As far as most people are concerned, the 12 gods of Olympus are nothing more today than 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 the gods' divine power.

The so-called Dodekatheism (which translates as "the worship of the 12 Gods") is as much a lifestyle as a religion. Its followers change their names into ancient Greek, count their through the years using 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 they'd 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 split away from the main group. The remaining members of SCGN meet regularly to attend lectures and perform rites to honour Zeus, Athena, Asklepios and the other gods. Their main political complaint is that the Greek government recognises Christianity, Judaism and Islam, but not Dodekatheism – which means that they have no official place of worship.