Festivals

• regular holy days allowed for rest, fun and family time, worship of the gods awell as political gains
• Panathenaia - social reasons

  • to take a break
  • all members of the community took part
  • fosters unity in the city
  • fosters unity with subject states
  • chance to eat meat
• Panathenaia - religious reasons

  • to honour Athenas birthday on the 28th hekaombaion
  • give athena the gift of a peplos
  • founded by theseus
  • to thank athena for being there city patron and gifting them the olive tree
• panathenaia - political reasons

  • demonstrate athenian power to allies and enemies
  • enhance the prestige of athens
• Panathenaia - day 1

  Musical contests

  • opened with a swearing in ceromony
  • held at the odeon of pericles
  • the diaulos and kithera were played as well as singing
  • Rhapsodic contests held - recitation or singing of the Homeric Hymns
  • prizes would be monetary
• Panathenaia day 2

  Boy/Youth Athletics Competitions

  • only five events, pentathlon,boxing,wrestling,pankrateon
• Panathenaia day 3

  mens athletics

  • procession to agora
  • men only
  • consisted of races in armour , wrestling and boxing
  • prize - panathenaic Amphorae
• Panathenaia - mens athletics

  Stadion-sprint

  Diaulos-length of two stadiums

  hippios-length of four stadiums

  dolichos-long distance twenty four stadiums
• panathenaia - other events

  • Pentathlon
  • wrestling
  • boxing
  • pankration - mixture of boxing and wrestling
  • race in armour
• panathenaia day 4

  equestrian events

  • chariot races with 2 or 4 horses
  • mounted javelin
  • horseback races
  • races divided in 2 groups depending on the horses age
• Panathenaia - day 5

  tribal events

  • only open to Athenians
  • Euandrion-male beauty and strength competition
  • Boat Race
  • Pyrrhic dance - a war dance accompanied by a Diaulos player, first danced by Athena
• Panathenaia day 6

  • started the night before with the pannychis, which was an all night service to athena
  • a tribal torch race to the acropolis began the day
  • the procession began at the Dipylon gate and proceded along the panathenaic way
  • only citizens could enter the acropolis
  • the purpose of the procession was to gift athena a peplos
  • after the procession a hecatomb would be sacrificed and a feast would persue
• Day 7 -Panathenia

  The Apobates - jump out of charito in armour and run alongside it

  THe boat race
• Day 8 Panathenaia

  prize giving, including money,livestock and amphorae
• Panathenaic prize amphorae

  painted with traditional black figure technique

  had depictions of your event and often images of athena

  had a pillar tih the eponymous archon inscribed on it
• Every four years was the Great Panathenia

  focused on a grander procession

  a larger peplos was mad which was processed on the bough of ship float
• social reason City Dionysia

  take a break from work

  chance to eat meat

  tourism

  chance to watch plays
• Religious regions

  to honour dionysus

  celebrate the journey he too from athens to eleutherae
• politcal reasons for the city dionysia

  enhance the prestige of athend

  provide employment

  shows of athenian culture and talents
• preperation for the city dionysia the summer before
• the eponymous archon selected the choregoi, who would fund the play. if the play was good it would boost there reputation
• the night before the city dionysia

  eisagoge

  meant to reenact dionysus first arrival in athens

  wooden stature of Dio brought in from the shrine outside athens

  processors would hold up phalloi on a stick
• DAY 1 city dionysia

  pompe

  dithyrambic contests

  sacrifices feasts

  komos
• Day 2 city dionysia

  opening ceremony

  judges selected at random and swore an oath of impartiality

  libations

  sacrifice

  parade of tribute

  proclamation of honours

  parade of orphans

  5 comedies
• Day 3,4

  3 tragedies followed by a satyr play
• day 5

  judging

  wrote there order of merit on a tablet from best to worst

  these were placed in an urn

  the first 5 tablets were pulled out and the playwright with the most votes was declared the winner
• social reasons lupercalia

  excitement
• religious reasons

  honour lupercus

  honour romulus
• political reasons lupercos

  celebrate the prestige of rome
• lupercalia lasts one day
• lupercalia sacrifice

  priests gather in the cave sanctuary invthe palentine hill

  luperci(priests of lupercos) perfomred a private sacrifice of goats and a dog

  they then performed a sheep ritual

  young men would laugh

  read the entrails
• lupercalia

  following the private sacrifice was a race in public, the lupercai would run around wearing goatskin and wipping people supposedly granting fertility
• social reason for the saturnalia

  involved a great feast at the expense of the state

  brief moment of equality
• religious reasons for the saturnalia

  to honour saturn the ancient god of sowing and seed

  to mark the winter solstice
• political reasons

  celebrating the prestige of rome
• saturn ruled over italy in a golden age of equality
• length of the saturnalia depended on the current emperor
• first day saturnalia

  uncovered head sacrifice

  followed by a public feast

  business was suspended

  privates feasts

  everyon involved (even slaves)

  masters and slaves would swap roles

  promoted equality

  gifts were given