First Fruits
Doctor Maureen B. Cavanaugh who translated stone IG I3 386–387, argues that there were heavy implications of the funding realized from the First Fruits donations to the temple, in particular that it brought significant impact on Athenian power.
Inscription IG I2 76 shows the provisions made for the offering of first fruits to Demeter and Kore by Athenian demes, Athens' allies and other Greek cities.
Sacrifices were to be paid for out of the proceeds from the barley and wheat, votive offerings were to be made to the two goddesses, and the rest of the grain was to be sold.
[4] In order to draw in other Greeks, the Hieropoioi were then to record the weight of grain received on a board and distribute it to other cities, encouraging them to contribute.
Lampon, a renowned seer in fifth-century Athens, moved a rider in which he proposed several changes to the draft decree: that the decree should be inscribed on stelai both in Eleusis and in Athens, that there should be an intercalary month in the following year, and that the Pelargikon (sacred land around the western end of the Acropolis) should be tidied up and protected.
This demonstrates the authority which he gained from his expertise as a seer – notable since the Athenians tended to shy away from the recognition of experts in most fields.
The motivation behind the offering of first fruits is a combination of three religious factors: the need to honour the two goddesses, obedience to Apollo (in the form of the oracle), and 'ancestral custom'.
The last two factors suggest that a recent oracle was in line with an older practice which had either fallen into disuse, or was being transformed into a much larger affair.
The decree cannot be dated precisely, however the combination of specific religious policy and Athenian political dominance evident here is relevant throughout Athens' imperial period.
Similar to this is the expectation that allies would bring annual tribute to the City Dionysia, and sacrificial contributions to the Panathenaea.
[9] The practice of having the First Fruits blessed at the church has been celebrated through the feast of Lammas (Loaf Mass Day) in Western Christianity.
[13] As the harvest season progresses, the first fruits of each species can be brought to the church to be blessed, using a similar format, but a different prayer: "that the Lord may receive our gift unto His eternal treasury and grant us an abundance of earthly goods".
In England, every tenth egg, sheaf of wheat, lamb, chicken, and all other animals were given to the church as a tithe, so farm products were expected to be donated throughout the year.
In the Book of Mormon, a canon of scripture used by the Latter Day Saint movement, a similar passage is found stating "the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise.
