Tag: prayer

Kneeling down to pray is unusual. The gesture of entreaty is outstretched arms. To invoke the heavenly gods, both hands are raised to the sky with upturned palms; to call on the gods of the sea, the arms are extended out to the sea;the hands are also stretched to the cult image. A cult image or sanctuary must always be given a friendly greeting – a khaire – even if one is simply passing by without any special reason, or else the gesture of a kiss may be made by raising a hand to one’s lips; a short, simple prayer may always be added…

Special measures are required, however, of the dead or the gods of the Underworld are to be reached. Poets describe how the suppliant hurls himself on the ground and hammers the earth with his fists.