Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Litae (;

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Λιταί means 'prayers') were

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their ...

s of prayers offered up in repentance and were ministers of the god

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

. They were described as hobbling, old women. Their opposite number was Ate, the spirit of delusion and folly, in whose wake they followed.

Family

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

describes them as ''kourai'' "maidens" of Zeus rather than ''thugateres'' "daughters", so it is not clear if they were his literal daughters. This is supported by

Quintus Smyrnaeus Quintus Smyrnaeus (also Quintus of Smyrna; el, Κόϊντος Σμυρναῖος, ''Kointos Smyrnaios'') was a Greek epic poet whose '' Posthomerica'', following "after Homer", continues the narration of the Trojan War. The dates of Quintus S ...

, who attests that they were the children of the king of the gods:

(
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
addresses his former wife Oinone): ‘Remember not those pangs of jealousy, nor leave me by a cruel doom to die low fallen at thy feet! This should offend the Litai (Prayers), the daughters of the Thunderer Zeus, whose anger followeth unrelenting pride with vengeance, and the Erinnys (Fury) executes their wrath.’

Mythology

They appear in

's ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Ody ...

'' in Book 9 as the lame and wrinkled daughters of

who follow after Zeus' exiled daughter

Atë In Greek mythology, Atë, Até or Aite (; Ancient Greek: Ἄτη) was the goddess of mischief, delusion, ruin, and blind folly, rash action and reckless impulse who led men down the path of ruin. She also led both gods and men to rash and incons ...

("Folly") as healers but who cannot keep up with the fast-running Atë. They bring great advantage to those who venerate them, but if someone dishonors them, they go to Zeus and ask that Atë be sent against that person.

‘The very immortals can be moved; their virtue and honour and strength are greater than ours are, and yet with sacrifices and offerings for endearment, with libations and with savour men turn back even the immortals in supplication, when any man does wrong and transgresses. For there are also Litai (Spirits of Prayer), the daughters (''kourai'') of great Zeus, and they are lame of their feet, and wrinkled, and cast their eyes sidelong, who toil on their way left far behind by the spirit of Ruin (Ate): but she, Ate (Ruin), is strong and sound on her feet, and therefore far outruns all Litai (Prayers), and wins into every country to force men astray; and the Litai (Prayers) follow as healers after her. If a man venerates these daughters of Zeus as they draw near, such a man they bring great advantage, and hear his entreaty; but if a man shall deny them, and stubbornly with a harsh word refuse, they go to Zeus, son of Kronos, in supplication that Ate (Ruin) may over take this man, that he be hurt, and punished. So Akhilleus: grant, you also, that Zeus' daughters be given their honour, which, lordly though they be, curbs the will of others.Homer, ''Iliad'' 9.498 ff.

This is an obvious allegory on the supposed power of prayer to mitigate the misfortunes into which one's folly has led one.

Notes

References

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*

, ''Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy'', translated by A. S. Way, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

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, 1913
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{{Greek mythology (deities), state=collapsed Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Children of Zeus Deities in the Iliad