamitas (black styrax), or some other fragrant wood would be appropriate as an offering. The text calls for thumiama dalous. Thumiama, θυμίαμα, is a Greek word meaning incense (L&S p. 809, right column, as a sub-heading under θῡμιάζω); therefore, the connotation must be to burn the wood for its fragrance.

frankincense - (Greek: libanos or libanoton, λίβανος; also manna μάννᾰ, ἡ, μάννα λιβάνου: frankincense powder or granules; Latin: libanus or tus) the resin of certain Boswellia trees. The use of frankincense resin as incense is of the greatest antiquity. In the Orphic Hymns, frankincense is called for more than any other incense offering (32 times). See also manna. See this article for further information: Frankincense.

Form = Morphi (Gr. Μορφή) Form is the fourth Natural Law under the Dominion of mighty Iphaistos. See also Morphi.

Freedom - Ælefthæria (Eleutheria; Gr. Ἑλευθερία) or Freedom, is the ninth Natural Law under the dominion of mighty Apollohn. Please visit this page: FREEDOM - ÆLEFTHÆRIA.

Fthinopohrini Isimæria or Autumn Equinox - See Phthinopohrini Isimæria.

Fufluns - Fufluns is the Etruscan word for Dionysos.

Furies, the - See Efmænithæs.

ABBREVIATIONS: A list of abbreviations used in the glossary can be found on this page: GLOSSARY HOME PAGE

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