Today, for most, the twelve gods of Olympus are merely figures of Greek mythology or old statues you look at when you go on a family holiday to Athens. In Greece however, there are still a few thousand people who believe in them.The so-called Dodekatheism (which translates as "the worship of the twelve Gods") is as much a lifestyle as a religion. It's followers change their names into ancient Greek, count the years with the ancient calendar, make libations at altars dressed in tunics, dream of the restoration of ancient temples and won't for a second deny that the'yd like to carry out rituals inside the Parthenon.The "Supreme Council of Hellenic Nationals", one of their most popular organisations, was officially founded in the 1990s. Since then, some have differed and others split. The remaining members of SCGN meet regularly to attend lectures and performe rites to honour Zeus, Athena, Asklepios and the other gods. Their main complaint is that the Greek government will recognise Christianity, Judaism and Islam but not Dodekatheism – which means that they have no official place of worship. In order to perform their ancient rituals they have to climb a hillside.VICE Greece climbed a hillside with them.