Greek gods making a comeback in modern-day Hellenic churches

The ancient worship of Greek gods appears to be returning as churches that espouse adoration for the mythological figures have sprung up in modern-day Greece.

An Orthodox church on the island of Crete fell prey to the "followers of Zeus" who vandalized the building's interior, including the icons, with feces, according to Ekathimerini.

People in the Church of Zoodochou Pigis in Iraklio were surprised to find that the icons, 13 in all, were smeared with feces. The vandals also left them a message.

"This one's courtesy of Zeus," the message said, which was written in charcoal. Other messages that spoke against Christians were also written on the icons.

The incident is not the first of its kind that has happened in Crete. Similar instances believed to have been done by worshipers of the ancient gods have occurred in the place.

But isn't the worship of the mythological characters already obsolete? It doesn't appear to be. Several churches dedicated to the worship of Greek gods have been established.

Most of them, although not violent, do not take well the Christian churches , which they view as the religion that replaced the old religious practices of the Greeks.

One such church is the Supreme Council of Ethnic Hellenes, which was founded in 1997. Another is the Labrys religious community, which is not too concerned about Christian churches but focuses more on worship.

The BBC reported in 2013 about the Prometheia festival, which is held annually in honor of Prometheus and celebrated by members of The Return of the Hellenes movement.

Exsekias Trivoulides, who participated in the festival, said the experience is like "going back to the roots."

"People want to identify with something in the past — where they came from — so as to know where they are going," Trivoulides said in the report, adding, "If you don't know your past, you don't have a future."