I live in Australia, where First Nations people have historically suffered horrific treatment under colonial white authorities. These injustices continue today, with high rates of poverty, unemployment, limited access to education and healthcare, and disproportionate incarceration within Indigenous communities. However, one positive outcome amid this ongoing struggle is the establishment of cultural protections. These legal safeguards prevent outsiders—including members of different Aboriginal tribes—from appropriating traditional practices, languages, rites, art, and stories that are not their own. Such protections are vital, as centuries of discrimination and genocide have placed these traditions at risk. For a non-Indigenous person to use tribal customs or art for personal gain is not only cultural appropriation but also a criminal offence.

In recent years, some self-identified “Ethnic Hellenic Polytheists” have attempted to establish similar protections for ancient Hellenic traditions. While I can understand the reasoning behind this, the comparison to Indigenous cultural protections doesn’t entirely hold up. In some cases, this push for exclusivity veers into dangerous nationalistic rhetoric, raising concerns about ethnic supremacy rather than genuine cultural revivalism.

What does it Mean for a Religion to be Closed?

A closed religion is typically one that is exclusive to a specific group, ethnicity, or location, or requires initiation. These traditions do not actively seek converts through proselytization and generally do not recognise outsiders as adherents without formal permission.

For example, Australian Aboriginal spiritual beliefs are often tied to specific tribal lands and passed down through those raised within that cultural context (frequently known as “The Dreaming”). Even within the same tribe, certain aspects of the belief system may be restricted—some rites are exclusive to men or women, each with their own initiatory customs. This complexity makes the term “closed religion” somewhat simplistic, as it fails to capture the nuances of these traditions.

Additionally, some religions labelled as “closed” do allow outsiders to join under specific conditions, such as undergoing initiation or receiving approval from religious leaders. Others may permit conversion through marriage—certain Jewish sects, for instance, allow Gentiles to convert upon marrying a Jewish partner.

Is Ancient Greek “Religion” Closed?

Defining these belief systems as a religion is complex, as ancient Hellenism—or Hellenic Polytheism—functions similarly to Hinduism in that it encompasses diverse philosophies and sects, some of which may be non-religious or separate from “mainstream” Hellenic Polytheism. However, for the sake of clarity and brevity, I will classify it as a religion in the context of the Pan-Hellenic worship of the Olympian and Greek gods, where cultic expressions of devotion often shared common customs throughout the classical world.

To answer the question posed in the title, the simple answer is no, it is not a closed religion. Hellenic polytheism was a tribal and language-based cultic system that varied across regions while still maintaining core Pan-Hellenic traditions shared among different groups. Despite it often being considered de-centralised it did have important cult centres that were Pan-Hellenic, this includes Delphi, The Delian League and rites like the Mysteries, which were available to everyone who could speak Greek, even slaves.

Athens was particularly known for its religious tourism, welcoming foreigners to participate in major festivals. It was also famous for its theatrical performances, attracting actors from across the ancient world. And let’s not forget sports and artistic competitions which were open to international involvement.

The Ancient Greeks were also prolific colonisers, establishing settlements throughout the Mediterranean, including parts of Western Europe and North Africa. Greek colonies in Italy, North Africa, France, and Spain date as far back as 500 BCE, an exceptionally early period in Ancient Greek history. The Greek world extended into regions such as modern-day Türkiye, Cyprus, Syria, and the Levant. Delphic inscriptions indicate that people from these distant colonies not only participated in religious practices but also made offerings in the sacred city, demonstrating an international presence in Hellenic religious life.

Slavery played a significant role in this cultural exchange. Enslaved people were taken from all over the ancient world, including North-Eastern Europe, Arabia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite their lack of personal freedoms, they were allowed and encouraged to participate in local religious rites.

Given this context, the ancient world was inherently multicultural and multiracial—something expected of an international hub like the Aegean.

That Was Before Alexander (the Great)

Alexander was like a quick burning hot flame. Building on his father’s legacy—who had nearly unified Greece into a single nation—the young king launched a relentless campaign into the Persian Empire, dismantling it with astonishing speed. He conquered all of Asia Minor, Egypt, the Levant (including Jerusalem), and pushed deep into the Near and Far East, establishing Greek kingdoms as far as the Himalayas. He was defeated as he entered India and retreated to Babylon, where he died.

Despite his sudden death, Alexander’s campaigns left behind powerful Greek-ruled kingdoms in the East, many of which became rivals. These kingdoms played a crucial role in spreading Hellenic culture and religion far beyond Greece. Evidence of this influence can be seen as far as China and Japan, with Greek artistic and architectural styles found as far as Southeast Asia.

The Romans

And then, of course, there were the Romans. By the mid-2nd century BCE, the Roman Republic had taken control of Greece. While Roman religion was distinct from Greek religion, the two were deeply interconnected. With Rome’s dominance over Europe and the Near East, Greco-Roman religious practices experienced a resurgence, spreading even further than before.

In Western Europe, Roman influence extended as far as Germany and Britain. In Africa, Roman rule encompassed Egypt, the entire North African coast, and regions deeper into Sub-Saharan Africa, where both people and animals were taken for use in gladiatorial “games.” In the East, Roman religious influence reached Arabia, India, and beyond.

What Can We Take Away from This History Lesson?

From North to South and East to West, Hellenic Polytheism existed and was shared on an international scale, making it arguably the first global religion. There was never a sense of exclusive ownership, closed traditions, or ethnic restrictions—such ideas run contrary to Greek ideals. While mystery cults could be considered “closed” due to their secretive nature, most major ones were open to anyone who wished to participate.

Ancient Greek religion was not only accessible to foreigners but actively embraced foreign influences. In many ways, it was an appropriating religion, often absorbing local deities, temples, and traditions into its own framework. Rather than being rigidly exclusive, it thrived through adaptation and syncretism.

Modern Greek Identity and the Rise of Nationalism

I live in Melbourne (Naarm, by its Indigenous name) in Australia, which is often considered the second-largest Greek city in the world by Hellenic population. This is largely due to the turbulent history of modern Greece and the resulting diaspora in the mid-20th century. Greece never fully recovered from Roman occupation in the 2nd century BCE and, for over two thousand years, has been repeatedly pillaged, plundered, and occupied by foreign powers. We must never forget the genocide and persecution Greeks have suffered throughout history. However, it’s important to recognise that these atrocities were not always committed against the ancient Greeks but rather against people with a different Greek identity and religion. Today, religion is deeply ingrained in Greek national identity, with around 90% of Greeks identifying as Orthodox Christian.

Some may be surprised to learn that modern Greece is younger than Australia as a formal nation. Greece was recognised as an independent state in 1832 and became a republic in 1974. Around the same time as this political shift, the modern Greek neo-pagan movement began to take shape. The Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes (YSEE) was officially established in 1997, but efforts to revive the old religion had been brewing for decades through books, magazines, and pamphlets. The rise of this movement is closely tied to the formation of modern Greece as a new republican national identity.

Between 2007 and 2010, Greece experienced an economic collapse, commonly referred to as The Crisis (Η Κρίση, Krísi), from which the country has yet to fully recover. During these hardships, nationalism surged. The Far-Right gained popularity by exploiting public suffering, offering support exclusively to Greek nationals while fostering hostility toward foreigners. A major player in this movement was the ultra-nationalist party Golden Dawn, which adopted Nazi-like symbolism, slogans, and tactics. Like the Nazis, they looked to their so-called pagan roots and infiltrated modern pagan communities, using them to spread nationalist ideology. As a result, open and often vicious hostility toward non-Greeks became increasingly visible.

As with all nationalism, times of crisis drive people to cling to and defend their identity, often leading to efforts to exclude and distance themselves from perceived outsiders. However, this perspective clashes with the historical reality of Hellenic Polytheism, which was never exclusive to Greeks. Ancient Greeks wouldn’t have even identified as Greek in the modern sense. The borders of contemporary Greece bear little relevance to the vast territories of the ancient Greek world. The religious practices of modern Greece are fundamentally opposed to those of ancient Greece. And, most significantly, the people themselves have changed over those two thousand years of hardship.

Conclusion

Australian Aboriginal cultures are often regarded as the oldest continuous cultures on Earth. The occupation of Australia by white settlers is merely a blink of an eye in the long history of its Native peoples. Meanwhile, Greece has experienced periods of their own international dominance and long stretches of foreign occupation, subjugation, and destruction.

Legal protections for Australian Aboriginal traditions serve as a crucial effort to preserve what remains before it is lost forever. In contrast, many Greek traditions have already faded into history—fragments of a distant past that modern movements may seek to revive but can never fully reclaim. This does not mean that modern Greek pagans cannot honour their heritage, but rather that no single group can claim exclusive ownership of a belief system that, by its very nature, was never closed.

Rather than focusing on exclusivity, the revival of Hellenic Polytheism can embrace the ancient Greek ideals of cultural exchange, adaptation, and hospitality. Instead of closing its doors, it can thrive by engaging with the broader international community, much like the ancient Greeks did over two and a half millennia ago.