Conventions of Prayer in Homer's Iliad
From the Iliad, books 1-12
Divine name(s)
Epithets of character, attributes
Epithets of place, spatial locators
Reminder of god’s deeds
Reminder of speaker’s deeds
Petition
Vow
Formal or semi-formal phrases
Explanation of feelings, situation, personal reflections, internal monologue
Quoted Prayers
Chryses, priest of Apollo, to Apollo:
“Hear me, Apollo! God of the silver bow
Who strides the walls of Chryse and Cilla sacrosanct-
Lord in power of Tenedos-Smintheus, god of the plague!
If I ever roofed a shrine to please your heart,
Every burned the long rich bones of bulls and goats
On your holy altar, now, now bring my prayer to pass.
Pay the Danaans back-your arrows for my tears!” 1.43-49
Achilles to Thetis:
“Mother!
You gave me life, short as that life will be,
So at least Olympian Zeus, thundering up on high,
Should give me honor-but now he gives me nothing.
Atreus’ son Agamemnon, for all his far-flung kingdoms-
The man disgraces me, seizes and keeps my prize,
He tears her away himself!” 1.416-422
…
Remind him [Zeus] of that,
Now, go and sit beside him, grasp his knees…
Persuade him, somehow, to help the Trojan cause,
To pin the Achaeans back against their ships,
Trap them round the bay and mow them down.
So all can reap the benefits of their king-
So even mighty Atrides can see how mad he was
To disgrace Achilles, the best of the Achaeans!” 1.484-490
Chryses to Apollo:
“Hear me, Apollo!
God of the silver bow who strides the walls of Chryse
And Cilla sacrosanct-lord in power of Tenedos!
If you honored me last time and heard my prayer
And rained down destruction upon Achaea’s ranks,
Now bring my prayer to pass once more. Now, at last,
Drive this killing plague from the armies of Achaea!” 1.538-544
Thetis to Zeus:
“Zeus, Father Zeus! If I ever served you well
among the deathless gods with a word or action,
bring this prayer to pass: honor my son Achilles!-
doomed to the shortest life of any man on earth.
And now the lord of men Agamemnon has disgraced him,
Seizes and keeps his prize, tears her away himself. But you-
Exalt him, Olympian Zeus: your urgings rule the world!
Come, grant the Trojans victory after victory
Till the Achaean armies pay my dear son back,
Building higher the honor he deserves!” 1.600-608
Agamemnon to Zeus:
“Zeus, Zeus,
god of greatness, god of glory, lord god
of the dark clouds who lives in the bright sky,
don’t let the sun go down or the night descend on us!
Not till I hurl the smoke-black halls of Priam headlong-
Torch his gate to blazing rubble-rip the tunic of Hector
And slash his heroic chest to ribbons with my bronze-
And a ruck of comrades round him, groveling facedown,
Gnaw their own earth!” 2.488-496
Diomedes to Athena:
“Hear me, daughter of Zeus whose shield is thunder,
tireless one, Athena! If you ever stood by father
with all your love amidst the blaze of battle,
stand by me-do me a favor now, Athena.
Bring that man into range and let me spear him!
He’s wounded me off guard and now he triumphs-
He boasts I won’t look long the light of the day.” 5.126-132
Theano to Athena (presenting offering):
Then-
With a shrill wail they all stretched out their arms to Athena
As Theano, her face radiant, lifting her robe on high,
Spread it out across the sleek-haired goddess’ knees
And prayed to the daughter of mighty Father Zeus:
“Queen Athena-shield of our city-glory of goddesses!
Now shatter the spear of Diomedes! That wild man-
Hurl him headlong down before the Scaean Gates!
At once we’ll sacrifice twelve heifers in your shrine,
Yearlings never broken, if only you’ll pity Troy,
The Trojan wives and all our helpless children!” 6.360-365
Hector to Zeus and all immortals (bouncing son on knee):
“Zeus, all you immortals! Grant this boy, my son,
may be like me, first in glory among the Trojans,
strong and brave like me, and rule all Troy in power
and one day let them say, ‘He is a better man than his father!’-
when he comes home from battle bearing the bloody gear
of the mortal enemy he has killed in war-
a joy to his mother’s heart.” 6.568-574
General fighters to Zeus (drawing lots):
Stretching hands to the gods
A man would murmur, scanning the wide sky,
“Father Zeus, let Ajax win, or Tydeus’ son
or the proud king himself of all Mycenae’s gold!” 7.204-207
General fighters to Zeus (after Ajax’s lot is drawn):
They’d call out, scanning the wide sky, “Father Zeus-
Ruling over us all from Ida, god of greatness, glory!
Now let Ajax take this victory, shining triumph!
But if you love Hector, if you hold him dear,
At least give both men equal strength and glory.” 7.232-236
Odysseus to Athena (upon hearing a heron):
“Hear me, daughter of Zeus whose shield is thunder!
Standing by me always, in every combat mission-
No maneuver of mine slips by you-now, again,
Give me your best support, Athena, comrade!
Grant our return in glory back to the warships
Once we’ve done some feat that brings the Trojans pain!” 10.326-331
Diomedes to Athena:
“Hear me too, daughter of Zeus, tireless goddess!
Be with me now, just as you went with father,
Veteran Tydeus, into Thebes that day
He ran ahead of the Argives with his message.
He left his armored men along the Asopus banks
And carried a peaceful word to Theban cohorts
Crowded in their halls. But turning back he bent
To some grand and grisly work with you, Goddess,
And you stood by him then, a steadfast ally.
So come, stand by me now, protect me now!
I will make you a sacrifice, a yearling heifer
Broad in the brow, unbroken, never yoked by men.
I’ll offer it up to you-I’ll sheathe its horns in gold!” 10.333-345
Odysseus to Athena (offering the spoils of battle):
“Here, Goddess, rejoice in these, they’re yours!
You are the first of all the gods we’ll call!
Now guide us again, Athena, guide us against
That Thracian camp and horses!” 10.532-535
Paraphrased Prayers
Pandarus to Apollo:
Quickly notching the sharp arrow on the string
He swore to Apollo, Wolf-god, glorious Archer,
He’d slaughter splendid victims, newborn lambs
When he marched home to Zelea’s sacred city. 4.138-141
Cleopatra to Hades and Persephone:
So racked with grief for her brother he had killed
She kept pounding fists on the earth that feeds us all,
Kept crying out to the god of death and grim Persephone,
Flung herself on the ground, tears streaking her robes
And she screamed out, ‘Kill Meleager, kill my son!’ 9.693-697
Commentary on Prayer
Phoenix to Achilles (entreating Achilles with “Prayers” to relent):
We do have Prayers, you know, Prayers for forgiveness,
Daughters of mighty Zeus . . . and they limp and halt,
They’re all wrinkled, drawn, they squint to the side,
Can’t look you in the eyes, and always bent on duty,
Trudging after Ruin, maddening, blinding Ruin.
But Ruin is strong and swift-
She outstrips them all by far, stealing a march,
Leaping over the whole wide earth to bring mankind to grief.
And the Prayers trail after, trying to heal the wounds.
And then, if a man reveres these daughters of Zeus
As they draw near him, they will help him greatly
And listen to his appeals. But if one denies them,
Turns them away, stiff-necked and harsh-off they go
To the son of Cronus, Zeus, and pray that Ruin
Will strike the man down, crazed and blinded
Until he’s paid the price. 9.609-624
Oaths
Agamemnon to Zeus, Helios, Rivers, Earth, and Furies(?) (Oath):
“Father Zeus!
Ruling over us all from Ida, god of greatness, god of glory!
Helios, Sun above us, you who see all, hear all things!
Rivers! And Earth! And you beneath the ground
Who punish the dead-whoever broke his oath-
Be witness here, protect our binding pacts.
If Paris brings Menelaus down in blood,
He keeps Helen himself and all her wealth
And we sail home in our racing deep-sea ships.
But if red-haired Menelaus brings down Paris,
The Trojans surrender Helen and all her treasures.
And they pay us reparations fair and fitting,
A price to inspire generations still to come.
But if Priam and Priam’s sons refuse to pay,
Refuse me, Agamemnon-with Paris beaten down-
Then I myself will fight it out for the ransom,
I’ll battle here to the end of our long war.” 3.329-345
General Trojan or Achaean to Zeus and all immortals (Oath):
“Zeus-
god of greatness, god of glory, all you immortals!
Whichever contender trample on this treaty first,
Spill their brains on the ground as this wine spills-
Theirs, and their children’s too-their enemies rape their wives!” 3.352-356
Hector to Zeus:
“Now Zeus my witness,
thundering lord of Hera-no other Trojan fighter
will ride behind that team, none but you, I swear-
they will be your glory all your life to come!” 10.383-386
Prayer in Other Sources of the Same Period
Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo, trans. Sargent
Hera to Gaia, Uranus, and the Titans:
Straightway, then, velvety-eyed lady Hera
Struck the earth with the flat of her hand, and called out in prayer:
"Hear me now, earth and broad heaven above, and you Titans,
Gods dwelling around in great Tartaros under the ground,
You from whom men and gods have their being, all hear me now
And grant me a child without Zeus, lacking none of his strength,
But instead let him be as much stronger than Zeus
As far-seeing Zeus himself is stronger than Cronus.”
Thus she cried out and flailed the ground with her thick hand.
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, trans. Sargent
Anchises to Aphrodite (a pseudo-prayer: he does not know she is a goddess, but compares her to one, speaking in the form of a prayer):
Love laid hold on Anchises, and to her he spoke:
“Welcome, queen, whoever of the blessed you are who come to this house-
Artemis, Leto, or Aphrodite the golden,
Themis highborn, or even gray-eyed Athene.
Or are you one of the lovely Graces who come here,
Companions to all the gods and ranked as immortal?
Or one of the nymphs who haunt the delectable groves,
Or of the nymphs who dwell on this beautiful mountain
And in the deep springs of rivers and in grassy meadows?
I will build you an altar high on the peak of the mountain
In view of the country around, and in all seasons bring you rich offerings.
And be well disposed yourself toward me in your heart.
Grant that I live long and well, seeing the light of the sun,
Happy among my people, and prosperous, up to the threshold of age.”
Hesiod:
I could not find any overt prayers in Hesiod’s Theogony, Works and Days, or the Shield (attributed to Hesiod but probably not his work).
Formal Conventions of Prayer
Very few formal, repeating phrases are used. Sometimes “Hear me” is used. This is not specifically religious, but is also used numerous times by humans to give a speech to each other, and also by Zeus to give a speech to the other gods.
Never is a prayer spoken without a petition. This always comes at the end of the prayer, followed only by a vow if one is spoken.
Explanations of feelings, the situation, personal reflections, and monologue are rare. The longest such piece is by Achilles speaking to his mother, and it can be explained by the more intimate relationship of the two.
The recipient of the prayer is always named, unless epithets make the identity clear. The name is almost always followed by epithets recounting the deity’s attributes and glories. Frequently as well there is an attempt to locate the deity spatially or geographically. This last seems odd to modern tastes but was apparently important to Homeric-age Greeks.
Often the deity is reminded of deeds done for the speaker, or the speaker reminds the deity of deeds done for the deity. Sometimes these two are linked, but they also seem able to stand by themselves. In these reminders, the conditional phrase “if…then” is often used.
There never seems to be any hint of personal misdoings, no confessional, in Homeric prayers.
Oaths generally follow the same conventions as other prayers, with the conditions of the oath constituting the petition, a request that it may be so.
Prayers seem different from hymns, whether of the Homeric kind or the hymn-like passages of Hesiod, insofar as the greatest force lands on the petition. Hymns often (though not always) contain petitions, but they are relatively subdued compared to the narrative and praise portions. The petitions of hymns seem tacked on to the end like after-thoughts, or formal dressing. Those of prayers, on the other hand, are the driving force of the text.