What happened at the Anthesteria?
The festival consisted solely of the sacrifices and rites proper to the season (mid-August) in the cult of Athena, the city protectress. At the Great Panathenaea, representatives of all the dependencies of Athens were present, bringing sacrificial animals.
What happened at the festival of Dionysus?
The Festival of Dionysus, otherwise known as the “Greater Dionysia” was the theatrical event of the year in 5th century Athens. Dithyrambs would be sung by choruses and giant phalloi would be carried along the procession route in honor to Dionysus.
How do you celebrate Anthesteria?
Everyone from age three and up wore garlands of new flowers, and many were present when the pithoi of new wine were opened, and a libations was offered to Dionysos before drinking of it. It was a truly celebratory day. On the second day, all temples were closed, except the temple of Dionysos.
How was Thesmophoria celebrated?
Thesmophoria, in Greek religion, ancient festival held in honour of Demeter Thesmophoros and celebrated by women in many parts of the Greek world. The celebrants were free women who seem to have been married. They observed chastity for several days and abstained from certain foods.
What happens on the first day of the Anthesteria the Pithoigia )?
Pithoigia. The first day was Pithoigia (Πιθοίγια, lit. ‘The Jar-Opening’). The jars of wine from the previous year were opened, libations offered to Dionysus, and the entire household (including the slaves) joining in the festivities.
How many days did the greater Panathenaia last?
eight day
It is not known with any certainty how many days the Great Panathenaea lasted, but here is one modern reconstruction, which posits an eight day festival: musical and rhapsodic contests. athletic contests for boys and youths. athletic contests for men.
Who attended the City Dionysia?
The festivals were attended by all Athenian citizens (likely women as well as men) and visitors from throughout Greece. In the tragic competition, each of three tragic poets wrote, produced, and probably acted in three tragedies on a single theme.
How many days was the City Dionysia festival last?
During the fifth century BC, five days of the festival were set aside for performance, though scholars disagree exactly what was presented each day. At least three full days were devoted to tragic plays, and each of three playwrights presented his set of three tragedies and one satyr play on the successive days.
What might Demeter’s name mean?
In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Demeter is: Earth-lover. Demeter is the mythological Greek goddess of corn and harvest. She withdraws for the part of the year her daughter Persephone must spend with the god of the underworld – the reason for winter.
What were the winners of the Heraia awarded?
The prize for the winners was a wild olive wreath (just like the male winners of the Olympic games) and they were given a portion of a cow—the sacred animal of Hera—that was sacrificed to the deity.
What was the Amphidromia ritual?
The Amphidromia was a life-cycle ritual performed after the birth of a baby. The term means “the running around.” The purpose of this ritual was to introduce a newborn into the Oikos of their parents. On the fifth or seventh day after birth, the infant was carried around the hearth, the heart of the household.
Why was Anthesteria important to the Athenians?
Anthesteria, one of the several Athenian festivals in honour of Dionysus, the wine god, held annually for three days in the month of Anthesterion (February–March) to celebrate the beginning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage.
What kind of pottery was used in Anthesteria?
Small terracotta wine vessels such as this one (c. 410 BC) were given as gifts during the Anthesteria. They often depict children at play or mimicking adults, here a chubby Eros pulling a toy cart. ( Walters Art Museum)
What was the social order of the Anthesteria?
During the feast, social order was interrupted or inverted, the slaves being allowed to participate, uniting the household in ancient fashion. The Anthesteria also had aspects of a festival of the dead: either the Keres ( Κῆρες) or the Carians ( Κᾶρες) were entertained, freely roaming the city until they were expelled after the festival.
What was the second day of Anthesteria known for?
The second day ( Choes, or “Wine Jugs”) was a time of popular merrymaking typified by wine-drinking contests in which even slaves and children participated; but the state performed a secret ceremony in a sanctuary of Dionysus in the Lenaeum, in which the wife of the king archon went through a ceremony of marriage to Dionysus.