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the deities thought responsible for erotic passion. As ‘‘argument’’ supporting the
Chorus’s recognition of these gods as cause of the trouble it recalls two earlier
instances of the brutal power of love: Heracles’ rape of Iole at Oichalia and Zeus’
destructive intercourse with Semele at Thebes. In both cases the Chorus points out
that Aphrodite was behind the union. Of course readers are long familiar with such
mythological exempla in Greek literature, and in discovering their relevance to the
story. But what I wish to emphasize is theoriginof this literary pattern: mythical
narrative formed part of the argument of hymnic discourse, a way of rekindling divine
power for present celebration by recreating the past in words. Prayers do this too, but
largely through allusion: the complicated invocation of god(s) at the beginning of the
prayer uses epithets and attributes of the god(s) which recall, in a word, the associated
myth. Hermes is Argeiphontes (killer of Argos); Athene is Pallas (?wielder of the
spear); Zeus is Cronides or Cronion (son of Cronus, but also his vanquisher).


Types of Prayers and Hymns


Prayers


Greeks prayed standing up, not kneeling down, with arms raised (see e.g. Demos-
thenes 21.52), or with a libation-bowl poised. It is possible that, in Athens and
perhaps elsewhere, they prayed to the many Hermes statues distributed through the
city as divine messenger between humans and gods. Vases show petitioners touching
Hermes on the chin as they supplicate him to hear their prayer and perhaps pass it on
to the right address on Olympus (Furley 1996:13–30). There were various verbs,
with corresponding nouns, to denote the act:euchomai(euche ̄oreucho ̄le ̄),araomai
(ara)lissomai(lite ̄),hiketeuo ̄(hiketeia). Pulleyn (1997:59–66), in discussion with
Aubriot-Se ́vin (1992:405–94), places these on a descending scale according to how
muchcharisthe person(s) praying thinks he has with the god(s). The type of prayer
(euche ̄according to Aubriot-Se ́vin 1992; Pulleyn [1997: 63] talks about ‘‘xenia-
prayers’’) which draws on a perceived store of charis as argument to sway the
god(s) is at the top of this scale,hiketeiaat the bottom because the person praying
is like a suppliant throwing himself on the mercy of the god(s) without anycharis
reserves to draw on, whilstlitai occupy a middle position. To put this a little
differently: people turn tolitaiandhiketeiawhen they are in dire straits and are in
no position to bargain with the gods by citing their previous, present, or future piety
(Figure 7.2). They pray with emphasis on reciprocalchariswhen they hope to secure a
favor from god(s) based on their generous worship.Aratends to have the connota-
tion of ‘‘curse’’ in prayers uttered with respect to other people (Corlu 1966:285–8),
but it can also (in Homer) simply mean ‘‘prayer.’’Euchomaiin Homer sometimes
seems to mean ‘‘boast’’; Pulleyn (1997:60–1) says that the original sense was simply
‘‘say solemnly,’’ which was then used in the specific context of prayer. A passage
which combines two nuances of prayer isIliad9.497–501, in which Phoenix im-
plores Achilles to listen to their prayers as ‘‘even the gods can be swayed, and their
honor, strength, and valor is greater. Men sway them through sacrifice and gentle
prayers [eucho ̄le ̄is agane ̄isi], through libation and the smoke of burnt offerings when
they entreat them [lissomenoi] after a man has transgressed and done wrong.’’ In


Prayers and Hymns 127
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