of the most detailed descriptions of libation in Greek literature in Oedipus at Colonus, performed as atonement in the grove of the Eumenides: First, water is fetched from a freshly flowing spring; cauldrons which stand in the sanctuary are garlanded with wool and filled with water and honey; turning towards the east, the sacrificer tips the vessels towards the west; the olive branches which he has been holding in his hand he now strews on the ground at the place where the earth has drunk in the libation; and with a silent prayer he departs, not looking back. Hero of Alexandria described a method of constructing "an altar such that, when a fire is raised on it, figures at the side shall offer libations", the mechanism being the forcing of liquid through pipes in the figures by the expansion of the air inside the altar when heated by the fire. References Cultural history of Greece Ancient Greek religion