Sacrifices In Ancient Greece

Introduction

The Ancient Greeks had a close connection to the Olympian Gods. They would communicate with them directly and indirectly through various different methods. Three of the most common ways to communicate with the gods was through consulting an oracle, sacrifice, and prayer.

Oracles

Consulting an oracle was one of the most common ways that the Greeks could contact the gods. Often times with purposes of receiving messages or advice, usually relating to the future. An oracle refers to a priest or priestess who could act as a medium through whom council was sought from the ancient Greeks. Consulting oracles was for the Greeks an absolute form of contact, however, the messages were often given in riddles or cryptic message that were

confusing and hard to understand. This meant that the message was often left open for misinterpretation. Although many oracles were held in very high esteem at the time, it was logical to understand that there was no way of truly knowing what the Deities had said or if they had said anything at all. Similar to most religions, the Greeks relied on a great level of trust and faith that their Oracle would be truthful.
Often times the messages that came from the consulted oracle was a type of prophecy. However, the prophecies did not mean that the gods had determined the future but rather had the knowledge of what was going to happen by fate. The control of knowledge was left to the gods and or Oracle, however, what the future held for any particular mortal was decided by the fates or Moira .
The most famous of Oracles from Greek Mythology was the Oracle at Delphi. At Delphi resided the female Oracle Pythia, the high priestess of the temple of Apollo. Through this oracle, the ancient Greeks could communicate with Zeus and the other Olympian gods and goddesses. The Oracular powers of Pythia had ancient Greeks travelling from far city-states to visit, claiming that she would “muttered incomprehensible words that foretold the future.” .The ancient Greeks held such faith in the words of the Oracle that no major decisions were made without prior consultation. in Figure 1.1 Pythia of the Oracle of Delphi is shown sitting on her tripod.
Sacrifices
Sacrifices were seen as traditional and advanced sequences of communal or private actions in which a sacred purpose was to be achieved.

Public sacrifices were a common gesture at festivals, held in celebration for a particular god or goddess. In worship of a deity, a sacrifice of fruits of the earth or animals were offered . Often times throwing animals into chasms or performing a blood-related rituals where an animal would be killed or slaughtered on an altar in honour of the immortal deities. Sacrifices could also be performed directly when within the home. A private sacrifice would often be in relation to a god’s protection over a family or property or to secure a safe passage on a journey.

Sacrifices of animals were elaborate and grand offerings to the gods however were most common and can be seen in ancient Greek literature such as the epic poems written by Homer around 725 BCE.

“That instant he launched an eagle-

Truest of Zeus's signs that fly the skies - a fawn

Clutched in its talons, sprung of a running doe,

But he dropped it free beside the handsome shrine

Where the Achaean soldiers always sacrificed to Zeus."

Attempting to win the favour of Zeus, Homer describes Odyssey and his soldiers sacrificing a doe at Zeus’s shrine. Homer’s fiction depicts a very real type of sacrifice that would have been a reality for the ancient

Greeks.

Prayer
Prayer was another form of contacting the gods.

Worshiping a god through forms of prayer could be conducted directly, in private, or indirectly through a priest or in a public temple or Sanctuary . Through prayer, the ancient Greeks had the ability to ask questions of the gods or, simply to worship them or perform supplication, the proclamation of one’s objectiveness and acknowledge of the god’s power far exceeding their own.

Although no response would be heard after prayer, the Greeks thought that sign in the following days would represent the god’s wishes. If the mortals had worshiped correctly and justly then they believed that the gods would reward them, whereas if they had been denying their duty to worship the gods they would be punished . It was expected of individuals to worship their gods evenly and equally as “the balanced worshipper does not pick and choose between them but pays respect to all” . The more familiar a mortal was with prayer the better of they were seen in the eyes of the gods.

Examples of mortals praying to the Olympian gods in times of need can be seen in this ancient Greek pottery in figure 1.1 . In Homer’s The Illiad, the character Ajax prays to the gods before committing suicide after losing his honour and refusing to live in shame . This story is recreated through ancient Greek

pottery.

Conclusion
The ancient Greeks held their beliefs of the Olympian Gods close to their hearts. Their relationships with the gods was one of trust and faith. Much of their communities and societies revolved around the ideas of religion, therefore, direct and indirect communication with the gods was key in keeping their religion alive and significant to their culture.