HISTORY / LORE:

Daily devotions consist more in "things done" then "things said". Some examples are:

• Kissing your hand the first time you see the moon each night, any time you see the dawn or when you pass shrines or statues of the gods or goddesses.
• For farmers or travelers, leaving an offering at a herme (pile of stones dedicated to Hermes).
• For city dewellers, making a libation at the hero shrine at the gymnasia before starting exercises.
• Throwing small bits of food into the hearth fire at the beginning of a meal as an offering to Hestia.
• Spilling a few drops of wine on the floor at the end of the meal as a libation to Agathos Daimon, the good daemon in the form of a snake who guards the house.

Prayers in the Hellenic world are very structured and have the same structure as curses. The three part structure consists of first getting the deity's attention by inviting them to the ritual, listing their many names (this usually concludes with "and whatever names you wish to be called"), and what deeds they have done in the past. The second part involves identifying the person doing the prayer with their ancestry, what sacrifices they've done in the past (including this one), and what the deity has done for them in the past. Finally, stating the wishes and any vows that are being made in return for the granting of the wishes. Prayers are made more powerful by stating them in rhyme and meter, by inviting more deities and by giving a longer list of accomplishments by the deities.

Curses have the same structure as prayers but the deities called are the chthonic gods or ancestral heroes. Curses should only be used to right wrongs and bring justice back into balance. The chthonic gods love to punish those who curse for spiteful or shallow reasons and those that curse others for what they are also guilty of.

In conclusion, there are rarely rituals without prayer and rarely prayer without sacrifice. Prayers are used in times of need to have the deities provide protection, success, love, abundance, health and children. Prayers are never used for salvation after death as the Hellenes didn't believe in eternal punishment. Prayers are accomplished while standing with arms raised, never kneeling or in a begging manner.

SOURCES:

• Adkins, Lesley & Adkins, Roy (1997) "Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece" New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
• Burkert, Walter (1985) "Greek Religion". Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press
• Nilsson, Martin (1940) "Greek Folk Religion". Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Faraone, Christopher & Obbink, Dirk (1991) "Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic & Religion" New York, NY: Oxford University Press