prayer to every god

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prayer to every god

Postby Quintus Aurelius Orcus on Sat Sep 18, 2004 4:02 pm

Salvete

The following prayer dates abck to mid 7th century B.C. but could originally be from Sumer and is probably somewhat older.
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Penitential Prayer to Every God

May the wrath of the heart of my god be pacified!
May the god who is unknown to me be pacified!
May the goddess who is unknown to me be pacified!
May the known and unknown god be pacified!
May the known and unknown goddess be pacified!
The sin which I have committed I know not.
The misdeed which I have committed I know not.
A gracious name may my god announce!
A gracious name may my goddess announce!
A gracious name may my known and unknown god announce!
A gracious name may my known and unknown goddess announce!
Pure food have I not eaten,
Clear water have I not drunk.
An offense against my god I have unwittingly committed.
A transgression against my goddess I have unwittingly done.
0 Lord, my sins are many, great are my iniquities!
My god, my sins are many, great are my iniquities! . . .
The sin, which I have committed, I know not.
The iniquity, which I have done, I know not.
The offense, which I have committed, I know not.
The transgression I have done, I know not.
The lord, in the anger of his heart, hath looked upon me.
The god, in the wrath of his heart, hath visited me.
The goddess hath become angry with me, and hath grievously stricken me.
The known or unknown god hath straitened me.
The known or unknown goddess hath brought affliction upon me.
I sought for help, but no one taketh my hand.
I wept, but no one came to my side.
I lamented, but no one hearkens to me.
I am afflicted, I am overcome, I cannot look up.
Unto my merciful god I turn, I make supplication.
I kiss the feet of my goddess and [crawl before her] . . .
How tong, my god . . .
How long, my goddess, until thy face be turned toward me?
How long, known and unknown god, until the anger of thy heart be pacified?
How long, known and unknown goddess, until thy unfriendly heart be pacified?
Mankind is perverted and has no judgment.
Of all men who are alive, who knows anything?
They do not know whether they do good or evil.
0 lord, do not cast aside thy servant!
He is cast into the mire; take his hand.
The sin which I have sinned, turn to mercy!
The iniquity which I have committed, let the wind carry away.
My many transgressions tear off like a garment!
My god, my sins are seven times seven; forgive my sins!
My goddess, my sins are seven times seven; forgive my sins!
Known and unknown god, my sins are seven times seven; forgive my sins.

From: "Penitential Psalms," Robert F. Harper, trans., in Assyrian and Babylonian Literature, R. F. Harper, ed. (New York, 1901). Reprinted in: Eugen Weber, ed., The Western Tradition, Vol I: From the Ancient World to Louis XIV. Fifth Ed., (Lexington, MA; D.C. Heath,1995) pp. 38 and 39
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What may be odd is for a polytheistic culture is not to give a single name of a deity in this prayer, but they knew that there were many gods out there and some of them have not shown themselves to these peoples. So this prayer was more or less intended to appease every god and goddess out there, known and unknown.
This prayer to every god is more intended to appease every god but not naming them, but also to purify oneself through prayer by confessing to the gods and ask for forgiveness. I don't know that much about Mesopotamian religion, but I do know that they must have had purification rituals for purifying oneself from what they call sins they have commited, wrong acts, etc...
In Hellenic polytheistic religion, the concept of sin may seem alien, but they had hubris and miasma. Although they may be different from the concept of sin, the Hellenic polytheist has to do a purification ritual and say a prayer to Apollon in order to be cleansed from the hubris or miasma, the person in question suffers from.
Ancient Hellenic religion did have a prayer to the unknown deity. If not mistaken, this could be found in Athens. So the prayer to the unknown deity is not so uncommon, as was the prayer to every god. I don't know if the Romans had a similar thing or not, but it wouldn't surprise me. If this kind of thing shows up in Mesopotamian culture as in Hellenic culture, than probably also among the Romans and Egyptians.
valete

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