Libation  

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A libation (spondee in Greek) is a ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a god. It was common in the religions of antiquity, including Judaism:

"And Jacob set up a Pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a Pillar of Stone; and he poured out a drink offering on it, and poured oil on it". (Genesis 35:14)

Isaiah uses libation as a metaphor when describing the end of the Suffering Servant figure who: "poured out his life unto death". (53:12) Christians see Jesus Christ as fulfilling this prophecy.

The liquid that was used in libations varied; most commonly it was wine or olive oil, and in India, ghee. The vessels used in the ritual, including the patera, often had a significant form which differentiated them from secular vessels. The liquid was poured onto something of religious significance. The libation was very often poured on the ground itself, as an offering to the Earth.

In Ancient Greece the term "spondee" (libation) is meant type of sacrifice. The term includes all offers to the gods, with discharge on to an altar, various nutritious or precious liquids, as perfumes, wine, honey, milk, oil, juices of fruits.

Ancient Greek texts often mention libations. Euripides describes the dire consequences of failure to include certain gods in libations in The Bacchae, a theme common to many Greek tragedies. The use of a libation composed of barley, wine, honey and water to summon shades in Hades is also referred to in the Odyssey.

In his Pneumatica, Hero of Alexandria described a mechanism for automating the process by using altar fires to force oil from the cups of two statues.




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Libation" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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