I am a Hellenistic Neopagan, meaning that I primarily worship the gods of the ancient Greeks in a manner that would be recognizable to Greeks of the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods. Thus, while generally conforming to Classical modes of worship, I am more varied in my practice than one would find in the rigidity of Archaic and Early Classical period Greek religion.
As such, I worship all of the panhellenic gods, starting with the twelve Olympian gods. I also worship some gods of my Celtic ancestors, in ways that differ from Hellenic practice but still resemble it. After all, Hellenistic religion eventually came to subsume Gallic and Brythonic religious traditions, and my unified set of beliefs and practices will reflect that.
Of the gods I venerate, I prize the following most highly: Pan, Hekate, Hermes, Dionysos, Zeus, and Cernunnos. For Cernunnos, it is because he was my first patron god and has remained my patron god throughout my religious path, which has carried me through eclectic Neopaganism, Wicca, and into Hellenistic paganism. He keeps me grounded to the wild and untamed part of the world around me. Pan is newer to my path, but fulfils the same role: he is a wild god, and connecting with him is a way for me to connect to The Wild in the abstract. Pan just happens to be a very Greek formation of the same impulse. Dionysos is not that far off, though he has a plethora of other roles; like Pan and Cernunnos, he is associated with horned animals and the wild fringes of civilization. But he is also a civilizing force, through the cultivation of the vine. If any god represents a messianic, saviour figure in historical Greek religion, it is Dionysos: slain and reborn fully divine, conquering and then returning from the East to deliver the West from barbarity and ignorance through his irresistible epiphanies and learning. In some myths, he is even prophesied to supplant Zeus as king. Hermes helped me out once or twice, and personal experiences with him is the reason I do not doubt the existence of the gods; and in myth, he is the one that brings wisdom, knowledge, and good fortune. Hekate is, I believe, the triple-goddess that the first group of Wiccans reached out to, just with a different name; so when I drifted through Wicca, she was the goddess I prayed to. She just happened to reach out to my wife as well, and we took her to be our matron.
Zeus is the king of the gods as well as god of the sky, the weather, and thunder. But he's more than that; he is the patron of justice, law, and society. He is the protector of the household and family. He is the protector of hosts and guests. He presides over all ordered and lawful things and avenges those who are wronged. He is an immensely fascinating figure but, more importantly, he is the patron of a good and safe household. As the emerging head of my own household, Zeus is a very important god.
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