DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13851#0208
OF THE RELIGION OF GREECE.
give account before certain officers how they had discharged their se
veral functions (1).
In small cities, all the sacred offices were commonly executed by one
person, who both offered sacrifices, had the care of the temple, collect-
ed the revenues belonging to it, and had the management of other things,
which any way related to the worship of the gods. But where the wor-
shippers were numerous, and by consequence the religious services too
burdensome for one priest, several priests were appointed, and other
officers xs^a^KffAEVOJ rqg 'ngunvvis, distinct from the priesthood, as \egoirotoi,
v*o0uA«x?5, <r«|xj'ai <rwv Isgwj ygr^axm Sacrificers, keepers of the temple,
treasurers of the sacred revenue (2), and others.
Of the different orders of priests, nothing exact can be delivered ; for
not only every god had a different order of priests consecrated to him,
but even the priests of the same gods were very different, according to
the diversity of place, and other circumstances. I shall not there-
fore trouble the reader with an account of the particular priests belong-
ing to every deity in the many cities of Greece, which would be both
unpleasant, and not very useful, but only briefly mention the general or-
ders, and offices of them. First, in every place they seem to have had
an Afx,f^^v//Si or high-priest, whose office it was to superintend over
the jest, and execute the more sacred rites and mysteries of religion.
AmOTigst the Opuntians (3), there were two chief-priests, which belong-
ed to the chief and celestial gods, the other to the Aai^ovsg, or demigods.
At Athens they had a great many, every god almost having a chief-priest
that presided over the rest; as the Dadouchus over the priests of Her-
cules, and the Stephanophorus over those of Pallas. The Delphians had
five chief-priests who helped to perf >rm the holy rites with the prophets,
and bad the chief management of all parts of divine worship ; these
were called 'Otfiot. i e. holy, and the chief of them that presided at sacri-
fices, 'Otfiwr^, i. e. purifier, one that makes holy; and another that had
the care of the oracle, called A$jjV«g, which is a surname of Apollo,
given him by Homer, and signifies one that gives oracles.
Another holy order was that of the parasiti (4), which word (saith
Clearchus the Solensian, one of Aristotle's scholars), in its first accepta-
tion, signified, rov eroi^av, a man quick and expeditious, but was after-
wards taken for a table companion: though Polemon is of opinion that
this was its ancient signification, and that they were so called, because
they were allowed part of the sacrifices together with the priest, as is
evident from an inscription on a pillar in the Anaceum :
TOIN AE BDOIN TOIN HTEMONOIN TOIN
EEAlPOTMENOIN TO MEN TP1TON MEP02 EI2
TON AIYINA TA AE ATO MEPH TO MEN ETEPON
T.Q '1EPEI TO AE TO!2 riAPA21TOI2.
That of the oxen, one part should be reserved for the games ; and of the other
two, one should be given to the priests, another to the parnsiti. It was at the
first an office of great honour ; for by the ancient law the parasiti were
reckoned among the chief magistrates. Their office was to gather
of the husbandmen the corn allotted for public sacrifices, which they
(1) iEschines in Ctesiphontem. p. 18. edit. (3) Alex. ab. Ales. Gen. Dierura, lib. ii.
Qxon. cap. 8.
(2) Aristoph Polit. lib. vi. cap. 8. p. 506. (4) Athemeus Deipnosoph. lib. vi. p. 235.
torn. iii. edit. Paris. Pollux, lib. vi. cap. 7. Hesychius.
give account before certain officers how they had discharged their se
veral functions (1).
In small cities, all the sacred offices were commonly executed by one
person, who both offered sacrifices, had the care of the temple, collect-
ed the revenues belonging to it, and had the management of other things,
which any way related to the worship of the gods. But where the wor-
shippers were numerous, and by consequence the religious services too
burdensome for one priest, several priests were appointed, and other
officers xs^a^KffAEVOJ rqg 'ngunvvis, distinct from the priesthood, as \egoirotoi,
v*o0uA«x?5, <r«|xj'ai <rwv Isgwj ygr^axm Sacrificers, keepers of the temple,
treasurers of the sacred revenue (2), and others.
Of the different orders of priests, nothing exact can be delivered ; for
not only every god had a different order of priests consecrated to him,
but even the priests of the same gods were very different, according to
the diversity of place, and other circumstances. I shall not there-
fore trouble the reader with an account of the particular priests belong-
ing to every deity in the many cities of Greece, which would be both
unpleasant, and not very useful, but only briefly mention the general or-
ders, and offices of them. First, in every place they seem to have had
an Afx,f^^v//Si or high-priest, whose office it was to superintend over
the jest, and execute the more sacred rites and mysteries of religion.
AmOTigst the Opuntians (3), there were two chief-priests, which belong-
ed to the chief and celestial gods, the other to the Aai^ovsg, or demigods.
At Athens they had a great many, every god almost having a chief-priest
that presided over the rest; as the Dadouchus over the priests of Her-
cules, and the Stephanophorus over those of Pallas. The Delphians had
five chief-priests who helped to perf >rm the holy rites with the prophets,
and bad the chief management of all parts of divine worship ; these
were called 'Otfiot. i e. holy, and the chief of them that presided at sacri-
fices, 'Otfiwr^, i. e. purifier, one that makes holy; and another that had
the care of the oracle, called A$jjV«g, which is a surname of Apollo,
given him by Homer, and signifies one that gives oracles.
Another holy order was that of the parasiti (4), which word (saith
Clearchus the Solensian, one of Aristotle's scholars), in its first accepta-
tion, signified, rov eroi^av, a man quick and expeditious, but was after-
wards taken for a table companion: though Polemon is of opinion that
this was its ancient signification, and that they were so called, because
they were allowed part of the sacrifices together with the priest, as is
evident from an inscription on a pillar in the Anaceum :
TOIN AE BDOIN TOIN HTEMONOIN TOIN
EEAlPOTMENOIN TO MEN TP1TON MEP02 EI2
TON AIYINA TA AE ATO MEPH TO MEN ETEPON
T.Q '1EPEI TO AE TO!2 riAPA21TOI2.
That of the oxen, one part should be reserved for the games ; and of the other
two, one should be given to the priests, another to the parnsiti. It was at the
first an office of great honour ; for by the ancient law the parasiti were
reckoned among the chief magistrates. Their office was to gather
of the husbandmen the corn allotted for public sacrifices, which they
(1) iEschines in Ctesiphontem. p. 18. edit. (3) Alex. ab. Ales. Gen. Dierura, lib. ii.
Qxon. cap. 8.
(2) Aristoph Polit. lib. vi. cap. 8. p. 506. (4) Athemeus Deipnosoph. lib. vi. p. 235.
torn. iii. edit. Paris. Pollux, lib. vi. cap. 7. Hesychius.