The duties of the priests consisted, in the first instance, in performing those acts of worship to the divinity which might also be performed by any layman--viz., prayers and sacrifices; and in the second, those which belonged to the worship of the particular divinity, and recurred at certain fixed periods, and particularly those which they undertook at the request of others. Besides this, there were various duties connected with the care of the temple and divine images, the fulfilment of the various customs connected with the worship of each divinity, the performance of mysterious dedications and purifications, guarding of the temple treasure, etc. To this were due various ordinances concerning their mode of life, food, clothing, etc. Their persons were regarded as sacred, just as the sanctuary was, and they also received their share in the adoration paid to the gods, being regarded, in a measure, as their representatives. Very often they had a house in the temple domain, and received a share of its income, which had, in the first instance, to supply the means for performing the service of the god, erecting necessary buildings, statues, etc., but which often supplied the priests also with considerable profit; thus, the skins and certain parts of the sacrificial animals fell to their lot. In some of the sanctuaries the income derived from the temple property and the money lent out for interest from the temple treasure, was very considerable, and far exceeded the means required for the maintenance of the sanctuary and the service of the god. Another privilege enjoyed by the priests was the right of occupying places of honour in the theatre and at public meetings. They were usually distinguished by their dress from the rest of the citizens; they wore the long chiton, which had gone out of fashion for ordinary people; it was generally of white or purple colour, and they had wreaths and fillets in their long hair, and probably carried a staff as a token of dignity.
The priests were assisted in their duties in the temples by a large number of attendants and servants. Some of these only took part occasionally in a procession or sacrifice, and, as this was regarded as an honour, they gave their service without return. Some were permanent temple servants, who either performed for pay certain menial services connected with the worship and the care of the temple, or else were slaves and the property of the god. Among these were included the so-called "temple-sweepers" ([Greek: neôkoroi]), men and women whose duty it was to clean and care for the temple. There were also heralds, sacrificial servants, butchers, bearers of the sacred vessels, singers and musicians, etc., concerning whom inscriptions give us a good deal of information. Even these positions, so long as the services to be performed were not menial but honourable, were an object of ambition to citizens, or regarded as a valuable privilege inherited by certain families; thus, for instance, at Olympia, the descendants of Pheidias had charge of the statue of Zeus, which was the masterpiece of their ancestor.