Exegetai

Our current Exegetai are:

  • Thista (Exegete of Artemis)
  • Suz (Exegete of Demeter)
  • Laurelei (Exegete of Aphrodite)

The term exegetai (plural) was used throughout ancient Greece to refer to religious specialists. They gave advice about carrying out cultus to different gods and interpreted religious laws and customs. They also offered legal guidance to other people upon request, sometimes in law cases (particularily in ancient Athens).

Here at Neokoroi, we have a tried and tested group of religious advisors, well educated in the cultus of our gods. We do not call theseexegetai “priests” because in Hellenic times, priesthood was tied to a specific temple or cult, and could be an hereditary or purchased position.

Within our organization, the exegete (singular) advises on the practices related to a specific god, or of Hellenic ritual in general. Those who wish to take on this role must be willing to be available to anyone who needs them, within reason. This includes the Hellenic pagan community beyond Neokoroi, potentially.

An exegete is NOT, however, a personal counselor or mouthpiece for the god. They are simply knowledgeable individuals who offer advice on how to recognize and interpret the actions of their deity, information on how to conduct rituals, and so forth. But always, they are simply an individual, someone whose opinion is to be respected because of their experience and contributions – but not an authority in the sense that they are above questioning and critique.

Our Exegetai

Thista

Thista Minai is wildly devoted to Artemis, and maintains theĀ cataleos.org website in Her honor. She is the author of Dancing in Moonlight: Understanding Artemis Through Celebration, and editor of Unbound: A Devotional Anthology for Artemis. Thista presents public rituals for Artemis at some New England Pagan festivals, and welcomes questions from any askers.

Contact Thista about Artemis here

Suz

Suz is a part-time teacher, a homeschooling mother of now-grown children, and a hopeful gardener. Living on a small farm in rural Maryland allows her plenty of practice in her ongoing worship of Demeter, to whom she has been devoted for well over a decade. Areas of particular interest are the Minoan roots of Demetrian worship and, of course, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Suz is happy to discuss questions and ideas about worship of the Megala Meter in reconstructionist terms or in a more modern and eclectic paradigm.

Contact Suz about Demeter here

Laurelei

Laurelei Black is a long-time devotee of Aphrodite, and she has published three books to date in honor of the Golden Kyprian. She has maintained the Thiasos Aphrodite yahoo group since 2003, and she now posts the Aphrodite’s Priestess blog . Like all exegetai, she is available to Neokoroi members and to the general public for questions regarding the worship of Aphrodite — both in ancient and contemporary contexts.

Contact Laurelei about Aphrodite here