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The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon
A Complete Translation of the Surviving Contents of Plethon's Renaissance-Era Book of Laws George Gemistos (c. 1355–1452), who called himself "Plethon," helped trigger the Renaissance by reawakening an interest in Platonism, but his secret book on its Neopagan theology was burned after his death. Only sixteen chapters of Plethon's Book of Laws escaped the flames and, for the first time ever, they have been translated into English in their entirety. Through translations and commentary by John Opsopaus, PhD, you can immerse yourself in Plethon's complete system of theology and religious practice focused on the Hellenic pantheon and deeply rooted in ancient Greek Paganism. This impressive guide features rituals, prayers, invocations, and hymns for daily and holiday use along with Plethon's complete sacred calendar. Featuring instructions from the Book of Laws on conducting ceremonies, rites, and more, The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism enhances your spiritual practice and understanding of Neoplatonic philosophy.
408 pages, Paperback
Published May 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 23, 2022
There are many critical things I have to say about this book after careful reflection, and I have listed them out.
Anachronism
My first significant critique of this book is how the author commits the historical crime of anachronism. As someone who has an M.A in History, an anachronism is problematic in historical writing.
Per MW dictionary, an anachronism is defined as:
1: an error in chronology especially: a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other.
2: a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place especially: one from a former age that is incongruous in the present.
3: the state or condition of being chronologically out of place.
Throughout the first two chapters, where John explains the history surrounding Plethon and his writings, John improperly uses the modern usage of Pagan/Paganism instead of the historically accurate pagan/paganism. John constantly describes Plethon as a Pagan and Neopagan and ridiculously calls “Plethon” (since he adopted the name) his “Pagan name.” MAJOR FACEPALM.
John calls Plethon’s theology Pagan, Plethon’s students are called “Pagan students,” and his religion is “Neopagan Hellenism.” John suggests that Plethon was at heart a “Hellenic Pagan.” Other problematic terms found in the book are “Pagan Platonism,” and Hypatia (quickly mentioned) is called a “Pagan martyr” and “Pagan philosopher.”
Speaking as a historian, all of this is anachronistic. John is writing about the past and is projecting onto the past events and people the modern identity of Pagan and Paganism. A capitalized P-Pagan is a modern convention. Pagan today is a legitimate religious identity in which people claim to be Pagan and subscribe to a religion they call Paganism.
However, in the field of history, it is incorrect to use a capital P pagan when describing figures like Plethon or the ancient peoples that worshiped the Gods in general. Why is this? Because pagan, historically, was not a claimed religious identity, paganism was not a religion. Both terms stem from the Christians who used these terms to other those who were not Christian while trying to set the boundaries of their own Christian identity. My point is observable if you examine the book endorsement by Jay Bregman (history/religious studies professor) on the inside cover, you will see he properly uses a lowercase pagan in his endorsement.
Appropriation
The usage of capital P Pagan and Paganism in this book is not simply bad history on the part of John. It also enables and promotes cultural appropriation by confusing the reader into thinking that they and the book's subject (Plethon) share the same religious identity.
The anachronism misleads a Pagan reader of this book who consciously sees themselves as Pagan into thinking Plethon is Pagan also like them, and the religious system laid out by Plethon is Paganism like the reader’s Paganism. John opens the door wide for the appropriation of Plethon by an audience who thinks that what they are reading is just general religious material when, in fact, they are taking Plethon out of his historical context and political situation to sell this book to people Plethon never intended his work to be read by and used in ways he never intended for.
Plethon’s Context and His Appropriation
While it may be John’s noble mission to bring Plethon’s writing to an audience who may benefit from him, this book is blatant appropriation since Plethon’s religious system was tied together with his political agenda. The context of Plethon’s religion is stripped away by John, separated so that his religious system could be made consumable by an Anglophonic audience. Plethon was attempting in his day, like many polytheistic Greeks today, to reHellenize the region, restore worship to the Gods, and reform society and political institutions writ large. Plethon had a particular place and people he was directing his energy towards in his mind.
John dismisses Plethon’s context as a political reformer as “less relevant for Neopagan practice in our time” (page 2). This is the essence of cultural appropriation. For Plethon to be made marketable to an Anglophonic Pagan audience, Plethon has to be stripped of his context and a modern Pagan identity laid on top of him so he can be consumable. I am sure his proto-nationalistic ambitions would leave a sour taste in the mouths of many Pagans; I guess that is why John censors so much of Plethon.
Plethon, as scholars today observe, was foreshadowing the modern Greek state that was still a few centuries away from coming into being. Living at the end of the Byzantine empire, Plethon advocated for nothing short of a holistic religious and political revolution. Woodhouse, which John quotes as a secondary source for his book, says that there “is good reason for calling him both the last of the Hellenes…and the first of the Greeks” – Plethon straddled both our past and our future yet to come – and what has Plethon been reduced to by John Opsopaus? He is a “Neopagan” practicing “Neopagan Hellenism” with a bunch of “Pagan students” whose religion has been packaged exotically so that it could be appealing to an Anglophonic Pagan audience. Only Llewellyn could publish such trash; I am not surprised by how low they have sunk in their cultural appropriation of Greek culture to make a quick buck.
Lastly, a translation of Plethon would have been better presented through an academic press by a proper scholar in a field relevant to the topic.
Anachronism
My first significant critique of this book is how the author commits the historical crime of anachronism. As someone who has an M.A in History, an anachronism is problematic in historical writing.
Per MW dictionary, an anachronism is defined as:
1: an error in chronology especially: a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other.
2: a person or a thing that is chronologically out of place especially: one from a former age that is incongruous in the present.
3: the state or condition of being chronologically out of place.
Throughout the first two chapters, where John explains the history surrounding Plethon and his writings, John improperly uses the modern usage of Pagan/Paganism instead of the historically accurate pagan/paganism. John constantly describes Plethon as a Pagan and Neopagan and ridiculously calls “Plethon” (since he adopted the name) his “Pagan name.” MAJOR FACEPALM.
John calls Plethon’s theology Pagan, Plethon’s students are called “Pagan students,” and his religion is “Neopagan Hellenism.” John suggests that Plethon was at heart a “Hellenic Pagan.” Other problematic terms found in the book are “Pagan Platonism,” and Hypatia (quickly mentioned) is called a “Pagan martyr” and “Pagan philosopher.”
Speaking as a historian, all of this is anachronistic. John is writing about the past and is projecting onto the past events and people the modern identity of Pagan and Paganism. A capitalized P-Pagan is a modern convention. Pagan today is a legitimate religious identity in which people claim to be Pagan and subscribe to a religion they call Paganism.
However, in the field of history, it is incorrect to use a capital P pagan when describing figures like Plethon or the ancient peoples that worshiped the Gods in general. Why is this? Because pagan, historically, was not a claimed religious identity, paganism was not a religion. Both terms stem from the Christians who used these terms to other those who were not Christian while trying to set the boundaries of their own Christian identity. My point is observable if you examine the book endorsement by Jay Bregman (history/religious studies professor) on the inside cover, you will see he properly uses a lowercase pagan in his endorsement.
Appropriation
The usage of capital P Pagan and Paganism in this book is not simply bad history on the part of John. It also enables and promotes cultural appropriation by confusing the reader into thinking that they and the book's subject (Plethon) share the same religious identity.
The anachronism misleads a Pagan reader of this book who consciously sees themselves as Pagan into thinking Plethon is Pagan also like them, and the religious system laid out by Plethon is Paganism like the reader’s Paganism. John opens the door wide for the appropriation of Plethon by an audience who thinks that what they are reading is just general religious material when, in fact, they are taking Plethon out of his historical context and political situation to sell this book to people Plethon never intended his work to be read by and used in ways he never intended for.
Plethon’s Context and His Appropriation
While it may be John’s noble mission to bring Plethon’s writing to an audience who may benefit from him, this book is blatant appropriation since Plethon’s religious system was tied together with his political agenda. The context of Plethon’s religion is stripped away by John, separated so that his religious system could be made consumable by an Anglophonic audience. Plethon was attempting in his day, like many polytheistic Greeks today, to reHellenize the region, restore worship to the Gods, and reform society and political institutions writ large. Plethon had a particular place and people he was directing his energy towards in his mind.
John dismisses Plethon’s context as a political reformer as “less relevant for Neopagan practice in our time” (page 2). This is the essence of cultural appropriation. For Plethon to be made marketable to an Anglophonic Pagan audience, Plethon has to be stripped of his context and a modern Pagan identity laid on top of him so he can be consumable. I am sure his proto-nationalistic ambitions would leave a sour taste in the mouths of many Pagans; I guess that is why John censors so much of Plethon.
Plethon, as scholars today observe, was foreshadowing the modern Greek state that was still a few centuries away from coming into being. Living at the end of the Byzantine empire, Plethon advocated for nothing short of a holistic religious and political revolution. Woodhouse, which John quotes as a secondary source for his book, says that there “is good reason for calling him both the last of the Hellenes…and the first of the Greeks” – Plethon straddled both our past and our future yet to come – and what has Plethon been reduced to by John Opsopaus? He is a “Neopagan” practicing “Neopagan Hellenism” with a bunch of “Pagan students” whose religion has been packaged exotically so that it could be appealing to an Anglophonic Pagan audience. Only Llewellyn could publish such trash; I am not surprised by how low they have sunk in their cultural appropriation of Greek culture to make a quick buck.
Lastly, a translation of Plethon would have been better presented through an academic press by a proper scholar in a field relevant to the topic.
May 13, 2022
Plethon thought homosexuals should be burned. Don't read this/emulate him!
July 15, 2022
Paganism presented as "Hellenism." Don't waste your time.
August 22, 2022
This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet's website on 08/22/2022.
I can’t resist books touted as “first time available in English” or “never before seen”. There’s nothing like secret and/or forbidden knowledge to make me pick up a book. So, when offered a chance to read “The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon” by John Opsopaus, PhD., it was impossible to say no. I mean, this book is based off of the surviving sixteen chapters of Plethon’s “Book of Laws”. Surviving. As in, after Plethon’s death the authorities of the time wanted to destroy his work. Can’t. Say. No.
George Gemistos, who later called himself Plethon, lived from 1355 to 1452. In that time, he helped reawaken an interest in Plato’s works and Platonism. The church of the time was not a fan, and suspected Gemistos was a secret Neopagan, which was confirmed after his death when a Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church got his hands on Plethon’s “Book of Laws.” The “Book of Laws” outlined a Neopagan religion based on Platonism, and so, the text was destroyed. Fortunately, parts of the text had already been copied by students, and the Church, in an effort to always have “proof” of Plethon’s heresies on hand, kept parts of the manuscript. Thus, today through the hard work of Opsopaus, we have “The Sacred Texts of Hellenic Polytheism”, which is based off of the table of contents and sixteen chapters of the “Book of Laws” as well as other texts by Plethon.
Plethon writes that his theology isn’t anything new and is based on “notions common to humankind and supported by reason.” To this end, Plethon establishes a “Golden Chain” comprised of six lawgivers, seven legendary sages, seven sages of ancient Greece, and eight Platonic philosophers. Each link providing the insights that the “Book of Laws” draws upon. This is followed by an exploration of deities and the divine, which logically falls into the evocations, rituals, the sacred calendar, and more. Opsopaus has reconstructed Plethon’s ancient practices into a format for interested, modern seekers.
“The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism” by John Opsopaus is a fascinating look at ancient Greek thought and practices. It may not be required reading for everyone, but those who it resonates with will find it indispensable.
I can’t resist books touted as “first time available in English” or “never before seen”. There’s nothing like secret and/or forbidden knowledge to make me pick up a book. So, when offered a chance to read “The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon” by John Opsopaus, PhD., it was impossible to say no. I mean, this book is based off of the surviving sixteen chapters of Plethon’s “Book of Laws”. Surviving. As in, after Plethon’s death the authorities of the time wanted to destroy his work. Can’t. Say. No.
George Gemistos, who later called himself Plethon, lived from 1355 to 1452. In that time, he helped reawaken an interest in Plato’s works and Platonism. The church of the time was not a fan, and suspected Gemistos was a secret Neopagan, which was confirmed after his death when a Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church got his hands on Plethon’s “Book of Laws.” The “Book of Laws” outlined a Neopagan religion based on Platonism, and so, the text was destroyed. Fortunately, parts of the text had already been copied by students, and the Church, in an effort to always have “proof” of Plethon’s heresies on hand, kept parts of the manuscript. Thus, today through the hard work of Opsopaus, we have “The Sacred Texts of Hellenic Polytheism”, which is based off of the table of contents and sixteen chapters of the “Book of Laws” as well as other texts by Plethon.
Plethon writes that his theology isn’t anything new and is based on “notions common to humankind and supported by reason.” To this end, Plethon establishes a “Golden Chain” comprised of six lawgivers, seven legendary sages, seven sages of ancient Greece, and eight Platonic philosophers. Each link providing the insights that the “Book of Laws” draws upon. This is followed by an exploration of deities and the divine, which logically falls into the evocations, rituals, the sacred calendar, and more. Opsopaus has reconstructed Plethon’s ancient practices into a format for interested, modern seekers.
“The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism” by John Opsopaus is a fascinating look at ancient Greek thought and practices. It may not be required reading for everyone, but those who it resonates with will find it indispensable.
May 9, 2022
This is a unique and rare work that discloses the philosophy and theology of the 14th Century Byzantine scholar Georges Gemistos (“Plethon”). A founding father of Greek scholarship that inspired the Renaissance, his private work, Book of Laws, provided an interpretation of Platonic cosmology with ritual programs dedicated to the classical Greek gods. Professor Opsopaus presents a comprehensive praxis for Neopagans that features the origins of Plethon’s philosophy–– the calendar of sacred times and the relevant deities with appropriate invocations, hymns, and rituals for day, month, and year. Besides the fundamentals for practice, the author discloses an invaluable guide for returning to the values of the ancient pagans––virtues and “excellences.” There is a wealth of tradition disclosed in this work, and most important, a way of life that is admirable and with this guide, attainable.
October 26, 2023
There are very few resources out there for Hellenic Polytheism, so I'm always interested to check out any new ones.
This one is good, but reads very academic. For me personally I won't be adding it to my collection, as I don't see myself reaching for it as a reference material. This would be great for somebody trying to deep dive and do some academic work on Hellenic Polytheism, but for the average person it's overwhelming.
This one is good, but reads very academic. For me personally I won't be adding it to my collection, as I don't see myself reaching for it as a reference material. This would be great for somebody trying to deep dive and do some academic work on Hellenic Polytheism, but for the average person it's overwhelming.
August 27, 2025
This is an interesting look at a very specific attempt to revive Hellenic paganism. However, Plethon’s reconstruction is so radically divergent from other Hellenistic and Neoplatonist paths that it is, in my opinion, not particularly applicable to anyone approaching those traditions. It is more interesting as a historical curiosity than a tool for modern practice.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews