Civic Athenian Festivals

Paper Summary:

This paper describes the ways that the Athenians practiced a polytheistic religion which expressed itself through civic festivals and cults. The paper attempts to create an overview of the most important Athenian civic festivals. It describes the way in which each festival provided a basis in Athenian worship, gave Athenian's a sense and a meaning in life and provided them with a sense of identity as human beings.

Table of Contents:
The Panathenaia
The Anthesteria
The Dionysia
The City Dionysia

From the Paper:

"The Dipolieia was a very strange Athenian festival that took place two days after another important festival, the Skira (Parke 162). It comprised of a ceremony called the Butaphonia in the honor of Zeus (Parke 162). They celebrated a special aspect of Zeus by this festival, i.e. Zeus as the God of the city and the festivities took place at his altar from the Acropolis (Parke 162). The ceremony implied the sacrifice of an ox and a mock of its restoration to life. The ritual had become antiquated and so did the festival (Parke 166).
In conclusion, the calendar of the ancient Greeks was full with both the specific Athenian festivals and the ones referring to the entire Attica. However, they did not serve only the scope of entertainment, but they supported the development of the sciences and the art while encouraging people to travel and try new things."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Burkert, Walter, "Athenian Cults and Festivals.", in Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 5: The Fifth Century BC, 245-67. 2nd ed., Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1992
• Parke, H. W., Festivals of the Athenians, Cornell Univ. Pr; Reprint edition (Dec 31 1995)
• Csapo, Eric, Riding the Phallus for Dionysus: Iconology, Ritual, and Gender-Role De/Construction, Phoenix, Vol. 51, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 1997), pp. 253-295
• Thargelia, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved on the 23rd of April 2007, Available online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thargelia
• Dionysia, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Retrieved on the 23rd of April 2007, Available online at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysia

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