The Presence of Prayer in Homer
The Times of India
published an interesting article on December 23, 2023 entitled, Are you spiritual or religious? What’s the
difference? It explores the meaning of the two concepts and makes a comment
about people in ancient times.
What is spirituality?
Spirituality is a person's journey to explore the deeper meaning and
purpose of life. It involves methods for self-discovery, inner peace, and
connection with the universe or a higher power. Unlike religion, spirituality
isn't tied to any organized structure or specific deities that you have to
worship. It is about introspection, meditation, mindfulness practices, and
being at peace within oneself and the world. Spirituality does not require you
to follow certain rituals or doctrines but encourages you to find your ways
toward personal growth.
Religion, on the other hand, is a structured system of beliefs,
practices, rituals, and institutions centered around Gods, Goddesses, gurus,
and the like. Religions give you a set path and some rules to connect with the
Divine. And it would not be wrong to say that in ancient times and even today,
people were more religious than spiritual. While many people adhere to
religious beliefs due to family traditions or cultural influences, others are
in it just for the comfort and inner strength it provides.
If we accept this definition of religion and look at the various
prayer, offertory and oath practices found in the Iliad and the Odyssey, we can
conclude that the ancient Greeks of Homer’s time and those of the Bronze Age
period that he depicts in his narratives are truly religious people. Prayer in
many forms is featured in the two epics and there is a constant interaction
between mere mortals on earth and those dwelling in the divine realm. Humans
are cognizant of the fact that the gods do not take kindly to those who go
against their will and they strive constantly to carry out the wishes of the
immortals. As Achilles himself said, It
is better for a man to obey the commands of both of you O goddess, no matter
how distressed he might be in his own heart, for the gods give ear to those who
follow their orders. Humans also have an
expectation that the gods will play a major role in intervening in the affairs
of men, and they offer prayers and sacrifices in an attempt to understand the
will of the gods and to thank them for the beneficial role that they play in
their lives, as well as to offer the gods appeasement when things go wrong.
Prayers
and oaths play significant roles in the epics and are often found in
combination with certain rituals and with sacrificial offerings. Homer uses
these to shape the narrative and to set the stage for divine intervention, a
key element of his stories for the two epics are as much about gods as they are
about humans. In times of crisis, we see both common folk and heroes using
prayers to petition the gods for favours or favourable outcomes. Oaths are used
to confirm the truth of what is being spoken, to cement pacts between
individuals and to call upon the gods to bear witness to what is being agreed
upon and to thereby ensure that it is carried out.
The first prayer of the Iliad is uttered by Chryses the priest of Apollo, who begs King Agamemnon to accept his ransom and to return his daughter to him. But Agamemnon was having nothing of it and, He ordered Chryses off with harsh words and laid a stern command on him. Chryses turns to the god with a prayer:
Hear
me o god of the silver bow who hovers in strength over Chryse and Cilla,
Smithian god and most favoured ruler of Tenedos. If I ever roofed a temple that
was pleasing to you or provided you with the burnt offering of the fat thigh
pieces of bulls and goats, then answer my prayer and let the Danaans pay the
price for my tears with your arrows.
A
great pestilence ensued and the Achaean army was decimated. Calchas the seer
was consulted about the cause and he laid the blame at the feet of Agamemnon.
Before he confronted the king with the truth, Calchas prompted a solemn oath
from Achilles that he would be kept harmless and that Agamemnon would not kill
the messenger. After Chryseis was returned to her father, a sacrificial
offering was made and prayers were invoked by Chryse to remove the pestilence
from the Danaans. The sacrifice and prayer are typical of those found in
Homer’s works.
On
the well-built altar they quickly placed the sacrifice for the god and
afterwards they cleansed their hands with holy water and took up barley cakes.
Then Chryses offered up a great prayer on their behalf and raised his hands to
heaven. “Hear me o god of the silver bow who protects Chryse and holy Cilla and
rules mightily over Tenedos. Indeed you heard me praying before and you
honoured me by answering my prayer, but you have inflicted great hardship on
the people of the Achaeans. I ask that you now grant me this wish, namely that
you ward off this unholy pestilence from the Danaans.”
Sacrificial
offerings and prayers to the gods are usually followed by a ceremonial banquet
and the guests consume those parts of the animal that have not been consumed by
the flames in honour of the immortals. These ritual sacrifices and meals
generally follow a set pattern and are indicative of the kind of religious
activities undertaken by the devout. The common elements that we note are as
follows:
·
Meals often follow ritual sacrifices and
prayer is an integral part of feasting.
·
Meals are always held in common and
people do not eat alone.
·
The menu most often consists solely of
meat, bread and wine.
·
An offering is usually made to the gods,
consisting of the smoke and sizzle of the roasting meat. Gods conveniently have
ichor instead of blood in their bodies and as a result, do not consume human
food, only nectar and ambrosia.
·
A few drops of wine are always poured
out onto the ground as an offering or libation to the gods.
·
Everyone always has enough to eat and
drink and no one ever goes hungry or thirsty.
When
they had prayed and cast forth the barley cakes, then they drew back the necks
of the cattle and slew them. They flayed them and cut off the desirable thigh
portions and doubling up the fat pieces, placed them on the raw meat. The old
man roasted them on a heap of blazing logs and poured fiery-looking red wine
over them while the young men held five-pronged spits in their hands nearby.
When the thighs had been consumed and the inner parts had been tasted, they cut
the rest into smaller pieces and put them on skewers and roasted them
skillfully before removing them from their spits. When they had finished
preparing the banquet they feasted and no man wanted for anything. When they had
satiated their desire for food and drink, the young men filled all the drinking
goblets to the brim and distributed them to everyone.
The spilling of a few
drops of wine as a drink libation reminds me of a practice that the nomadic
herders of Mongolia carry out when saying goodbye to someone who is leaving in
a vehicle of some sort. The mother of the family brings out a shallow basin of
milk and offers it to the heavens and then sprinkles all the wheels of the
vehicle with a few drops of milk. It is the family’s way of asking the gods to
provide the travelers with a safe journey. Another practice invoking the gods
is the circling of a pile of stones known as an ‘ovoo’. It is a traditional practice for travelers
seeking blessings and safe passage. These stone heaps are considered
sacred and are often found on mountain passes, mountain tops, or near rivers
and springs. When passing an ovoo, it is customary to circle it three
times in a clockwise direction, adding one stone or several to the pile, always
an odd number of stones, and sometimes leaving offerings like milk, vodka, a
blue ribbon, sweets or money.
Phoenix tells Achilles the
power of prayer when he says,
Men can turn the hearts of the gods
from wrath with devout prayers, poured out libations and the savour of burnt
offerings whenever they step out of line and transgress. For prayers are the
daughters of great Zeus, lame and shriveled and looking askance while half-blind,
following along behind in the steps of temptation. Temptation is sure-footed
and strong and because of this, she outpaces many and comes over the land
hindering mankind and prayers come afterwards seeking to heal all. Whoever
honours the daughters of Zeus when they come nearby, him they will bless and
listen to him when he offers prayers. But if he denies them and refuses firmly,
then they leave and go on their way to offer a prayer to Zeus the son of Cronos
that Ate may follow that person and disable him until he repays fully.
We see the characters in
Homer’s works using prayers as supplication for divine help, to beg for the intervention
of the gods in critical events, to seek guidance or direction as well as to express
gratitude for favours received. In the Odyssey, Odysseus often prays to Athena for
help and guidance and she is most willing to oblige. Polyphemus prays to his father
Poseidon to exact revenge on Odysseus for blinding him and the god readily agrees
to do so and makes the hero’s journey home a living nightmare. Also the loving mother
Penelope prays successfully for the safety of her son Telemachus and he escapes
the ambush of the murderous suitors.
Finally we must note that
Homer too recognizes the importance of prayer. Both the Iliad and the Odyssey start
with a prayer uttered by the bard to the Muse. In effect, both epics are very long
prayers.
Let
wrath be your song O Goddess! Sing of the accursed rage of Achilles, son of
Peleus, which brought untold woes to the Achaeans and banished to Hades many
stalwart souls of heroes, turning them into carrion for dogs and birds of prey,
thereby bringing to final fulfillment the plan of Zeus. Begin your song O Muse
at that first sign of strife between the son of Atreus, lord of men, and the
divine Achilles.
Speak
to me Muse of that man of many ins and outs who traveled far and wide after he
had sacked the lofty citadel of Troy. He came to know many cities and the
thoughts of many men and many were the evils he suffered at sea while trying to
save himself and secure the safe return home of his comrades. But do what he
might, he was not able to save his men, for their own recklessness made an end
of them, fools that they were, for they ate the cattle of the Hyperion Helios
and the god took away from them the day that they would ever return home. Tell
me all about this O goddess, daughter of Zeus, and start your story wherever
you like.
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