I was recently asked a question during an interview, and I've been thinking about it ever since. The question: What kinds of people seek out Modern Minoan Paganism, and why?
The first part of that question spans the gamut of not just the modern Pagan world but the modern population in general: Wiccans, Hellenic Pagans, Druids, former Christians seeking polytheistic spirituality, former atheists and agnostics who have felt the call of the deities...
The fact that MMP isn't an exclusive tradition helps: You're free to practice any other tradition(s) alongside MMP as long as the other tradition(s) don't prohibit doing so. I'm glad what we're doing here is helpful and attractive to so many different kinds of people.
But the second part of the question really got me. Why are people from so many different paths and backgrounds drawn to MMP? What are they seeking that they're finding among the Minoan deities?
Maybe it has to do with the values we think the Minoans had, the way they lived their lives and organized their culture and religion. Let me begin first with the disclaimer that ancient Crete was not a utopia.
Still, the Minoans do appear to have been a largely peaceful culture with gender equality and a social safety net provided by the temples. These are issues we struggle with in modern western society. Looking back toward a civilization that managed to do these things right can give us a sense of possibility, of what we might be able to achieve in our own time. Knowing that it has been done before opens up space for us to do it again.
And given that the Minoan deities are already familiar with exactly those aspects of society on ancient Crete, maybe they can help us create a better world today.
In the name of the bee,
And of the butterfly,
And of the breeze, amen.