History Main / PoseOfSupplication

If this is towards an antagonist who still won't grant the humble person a favor, it's a good sign that they're a complete {{Jerkass}} who will be zapped by LaserGuidedKarma later. And if a ''hero'' rejects helping the supplicant, expect them to be [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by the rest of the cast. Compare KneelBeforeZod, KneelBeforeFrodo, KneeFoldFallOfDefeat, AintTooProudToBeg. See also CowerPower.

* In the short story [[http://theopinionguy.com/OG25.pdf "Assumption" (scroll down)]] by Desmond Warzel, the primitive people of an unexplored world--a literal CargoCult--make this gesture before the object of their worship. The narrator is incredulous and makes an explicit comparison to jungle tribes in old movies.

If this is towards an antagonist who still won't grant the humble person a favor, it's a good sign that they're a complete {{Jerkass}} who will be zapped by LaserGuidedKarma later. And if a ''hero'' rejects helping the supplicant, expect them to be [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by the rest of the cast. Compare KneelBeforeZod, KneelBeforeFredo, KneeFoldFallOfDefeat, AintTooProudToBeg. See also CowerPower.

If this is towards an antagonist who still won't grant the humble person a favor, it's a good sign that they're a complete {{Jerkass}} who will be zapped by LaserGuidedKarma later. And if a ''hero'' rejects helping the supplicant, expect them to be [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by the rest of the cast. Compare KneelBeforeZod, KneeFoldFallOfDefeat, AintTooProudToBeg. See also CowerPower.

** In ''11'', after defeating the Wily Capsule boss, Wily announces that he's resorting to his "Plan B", does a dramatic backwards leap in slow motion (complete with SpeedEchoes)...and then assumes this pose again. Mega Man, of course, doesn't buy it, but Wily escapes anyway because Light tries to talk him out of villainy to no avail.

* Pictured above, Aang from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' receives a prostration from Shyu, the sole Fire Sage who is still loyal to the [[PhysicalGod Avatar]]. Avatars in general tend to receive prostration from people, as Roku did when he was first proclaimed Avatar.

* ''VideoGame/SilverSurfer'' features the pose on its GameOver screen. This was commented on in [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/20300.html its review]] by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, culminating in AVGN assuming the pose himself.

* After every boss in ''VideoGame/WarioWare: Smooth Moves,'' there's a relaxed "Let's Pose!" scene, where the music fades to some birds chirping, and you're given a silhouette to pose in, if you want. This position is one of them.

[[index]]
* PoseOfSupplication/AnimeAndManga
* PoseOfSupplication/FanWorks
* PoseOfSupplication/VideoGames
[[/index]]

[[folder: Films -- Animation]]

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Mulan}}'', first the Emperor of China [[KneelBeforeFrodo bows before Mulan]], and then the massive Chinese crowd assembled do full bow of supplication before her.

[[folder:Visual Novels]]

* The image potholed in the description comes from the ''doujin soft'' visual novel, [[http://www.insani.org/omgwtfotl.html ''OMGWTFOTL'']]. The option to genuflect pops up almost entirely throughout the game. [[spoiler:Every instance leads you to the same bad end.]]

->''You put up a front\\
You put up a fight\\

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1524008013010250400
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pose_of_supplication2.jpg]]]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/{{Gravitation}}'': Shuichi spends several hours in this position outside Yuki's front door, only to discover Yuki isn't even home.
* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'': Many, many Duelists adopt this pose after being defeated in a duel.
* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
** Common way for non-combatants to express their frustration at being unable to join the battle.
** Tien does this during the original series episode "Tien's Atonement," begging a man he had previously brutally injured for forgiveness and even offering to let him take revenge on him if he wants. The man forgives him and gives him the dragon ball.
* "orz" in lowercase appears in the title of ''Anime/MyOtome'' episode 6, referring to the pose. It even made it to the English dub title ("Nina Entangled...orz").
* Excel takes this pose while being lectured by the Great Will of the Macrocosm in the first episode of ''Anime/ExcelSaga''.
* Tamaki and Haruhi in ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostclub'' do this often.
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Genma Saotome tries to pass this off as a ''martial arts technique'': "The Crouch of the Wild Tiger." It is surprisingly effective.
** And when he's forced to admit that he can no longer defeat his son, Ranma, in combat, he performs the "Carp on the Chopping Board" technique (lying down on your side, hands stretched and joined over your head, feet extended and crossed over one another.) It shocks Ranma to the core when he sees this, as it is a pose that acknowledges ''absolute'' defeat and submission.
** Later on, when Ranma catches a supernatural cold that makes him freeze the very air around him, he kneels and bows deeply before Akane. When she notices he's been in that position for a long time, he replies that he has frozen himself to the floor.
** Finally, near the end of the manga, Shampoo has Akane at her mercy, and Ranma's hands and feet are bound (the former, by a crystalline substance he can't break; the latter, by a ball-and-chain that Shampoo snapped around his ankles.) She forces him to yield to her with the threat of killing Akane if he doesn't. He goes down on the supplicant position, bowing his head... and uses the momentum to lift his feet off the floor and swing the ball-and-chain at Shampoo.
* Principal Uchiyamida does this to his insurance company whenever his Cresta gets destroyed in ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka''.
* In ''Manga/Eyeshield21'', Panther becomes convinced (thanks to his friend Watt, a self-proclaimed but usually-mistaken expert on Japanese culture) that ''dogeza'' involves dangling from one foot with your arms and legs outstretched. When he gets to Japan, Sena has to show him how it's really done. Later, Panther tries to use ''dogeza'' to convince Apollo to [[PutMeInCoach let him play for the NASA Aliens]], but Apollo doesn't relent until the rest of the team does ''dogeza'' as well. In a later episode, the American character Big Bear is shown doing the same posture as Panther initially thought a ''dogeza'' was.
* ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'':
** Hyuga goes into the pose of supplication in front of his ultra-strict Toho coach, begging him to let him play in the finals after having disobeyed his orders and being benched as a result. When the coach refuses, ''the whole team'' imitates Hyuga to support him. After a last test to see Hyuga's ability and how serious he is, the coach allows Hyuga to come back.
** In the manga and old anime series, Hyuga's mentor and [[UnwittingInstigatorofDoom the person who unwittingly caused his fall of grace]] arrives from Okinawa right before the finals... and goes into the pose too in front of Hyuga's actual coach, explaining his part in the whole mess and apologizing for the troubles Hyuga and the team went through. He refuses to get up until the other coach assures him Hyuga will play.
* In ''Manga/GetBackers'', Shido does this to Ban, who has always been a bitter rival, to convince him to help save the kidnapped Madoka; Ban initially brusquely refuses, and other characters are astonished ("[[WhatTheHellHero Don't you know how hard that must have been for him?]]").
* ''Anime/ThePrinceOfTennis'':
** After having a nasty fight with Tezuka over his place in the Senbatsu that even included Tezuka losing his temper and ''[[CorporalPunishment slapping]]'' him in public, Ryoma has to go into the pose of supplication to apologize and beg Tezuka to let him get in the Senbatsu team.
** When Ryo Shishido finishes his self-appointed TrainingfromHell, he goes into this pose in front of Atobe and the Coach Sakaki to ask them to return to the regulars team. When Sakaki refuses, Shishido [[ImportantHaircut cuts his until-then long hair]] to prove that he's serious, and Atobe [[PetTheDog intercedes for him.]]
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yusuke does this after his fight with Toguro during the Dark Tournament arc when [[spoiler: he believes that his friend Kuwabara has been killed]].
** Kido does this after the heroes clear all his and his friends' trials in the early Chapter Black arc, after revealing that [[spoiler: Genkai told them to do it]]. Considering that the trials involved Yusuke being kidnapped, Hiei, Kuwabara, and Botan temporarily losing their souls, and Kuwabara being abducted and impersonated, an apology was clearly in order.
* Used several times in ''Anime/PaniPoniDash''. Not just the pose, but it sometimes [[http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/4420/pp5mc0.jpg actually has the letters orz or OTL or STO clearly visible.]]
* Yukari and Ryo spend nearly two hours straight in the Pose Of Supplication in order to save both of their jobs in ''Manga/PenguinRevolution''.
* The extreme gambling manga ''Manga/{{Kaiji}}'' features a rather cruel and nightmarish version of this when the BigBad demands that his henchman Tonegawa show just how sorry he is for failing him... [[spoiler:by bowing on an iron plate heated by burning coals.]]
* In the ''Phoenix Wright: Franchise/AceAttorney'' manga "Turnabout Illusions", client [[PunnyName Ian Knottworthy]] does this at the drop of a hat.
* In the 'lost' ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'' episode, the Gundam itself goes down on all fours, which makes Amuro complain that it makes it 'look like a dog'.
* Satirized from a cultural insider's perspective by Ramenz in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bG6oT5kYI0Y&feature=related The Japanese Tradition: Dogeza.]] It also featured and satirized in an extreme in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9hcF6_YeMc&feature=related The Japanese Tradition: Shazai]] ("Let's put all our hearts into expressing our remorse!")
* Toyed with in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. The ability of Izuru Kira's zanpakutou, Wabisuke, is to double the weight of whatever it strikes. As a consequence, after some blocked hits, the enemy is unable to even lift their weapons, and often go in Pose Of Supplication due to said weapon's weight. Kira uses this as a chance to deliver the ''coup de grace'', decapitating the opponent with his zanpakutou. In his words: "''A warrior does NOT beg for his life''"
** A straighter example happens when Chad goes to Urahara, after being easily defeated by Yammy and unable to fight against D-Roy, and asks him to train him.
* Tenma does this in ''Manga/SchoolRumble'' when her attempt to get Karasuma under an UmbrellaOfTogetherness fails.
* In ''Manga/{{Amanchu}}'', Hikari and Futaba do this in toward Ai, after she threatens to beat them up for using the school's diving equipment without permission.
* Lelouch does this to Suzaku in ''Anime/CodeGeass R2'', when asking for his help to protect Nunnally, his sister and Suzaku's friend. At this point, Suzaku is so pissed off at Lelouch that he steps on his head and grinds his face into the gravel.
* ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'' anime features a ruler who bans the pose of supplication from his subjects, since she's come to think of it as humiliating. Additionally, the kirin in ''The Twelve Kingdoms'' select the rulers for their realm by bowing in front of them. (They're not able to bow in front of anyone else -- even if they want to, they're physically incapable of doing so. This causes lots of angst to Taiki, the NaiveNewcomer among them, since he's not sure if he'll be able to do so.)
* Seen a few times in ''Manga/SgtFrog''. In episode 26, Keroro imagines Natsumi doing this out of gratitude for helping so that her mom can come to the sports festival. In episode 27, Keroro himself does this when he begs Natsumi and Fuyuki to [[MaintainTheLie pretend they've been captured so Keroro can impress his visiting father]].
* Gon does this in chapters 304 and 305 of ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' upon finding out that [[spoiler: Kaito is dead]].
* Minori of ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' does this around the beginning of the story, in a ShoutOut way to the aforementioned ''Manga/CaptainTsubasa'' scene (she even uses the same pre-scene badass pose of sternly crossing her arms, with her jacket put on her back like a cape dramatically floating in the wind!), when she, in a misunderstanding, believed Taiga and Ryuuji were an item, and begged the latter to take good care of the former.
* In ''Manga/{{Moyashimon}}'', after Professor Itsuki samples Misato and Kawahama's home-made ''kuchikame'' sake, he's so impressed by their inquisitive spirit that he does this as he asks them to join his lab team as research assistants.
* In the ''Anime/SailorMoon R'' movie, the four Inner Senshi go into the pose to [[spoiler: beg Fiore to spare the life of their beloved Moon, whom he intends to torture to death.]]
* ''Manga/FairyTail'' has Natsu and Happy get into a dogeza position for Lucy as a sign of appreciation after the latter treats them to a meal. Lucy is utterly embarrassed by the gesture.
** Natsu goes in this pose again during his fight against Gildarts and admit his defeat.
* In the first episode of ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'', Junko prostrates herself before Akuto (in combination with a [[PantyShot convenient camera angle]]) after mistaking him for a thief and kicking his face in.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Hiashi ends his telling Neji the truth about his father's death by entering a Pose Of Supplication and asking for his forgiveness. This is especially significant because Hiashi is head of the clan and Neji is a branch house member forced to serve him, and Neji, overwhelmed, accepts his apology and tells him to raise his head. Later on, Naruto approaches the Raikage and enters this pose to beg him to spare Sasuke, but the Raikage is unimpressed and tells him that the strong rule the ninja world and that begging for one's comrades is not friendship. Naruto then realizes that he must ultimately deal with Sasuke himself.
* ''Manga/OnePiece'',
** Early on in the Drum Island arc, Vivi assumes this pose after accidentally getting shot while trying to gain entry to Drum Island for Nami's medical treatment, and [[WhatTheHellHero chastizes Luffy for losing control]]. Luffy apologizes and follows suit.
** Zoro [[spoiler: enters this pose shortly before the time skip, when begging Mihawk to train him]].
** After Luffy defeats Doflamingo in Dressrosa, Admiral Fujitora does this before the citizens and ex-king Riku, to apologize for the World Government giving Doflamingo UltimateJobSecurity with which he used to take over the country. This is considered SeriousBusiness, as everyone sees one of TheGovernment's strongest warriors in its primal militia begging for forgiveness.
** Sanji does this when saying goodbye to [[ParentalSubstitute Zeff]] and the other cooks of the Baratie, thanking them for everything.
* When ''{{Manga/Nichijou}}'''s Yuuko mistakenly buys ''yakisaba'' instead of ''yakisoba'' and nothing to go with it for Mio one lunch period, the latter starts a very heated TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and goads "stupid" Yuuko to "bow deeply." By the time Yuuko has gotten really angry, she mock bows, then proceeds to formally genuflect but continues to get chewed out and it's obvious both times she's not apologetic. In the anime, [[TheGadfly Mai]] adds to the farce by balancing a cup of water on Yuuko's back.
* Aouta of ''Manga/SlamDunk'' does this pose when begging his teachers to re-take an exam.
** [[spoiler: Mitsui]] also does this, while [[spoiler: telling Anzai-sensei that even after spending two years away as a delinquent, he loves basketball and wants to come back to the team.]]
* ''Anime/AquarionEVOL'' takes this to the extreme by having the HumongousMecha Aquaria use it as a FINISHING BLOW. [[LogicBomb This causes the simulation to crash.]]
* Minoru in ''Manga/AKB49RenaiKinshiJourei'' did this pose on stage before the audience on one occasion to demonstrate his sincerity in apologising for his lateness for a performance.
* In ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'', Miki and then Ryohei does this in episode 14 when they apologized to Hayato for not checking close enough to find the cause of Asurada's understeer (it was caused by a speck of dust on the lens). Kurumada does the same thing in front of Hiroyuki, Kojiro and Gen-san in a flashback after he finds out that his mistake causes his friend's car to crash.
** Shinjyo does the pose towards Katagiri in episode 32 when he apologizes to Katagiri for mistreating him and his staff.
** In episode 35, Hayato himself does this in front of Asuka and the rest of the team when he realized that it wasn't Asurada's fault for causing Ohtomo's crash.
* ''Manga/MedakaBox'': Zenkichi does this in chapter 115 after [[spoiler: Medaka deems him worthless.]]
** Medaka herself in chapter 139 after [[spoiler: she loses to Zenkichi in the election.]]
* ''Franchise/KagerouProject'': This happens a lot, particularly to Mary -- who is nearly always shown doing this pose when [[spoiler:Kuroha kills everyone and her DespairEventHorizon triggers her PainfulTransformation into the Queen Snake]]. Konoha is also shown in this pose, [[spoiler:[[DemonicPossession cowering behind Kuroha]]]] during the ''Outer Science'' PV.
* This happens a few times in ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun''.
** In chapter 8, Mikoshiba does this when he loses a bet with Nozaki on whether Sakura has a case of WeaknessTurnsHerOn.
** Mikoshiba does this again in Chapter 19. After volunteering to model for the school's art club, he looks to his figures for pose ideas. Unfortunately for him, all of his figures are of girls in feminine poses, causing him to assume this stance.
** Kashima does this in episode 3 when she thinks her (self-proclaimed) status as Hori's favourite kohai is being threatened by Nozaki. She boasts that Hori favours her because he always chases her and gives her lead roles but Sakura argues it's only because she skips club activities and her good acting calls for it -- this leads to her in this stance.
* In ''Manga/TheSevenDeadlySins'' [[spoiler: Dreyfus]] does this and throws his sword when he confess his crimes.
* Aito of ''Manga/TheComicArtistAndHisAssistants'' spends approximately 120% of the time in said pose, the girls occasionally join him.
* More than one culprit in ''Manga/CaseClosed'' has gone into the pose as soon as their crimes have been revealed.
* Kaoruko falls into this when she heard that her manga is very poorly received in the first episode of ''Manga/ComicGirls''.
* Near the end of ''Manga/IMarriedMyBestFriendToShutMyParentsUp'', Hana, the best friend of the protagonist who'd proposed a fake marriage in order to stop Machi's parents from pressuring her to get married, gets drunk while spending time with one of her exes. Said ex then picks up the phone when Machi calls, making it seem as though Hana was doing a one-night stand with her, but Machi refuses to believe it and picks Hana up. Once Hana's sober (although she doesn't remember much apart from Machi coming to get her), she enters this pose when apologizing to Machi.
* In ''Manga/NewGame'', Nene accidentally eats Ko's pudding, not noticing Ko's name written on it until it's too late. When Rin sends a company-wide email asking who ate the pudding, Nene considers confessing, but decides not to, worrying that she'll get Aoba in trouble by association. The anime version of the ImagineSpot has both Aoba and Nene doing this for Ko and Rin, both of whom are still fairly upset over what happened. In reality, Ko's a bit annoyed that Rin's going this far for a 120 yen (barely over a single US dollar) pudding, and it's implied that Rin forgives Nene after she confesses and replaces the pudding.
* Early in ''Manga/AceOfTheDiamond'', Sawamura does this with Chris, after he learns of the latter's injury that left him unable to play for a whole year, while he tries to apologize for all the harsh things he said to Chris without knowing what he'd gone through, before begging him to teach him how to play baseball.
* Parodied in ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh''. During the second vacation, Yukari boasts her English skills, which is treated as a divine miracle (complete with a visual of [[Literature/BookOfExodus sea parting away]]) to the point that Osaka, Tomo, and Kagura begin prostrating before her.
* ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesFor300YearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'': Associated strongly enough with Halkara that she is shown doing it in the anime's opening as part of a "roll-call" sequence briefly showing the full cast. When she comes back after trying to find a cure for "gnome mushrooms" that shrank Azusa to child-size, which she ate because of Halkara in the first place, she walks in, smiles, and does an acrobatic flip ''into'' an apology pose to report her failure.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/AsteroidInLove''. Mira prostrates herself towards the hot springs during [[HotSpringsEpisode Chapter 6]] after Mikage discusses the potential origins of them, so as to express her gratitude.
* In ''LightNovel/{{Higehiro}}'', Yoshida does this to Sayu's mother, [[AintTooProudToBeg begging her to be a more responsible parent to Sayu]], rather than giving her a well-deserved chewing-out for her [[AbusiveParents horrible treatment of her daughter]]. This spurs Sayu's brother Issa to do the same thing, causing her to have a breakdown.
* Manga/MolesterMan, as someone who ApologizesALot, does this almost every chapter, one time to Kansai through his cell phone (though she can't see him) to thank her for inviting him out with the girls.
* A rare example of willing and eager supplication occurs in ''Manga/NanaAndKaoru''. Tachibana presents herself to Kaoru at the start of a supervised breather to demonstrate her acceptance of him as her temporary master, although both Kaoru and Tachibana are mostly acting. She does so by kneeling before him with her forehead to the floor, her hands clasped behind her, and her hair flowing over her naked shoulders and back to show that she is ready to be bound. [[spoiler: Two nights later, Nana presents herself to Kaoru with the same pose, but this time her submission and the emotions behind it are completely real.]]
* In ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'' after one of Myne's many mistakes, she instantly leaps into a dogeza pose. However, she's (basically) in medieval Germany and they've never heard of anyone kowtowing when giving an apology. After she explains they sort of get it, but in context it's probably too extreme of a gesture anyway, though they wouldn't know that either.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]
* [[PlayedForLaughs Played for laughs]] with Germany and Japan in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'' after they realized what touching Italy's curl meant. [[spoiler: [[PlayedForDrama Played for drama]] with Italy after Germany and Japan screamed at Italy for purposely ignoring their feelings. Italy did so because [[HiddenDepths of]] [[StepfordSmiler his]] [[InsecureLoveInterest insecurities]].]]
* In the ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'' fic ''Fanfic/HereInMyArms'', after receiving a WhatTheHellHero speech from Kurumu for spurning Tsukune's LoveConfession, which drove him to jump off of the cliff and become a vampire in the first place, Moka, realizing that Kurumu is [[JerkassHasAPoint completely right]], does this, complete with placing her forehead on the ground, while tearfully begging her for forgiveness.
* ''Fanfic/TangledAdventuresInArendelle'' has Elsa get into this pose to beg Rapunzel and Eugene for help around her kingdom on day 9 of their honeymoon. It technically doesn't count as AintTooProudToBeg since Elsa is the one with more power in the situation, but this is also Elsa trying to ask for Rapunzel and Eugene to put aside their anger towards her from the last few days. Elsa's just overwhelmed and guilty about her life situation, and she wants a break from the two. That said, it also shows some good development seeing the girl who used to push everyone away actually get down on her hands and knees to ask for help.
* In ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'', Gary Oak knocks on the door of a veteran retired trainer named Casey Snagem, and gets on his knees to beg him for training [[spoiler: [[CurbStompBattle after he suffered a devastating defeat]] against [[{{Jerkass}} Paul]].]] This is notable given that in their previous encounter, Gary had dismissed Snagem's arguments about [[ToBeAMaster what meant to be a Pokémon Master,]] but now he's willing to swallow his pride and acknowledge him as a strong trainer and the person who can help him find what he needs.
* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', ComicBook/BlackAdam gets into the supplicant pose and begs to be spared when [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Mordru]] demands his allegiance and displays enough power and willingness to destroy him if Adam refuses.
-->"Spare me!" begged Teth-Adam, who would never have spared a foe himself.\\
"Agree to serve me, then," said Mordru, not giving an iota.\\
Teth-Adam knelt before his new master, touching his forehead to the floor three times.
* In ''Fanfic/WhereTalentGoesToDie'', the protagonist, Kaori Miura, does this for Shiro Kurogane at the end of Kurogane's Free Time Events. Miura had defeated Kurogane in a shogi match despite never having played before, proving herself to be the Ultimate Beginner's Luck, but humiliating him in the process, and resulting in him holding a grudge against her. In their School Mode ending, Kurogane returns the favor, since [[JerkassRealization he realizes that he's been unfair to Miura over something that doesn't matter anymore]].
* In ''Fanfic/ThisBites'', after the truth Cross had been hiding about his nature as a self insert character or that the world of ''Manga/OnePiece'' is fictional where he's from, Cross bows on his knees with his head to the deck of Going Merry to beg for the Straw Hat Pirates' forgiveness for lying to them, tearfully pleading that they let him stay with the crew as he's come to [[PlatonicDeclarationOfLove love them all genuinely]].
[[/folder]]

* The "Prince Ali" song in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' directly refers to this: "Genuflect/Show some respect/Down on one knee". And when Jafar [[TookALevelInBadass becomes]] ''Sorcerer'' Jafar, one of the first things he does is magically ''make'' the Sultan and Princess Jasmine [[KneelBeforeZod genuflect]].

[[folder: Films -- Live-Action]]

* Pose taken by Leonidas in ''Film/ThreeHundred'', gathering his strength before the final battle (and simultaneously [[ISurrenderSuckers duping King Xerxes into thinking that he was surrendering]]).
* A repeated scene in ''Film/WaynesWorld'' and its sequel has Wayne and Garth kowtowing as they chant, "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're scum!" before one of their Heavy-Metal gods; Alice Cooper in the first, Aerosmith in the second.

* After marrying into the family, Songlian of Film/RaiseTheRedLantern is instructed to kowtow to the shine of the Chen ancestors; it's implied that she does not. Those important family customs she disregards will [[NightmareFuel come back to haunt her]] [[DownerEnding later]].

* In ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'', Caesar adopts this pose before his human father. An Alpha Ape later adopts it before Caesar, who happens to be using GunboatDiplomacy at the time.
* One of the nuns in ''Film/TheSongOfBernadette'' does this after calling out Bernadette because she believed that suffering was required to meet God, and didn't believe Bernadette had. But when Bernadette revealed the tuberculosis tumor on her leg, the other nun ran into the chapel and fell down in this pose to pray for forgiveness (as is common for nuns in RealLife, see that section below.)
* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', one of the three tests to be worthy to reach the Grail is being a penitent man, who kneels before God, [[spoiler: (conveniently putting one's head ''below'' the huge buzzsaw blade that lops off the head of those not worthy.)]]
* In ''Film/TrainMan'', the main character does this in a DreamSequence after losing hope completely.
* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Film/JamesBond is left with no option but to go into this pose and beg for forgiveness when [[BigBad Safin]] threatens to have his henchmen execute [[spoiler: Mathilde, James's daughter,]] on the spot. However, when Safin is gloating about how he has power over James, James is able to draw a hidden gun and kill Safin's henchmen.

[[folder: Literature]]

* Creator/MaryRenault's ''ThePersianBoy'' describes the serious controversy over this practice as (historically) espoused by UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat. He's just conquered Persia and become Great King, so the Persians naturally accord him this respect. The Greeks and especially the Macedonians deplore it as "groveling." Alex wants all the people to adopt it to emphasize equality.
* In Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy, some of the Noghri do this to the daughter of their savior; one genuflects when he realizes who she is, and others do so at the end of ''Dark Force Rising'' after she's proved to them that their debt has been more than paid. Afterwards, they tend to limit themselves to bowing and sometimes kneeling.
* Parodied in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' where incompetent, cowardly, wizard Rincewind muses that not only does it symbolise submission, but it also provides quite a good launching pose to break into a sprint from if the person you are doing it for doesn't accept your submission.
** Nanny Ogg has a different take in Lords and Ladies. She's of the opinion the route to a happy life is to 'Stand before your God, Bow before your King, and Kneel before your Man.'
* In the sequels to ''Literature/EndersGame'', the nobles of Chinese-esque planet Path are taught so strictly to honor their elders that the sight of her father touching his forehead to the ground for her horrifies Qing-jao.

* Parodied in ''Literature/TheTamuli'', by David Eddings: this is the traditional way to greet the Tamul emperor, but only because one of his less-than-bright ancestors mistook an inebriated minister's drunken bumbling for a show of respect.

* Yamani guardsmen bow like this in a flashback in ''First Test'', the first ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'' after Ilane of Mindelan saves the god's swords from Scanran pirates. Keladry also bows to the Yamani princess this way when they meet years later in Tortall, because Yaman is basically [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Japan]].
* In the Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse, the Voth demand this from others as their due, particularly when bestowing their benevolence. As the eldest race in the Delta Quadrant (or at least they assume so), they consider themselves its rightful rulers. In a story from ''Literature/StarTrekMyriadUniverses'', when agreeing to spare Fluidic Space from destruction their condition is that the Species 8472 representative bow before them and pledge his loyalty to the Voth Council.
* In the ''Literature/DresdenFiles'', [[spoiler: Lasciel]] does this [[spoiler: in Harry's mind]] when Harry agrees to work with her.
* In ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'', people who are experiencing their worst fear cringe and kneel at best, or this at worst.
--> Luke Skywalker was on his hands and knees. He seemed to be fighting hard against something. He whispered over and over again: "Ben! Ben!"
* Pretty much once a chapter in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms''. When the author wants to tell you that it's really serious this time, a character will knock their head on the ground ''until they bleed''.
* Referred to by name in ''Literature/TheSongOfAchilles'', when Patroclus performs the Greek version (see OlderThanFeudalism above) in order to beg King Peleus for Achilles's whereabouts.
--> I went to Peleus. I knelt before him on a wool rug, woven bright with purple. He started to speak, but I was too quick for him. One of my hands went to clasp his knees, the other reached upwards, to seize his chin with my hand. The pose of supplication.

** When Khat is arrested by [[spoiler: the Heir]]'s forces, he is forced to his knees by security; after that, when he sees her, he drops to his knees without any provocation, seeing nothing to be gained by defiance.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d later when Khat meets [[spoiler: the Elector]] and collapses from a fever, but he thinks to himself that it's fine because he's probably supposed to be on the floor anyway.

[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
* In ''Series/{{Lexx}}'', officers deliver reports to His Divine Shadow from this position.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Captain Kirk [[LargeHam does this a lot]].
* One of Quark's employees in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' does this in front of Liquidator Brunt when he realizes they've been caught forming a union/worker's guild.
* On ''Series/{{The Office|US}}'', Dwight surreptitiously tries to unseat Michael and take his place -- when Michael angrily tells Dwight he's on to him, Dwight goes into a terrified fit of dog-like submission and drops to the floor as if waiting to be beheaded.
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'': In "Lancelot du Laq", Gwen falls to her knees when brought before Arthur after being caught [[spoiler: kissing Lancelot.]] Arthur orders everyone out, then insists Gwen stand up.
* ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'': In the penultimate episode, [[spoiler:[[TheHero Aruto]] crossing the DespairEventHorizon and becoming the villainous Ark-One is seen as an utter betrayal by the [[ArtificialHuman HumaGears]] (whom Aruto had championed and fought for throughout the entire series), making them threaten to go rogue and follow [=MetsubouJinrai.net=]'s commandment to KillAllHumans. Just when it looks like everything is going to boil over, Hiden Intelligence's Vice-President Jun Fukuzoe gets down in ''dogeza'' with his head on the ground and begs the [=HumaGears=] to give Aruto the same trust that he placed in them. Immediately afterwards, his [=HumaGear=] secretary Shesta does the same of her own free will, which helps defuse the situation.]]

--> '''Jack Peacock''': Let's start at fifty thousand.
--> '''Prof. Plum''': I can't get my hands on that sort of money.
--> '''Jack Peacock''': Too bad, old bean. (Sets fire to the drug)
--> '''Prof. Plum''': (in a pose of supplication) Noooooo! I'd have paid, I'd have found the money somehow.
--> '''Jack Peacock''': That's better.

[[folder: Theater]]

[[folder: Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/OsuTatakaeOuendan'' and ''VideoGame/EliteBeatAgents'', if you fail a stage, you often see the person you were trying to help do this pose on the GameOver screen.
* In ''VideoGame/TokyoXanadu'', Rion comically drops to her knees upon hearing Kou state he has zero interest in idols and had never heard any of her group's songs.
* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'':
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Sora takes this pose on two separate accounts in Hollow Bastion: [[spoiler:first when Riku reveals himself as his Keyblade's rightful master and takes it back by force, leaving Sora feeling powerless to do anything as his friends abandon him to [[ExactWords follow the key bearer]]; and again when Riku (now possessed by Ansem) reveals that [[ItWasWithYouAllAlong Kairi's heart had been inside Sora the entire time]], partially because of Kairi's heart resonating within him.]]
** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'', Sora takes this pose before Saix when begging him to bring him to Kairi. Saix refuses contemptuously and pays for it later -- with his life.
* In the classic ''[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Mega Man]]'' series, Dr. Wily [[RunningGag does this every time]] his [[FinalBattle most powerful war machine]] is destroyed. In the first game he seems sincere about it, but after that he usually does it to distract Mega Man so he can make his escape. This doesn't always work...
** In ''6'', Mega Man cuts to the chase and arrests Wily. This winds up setting up the events of the next game.
** In ''7'', Mega Man seriously contemplates blowing Wily's brains out; Wily is saved by dint of collapsing lair and Bass.
** In ''9'', Mega Man shows Wily a montage of every prior instance of this trope; Wily manages to find another way to escape.
** In ''10'', Mega Man takes Wily to a hospital due to the cold he was suffering from; Wily gets away, but leaves enough Roboenza vaccines behind to sample an effective cure.
** In ''11'', after defeating the Wily Capsule boss, Wily announces that he's resorting to his "Plan B", does a dramatic backwards leap in slow motion (complete with SpeedEchoes)...and then assumes this pose again. Mega Man, of course, doesn't buy it, but Wily escapes anyway because Light tries to talk him out of villainy to no avail.
** This has become such a trademark pose for Wily that his trophy in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for 3DS'' depicts him doing it, and knocking out his AssistCharacter form in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' will cause him to do it as well.
* In ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', if the player leaves [[spoiler:Mustache Girl's castle]] before the final battle, a short joke ending occurs where Hat Kid runs out of the area in tears before she falls to her knees. She then remembers all of her friends and proceeds to return back to the battle.
* Whoever loses the match in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' strikes this pose in the post-match win quote screen.
* Leon in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' does this if Ashley is killed during gameplay, leading to a game over.
* ''VideoGame/GodHand'' features a free move available from the start of the game called '''Grovel''', which resets the game's DynamicDifficulty meter back to Level 1. The animation, of course, sees the main character begging on his knees and his forehead to the ground. ''Onegaishimasu!''
* ''VideoGame/SilverSurfer'' features the pose on its GameOver screen. This was commented on in [[http://www.gametrailers.com/player/20300.html its review]] by WebVideo/TheAngryVideoGameNerd, culminating in AVGN assuming the pose himself.
* James Sunderland from ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' does this when he finds out/remembers why Pyramid Head is after him.
* In the older ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters'' games, the defeated characters would be shown in the background as the match goes on, sitting or kneeling around sadly after their losses. Their poses were different per character, but several of these were very similar to the traditional Pose Of Supplication. i.e, Athena Asamiya, Benimaru Nikaido, Mai Shiranui, etc.
* The temple-guardian {{Mooks}} in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia2'' all give up fighting and assume the Pose Of Supplication after you get the Flame. Hilariously, if they're at the edge of a platform, they'll fall right into a BottomlessPit.
* Shu, who is being targeted for recruitment as TheStrategist by the [[HelloInsertNameHere player character's]] army in ''VideoGame/SuikodenII'', asks [[QuicklyDemotedWoman Apple]] to assume the Pose Of Supplication before he'll consider [[JoinedYourParty joining up]]. One sign he's at least a minor JerkAss is that he admonishes her for throwing away her pride so quickly, then leaves the room.
* Similarly, in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', Raven claims he won't consider joining the Prince's forces unless Oboro begs him to do so. When Oboro complies, Raven gets incredibly upset, partly because he can't tell if he's being serious or not.
* Yangus does this when begging his old friend Red to return the horse and cart she stole from them in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII''.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestXI'': [[FakeUltimateHero Prince Faris]] does this when begging for the heroes' help fighting the Slayer of the Sands.
* The image potholed in the description comes from the ''doujin soft'' visual novel, [[http://www.insani.org/omgwtfotl.html ''OMGWTFOTL'']]. The option to genuflect pops up almost entirely throughout the game. [[spoiler:Every instance leads you to the same bad end.]]
* Most characters in the original ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown'' assume this pose when defeated... unless they were cut in half or had a major blood vessel severed by the opponent's killing blow, in which case the referees carried the remains off in a straw coffin.
* Daisy does this in ''VideoGame/MarioTennis'' when her opponent(s) score a point.
* Envy Adams in ''VideoGame/ScottPilgrim'' does this after she's defeated. Lynette also does this on Level 3 (Leo's Place).
* After every boss in ''VideoGame/WarioWare: Smooth Moves,'' there's a relaxed "Let's Pose!" scene, where the music fades to some birds chirping, and you're given a silhouette to pose in, if you want. This position is one of them.
* In ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'', [[GentleGiant Chunky]] [[CowardlyLion Kong]] does the "We're not worthy!" version of this when confronted by one of the bosses.
* ''Videogame/TomodachiLife'' ''loves'' this trope. If a Mii is on the receiving end of a RejectedApology, a refusal to be their sweetheart, or a breakup, they drop to their knees and sulk dramatically while sad music plays.
* In ''VideoGame/MendelPalace'', if you can trick the Vinci dolls into drawing on all of the panels so they can no longer attack you, those that survive will acknowledge their defeat by doing this.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', Snow gets on his hands and knees to apologize for Nora Estheim's death when they have to take shelter in the house of her widower, Bartholomew. Bartholomew instead thanks Snow for protecting their son Hope.
* In ''VideoGame/{{FIFA}}'', players who score their own goals might do this in a cutscene.
* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': After [[spoiler: Astor betrays the Yiga clan]], Master Kohga is shown surrendering to Princess Zelda this way. [[spoiler: He means it; the whole clan is switching allegiances to get revenge on Astor.]]
* ''{{VideoGame/Yakuza}}'':
** ''[[{{VideoGame/Yakuza}} Yakuza Kiwami]]'': Nishikiyama is, in a very dramatic and tragic scene, forced to prostrate himself before a disrespectful subordinate and beg for his help in raising money for his sister's heart transplant surgery. He is forced into it again when said subordinate's methods draw the ire of his superiors. In many ways, this signals Nishiki's StartOfDarkness.
** In a more light-hearted example, there is Ichiban's performance in the shareholders' meeting minigame in ''VideoGame/YakuzaLikeADragon''. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHirl7QRers It needs to be seen to be believed]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Visual Novels]]

[[folder: Web Comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Steven does this in "I Am My Mom" when [[spoiler: he starts to blame himself for being responsible for his friends getting nearly abducted by Homeworld Gems. When the situation gets worse, he decides to surrender himself to the Diamonds in exchange for letting the others go.]]

* Bogel and Weerd from ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' in a cave after Zimbulu chastens them for bungling the task of stealing the Demon Chest at the TV studio, they bow to his knees, kissing on his hooves.

[[folder: Real Life]]

* A rare example of willing and eager supplication occurs in ''Manga/NanaToKaoru''. Tachibana presents herself to Kaoru at the start of a supervised breather to demonstrate her acceptance of him as her temporary master, although both Kaoru and Tachibana are mostly acting. She does so by kneeling before him with her forehead to the floor, her hands clasped behind her, and her hair flowing over her naked shoulders and back to show that she is ready to be bound. [[spoiler: Two nights later, Nana presents herself to Kaoru with the same pose, but this time her submission and the emotions behind it are completely real.]]

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Sora takes the pose in Hollow Bastion when Riku [[spoiler: possessed by Ansem (or should we say, Xehanort's Heartless)]] reveals to him that [[spoiler:[[ItWasWithYouAllAlong Kairi's heart had been inside of him the entire time]]. He's briefly incapacitated by the revelation, as well as Kairi's heart resonating within him, prompting Rikunort to attempt a deathblow (so that he can release Kairi's heart and complete the Final Keyhole), but Kairi's voice rouses Sora to action, giving him the strength to fight back. Cue boss battle.]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]

** Finally, near the end of the manga, Shampoo has Akane at her mercy, and Ranma's hands and feet are bound (the former, by a crystalline substance he can't break; the latter, by a ball-and-chain that Shampoo snapped around his ankles.) She forces him to yield to her, on the threat of killing Akane if he doesn't. He goes down on the supplicant position, bowing his head... and uses the momentum to lift his feet off the floor, and swing the ball-and-chain at Shampoo.

** Hyuga goes into the pose of supplication in front of his ultra strict Toho coach, begging him to let him play in the finals after having disobeyed his orders and being benched as a result. When the coach refuses, ''the whole team'' imitates Hyuga to support him. After a last test to see Hyuga's ability and how serious he is, the coach allows Hyuga to come back.

** When Ryo Shishido finishes his self-appointed TrainingfromHell, he goes into this pose in front of Atobe and the Coach Sakaki to ask them to return to the regulars team. When Sakaki refuses, Shishido [[ImportantHaircut cuts his until-then long hair]] to prove that he's serious and Atobe [[PetTheDog intercedes for him.]]
* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Yusuke does this after his fight with Toguro during the Dark Tournament arc when [[spoiler:he believes that his friend Kuwabara has been killed]].
** Kido does this after the heroes clear all his and his friends' trials in the early Chapter Black arc, after revealing that [[spoiler:Genkai told them to do it]]. Considering that the trials involved Yusuke being kidnapped, Hiei, Kuwabara and Botan temporarily losing their souls, and Kuwabara being abducted and impersonated, an apology was clearly in order.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Hiashi ends his telling Neji the truth about his father's death by entering a Pose Of Supplication and asking for his forgiveness. This is especially significant because Hiashi is head of the clan and Neji is a branch house member forced to serve him, and Neji, overwhelmed, accepts his apology and tells him to raise his head. Later on, Naruto approaches the Raikage and enters this pose to beg him to spare Sasuke, but the Raikage is unimpressed, and tells him that the strong rule the ninja world and that begging for one's comrades is not friendship. Naruto then realizes that he must ultimately deal with Sasuke himself.

** Zoro [[spoiler:enters this pose shortly before the timeskip, when begging Mihawk to train him]].

* In ''Anime/FutureGPXCyberFormula'', Miki and then Ryohei does this in episode 14 when they apologized to Hayato for not checking close enough to find the cause of Asurada's understeer (it was caused by a dust on the lens). Kurumada does the same thing in front of Hiroyuki, Kojiro and Gen-san in a flashback after he finds out that his mistake causes his friend's car to crash.

* A rare example of willing and eager supplication occurs in ''Manga/NanaToKaoru''. Tachibana presents herself to Kaoru at the start of a supervised breather to demonstrate her acceptance of him as her temporary master, although both Kaoru and Tachibana are mostly acting. She does so by kneeling before him with her forehead to the floor, her hands clasped behind her and her hair flowing over her naked shoulders and back to show that she is ready to be bound. [[spoiler: Two nights later, Nana presents herself to Kaoru with the same pose, but this time her submission and the emotions behind it are completely real.]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* [[PlayedForLaughs Played for laughs]] with Germany and Japan in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'' after they realized what touching Italy's curl meant. [[spoiler:[[PlayedForDrama Played for drama]] with Italy after Germany and Japan screamed at Italy for purposely ignoring their feelings. Italy did so because [[HiddenDepths of]] [[StepfordSmiler his]] [[InsecureLoveInterest insecurities]].]]

* ''Fanfic/TangledAdventuresInArendelle'' has Elsa get into this pose to beg Rapunzel and Eugene for help around her kingdom on day 9 of their honeymoon. It technically doesn't count as AintTooProudToBeg since Elsa is the one with more power in the situation, but this is also Elsa trying to ask for Rapunzel and Eugene to put aside their anger towards her from the last few days. Elsa's just overwhelmed and guilty about her life situation, and she wants a break from the two. That said, it also shows some good development seeing the girl who use to push everyone away actually get down on her hands and knees to ask for help.

* In ''Fanfic/HellsisterTrilogy'', ComicBook/BlackAdam gets into supplicant pose and begs to be spared when [[ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes Mordru]] demands his allegiance and displays enough power and willingness to destroy him if Adam refuses.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

** A lot of the animals do this in the beginning of the film, at Simba's presentation.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

** Nite Owl adopts this pose when [[spoiler:Rorschach is burst into flesh and blood by Dr. Manhattan [[DownerEnding near the end]]]].

* In ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', one of the three tests to be worthy to reach the Grail is being a penitent man, who kneels before God. [[spoiler:(Conveniently putting one's head ''below'' the huge buzzsaw blade that lops off the head of those not worthy.)]]

* ''Film/NoTimeToDie'': Film/JamesBond is left with no option but to go into this pose and beg for forgiveness when [[BigBad Safin]] threatens to have his henchmen execute [[spoiler:Mathilde, James' daughter,]] on the spot. However, when Safin is gloating about how he has power over James, James is able to draw a hidden gun and kill Safin's henchmen.

[[folder:Literature]]

** Supplication is common in the heroic society of the Homeric epics (and, probably, the warrior societies of Dark Age Greece they were composed for), not just among the gods. Most famously in book 7 of the Odyssey, Odysseus supplicates Queen Arete of the Phaeacians in order to plead for aid in getting home to Ithaca. Homeric supplication does not involve pressing one's head against the floor, but rather kneeling and grasping the knees of the one supplicated, and symbolically touching their chin with the hand. The symbolism of this is as an appeal that the one supplicated does not walk away or speak until the request is made. As a position of weakness and vulnerability it is very much a last resort for a heroic character, damaging to his heroic reputation (kleos) and thus not undertaken at all lightly. Given the significant degree of body contact involved in the Homeric hug-the-knees version, it could sometimes cause problems. In Odyssey 6 Odysseus ponders supplicating Arete's teenage daughter, Nausicaa, for aid, but decides not to as he is naked and filthy and the act may be mistaken as one of (perhaps sexual) aggression (so he resorts to purely verbal pleas and elaborate praise for her from a distance instead).

* On the subject of Greeks, Creator/{{Xenophon}}'s ''Literature/{{Anabasis}}'' records that, during the debate of the Ten Thousand (the Greek mercenaries, one of whom was Xenophon himself) after trying to overthrow the Shah in favor of his younger brother (only to have said younger brother killed in the battle, resulting in the [[NastyParty murder of their leaders at a Persian banquet]]), consensus was that the Ten Thousand were screwed. A single mercenary [[SneezeOfDoom sneezed]]. All of the others immediately prostrated themselves--the Greeks considered a sneeze a sign from the gods--and decided right then and there to elect new officers and fight their way, if need be, all the way back to Greece.
* Creator/MaryRenault's ''ThePersianBoy'' describes serious controversy over this practice as (historically) espoused by UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat. He's just conquered Persia and become Great King, so the Persians naturally accord him this respect. The Greeks and especially the Macedonians deplore it as "groveling." Alex wants all the people to adopt it to emphasize equality.
* In Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy, some of the Noghri do this to the daughter of their savior; one genuflects when he realizes who she is, others do so at the end of ''Dark Force Rising'' after she's proved to them that their debt has been more than paid. Afterwards they tend to limit themselves to bowing and sometimes kneeling.
* Parodied in the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/InterestingTimes'' where incompetent, cowardly, wizard Rincewind muses that not only does it symbolise submission, but also provides quite a good launching pose to break into a sprint from if the person you are doing it for doesn't accept your submission.
** Nanny Ogg has a different take in Lords and Ladies. She's of the opinion the route to a happy life is to 'Stand before your God, Bow before your King and Kneel before your Man.'

* Subverted in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', where Marco and Cassie are captured by the Helmacrons, who order then to grovel before them. Being general morons, however, they fall for it when Marco says that Earthlings grovel differently than other races, and proceeds to lounge on the ground while pretending to beg for his life.

* In the short story [[http://theopinionguy.com/OG25.pdf "Assumption" (scroll down)]] by Desmond Warzel, the primitive people of an unexplored world--a literal CargoCult--make this gesture before the object of their worship. The narrator is incredulous, and makes an explicit comparison to jungle tribes in old movies.

* Referred to by name in ''Literature/TheSongOfAchilles'', when Patroclus performs the Greek version (see OlderThanFeudalism above) in order to beg King Peleus for Achilles' whereabouts.

** When Khat is arrested by [[spoiler:the Heir]]'s forces, he is forced to his knees by security; after that, when he sees her, he drops to his knees without any provocation, seeing nothing to be gained by defiance.
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d later when Khat meets [[spoiler:the Elector]] and collapses from a fever, but he thinks to himself that it's fine because he's probably supposed to be on the floor anyway.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]

[[folder:Theater]]
* In the musical ''Theatre/TheKingAndI'', the titular king bans the pose of supplication from his subjects, since he's come to think of it as humiliating.

[[folder:Video Games]]

** In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', Sora takes the pose in Hollow Bastion when Riku [[spoiler:possessed by Ansem (or should we say, Xehanort's Heartless)]] reveals to him that [[spoiler:[[ItWasWithYouAllAlong Kairi's heart had been inside of him the entire time]]. He's briefly incapacitated by the revelation, as well as Kairi's heart resonating within him, prompting Rikunort to attempt a deathblow (so that he can release Kairi's heart and complete the Final Keyhole), but Kairi's voice rouses Sora to action, giving him the strength to fight back. Cue boss battle.]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{FIFA}}'', players who score own goals might do this in a cutscene.
* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': After [[spoiler:Astor betrays the Yiga clan]], Master Kohga is shown surrendering to Princess Zelda this way. [[spoiler:He means it; the whole clan is switching allegiances to get revenge on Astor.]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]

* In ''VisualNovel/LittleBusters'', Kanata demands that Haruka do this when [[spoiler:Haruka beseeches her twin sisterto tell her the truth of which girl was the child of a criminal]]. Haruka immediately falls to the ground and lowers her head, showing that she wants to get to the truth and cast off [[spoiler: her hate for Kanata and her family]] even if it means abandoning her pride. Kanata even mentions "have you no shame" when Haruka is so quick to comply, but Haruka finally being serious and telling the truth is what compels Kanata [[spoiler: to finally come clean, and, along with some support from Riki ("I think you want to talk from the bottom of your heart as well"), finally tell the heroes her true feelings: that she's been bullying Haruka to keep her safe from their twisted and evil family, because she loves Haruka as her little sister "and nothing can change that".]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': When Duane realizes just how horrifically he's messed things up he apologizes to [[spoiler:Lori for Sara's death and the destruction of the shrine which his actions made possible]] kneeling and lying prostrate before her.

[[folder:Western Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', Steven does this in "I Am My Mom" when [[spoiler:he starts to blame himself for being responsible for his friends getting nearly abducted by Homeworld Gems, when the situation gets worse, he decides to surrender himself to the Diamonds in exchange for letting the others go.]]

[[folder:Real Life]]

** It was practice in the Jerusalem temple, but it was discontinued, since it was destroyed. Twice.

** [[{{Irony}} Proskynesis is still used today]] as the term used to refer to Orthodox Christian genuflection. This was rooted in the [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Eastern Roman Empire]], which adopted the Persian custom to venerate emperors as agents of God. Full prostration before God (bowing so that one's forehead touches the ground) is practiced on certain special occasions. It's particularly associated with Orthodox monks and nuns, but is not limited to them. Orthodox priests are supposed to perform one prostration while consecrating the Eucharist on Sundays. As in Islam, it is a type of extreme reverence strictly reserved for God.
* In imperial China, the ''kow-tow'' on the ground was considered standard formal greeting to those of high rank (when you are really in the mood for grovelling, the procedure requires you to hit your forehead on the ground hard enough to make an audible noise). To greet the emperor, the subject performed 9 kow-tows, the empress received 8, and so on.

If things are particularly bad, or the favor is particularly big, the supplicant will touch his forehead to the ground in a full kowtow. If played for laughs this is usually done in a CornerOfWoe, ColorFailure optional.

If this is towards an antagonist who still won't grant the humble person a favor, it's a good sign that they're a complete {{Jerkass}} who will be zapped by LaserGuidedKarma later. And if a ''hero'' rejects helping the supplicant, expect him/her to be [[WhatTheHellHero chewed out]] by the rest of the cast. Compare KneelBeforeZod, KneeFoldFallOfDefeat, AintTooProudToBeg. See also CowerPower.

* In the first episode of ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'', Junko prostrates herself before Akuto (in combination with a [[{{Fanservice}} convenient camera angle]]) after mistaking him for a thief and kicking his face in.

* ''LightNovel/IveBeenKillingSlimesForThreeHundredYearsAndMaxedOutMyLevel'': Associated strongly enough with Halkara that she is shown doing it in the anime's opening as part of a "roll-call" sequence briefly showing the full cast. When she comes back after trying to find a cure for "gnome mushrooms" that shrank Azusa to child-size, which she ate because of Halkara in the first place, she walks in, smiles, and does an acrobatic flip ''into'' an apology pose to report her failure.

* In the first episode of ''LightNovel/DemonKingDaimao'', Junko prostrates herself before Akuto (in combination with a [[PantyShot convenient camera angle]]) after mistaking him for a thief and kicking his face in.