A collection of prayers from ancient Greek and Latin sources.

Zeus

“Jupiter, giver of the laws of hospitality, as it is said, may you wish

this day to be pleasing and prosperous for Tyrians and Trojans alike,

and that our children?s children shall remember this day. Let Bacchus,

giver of gladness, and good Juno, and you as well, O Tyrians, join

with us in friendship at our celebration.”

-virgil

“Jupiter Almighty, if any prayers bend You, look upon us. This only,

and, if our piety deserves, then grant us Your assistance, Father, and

confirm all these portents.”

-virgil

“O Father Jupiter who inhabits the Tarpeian Heights as His chosen abode

next to the heavens, and You Juno, Daughter of Saturnus, who has not

yet changed from Her hatred of the Trojans, and You, divine Virgin,

whose gentle breast is harshly girt with the aegis of the terrible

Gorgon, and all You Gods and Indigites of Italy, hear me as I swear by

Your divine powers, and by the head of my father, who I hold no less

to be a divine power, on my oath I swear.”

-Silius Italicus

Selene

“O two-horned night-dweller, lover of all-night revels, shine, Selene,

Shine as you fall through latticed windows (request here)”

-Anthologia Palatina 5.123

“‘Be gracious to me, shining deity and let the rocks of Latmos rise in thy mind! Endymion will not have thee austere of heart. Bend, O I pray, thy face to aid my secret loves. Thou, a goddess, didst glide from the skies and seek a mortal love; ah, may it be allowed me to say the truth!– she I seek is a goddess too . . . As much as all the stars are less than thy bright fires when thy silvery gleam goes forth with pure rays, so much more fair is she than all the fair. If thou dost, doubt it, Cynthia, thy light is blind.’”

-Ovid

Hestia

“Gold-throned Hestia goddess of the hearth, here the public hearth in

Larissa, you who increase the great prosperity of the glorious

Agathokleadai, those men of wealth, as you sit in mid-city by the

fragrant Peneios in the glens of sheep-rearing Thessalia (your request

here)”

-Bacchylides fragment 14B

Hermes

” To Mercury Mercury, Cyllene’s Glory, Heaven’s pride, Messenger with

the clever tongue, around whose golden staff the serpent coil, may it

shine brightly among the Gods. May You enjoy Your stolen loves,

whether You desire Venus or Ganymede, and on the Ides may Your

Mother’s altar be adorned with laurels, and Your grandfather Atlas

bear a lighter load, if (request here)”

-Marcus Valerius Martialis

Poseidon

“Father and Master of the mighty Deep, look, Poseidon, at what kind of

pitiful use You allow passage across the open seas. Safely under sail

pass the crimes of nations, ever since that Pagasean prow ruptured the

sanctions of law and the hallowed dignity of the sea while carrying

Jason in his quest for plunder. (your request here)”

-Argonautica

“O god, who with a nod can stir the ocean foam, You who with Your salt

water encompass the lands of the earth, hear my prayer and grant me

Your indulgence. I am the first of mankind to venture forth on

unlawful paths across Your waters, and therefore, one might suppose,

deserve the worst of Your storms. It is not my own idea to presume in

this way, to pile mountain on high mountain and summon down from

Olympus bolts of heavenly lightning. Pelias? prayers are false. Do not

be swayed by his vows, but know that he devised and imposed his cruel

commands to send me off to Colchis and bring on me and my kin the

bitterest grief. (your request)”

-Argonautica

” O You Gods who rule the waves and hold domain over the winds and

storms, you whose dwelling places reach from the ocean’s depths to the

heights of heaven, and you Father of the Gods, who order the spheres

of the sky and govern the tides, behold a novelty here on earth, a

ship on the sea with armed men. For your rage I make atonement and

pray you look with indulgence upon us. (request here). ”

-Argonautica

“O powerful Oceanus, and the sea churning with waves, the abyss

holding blessed, and all those who inhabit the rough sandy shores and

the rock-strewn sea, and the outer wave of Tethys! I call first upon

Nereus, with his fifty beloved girls; Glaucus, full of fish; the vast

Amphitrite; Proteus and Phorcyn; the broad power of Triton, and the

swift Winds, with the breeze bearing winged sandals of gold. I call

upon the Stars shining afar, and the darkness of murky Night, and

Auge, the forerunner of the Sun’s swift horses. May the gods of the

sea guide the Heroes over the seas, rivers, waves, and shores. And I

beseech the son of Cronus, Poseidon himself, the Earth-Shaker, clothed

in blue, may a jumping wave come to aid in our oath: so that the

companions of Jason may always remain committed helpers in this task

and so that we all to a man may return home! In truth, whoever fails

to honor this pact and transgresses against it, may Dice bear witness

and the Furies destroy him.”

-Argonautica

“Poseidon, divine Lord of the Trident, on whose high seas we begin to

cross, if my preparations are made justly, grant our fleet to sail

safely, Father, and do not scorn to aid our labors. The war I now draw

across the sea is a just war.”

-Punica by Silius Italicus

Ares

“Father of our nation, recall your neglected grandchildren. We pray

You return. Alas, too long have You grown weary of the game; its din

of battle, the gleaming helmets, the legions and bloodthirsty Mauri

grimacing upon each other as enemies.

Rather may You love once more to be called Father and Prince, carried

in great triumphal processions, and (your request here)”

-Carminum Liber

“Father Ares, I pray and beseech You, to be willing and propitious to

me, to our household and to our family, for which I have ordered this

suovitaurilia to be driven around my grain fields, my land, and my

estate, in order that You may prevent, repel, and avert, seen and

unseen disease, deprivation, desolation, calamities, and

intemperate weather; I pray You allow the fruits, the grain, the

vines, and the bushes, to grow strong and well and be brought to the

storage pit. May You also keep the shepherds and their flocks safe,

and give good health and vigor to me, to the household, and to our

family. To this end it is, as I have said – namely, for the

purification and lustration of my estate, my land, and my grain

fields, cultivated and uncultivated – that I pray You may be honored

and strengthened by this suovitaurilia, these suckling sacrificial

victims. O Father Mars, to this same end I pray that You bless these

sucklings in sacrifice.”

-Cato

Apollo

“Father Phoebus, whether it is the snowy slopes of Lycia or the thorny

slopes of Patara that perpetually keep you busy, or if it pleases you

to merge your golden hair in Castalia’s chaste moisture, … come now,

remembering our hospitality, and (request here)”

-Statius, Thebaid

“Oh! Powerful god, Apollo Aguieus, who watchest at the door of my

entrance hall, accept this fresh sacrifice; I offer it that you

(request here)”

-Aristophanes, Wasps

“”Father Apollo, I pray to you, all-seeing guardian god, be gracious

to me and protect me, watching of my kingdom. Be ever vigilant and

warn me what subjects of mine or strangers conspire against me.

Whatever treacherous plots there may be, keep me alert and prepared.

And You, Gradivus, hear me, on whose sacred oak which fleece glitters.

Protect it and keep it safe always, your arms prepared to clash at the

clarion?s sound to which your voice responds, ringing out in the

darkness.” ”

-Argonautica

“To Apollo May Myrina’s richness ever You hold, Apollo, thus always

the swan song, too, may You enjoy, may the well versed sisters ever

serve You, the Delphic Pythia ever reveal any of Your oracles, may the

Palatia ever love and revere You, Were You ever to ask, and Caesar

grant, that he should invest Stella with consular powers, then gladly

would I by vow become indebted to You.”

-Marcus Valerius Martialis

“Draw near, Apollo, and expel the illness from this tender girl, come,

draw near. Phoebus of flowing hair unshorn, hear me and hasten. If,

Phoebus, you apply your healing hand to her, you will not regret

saving her. Allow not that she should waste away emaciated, or that

her colour should wane pallor, or that her limbs should lose their

strength, and do not wait until her white limbs turn to a hideous

colour. Whatsoever this illness may be, whatever sorrow we may fear it

will bring, carry it off with the waters of a swift running stream to

the seas. Holy one, come! And bring with you all your delicacies, all

your songs, and all else that will soothe the sick. Then the gods will

raise a pious tumult of your praises and desire they too had your

healing arts.”

-tibullus

Artemis

“Diana, in faith, we are pure girls and boys, allow us to sing to You.

Diana, magnificent child of still greater Jove, whose mother Latona

gave You birth in an olive grove on Delos. Lady of the Mountains who

runs over hills and through dark forests, over the wild rough hill

country and through the tall grass of hidden valleys, in mountain

pastures cut by roaring streams. Women in the pain of childbirth call

you Lucina. You are Trivia, goddess of witches. You are Luna, the

luminous moon. Monthly is measured the progress of Your journey

through the year while You fill the rustic homes of good farmers with

the fruits of the earth. By whatsoever holy name it pleases You, from

antiquity have You accepted our customary offerings, (request here)”

-G. Valerius Catullus

Hera

“Be present O Queen of the Heavenly Gods, we Your chaste daughters pray

and bring forth this venerable gift, we, all the Roman women of noble

name, have woven this mantle with our own hands, embroidered it for

You with threads of gold. This veil You shall wear for now, O Juno,

until we mothers grow less fearful for our sons. But if You will grant

that (request here).”

-Silius Italicus

Asclepius

“Asculapis Latona’s grandson, revered Aesculapis, by whose mild herbal

remedies too briefly are the Fates beguiled, from Rome (request here)”

-Marcus Valerius Martialis

Aphrodite

“O Venus, who dwells in Paphos and in Idalian groves, so that Trojan

Aeneas is thought worthy at last to sail with You in song through

Roman towns, not only with incense or painted tablet shall I adorn

Your temple, and with pure hands bring You garlands, but a humble

offering of a horned ram and a bull, the greatest sacrifice, their

blood a priest shall sprinkle into the fire of an altar erected in

Your honor, and a marble painted in a thousand colours for You, a

picture of Amor with His quiver. Come, O Goddess of Cythera, Your own

Caesar and an altar along Sorrento’s shore beckon You from Olympus. ”

-Virgil

“Come, Saturn’s daughter, give favor to my prayer! Hear me, Cyprian

Venus, who was born along on a conch shell! Rather let my fate be

denied, than that my life should now be sorrowfully ended by those

sisters who spin the threads of everyone’s future, and called down by

ghastly Orcus into the desolate swamps and sluggish streams of black

waters.”

-tibullus

Dionysus

“Now shall I sing of you, Bacchus. Without you there would be no

woodland or thicket, or slow growing olive grove. Come hither, O

Lenaean Father, all things here beckon to be nurtured by your many

gifts, the autumn vineshoots laden the countryside with blossoms, the

vintage grape harvest foams plentiful to the lips of the wine vats.

Hasten, O Lenaean Father, come and, stripped down, tinge your naked

feet in new wine must with me. (request here)”

-Virgil

“Come to us, Bacchus, with clusters of grapes dangling from your horns,

and you, too, Ceres, a wreath of newly ripened wheat for your temples,

come!

Gods of our fathers, we purify our farmers and our fruitful fields; we

ask that you drive away harm from our borders. Let not the now

sprouting plants succumb before harvest, let not the timid lambs be

outrun by swift wolves (request here)”

-tibullus

Nymphs

“Nymphs of Libethrides, our hearts? desire, grant me a song, as do my

Codrus, next to Apollo in verse is he, or if all this is not possible

for we to do, these melodious pipes shall hang from your sacred pine.”

-virgil

Heracles

“Hail, Hercules, true son of Jove, an added Glory for the Gods are you.

Come now, and dance at your holy rites with skillful feet.”

-virgil

Miscellanous

“O Ceres and Libera, whose sacred worship, as the opinions and

religious belief of all men agree, is contained in the most important

and most abstruse mysteries; you, by whom the principles of life and

food, the examples of laws, customs, humanity, and refinement are said

to have been given and distributed to nations and to cities; you,

whose sacred rites the Roman people has received from the Greeks and

adopted, and now preserves with such religious awe, both publicly and

privately, that they seem not to have been introduced from other

nations, but rather to have been transmitted from hence to other

nations, [188] You, again and again I implore and appeal to, most holy

goddesses, who dwell around those lakes and groves of Enna, and who

preside over all Sicily, you whose invention and gift of corn, which

you have distributed over the whole earth, inspires all nations and

all races of men with reverence for your divine power;–And all the

other gods, and all the goddesses, do I implore and entreat, (request here)

-circero

“O Jupiter Capitolinus, to You I pray, I entreat You, who the Roman

people have named Optimus after Your kindness and Maximus after Your

great power. And to You, O Juno Regina, guardian of the City of Rome.

O Minerva, You have always come to my aid with Your counsels, witness

to the existence of my works; And most especially to You, Penates, who

most of all has called me back, gods of my fathers and my family,

recalling me for the sake of your stations; And You who preside over

the City of Rome and the Republic, You I call to witness, You from

whose temple precincts and shrines did I repel the heinous and

destructive flames of impious duplicity; You also, Mother Vesta, I

pray to You, whose most chaste Vestales I have defended against

pillage and desecration by demented men; for their eternal flame I

could not allow to pass, extinguished in the blood of citizens, or

Your pure flame be intermingled with a conflagration sweeping the

entire city.

To all of You I pray [145] if in that time near fatal to the Republic,

if I exposed my head for Your sacred precincts and Your ceremonies

against the furor and arms of the most desperate citizens, and this

repeatedly did I do, while in my struggle was sought the ruin of all

good citizens, I call You as witnesses, I place myself and my family

in Your hands, in these struggles I devoted myself and my life, during

my conselship and before, without regard for my own interests, or for

profit, but strove in all my actions and thoughts with vigilance for

the safety and health of all my fellow citizens, then, that someday I

might bid to enjoy seeing the Republic restored at last. But if my

counsel had not benefited my country, then in perpetual misery would I

suffer, departed from my family, friends and all sustenance. When by

Your favor my home is restored to me, may I at long last be allowed to

consider it demonstrated that this devotion of my life has met with

the approval of the Gods”

-cicero

“Jupiter Capitolinus, Mars Gradivus called progenitor and aide of the

Romans, Vesta, perpetual guardian of fire, and whatever divine powers

in this greatness of Roman sovereignty, the largest empire on earth,

exulted to the highest dignity, to You the public voice calls to

witness and to pray: guard, preserve, and protect this state, this

peace, this prince, and those who succeed to the Senate, by their long

standing, determined worthy to consider the most grave matters among

mortals.”

-Marcus Vellius Paterculus

“”You who received from mighty Jove the gift of light and whose names

still resound on earth for your fortunate reigns, your wisdom in

council and valor in war, your heirs remember each of you with

reverence. And you, my beloved father, summoned as you have been to

witness my death and endure yet again the all but forgotten sorrow of

the flesh, welcome me now to your dim and quiet world. Accept this

offering I send before me. You, Astraea, Goddess of Justice, and You

the Eumenides, who avenge transgressions of the laws of the Gods, and

Themis, whose retribution all men ought to fear, attend on Pelias’

wicked house. Visit upon him your cleansing torches and fill him with

fear: let him understand that Jason will not come home alone, but

hordes of Asians, crazed, will follow hard and looking for vengeance.

Let him walk the shore and worry that the force of these hostile

princes may overwhelm his own. Let him behold in terror the heroes

returning in triumph and let his schemes for protection be endless and

all in vain. Jason shall parade the Golden Fleece, and my spirit will

gloat as Pelias cringes. But let his end be shameful, not by the hand

of a soldier in the light of day, but secret, wretched, as women, his

kinsfolk, do him to shameful death. Let it be painful and also absurd,

as those he has trusted turn on him, betraying, tearing him limb from

limb in a madness that does not leave fragments enough for a tomb.

This is my dying prayer, that he be made to pay for having sent my son

and his brave companions to sea.”

-Argonautica