Demeter Shrine (Patras)
The Demeter sanctuary in Patras was a place of worship for Demeter and an oracle site .
Sanctuary and spring
According to Pausanias 7.21.11-12, the Demeter sanctuary of Patras was located near a grove in which Apollon and Aphrodite were worshiped. It was decorated with portraits of Demeter and her daughter Persephone as well as the personified earth , the latter seated, mother and daughter standing.
The spring at the sanctuary served as an oracle in case of illness. A mirror was lowered into the water and then showed the interviewers the person they were worried about, alive or dead. According to Pausanias, this oracle was infallible. He also describes the area around the spring at that time, which was closed off by a wall on the temple side and had an entrance on the other side. Apparently you had to go deep to get to the water.
This description of the location is very similar to the current situation on site: on the site of the Demeter shrine , the classicist church in honor of the apostle Andrew , who is said to have suffered his martyrdom there , was built in the 19th century . Immediately next to the church there is a roofed staircase that is closed off by a grid and leads down to the spring. An inscription above the vault points to the former veneration as the unmistakable Demeter spring and the crucifixion of Andreas at this point.
Patras is a carnival stronghold in Greece. It is believed that certain customs of this festival go back to rites in honor of Demeter.
photos
Protection structure over the source
Protective grille
Altarpiece
literature
- Michalis Petropoulos, Η λατρεία της Δήμητρας στην Αχαΐα , in: (ed.) Iphigenia Leventi and Christina Mitsopoulou, Iερα και λατρειες της Δημητρας στον αρχαιο ελληνικο κοσμο , IDEA & TYPOS 2010, ISBN 978-960-89078-6-7
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.infocenterpatras.gr/st_andrew.php ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 10, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://gogreece.about.com/od/carnivaltime/a/carnivaldates.htm
Coordinates: 38 ° 14 ′ 32.5 " N , 21 ° 43 ′ 41.1" E