Festival

• The Panathenia (Greek): background

  • annual festival for athenians, 8 day Great Panthenaia every 4 years
  • on July
  • celebrate Athena birthday
  • by procession/ sacrafice, athletic and musical contest etc.
• The Panthenon's Ionic Friexe:

  • pocession during one of Athen's Panathenaic festivals
  • showed all people take part hourseman, citizen, god, youth
  • represent Athens as wealthy, power and youth + special watch from God
• The Procession for Panathenia festival:

  • main event, at the end of procession, cult statue are present with a peplos
  • peplos is blue, yellow and purple, made by woman
  • Procession began at dawn at Dipylon gate towards Acropolis
  • sacrafice 100 oxen, particpens include citizen, hourseman etc
  • Then they will go to the sanctuary to do sacrafice and out on the peplos dress for Athena --> feast
• Athena Polis:

  • main cult statue made up of olive wood
  • dressed in peplos during festival in Erectheum temple
• Musical event for Panathenaia:

  • Rhapsodic taken from Homer's Iliad and Odysseus
  • competition who play the best lyre and aulos
  • valuable prize of money and golden crown
• Sporting event for Panathenia:

  • people all ove Greece
  • winners with amphora (jars containing olive oil) witth a picture of Athena
  • It includes stadion (running) boxing and wrestling and Equestrian events ( horse chariot race), prize wet to owner not rider
• Panathenia Tribal context:

  • only for athens
  • include a boat race and a tourch race with 10 tribes
• The city Dionysis: background

  • original myth; Athenians reject a statue of Dionysus from Eleutherae, the plague disappear once the statue is accepted
  • held in late March/ Spring = associate with fertility and rebirth 5 days
• peperation for the city Dionysia:

  • Eponymous Archon (magistrate) -- select playwright + choregos (finanace the play)
  • select 3 playwright for 3 tragic and satyr play
  • select 3 playwright for 3 comedy
  • Choral dance -- 100 member select from the tribe to dance
  • actor professionals
  • audience - Athenians and men only
• The City Dionysia: programme

  1. Pompe: procession carry out with the wooden statue of Dionysus in a boat from the city gate to the sanctuary of Dionysus
  2. carry a palluses
  3. It take place in the theatre
  4. Kosmos is present to God
• The City Dionysia: programme

  2. Opening ceremony

  • priest of Dionysus will sacrafice a piglet and 10 Athens poured libation to 12 Olympian Gods
  • Theoric fund ( 2 obals)
  • comedy reflect greater political freedom
• The City Dionysia: programme

  3. The tragedies:

  • T > comedy
  • question about human nature to reflect their own life
• The City Dionysia: programme

  4. Judging

  • each judge wrote the play in order of preference, archon drew 5 out of ten in the list
  • THe playwright with most vote given a garland of ivy
• The Saturna (Rome): background

  • priest of the Temple of Saturn led festivals (head uncover)
  • worship Saturn, god of sowing = agriculture
  • celeration similar to christmas during december
  • Public feast: state paid for a public feast, all level of society took part and last for several day , expenses high. A statue of Saturn will sit at the banquet table to signify God's presence at the feast
  • Private feast: equally = Master wear party dress and a pilius as a symbol of freedom, gift giving
• The Lupercalia (Rome): background

  • worship Lupercus, GOd of SHepherds for participation + fertility
  • Feburary = spring = fertility
  • important to celebrate Romulus and Remes + woman'ss fertility
• The Lupercalia (Rome) : ritual

  1. THe Luperci assemble at the Lupercal cave in the Palatine hill
  2. Goats and dogs are sacrafice, mola sala is used
  3. knife is dipped in the blood of sacrafice, then wiped across the forehead of 2 Luperci = cleaned with mool soaked in milk
  4. feast is eaten, goat hide made into loincloths
  5. Luperci run around Platine hill with loinclothes, whip people who gets in their way
  6. woman get in their way = fertility
  7. goat skin are burned or sacred
• Why do we have festivals in Greek and Roman world?

  As they do not have weeks and they have to gain their rest day with numerous holiday days where they watched games and took part on religious festivals
• What is special about the wrestling game in the Great Panathenaia?

  • Competors will cover themselves in oil and trip one another
  • it is to celebrate how THeseus defeat King of Eleusis
• What race is allowed for Panathenaia?

  All Athenians
• How many days are the sporiting event of the Great Panathenaia and what is rewarded?

  • 3 days
  • woman are not allowed
  • Panathenaic amphorae (Athena on one side and picture on the other)
• The origin of the Lupercalia

  • derived from a festivals of purification and fertility of god LUpercus = wolf = Romulus
  • importance of shepherd decrease and it's more about the city founder
• How are the officials for Lupercalia chosen?

  • Luperci chose from noble male
• Where will they gather for Lupercalia?

  • gathered in a cave called Lupercal in Palatine Hill where ROmulus and Remes cared by a she-wolf
  • contained an altar to Lupercuss
• The origin of Saturnalia held in honour of Roman God Saturn


  • Roman God of sowing and seed, celebrate at the end of the winter sowing
  • festival begins at the WInter Solstice and celebrate the coming of positive future
  • Believed to ruled the earth during golden age = man ang god live in prosperity and equal = hope of the return of golden age.
• THe officials in Saturnalia

  • Temple of Saturn in Roman forum, priest of this temple
  • elected for a single year
  • priest undergo sacraficee with head uncover = Saturn and Cronus