People who worship the twelve gods of Mount Olympus are planning on asking the Greek government if they can practice their faith at various ancient sites which were originally dedicated to these gods, such as the Acropolis.
There is already a precedent for the use of ancient monuments in this way, where Stonehenge is visited by modern day druids for the summer solstice celebrations. The neo-pagans probably have as much connection to the original users of the temples as the neo-druids do with Stonehenge (the first recorded druidic ceremonies at the site in modern times were in 1905).
From:
Kathimerini (English Edition) [1]
Monday April 17, 2006
Zeus worshippers want to head for AcropolisWorshippers of the 12 gods of Mount Olympus are planning to ask the government to allow them to practice their faith at ancient sites like the Acropolis, sources told Sunday’s Kathimerini.
The followers of this minority faith have been buoyed by a court ruling in February that allowed the existence of an association, known as Ellinais, whose members claim to worship Zeus and the other 11 gods.Ellinais was formed last October by 23 Greeks but in its annual report on religious freedom, the US State Department estimates that some 2,000 people worship the 12 ancient gods in Greece.
Sources said Ellinais will seek permission from the Culture Ministry to establish places of worship and to be allowed to worship at ancient temples such as the Parthenon and the Temple of Poseidon in Sounion.