Thesmophorias

The Thesmophoria were an old mysterious festival, which was celebrated in Athens and many other places in Greece on the 11th, 12th and 13th day of the month of Pyanopsion (October / November) after the winter sowing was ordered, in honor of Demeter Thesmophoros , ie the legislative Demeter , the founder of agriculture , civil society and legal marriage.

The men were strictly excluded from the festival, which consisted mainly of a procession of women near the Demeter temple on the Kolias promontory and ended with a feast with mimed dances and games. But the men were obliged to finance the festivities. In Athens, parts of the rituals took place on the Pnyx . The men left this to the women. These points testify to the importance of the festival for the whole community.

literature

• Julia Iwersen : The woman in ancient Greece. Religion, culture, society . Düsseldorf / Zurich 2002. pp. 163f

This article is based on a text in the public domain from Meyers Konversations-Lexikon , 4th edition from 1888 to 1890.

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