In the ancient Greek world leitourgía signified a ‘benefit/service for the people’, especially a benefit for the state or a part of the state, which was provided by rich citizens from their own means.
The two main forms of liturgy in Athens were the ‘encyclical’, recurring festive liturgy with the responsibility to endow the performers and the celebrations themselves, and the trierarchia with the task of fitting …
Cite this page
Rhodes, Peter J. (Durham) and
Feulner, Hans-Jürgen (Tübingen),
“Liturgy”, in:
Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry.
Consulted online on 22 March 2023 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e707770>