Nephalia

The tradition & historical record

In the Hellenic religion, nephalia (Ancient Greek: νηφάλια, nēphália, 'calm'; Ancient Greek pronunciation: [neː.pʰá.li.a]) was the religious name for libations, in which wine was not offered or the use of wine was explicitly forbidden. Liquids, such as water, milk, honey or oil in any combination, were used with a mixture of honey and water or milk (μελίκρατον, melíkraton), being one of the most common nēphália offerings. Nephalia were performed as both independent rituals and in conjunction with other sacrifices, such as animal sacrifices. The use of nēphália is documented in the works of Aeschylus and Porphyry. ¹

Nephalia (Ancient Greek: νηφάλια, nēfália, 'calm') is believed to originate from nēfálios (νηφάλιος), itself derived from the verb nḗphō (νήφω), meaning to be sober or to drink no wine (and, by extension, to be self-controlled). The term nephalism in English dates back to 1862, referring to the practice of completely abstaining from all alcohol. The verb nēphalieúō (νηφαλιεύω) means to offer nephalia libations, as in alcohol-free offerings. There is a documented history of honey-based libations (μελίσπονδα, melísponda), including libations of mead (μέθυ, méthy) or other honey-based drinks (μελίτειον, melíteion). ¹

Spondê (Ancient Greek: σπονδή, [spondɛ̌ː]) was a central and vital aspect of ancient Greek religion, and one of the simplest and most common forms of religious practice. It is one of the basic religious acts which defined piety in ancient Greek culture, dating back to the Bronze Age and even prehistoric Greece. Libations were a part of daily life, and the pious might perform them every day in the morning and evening, as well as to begin meals. A libation most often consisted of mixed wine and water, but could also be unmixed wine, honey, oil, water, or milk. The typical form of libation, spondȇ, is the ritualized pouring of wine from a jug or bowl held in the hand. The most common ritual was to pour the liquid from an oinochoē into a phiale. After the wine was poured from the phiale, the remainder of the oinochoē's contents were drunk by the celebrant. A libation was poured any time wine was to be drunk, a practice which was recorded as early as the Homeric epics. The etiquette of the symposium required that when the first bowl (krater) of wine was served, a libation was made to Zeus and the Olympian gods. Heroes received a libation from the second krater served, and Zeús Téleios (Ζεύς Tέλειος, lit. 'Zeus who Finishes') from the third, which was supposed to be the last. An alternative practice offered a libation from the first bowl to the Agathos Daimon and from the third bowl to Hermes. An individual at the symposium could also make an invocation of and libation to a god of his choice. Libation generally accompanied prayer. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Nephalia”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Nephalia is type of Hellenic religious offerings, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²