In ancient Hellas there was no division between religious and secular theater; plays routinely included rites to honor the gods so they would bless the show. Plays are valuable source material to mine for religious practices; Elektra details worship of Chthonic gods and Bacchae contains information about the Dionysian cult. In Frogs Aristophanes provides us with a step by step guide to worshipping the Theoi: Dionysus walks Aeschylus through the process of worshipping deities. The play lays out the structure of ancient Greek religious practice: invocation with a hymn followed by prayer and offerings.

Dionysus

Come now, someone bring incense and fire,

So I can pray before the show of wits

to judge this contest most aesthetically.

And you, sing a song to the Muses.

After the chorus performs a hymn Dionysus tells Aeschylus to: “say a prayer” after the prayer the wine God instructs him to: “offer incense.”

The process consists of three steps:

0. Purification by washing your hands. Hesiod stated that one shouldn’t worship the Theoi “without washing your hands first” or else “they do not hear your prayers; they spit them back at you.” You can also say “hekas, hekas, este O bebeloi” a formula from the Eleusinian mysteries which was believed to banish any miasma/pollution.

1. Hymn to invoke the god: if you desire to worship Apollo you would recite His orphic or homeric hymn.

2. Prayer with specific message. After reciting a hymn to Apollo you could use a prayer from the Iliad like “O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might (request here).”

3. Give your offering whether incense, meat, libations etc. Though this step isn’t necessary if you’re simply praising the gods in your prayer without asking for anything.

It’s a good idea to pray simply to thank the gods for good things in your life or natural phenomena (associated with each god) without asking for anything. If it’s raining pray to Hera to thank her for blessing the earth with rain, if you watch the sun come up worship Apollo to thank him for the light.

When worshipping ouranic gods stand or sit with your palms pointed up, if you’re worshipping chthonic gods you should be kneeling with your palms pointed down at the ground. (People of classical antiquity only knelt when worshiping the underworld gods.)

Alternate structure:

0. Purification.

1. Recite hymn.

2. Pray while simulatenously making your offering.

In the Argonautica (book 1, lines 188-203) Jason prays to Poseidon as he gives a libation of wine to the god, instead of performing prayer and offering seperately.