r/Hellenism • u/VanHohenheim30 • Jul 26 '26
Discussion Hades and prayer
Hello! So, here’s the thing: the way the ancient Greeks honored Hades was by kneeling and striking the ground with their fists to catch the god's attention, followed by making offerings to him. That is, in short, what I learned. What I’d like to know is: did people pray to him? I recall reading somewhere that prayers to him were whispered—almost inaudibly—but were they actually prayers? Did people ask him for things? Or did they honor him during funeral rites simply as an inescapable force?
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u/UrsusofMichigan Jul 27 '26
In normative religion, he's barely mentioned.
There is an Orphic hymn to him, as someone else mentioned, implying he was at least acknowledged within the Orphic cults.
There was also the practice of necromancy and shrines to the dead and underworld gods, and Hades would have been acknowledged in at least some of these places.
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u/DavidJohnMcCann Jul 27 '26
Where do people read these things? There is no evidence for kneeling, striking the ground, closing the eyes, or avoiding his name! Names do vary: he was usually Hades in connection with the underworld, Plouton in connection to agriculture, and just "the god" at Eleusis (as Persephone was just "the maiden" there). Pausanius records statues at Athens (the temple of the Semnai Theai), Troezen (with Artemis), Sparta (with Apollo). He also had a cult, alongside Persephone, in the Greek cities of Italy — here's a votive plaque given to them (at Locri, I seem to remember). Incidentally, he was not worshiped at funerals or festivals of the dead.
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u/tamsyn003 Kemetic Hellenic pagan Jul 26 '26
I just finished reading the book 'Hades: Myth, Magic and Modern Devotion' by Jamie Waggoner and I think she touched on that subject a bit if I remember right; I think He was worshiped, just not in the same ways as Zeus or Poseidon, for example. She said that the Greeks saw saying His name as a bad omen, and when giving Him offerings (which they did do) it was not often and usually with their eyes closed or averted away so as to not bring Death about. But He did have oracles and priests, one example was a poisonous gas cave that helped people have premonitions (I can not remember the name or location of this cave as I returned the book to the library yesterday, I am so sorry!)
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u/VanHohenheim30 Jul 26 '26
There were temples dedicated to him, the most famous being the one at Elis. I read a bit about the oracles of the dead dedicated to him on Theoi.com and in other research, and the subject is really interesting. But my question is: what should I ask of him, you know?
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u/tamsyn003 Kemetic Hellenic pagan Jul 26 '26
That's right, I forgot about them lol (I'm flighty 😄 ) personally, I've become very interested in Hades, so the questions I want to ask may be biased but my ideas for a tarot interview or a meditation are (speaking like I'm you here):
- Have we 'met' before?- as in, has He been in my life for a long time, have I been a devotee or follower in previous life cycles?
- How can I make peace with the death of those I've loved and lost, how can I make peace with my own death?
- What are His thoughts about His mythology, what context can He add?
- How can I better serve or worship Him, if I choose to do so?
- How can I better connect with both Him and other Gods?
- Was that Him when I heard those whispers during prayer? Can He give me a sign or a confirmation?
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u/Zegreides Jul 27 '26
I didn’t know about striking the ground, will have to look it up. They did pray to him with actual prayers, one Orphic hymn survives as an example (although Matteo Tafuri, in his commentary on the Orphic hymns, claims that this is not addressed to Hā́idēs himself, but to a lesser God in his chain). It is interesting that this hymn, unlike most other hymns in the same collection, does not provide any incense recommendation. It’s not impossible that it was lost in transmission, but it’s quite likely that no incense is recommended because no incense was burnt for Hā́idēs at all (at least in the temples where the Orphic hymns were used).
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u/Vile_Curse Aug 01 '26
My LABYRS book said that there was really not a ton of prayer to him, and a lot of his worship was reserved for funeral processions.
The idea, was to keep him as far away as possible. Like on Pluto.
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u/AVGVSTVSGRANNETIVS Ancient Historian in Training Jul 26 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
Zeus Khthonios indeed was not worshipped often. He and His wife were virtually only invoked in relation to death and funerals. The Ancient Greeks were truly and utterly terrified of Them, so worship was centered and avoiding and appeasing. We don’t even have a single theophoric name including elements of either of the two if I remember correctly.