Page:The Ancient City- A Study on the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome.djvu/38

 S2 ANCIENT BELIEFS. BOOK I. In misfortune man betook himself to liis sacred tire, and heaped re[)roache3 upon it; in good fortune lie returned it thanks. The soldier who returned from war thanked it for having enabled him to escape the perils. uEschylus repiesents Agamemnon returning from Troy, happy, and covered with glory. His first act is not to thank Jupiter; he does not go to a temple to pour out his joy and gratitude, but makes a sacri- fice of thank-offerings to the fire in his own house.* A man never went out of his dwelling without address- ing a prayer to the fire ; on his return, before seeing his wife or embracing his children, he must fall before the fire, and invoke it.* The sacred fire was the Providence of the family. The worship was very simple. The first rule was, that there should always be upon the altar a few live coals; for if this fire was extinguished a god ceased to exist. At certain moments of the day they placed upon the fire <3ry herbs and wood ; then the god manifested himself in a bright flame. They offered sacrifices to him ; and the essence of every sacrifice was to sustain and reani- mate the sacred fire, to nourish and develoj) the body ■of the god. This was the reason why they gave liira wood before everything else; for the same rea- son they afterwards poured out wine upon the altar, — the inflammable wine of Greece, — oil, incense, and the fat of victims. The god received these offerings, and devoured them ; radiant with satisfaction, he rose above the altar, and lighted up the worshipper with his brightness. Then Avas the moment to invoke him; and the hymn of prayer went out from the heart of man. ' JEsch., Agam., 1015. ' Cato, De Re Rust., 2. Eurip., Here. Fur., 523.