CHORUS. Delight, O Phoibos,
in the melodious honor
of our most beautiful song!
Receive the sacred prize!
AGATHON. And sing the girl
in hills where oaks grow,
Artemis, wild huntress.
CHORUS. I follow, celebrating
the holy child of Leto,
Artemis, the never-pregnant.
(Thesmophoriazusae107–19)
In what follows various other deities are mentioned which contribute to Agathon’s
art. We see here a lyric conceptualization of the process of selecting gods as helpers in
a given task (in this case, lyric poetry itself). We note the care taken to stipulate the
precise identity of the deity called upon. Parenthood, association with certain places,
typical behavior, etc. are all mentioned as a way of defining the character of the divine
power addressed. Of particular interest is the way the chorus ask Agathon the
question which had to be answered before any prayer or hymn: ‘‘To which gods
should we sing?’’. Since one can see the Greek pantheon as a symbolic representation
of human concerns, the worshiper’s first task was to select the right symbols (gods
with specific attributes) for subsequent verbal manipulation.
Arguments
It turns out that prayers and hymns differ in their persuasive middle section in which
the worshiper states reasons, both explicit and implicit, for holding the god’s atten-
tion favorably. Prayers, unlike hymns, concentrate on variations on thedo ut des(‘‘I
give so that you may give’’) theme, by which they hope to persuade the deity that he
really ought to return a favor to the human worshiper. The latter can recall previous
sacrifices, point to his present lavish donation, or promise future offerings in order to
encourage the addressee to dispense some of hischaris. In Book 1 of theIliadthe
priest Chryses prays to Apollo Smintheus: ‘‘Mouse-god, if ever I roofed a nice temple
for you or burnt up the fat thigh-bones of bulls or goats for you, grant me this wish’’
(39–40;da quia dedi[‘‘Give because I have given’’] ). Later in the same book he
prays to the same god: ‘‘If ever you’ve listened to me before when I prayed, honoring
me and greatly hurting the Achaioi, grant me now this wish’’ (453–5;da quia dedisti
[‘‘Give because you have given before’’]). In Book 6 the Trojan priestess Theano
prays to Athena, having given her a beautifulpeplos: ‘‘Mighty Athena who saves cities,
excellent among goddesses, break the spear of Diomedes, grant that he may fall
before the Skaian Gates, so that we may sacrifice to you straightaway twelve unworked
yearling oxen, if you pity this town and the Trojans’ wives and helpless children’’
(6.305–10;da quia dabo[‘‘Give because I will give’’] ). In Book 8 Agamemnon again
argues before Zeus: ‘‘I’ve never passed by an altar of yours on the way here by ship
but I burned the fat and the thigh-bones of oxen on every one – so grant me now my
wish’’ (238–42;da quia dedi). In view of numerous passages such as these some have
concluded that the Greeks were a mercenary lot in their religion: they thought that
124 William D. Furley