Karyatis
Karyatis ( ancient Greek Καρύατις ) is an epiclesis of the Greek goddess Artemis , with whom she was worshiped in the city of Karyai , located between Laconia and Arcadia .
Artemis Karyatis had a sanctuary in Karyai together with the nymphs , in which the annual festival Karyateia was celebrated in her honor . The festival was marked by dances performed by laconic virgins. Her name is derived from καρύα ( karya , "walnut"), which is why she is considered a tree and fertility deity . This attribution is corroborated by her connection with Dionysus : In a Dionysus myth, a lover of Dionysus, the Artemis priestess Karya , is transformed into a walnut tree. The cult image of the goddess was accordingly also set up outdoors.
Aitiological stories tell of the origin of bucolic chant in the cult of the Karyatis. When no virgins came to dance during the Persian Wars, peasants took over their function and played their shepherd's song in honor of the goddess . The Karyatides ("women from Karyai"), pillars in the shape of female figures that were used in Greek architecture, were traced back to the dancing maidens of the Karyateia.
literature
- Ada Adler : Karyatis. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume X, 2, Stuttgart 1919, column 2252 ( digitized version ).
Remarks
- ↑ a b Pausanias 3, 10, 7.
- ^ Lactantius , Commentary on Statius ' Thebais 4, 225.
- ↑ Cf. Martin Persson Nilsson : Greek festivals of religious importance excluding the Attic. Teubner, Leipzig 1906. Reprinted by Teubner, Stuttgart 1995, ISBN 3-519-07254-8 . P. 198 f. ( Digitized version )
- ^ Ernst Robert Fiechter : Caryatides. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume X, 2, Stuttgart 1919, Sp. 2247-2252 ( digitized version 1 , 2 ).
- ^ Vitruvius 1, 1, 5.
