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Prayer in Hellenismos
The following article was written for the Fall 2005 issue of The Pagan Press.
Prayer in the Hellenic tradition is an expression of kharis, which was the reciprocal relationship between the gods and humans. We ask things of the gods, and also give things to them. They receive our offerings, and grant our requests. Pulleyn states, “[P]rayer for a Greek meant asking the gods for something. One had to give as well as take. One did not customarily approach the gods empty handed. Prayer was not of itself an autonomous mode of religious action. It relied on sacrifice.”[1] Burkert also states that “there is rarely a ritual without prayer, and no important prayer without ritual.”[2]
Usually, one would go to a temple or sanctuary to pray. This seemed especially appropriate, as this place was marked off for religious purposes.[3] Furthermore, it was believed that the god would be in their temple, and could thus hear the prayer.[4] Even though no where is it stated that the Greeks believed that the cult statue was the god, people often acted as if being close to the statue was the same as being close to the god.[5] This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, though, as I would guess many of us today share a similar sentiment.
Prayers require some initiative as there are no “pre-set” prayers like in Christianity.[6] There is, however, a basic formula that most prayers follow. Firstly, one would need to attract the attention of the god, as one can only make a successful prayer if the god is “present”.[7] Versnel described it thus: “We perceive the wish that the god should, for an instant, turn his exalted head to the mortal… ‘hearing’ becomes ‘granting.’”[8] This was done by calling out “Hear! (name of god).” Many epithets were used, as is customary in most Indo-European traditional prayers.[9] Quite often this was followed by “or by whatever name it pleases you to be called.”[10] The god’s birthplace, or favorite places, such as famous temple sites, would be mentioned. Then the god is reminded of any past memorable sacrifices or devotions one has done in the past (if any). At this point, the request is stated, along with what one will do in return when the god grants the request.[11] When one prays to a god, one also must offer something to them; if an immediate sacrifice is not to take place, then one either would make a reference to a past sacrifice, or else promise to make one in the future.
As we explained above, prayers always request something of the god. A prayer is not said simply to “say something nice” to the deity. That is what the hymns were for. As Depew succinctly states, “Hymns are a community’s verbal gift of praise to a god.”[12] However, it is true that oftentimes a hymn would have the same basic features of a prayer.[13] Many hymns do end in a simple request from the deity, such as granting good health. For example, the Orphic Hymn #15 “To Zeus” ends with, “Hear me, O many-faced one, and grant me unblemished health, divine peace, and riches and glory without blame.”[14] If you are in the mood for simply praising the deity, and do not have any specific requests to make, I would think just reciting one of the Homeric or Orphic Hymns would be appropriate.
If a prayer is answered, instead of just saying “thanks” one made kharisteria, or “favor offerings” which were done in thanksgiving by the community. Even on an individual level, one would praise the god rather than simply saying “thank you.” This was a ritual in-and-of-itself, which furthered the reciprocity of kharis between the person and the god.
Another point to mention is that the gods were not customarily invoked (or prayed to) collectively, unless one was in a moment of crisis.[15] I think that modern Hellenic reconstructionists believe that they can call on the gods collectively. While I don’t mean to say that one shouldn’t do such a thing, I will say that historically it was not typically done.
Prayer was not restricted to a particular time. It is true that a prayer always accompanied a sacrifice, but one could pray at any time during the day, as one felt moved to. Hesiod wrote, “At other times, too, propitiate the gods with libations and sacrifices, when you go to bed, and at the coming of the holy day, that towards you they might have a propitious heart and mind.”[16]
A Greek would not kneel to make a prayer as is customary among Christians, for example. She or he would stand with hands stretched above the head, with palms facing upwards if praying to one of the heavenly deities. Sometimes they only raised one hand, but it would be in the same position. If one were praying in front of a cult statue, the arms would be stretched out to the statue. Similarly if one were praying to a khthonic deity, the arms would gesture toward the earth. However, we do have some wonderful examples of prayers to khthonic deities in which the supplicant would literally throw him or herself upon the ground, pounding it with their fists while uttering their prayer.[17]
One always spoke prayers aloud, even if alone. There seems to have been a belief that the Olympians could not hear you if you did not pray out loud. “Although they can hear from far, they do not read our minds.”[18] One exception, however, is Apollon. The Delphic Oracle once declared “I hear him who does not speak.”[19] Khthonic gods, however, were sometimes silently prayed to.[20]
The Greeks were generally optimistic that their prayers would be answered. They believed that the gods would only refuse a prayer if the request went against the plan of the god, if the request was unjust, or if the person was impious.
I hope this short discussion has been helpful for you to know how to best address the Hellenic gods in prayer.
Endnotes:
1. Simon Pulleyn, Prayer in Greek Religion,
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1997, p. 15.
2. Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, Harvard
University Press, Cambridge, 1985, p. 73.
3. Mary Depew, “Reading Greek Prayers,” Classical
Antiquity 16, 1997, p. 229.
4. Depew, p. 236.
5. H. S. Versnel, “Religious Mentality in Ancient Prayer,”
in Faith, Hope, and Worship: Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient
World, Versnel (ed.), Leiden, 1981, pp. 30-31.
6. For example, the “Our Father” or other memorized prayer.
7. Depew, p. 233.
8. Versnel, pp. 29-30 and n. 113.
9. Burkert, p. 74.
10. In Plato Cratylus, 400e-401a Socrates says that
we cannot know the names by which the gods call themselves. Therefore, we
should do our best to call them by pleasing names, but we should also add that
“we will call them by any sort or kind of names or patronymics which they
like.” Again in the Phaedrus, 273e Socrates says “…and whatever he is
pleased to be called…”
11. Burkert, p. 75.
12. Depew, p. 240.
13. Depew, p. 231.
14. Apostolos Athanassakis, The Orphic Hymns: Text,
Translation and Notes, Scholars Press, Missoula, 1977, p. 25.
15. Pulleyn, p. 110
16. Hesiod, Op. 338 ff.
17. Homer, Iliad 9.564, Hymn to Apollo 333,
Aeschylus, Persians 683, to cite a few examples.
18. Pulleyn, p. 14
19. Pulleyn, p. 187
20. Sophocles, OC 486-489.
I hope this short discussion has been helpful. You might also want to read about ritual, sacrifice, libations, and see my small collection of prayers from literature.