Editing Libation (section)

==== Ancient Greece ====
[[File:Bell-krater sacrifice Pothos Painter Louvre G496.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Scene of sacrifice, with a libation poured from a jug ([[Pothos Painter]], [[Attic red-figure vase|Attic red-figure]] [[krater]], 430–420 BCE)]]
Libation ({{Langx|grc|σπονδή|}}, {{Lang|grc-Latn|spondȇ}}, {{IPA|grc|spondɛ&#780;ː|}}) was a central and vital aspect of [[ancient Greek religion]], and one of the simplest and most common forms of religious practice.{{sfn|Zaidman|Schmitt Pantel|1992|p=28}} It is one of the basic religious acts that define piety in ancient Greece, dating back to the [[Bronze Age Greece|Bronze Age]] and even [[prehistoric Greece]].{{sfn|Burkert|1985|pp=70, 73}} Libations were a part of daily life, and the pious might perform them every day in the morning and evening, as well as to begin meals.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''Works and Days'' 724–726.</ref>{{sfn|Zaidman|Schmitt Pantel|1992|p=39}} A libation most often consisted of mixed wine and water, but could also be unmixed wine, honey, oil, water, or milk.{{sfnm|1a1=Zaidman|1a2=Schmitt Pantel|1y=1992|1p=40|2a1=Burkert|2y=1985|2pp=72–73}}

The typical form of libation, {{Lang|grc-Latn|spondȇ}}'','' is the ritualized pouring of wine from a jug or bowl held in the hand. The most common ritual was to pour the liquid from an ''[[Oenochoe|oinochoē]]'' (wine jug) into a ''[[Phiale (libation vessel)|phiale]]'', a shallow bowl designed for the purpose. After wine was poured from the phiale, the remainder of the oinochoē's contents was drunk by the celebrant.{{sfn|Zaidman|Schmitt Pantel|1992|p=40}} A libation is poured any time wine is to be drunk, a practice that is recorded as early as the [[Homeric epics]]. The etiquette of the [[symposium]] required that when the first bowl ''([[krater]])'' of wine was served, a libation was made to [[Zeus]] and the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian gods]]. [[Greek hero cult|Heroes]] received a libation from the second krater served, and {{Lang|grc-Latn|Zeús Téleios}} ({{Lang|grc|Ζεύς Tέλειος}}, <small>lit.</small> "Zeus who Finishes") from the third, which was supposed to be the last. An alternative was to offer a libation from the first bowl to the [[Agathos Daimon]] and from the third bowl to [[Hermes]]. An individual at the symposium could also make an invocation of and libation to a god of his choice.

Libation generally accompanied prayer.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|pp=70–71}} The Greeks stood when they prayed, either with their arms uplifted, or in the act of libation with the right arm extended to hold the phiale.<ref>{{cite book |first=William D. |last=Furley |chapter=Prayers and Hymns |title=A Companion to Greek Religion |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2010 |page=127}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Jan N. |last=Bremmer |chapter=Greek Normative Animal Sacrifice |title=A Companion to Greek Religion |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2010 |page=138}}</ref>

[[File:Omphalos pushkin.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Apollo]] pouring a libation from a ''[[Phiale (libation vessel)|phiale]]'' onto the [[omphalos]], with his sister [[Artemis]] attending; a [[bucranium]] hangs above]]
In conducting [[animal sacrifice]], wine is poured onto the offering as part of its ritual slaughter and preparation, and then afterwards onto the ash and flames.{{sfnm|1a1=Zaidman|1a2=Schmitt Pantel|1y=1992|1p=36|2a1=Burkert|2y=1985|2p=71}} This scene is commonly depicted in [[ancient Greek art|Greek art]], which also often shows sacrificers or the gods themselves holding the ''phiale''.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=71}}

The Greek verb ''{{lang|grc-Latn|spéndō}}'' ({{lang|grc|σπένδω}}), "pour a libation", also "conclude a pact", derives from the [[Indo-European root]] {{lang|ine-x-proto|spend-}}, "make an offering, perform a rite, engage oneself by a ritual act". The noun is ''{{Lang|grc-Latn|spondȇ}} (''plural ''{{Lang|grc-Latn|spondaí}})'', "libation." In the [[middle voice]], the verb means "enter into an agreement", in the sense that the gods are called to guarantee an action.<ref name="Adams-Mallory">{{harvnb|Adams|Mallory|1997|p=351}}: From the same root derives the Latin verb ''{{lang|la|spondeo}}'', "promise, vow".</ref> Blood sacrifice was performed to begin a war; ''{{Lang|grc-Latn|spondaí}}'' marked the conclusion of hostilities, and is often thus used in the sense of "armistice, treaty." The formula "We the [[polis]] have made libation" was a declaration of peace or the "Truce of God", which was observed also when the various city-states came together for the [[Panhellenic Games]], the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]], or the festivals of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]]: this form of libation is "bloodless, gentle, irrevocable, and final".{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=71}}

Libations poured onto the earth are meant for the dead and for the [[chthonic]] gods. In the Book of the Dead in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', [[Odysseus]] digs an offering pit around which he pours in order honey, wine, and water. For the form of libation called ''{{lang|grc-Latn|choē}}'' ({{Langx|grc|χεῦμα}}'', {{lang|grc-Latn|cheuma}}'', "that which is poured"; from Proto-Indo-European {{lang|ine-x-proto|gʰeu-}}),<ref name="Adams-Mallory"/> a larger vessel is tipped over and emptied onto the ground for the chthonic gods, who may also receive ''spondai''.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=70}} Heroes, who were divinized mortals, might receive blood libations if they had participated in the bloodshed of war, as for instance [[Brasidas]] the [[Sparta]]n.<ref>Gunnel Ekroth, "Heroes and Hero-Cult," in ''A Companion to Greek Religion'', p. 107.</ref> In rituals of caring for the dead at their tombs, libations would include milk and honey.<ref>D. Felton, "The Dead," in ''A Companion to Greek Religion,'' p. 88.</ref>

''[[Oresteia#The Libation Bearers|The Libation Bearers]]'' is the English title of the center [[Greek tragedy|tragedy]] from the ''[[Oresteia|Orestes Trilogy]]'' of [[Aeschylus]], in reference to the offerings [[Electra]] brings to the tomb of her dead father [[Agamemnon]].{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=71}} [[Sophocles]] gives one of the most detailed descriptions of libation in [[ancient Greek literature|Greek literature]] in ''[[Oedipus at Colonus]]'', performed as atonement in the [[sacred grove|grove]] of the [[Erinyes|Eumenides]]:

<blockquote>
First, water is fetched from a freshly flowing spring; cauldrons which stand in the sanctuary are garlanded with wool and filled with water and honey; turning towards the east, the sacrificer tips the vessels towards the west; the olive branches which he has been holding in his hand he now strews on the ground at the place where the earth has drunk in the libation; and with a silent prayer he departs, not looking back.{{sfn|Burkert|1985|p=72}}</blockquote>

[[Hero of Alexandria]] described a mechanism for automating the process by using altar fires to force oil from the cups of two statues.{{citation needed|date=April 2012}}