• Demos
• Business
• Library
• Reference
• Worship
• Contact Us

The Following is the Hellenotamiai Demos standard oath of ethics:

I ask the Immortals of Olympus to witness my oath.
I vow by the waters of River Styx, within my ability,
I will be moderate in all I attempt and do Nothing to Excess,
I will Know Myself, my motivations and my limitations,
I will devote ample time to Worship the Divine,
I will Aid Friends as long as they aid me in my need,
I will Avoid Enemies and strive to defeat their goals where those goals harm me or my friends,
I will Cultivate Kinsmen, be they by blood or by spirit, by my efforts to expand my circle of friends,
I will strive to continue learning and hold onto what I have learned
I will strive to be true to my oaths and I will never make oaths lightly
If I break this oath, I will expect the misfortune that the Immortals reserve for oath breakers.
If I am faithful to this oath, I ask the Immortals to grant me blessings and a long lifetime to enjoy my present blessings.

Discussions and Quotes:

Nothing to Excess

This is the most important principle of all. A person can base their whole ethical system on this single statement and, if there is any confusion in the meaning, they can refer to Aristotle's Magna Moralia, Eudemian Ethics and Nicomachean Ethics for a detailed explanation. To put it simply, you should try everything that is not excessive by its very nature but you shouldn't do anything to the point where it becomes excessive. There are some things (such as murder) that are always excessive and, in others, the mean that should be the goal is not always in the exact center between the two extremes..

Know Yourself

All things are less than the Gods. Stone is broken even by mortal hands. (Simonides, 465)
Know Yourself. (Solon, 109)
The purpose of this rule is to know you are not a god (or goddess). This means you'll never be as beautiful as Aphrodite or be able to drink as much as Dionysus and you shouldn't try to be. Trying to be like a god or goddess is called hubris and is insulting to them. A lesser portion of this rule is that since we are not gods, we shouldn't judge their actions by our moral standards and we shouldn't "do as they do".

Worship the Divine

First, whenever you come to your house, offer good sacrifices to the eternal Gods. (Hesiod, 73)
Self restraint and reverence for the Gods are best. (Euripides, 97)
May I have divine favor and be dear to the immortal gods. I crave no other merit. (Theognis, 269)
No man is prosperous or poor or of low or high estate without divine aid. (Theognis, 197)
Pray to the Gods; power rests in the Gods. Nothing good or bad happens to men without the Gods. (Theognis, 199)
Respect and fear the Gods for this restrains a man from impious deed or word. (Theognis, 351)
The thought of being the sole source and sole responsibility for everything that happens in one's life is a frightening concept. It is much more comforting to believe there are Immortals controlling the things in life that we can't control and, at least some of them, are looking after our best interest. In this case, if we need divine assistance, it is unreasonable to expect an Immortal to help when we haven't established a relationship with that Immortal. So people should worship as often as possible and to as many of the Immortals as possible.

Aid Friends

It is always one kindness that begets another. (Sophocles, 79)
Grant that in these circumstances I be sweet to my friends and bitter to my enemies. (Solon, 129)
When I die may I leave my friends with sorrow and lamentation. (Solon, 141)
Give to the one who gives but do not give to the one who does not give. (Hesiod, 29)
We can't relate to all of the people in the modern world because there are so many of them. Instead, we divide them into smaller and smaller groups until the groups are of a size that we can relate to. Many cultures, including the ancient Greek, define people as being friends, enemies or strangers. Friends are defined as those you help in their time of need and, in return, they help you in your time of need. Without this give and take in roughly equal proportions, there is no friendship. The support group should be as large as possible as long as each person personally knows all of the others (larger groups can provide help with each person needing to give a smaller amount).

Avoid Enemies

Is not laughing at one's enemies the most delightful kind of laughter. (Sophocles, 39)
The gifts of enemies are no gifts and bring no profit. (Sophocles, 93)
Flatter your enemy well, but whenever you get the upper hand, pay him back, and don't give any pretext. (Theognis, 227)
Never make a base man your close comrade, but always avoid him like a bad harbor. (Theognis, 189)
Some advocate staying away from your enemies so that you avoid conflict and so you give them fewer opportunities to do harm. (This is certainly true when your enemies are stronger than you.) Others say that you should work against the purposes of your enemies so they won't be able to do harm to your friends. At the very least, you should never aid your enemies.

Cultivate Kinsmen

Man is by nature a social being. (Aristotle, 29)
A trustworthy man is worth his weight in gold and silver in times of harsh civil strife. (Theognis, 185)
There is nothing among mankind better than a father and mother who care about holy justice. (Theognis, 193)

Never forsake the friend you have and seek another, persuaded by what base men say to you. (Theognis, 343)
In this, kinsmen is interpreted as friends and relatives or, in other words, your support group. You should always strive to make new friends because, the larger the support group, the less support is needed from each individual. This also means you should share as many interests of your friends as possible.

Works Cited

• Aristotle. Loeb Classical Library: Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics. H. Rackham trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1926.
• Euripides. Loeb Classical Library: Euripides III: Bacchanals, Madness of Hercules, Children of Hercules, Phoenician Maidens, Suppliants. A. S. Way trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Hesiod. Loeb Classical Library: Hesiod / Homeric Hymns / Homerica. Hugh G. Evelyn-White trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1936.
• Simonides, Et. Al. Loeb Classical Library: Greek Lyric: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and Others. David A. Champbell trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1991.
• Simonides, Et. Al. Loeb Classical Library: Greek Lyric: Stesichorus, Ibycus, Simonides, and Others. David A. Champbell trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1991.
• Sophocles. Loeb Classical Library: Sophocles: Ajax, Electra, Oedipus Tyrannus. Hugh LLoyd-Jones trans. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 1994.