On Giving God Glory

When hashing out an agreement that Menelaus and Paris should fight to the death and thus end the war between Greeks and Trojans, Zeus is invoked to oversee the fight, hold the losing side accountable, and ensure fairness.

Of course, in order to invoke Zeus, he must first be given glory through ritual sacrifices, which is an ordeal–and because it’s an ordeal, it seems so much more genuine than simply saying, “Father God, we just give you the glory tonight…” and then moving on to petitions that God “would help us all just have a good time.”