Pray Like an Ancient Greek

Prayer is the most important ritual form in Ancient Hellenic religion. Ancient Greeks were polytheists and understood themselves as being in relationships with the Great Ones who they called the Theoi—the Gods. These relationships were both individual (between an individual and one of the Theoi) and collective (between society and one of the Theoi or groups of Theoi). Many rituals are about creating, strengthening, or restoring the healthy bonds of relationship between humans and any of the many spiritual beings. Sometimes the prayers ask divine beings to intercede, such as in a healing or mystery initiation. Because there are many Gods, the ritualist must specify for whom the ritual is intended and get Their attention. This is what prayer accomplishes. Prayer is, therefore, the cornerstone of Hellenic practice. It is a required part of every ritual, but it can also be a stand-alone sacred act.

The model of prayer I use is derived from the ancient Hellenic traditions. Because it assumes that the Gods are real beings, it also requires some preparatory work until you have successfully built a strong personal relationship with whichever deity you are praying to.

Preparatory Work
1. Determine Who and Why
You need to decide who you are going to call (because a prayer is rather like making a phone call), sometimes with a request for the recipient to be present in the moment, as in an invocation. Clarify for yourself why you are calling the particular to whom being you will pray. It can be just to express love and gratitude for a deep relationship you already have or it can be that you want to reach out and express interest in building a relationship. If it is to ask Them to do something or to participate in a larger ritual complex, you need to contemplate how it fits into Their agenda. Ask yourself why Deity X would want to show up in this context and be ready to make the case as part of your prayer.

2. Gather Background Information
All of the really big Theoi have a lot of aspects. Apollon, for example, is a healer, a prophet and counselor, a musician and leader of the Muses, a hunter, a law-giver, the patron of young men, a purifier, a patron of philosophers, often a divine ancestor, a patron of various regions and cults, and is the Lord of Light and is sometimes understood as the spiritual being whose body is the Sun. All of these aspects have epithets—additional names that hone in on the specific attributes. For example, when I pray, "Apollon Maleatas, Iatros, Iatros!" I'm calling Him in His aspect as a healer. That call sends up a particular flare where Apollon can perceive it and He understands which of the many roles He fulfills that I am calling for.

It is also useful to know if you are calling to an empyrean (highest heaven) or chthonic (Earth and underworld) deity or aspect. Many of the Theoi have both aspects, but often have defaults. So, for example, Zeus Meilichios is a chthonic aspect of Zeus, but Zeus is almost always empyrean. If you are calling on a chthonic aspect of Zeus, you probably know it. If you work with a particular being regularly, it can be useful to have an enlivened statue dedicated to your regular communion.

3. Gather Any Offerings
You don't have to give offerings with every prayer, especially if it is a simple prayer of communion with one of the Theoi with whom you have a strong relationship. If you do want to make offerings, determine if they will be burnt, poured, buried, or left outside. Traditionally, libations can be poured to empyrean or chthonic deities. Food/liquid offerings were traditionally poured into a hole in the ground for the chthonic gods whereas food and incense were burned for empyrean deities. In our current contexts and living arrangements, we often leave food outside rather than burning it or burying it. I think that is fine. I typically restrict myself to libations and incense because I live in an urban apartment. While there are some traditional offerings for various Theoi, there are a lot of substances we have now that were not available to the ancient Greeks which They might also enjoy. I advise seeking guidance from your intuition about what to offer whom, while obeying the basic rule that, if you wouldn't enjoy it, don't offer it a god.

Praying
While there are not hard and fast rules, there is a general pattern to Ancient Greek prayers. All prayers should ideally be spoken aloud. Ancient Greeks associated silent prayers with making shameful requests. While there may be situations in which praying aloud is impossible for safety or other reasons, speaking aloud is part of what gets the energy moving, sending a beacon into the spiritual world. You also want to pull up as much emotional power as you can in order to send out sympathetic resonance to the Great One whose attention you are trying to get.

Steps:

1. Slow your breathing and get yourself fully present and focused.
   
   
2. Choose your prayer stance. If you are calling an empyrean god, stand straight with your arms stretched towards the heavens and your chest open and unguarded while tilting your head back and gazing up towards the sky. If the deity is chthonic, stand straight with your arms open and reaching down towards the Earth. Your gaze is also directed downwards. If you are using an enlivened statue that is dedicated to the god, then stand with your arms open and reaching in the direction of the statue, your gaze resting upon the statue. Any of these stances are devoid of abasement and convey that you are fully present and not hiding anything before the Divine.
   
   
3. Call the Great One by name, using the epithets. You can call Them by numerous epithets if that is appropriate. I use a combination of epithets, often mixed with their translation. Using the Greek and the English helps me build the intensity as I'm reaching out and, if it is a public ritual, makes it more understandable to others. For example, "Athena Polias, Great Goddess of the Polis, Divine Guide of Human Civilization! Athena Promachos, Great Protector, Shield of the People! Athena Boulaia, Wise Counselor, Goddess of Democracy! I call to you. Come! Come!"
   
   
4. Praise (Optional). It is traditional to include praise for the Great One in your prayer. I often incorporate some of this into the section on epithets as I am weaving the call together. Sometimes the main purpose of the prayer is to give praise as an offering. It is always kalos (good/beautiful) to include references to stories or your own heart-moved praise of and gratitude to the deity. Functionally, if you are praying and you are not sure that They have "picked up" the call, adding specific praise and portions of Their stories will strengthen the signal. This is especially important if it is not a being with whom you have a close, personal relationship. If it is a being with whom you have a close relationship and They have picked up the call, then this section is optional, but it is always positive to include it.
   
   
5. Make the case for why the Great One should listen to your prayer. During this section, you must assert at least one of two rationales, preferably both. The first is that the Great One should answer your call because of a pre-existing relationship. This can be a close relationship from this incarnation, from a past incarnation, or sometimes a lineage or geographical connection. You identify yourself and ask to be recognized. The second category of rationales for the Great One to attend is by virtue of how what you are going to ask aligns with Their agenda. This can be more or less elaborate depending on the type of request you will make. "Asklepios, you are the Great Healer. I am sick and in need of healing." This example is fairly straight forward, but some cases may need more elaboration. "Lord Poseidon, Great God of the Seas, I know the seas are hurting because of humans. I know how deeply you care about the health and safety of the creatures in your domain and the water itself. We are gathered together for this ritual blessing of the waters to try to heal some of this harm."
   
   Sometimes pieces of Their stories are referenced or incorporated into this section. "Hekate, as an only child of Titans, when Zeus came to power You were vulnerable, but He upheld and expanded your rights demonstrating that true leaders embrace both mercy and grace. You always understand the vulnerable and act as their protector."
   
   
6. Make your request. A prayer always make a request of some sort. It can just be to commune or asking Them to accept and be pleased with a gift made as an offering. The request can also be for some sort of intercession, including an invitation to be present in and empower particular rituals. Make sure any intercession requested is in alignment with Their agenda.
   
   In my experience, if you are making a large-scale "make the world better" request, it should be framed in a way where Their intercession makes sense. For example, you don't need to ask Poseidon to care for the dolphins. Poseidon already cares for the dolphins far more deeply than we do. However, if there was a specific area of relevant human endeavor that could be targeted, then offering Poseidon access to your human mind to use as a bridge into human consciousness in order to effect change might be worthwhile. For example, praying that He send inspiration to the scientists trying to figure out how to safely address plastic trash in the ocean would be a worthy intercession request. Put the work in and think about partnership rather than just asking a Great One to fix humanity's mess.
   
   
7. Offerings (Optional). You can do this at the end of the prayer or before your request. Be sure to name the Great One, say specifically that you are offering your gift to Them and that you hope They find it pleasing. Remember, an offering is a gift; it is not payment for a transaction. You give a gift out of love that honors a relationship. The notion that Ancient Greeks were bribing the Theoi is a Christian distortion. Gift economy is about strengthening relationships. It is not the same as market economy.

Prayer Practice
If you are striving to build a relationship with any of the Great Ones, I encourage you to develop a regular prayer practice. The form of prayer discussed can be elaborate or simple, but the act of calling to and connecting with the Theoi is essential to having a relationship with these beings. You can make a simple call to one of the Theoi, asking Them to attend because you long to build/strengthen a relationship with Them. Your request is communion or to accept your offering. Then ask Them to send you a sign that They are pleased with your relationship. Sit and see what comes up. Thank Them for coming and then go about your day being open to signs from Them. The point in relationship-building is regular contact, not elaborate rites. In my experience, if you build the relationship through the regular prayer practice, it is far more likely that They will show up and work with you in bigger rites.