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ritual · Greek

Prayer to the Agathos Daimon

the Agathos Daimon
I address myself to You, O' Bountiful guardian of our Household who determines the fortune of people. You who are at the centre of our home, bringer of wealth, vigilant counsel of mortals. Fertile, gentle god, companion of Agathe Tyche, mighty foundation of happiness. To You, I raise my cup, pouring a sacred libation. May You, the footprint of the Immortals on earth, be the mentor of our Household. That prosperity, good fortune and wealth never be absent from our home. Welcome Agathodaimon, companion to Zeus Ktesios.
Commentarius · Commentary

A modern text. LABRYS is a Greek polytheistic community in Athens; its book Hellenic Polytheism: Household Worship is a manual of domestic ritual compiled in our own day. The provenance field reads modern.

The occasion and the deity, however, are ancient. The Agathos Daimon is the Good Spirit of the house; unmixed wine was poured to him at the end of a meal, and the house snake was taken for his manifestation. The second day of the lunar month was his, and "companion of Agathe Tyche", Good Fortune, is an attested pairing: they were honoured together.

The location is right too: "standing at the centre of our dwelling". The Agathos Daimon does not come from outside, he lives inside the house, like the Roman Lar (lares-001), and is spoken of as a resident.

That is: the rite rests on genuine material, and the words have been newly written. The distinction matters throughout the modern part of this corpus: a practice may be reconstructed from sources, but the text accompanying it is of today, and the reader needs to know it.

Fons · Source
AuthorLABRYS Polytheistic Community
WorkHellenic Polytheism: Household Worship
SectionCeremony for the Sacred Days — Prayer to Agathodaimon
Occasionsecond day of lunar month
Classificatio · Taxonomy
CultureGreek
Formritual
Deitiesthe Agathos Daimon
FunctionsInvocation · Petition · Dedication
SphereFamily · Personal