Religion on the Rostrum: Euchomai Prayers in the Texts of Attic Oratory

Abstract This paper examines the use of prayers that are denoted by the verb euchomai, and their function as a means of affecting the cognitive/emotional disposition of people in forensic, symbouleutic and epideictic orations. It is argued that (references to) prayers may be of explicit or implicit character, and that they serve a variety of purposes: to secure the goodwill of the audience for the speaker; to present his character and civic/political qualities positively, while attacking, undermining and incriminating opponents for religious and political misconducts; to invite people in court or in the Assembly to think they are inspected by an invisible yet omnipresent divine audience; to refer to patriotism; and to triangulate relations between the speaker, his opponents and the audience.