The festivals of early Boedromion

The month of Boedromion is an interesting one. It has barely any large festivals--the huge exception are the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries--but it has a very large number of small sacrifices, minor festivals, and commemorative events. It is a trend that seems to have continued from the previous month where the second half of the month--at least in Erkhia, but also Athens--was dotted with them, far more than is usual in any of the other months. I want to risk a guess on why this is, but more on that later.

Today, I want to have a small discussion about six festivals celebrated the third to the seventh of the month. This post is a repost from last year, as my readers come and go and this information is important to have. The festivals and sacrifices we discuss today were largely celebrated in Athens and Erkhia, but there are clues that at least one of these was a panhellenic event. These festivals and the dates they were celebrated on this month are:

4 - Plataia
4 - Sacrifice to Basile in Erkhia
5 - Genesia
5 - Sacrifice to Epops at Erkhia
6 - Kharisteria
7 - Boedromia

Plataia - The Plataia (or Plataea) seems to have been a commemorative festival, for the Hellenes fallen at the battle of Plataea. The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Hellas. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. Some 38,700 Hellenes stood their ground against 300.000 Persians. The Hellenes marched out of the Peloponnesus and the Persians retreated to Boeotia and built a fortified camp near Plataea. The Hellenes surrounded the camp, but refused to enter the bare terrain surrounding the camp. They waited for eleven days, and then found their supplies driddled. They attempted to retreat, and Persian general Mardonius ordered his forces to pursue them. The Hellenes, however--particularly the Spartans, Tegeans and Athenians--stood their ground, and won a great victory over the Perians. The Persian infantry was slaughtered, and Mardonius killed. Plutarch gives the date for the battle to be the fourth of this month, but also attested that the Athenians commemorated the event on the third. In Boeotia (and especially in Plataea), the rememberance seems to have been held on the fourth.

Herodotus, in his Histories (9. 52. 1), and Plutarch, in his 'Life of Arestides' both remark the following about what is most likely this battle:

"The seer slew victim after victim, Pausanias turned his face [historical general of the Persian Wars], all tears, toward the Heraion, and with hands uplifted prayed Kithaironion Hera and the other gods of the Plataian land that, if it was not the lot of the Hellenes to be victorious, they might at least do great deeds before they fell."[Life of Aristides, 18. 1]

As such we can assume that, besides the fallen, a sacrifice to Hera was also made.

Sacrifice to Basile in Erkhia - In the calendar from Erkhia the heroine Basile was given a holókaustos on the 4th of the month of Boedromion. The sacrifice to Basile consisted of a white, female, lamb and was followed by a wineless libation. The colour of the animal is noteworthy, since holókaustoi have commonly been classified as khthonian sacrifices, and it is usually assumed that the victims used in such rituals were black. Basile was also worshipped elsewhere in Attica, but nothing is known of the kind of sacrifices she received at those locations. Basile seems to have been a local heroine. Nothing survives about her deeds, as far as I have been able to find, but she was important enough to warrant her own personal sacrifice--the Erkhian calendar also makes note of collective sacrifices to 'the heroines'.

Genesia - The Genesia seems to have been a festival of the dead--especially of dead parents. It was celebrated on the fifth of the month of Boudromion in Athens, but that is all we know for sure. There is reason to believe that the Genesia was panhellenic--although we do not know if all city-states performed the rites on the same day. We are also unsure if the Genesia was a set day for all children to visit their parents' grave and perform sacrifices there, or if there was a public commemoration of all parents. The day is also sacred to Gaea, who housed the remains of the dead, and brought fertility and wealth to the living.

Sacrifice to Epops at Erkhia - In the calendar from Erkhia, the hero Epops received two holókaustoi on the fifth of Boedromion. The victims of the two holókaustoi to Epops were piglets and the sacrifices were to be followed by wineless libations designated. Sacrifices to Epops are known only from the Erkhia calendar. The mythological context of Epops is not clear, but he was a hero, perhaps linked (by Kallimachos) to the conflict between the city-states Paiania and Erkhia.

Kharisteria - The Kharisteria takes place on the sixth of the month--a day sacred to Artemis. This festival is another commemoration of a battle, in this case, the battle of Marathon which took place in 490 BC. It was also a festival to pay off a debt to the Theoi. During the battle of Marathon, around 11,000 Hellenes stood their ground against a Persian force between 30.000 and 100.000 men. 203 Hellenes fell, opposite 6,400 Persians. That was quite a victory--especially if you consider that the Hellenes were the attacking side. The casualty numbers are known because the Hellenes set up a memorial for their fallen comrades. The Persian dead were counted for a very speciffic reason: the Hellenes had promised to the Theoi a sacrifice of one goat for ever Persian killed. In the end, they discovered they'd killed so many Persians that they couldn't find enough goats. A payment plan of sorts was divised, and over the course of thirteen years, roughly 500 goats per year were sacrificed, a practice that was still performed in Plutarch’s day. Plutarch also confirms that the sacrifice took place at Artemis Agrotera’s sanctuary at Agrai.

Boedromia - The festival that gives its name to the month. It might have been sacred to Apollon, and was thus most likely held on His sacred day--the seventh of the month. The Boedromia might have been another war commemoration. The epithet of Apollon associated with this festival is 'Boedromios', the helper in distress. The origin of the epithet and festival are explained in different ways. According to Plutarch, the name was awarded to Him (and the festival created) because he had assisted the Athenians in the war with the Amazons, who were defeated on the seventh of Boedromion, the day on which the Boedromia were afterwards celebrated. According to others, the name was awarded after the war of Erechtheus and Ion against Eumolpus, because Apollon had advised the Athenians to rush upon the enemy with a war-shout (Boê), if they wanted to win--and they did.

All these sacrifices have a khthonic character--to me, this is not odd, considering the Mysteries would be held only a few days afterwards. It was a time where death and the afterlife were on the mind, and where the dead were honored--because the Mysteries most likely also included appeasement and remembrances of the dead. Also remember the Niketeria, which was celebrated in the beginning of the month as well, and commemorated another battle.

To a modern Hellenist, none of these events--except perhaps the Genesia--relate to our life. These battles were not exactly in our lifetime, nor our country. Still, it is good to honor the dead, and take a moment to remember that the world would have been a very different place if the Persians had been victorious. Would it have been a worse place? That sort of value judgement is best reserved for the philosophers and historians. I am neither. I will give sacrifice to the dead, and to the heroes and heroines, and I will be thankful that my parents are still alive and I do not have reason to celebrate the Genesia. I will, however, mark the day with a sacrifice for the ancestors, in remembrance of a family line I am not exactly proud of, but am grateful for--because without them, I would not have been here.

As you have come to expect of us, Elaion will host PAT rituals for most of these festivals, to be announced in the coming days. We hope you will join them and find your own link to the past.

• Sunday, September 4, 2016
  ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Apollon Boedromion Artemis Artemis Agotera Basile Boedromia Epops Erkhia festivals Gaea Genesia Hera Heroes holókaustos Kharisteria Pausanias Plataia Plutarch Temples

What animals do the Gods prefer for their sacrifices?

Its been a while since I wrote about animal sacrifice on this blog. It was a favoured subject for a while because I find the concept so intriguing, but you know, there is only so long you can talk about theoretically killing and butchering animals before it gets weird. That said, I was tagged in a Facebook discussion about the subject yesterday, and the question is such a good one, I am reviving the subject on Baring the Aegis.

"Does anyone have a list of what animals the Gods preferred for their sacrifices? I know Artemis preferred wild game but I can't find a list for the rest of them."

First a little background on the practice: The principal kind of Greek sacrifice was called 'thysia' and consisted of the killing of a domestic animal, usually cattle, sheep, goats or pigs. It was followed by the division of the meat between the divine recipient and the human participants. This practice was most definitely the cornerstone of the ancient Hellenic faith. It included animals for a reason: the act of killing, of taking the life of an animal, is a difficult one. It brings us closer to our own mortality and must have given many of the men flashbacks of combat situations. Many ancient Hellenic households killed animals for meat, but there is something special about killing in sacrifice, I wager.

Sacrifice was the highlight of ancient Hellenic ritual. Like me, the ancient Hellenes sometimes fasted or otherwise abstained before ritual. They processed to the ritual site, leaving the mundane behind. Incense would have filled the air, and hymns would have been sung. The ritual that took place took the celebrants out of the regular world and the animals they brought with them stepped out with them. When they came upon the altar, the mood would have been tense: a death was about to occur. We are supposed to feel friction with our emotions when we take a life, animal or otherwise. Our instinct to preserve life is one of the strongest we have. Hymns would have continued, building the tension. Water was dripped on the head of the animal, trying to get it to say 'yes' to being sacrificed and purifying it in the process.

All participants threw barley groats onto the animal, the ground and the altar--perhaps roughly, like an attack, or perhaps softly, like a blessing. The barley came from a single basket and by the time everyone had had a handful to throw, the ritual knife would have been displayed at the bottom of the basket. The person who would kill the animal would have taken the knife and cut a lock of the animal's hair. Swiftly, the lock would be tossed into the fire as a warning of the impending sacrifice. The tension would have reached its height at this time and with a swift motion, the animal's throat would have been cut. All of its blood was collected and later dripped onto the fire or--in case of a smaller animal--dripped onto the fire directly. Women would scream, possibly to cover up the dying sounds of the animal, and then the tension would have most likely been broken and the ominous mood turned festive: while the entire animal belonged to the Gods, They saw fit to give much of it to Their followers for rare meat consumption.

There are two types of sacrifice, be they of animals or some other (food) item. Holokautein (ὁλοκαυτεῖν) were sacrifices in which the sacrifice--domestic animal, fruits, cakes, wine, etc.--was utterly destroyed and burnt up, as opposed to thyesthai (θύεσθαι), in which the sacrifice was shared with the Gods in question and one's fellow worshippers. In the case of a latter animal sacrifice, the edible parts of the sacrificed animal were roasted or boiled and distributed for festive celebration, whereas the inedible parts were burned or placed on the altar, those being the Gods' share. There is no list of which deity got which type of sacrifice, because the lines blurred quite often. That said, I can make a general working formula for you: Ouranic deities (so any deity (!) who lives on the Earth, on Olympos, or in the sea) were honoured with thyesthai. The Khthonic, or Underworld, deities, malign deities, heroes, the dead, ghosts and nymphs and their ilk received holókautein.

While we associate animal sacrifice with large-scale festivals, many sacrifices were family affairs, conducted in times of need. If someone was sick, for example, one or two chickens might be sacrificed around the family altar while the entire family attended. After the portion for the Gods was cut and sacrificed, the chickens were cooked for dinner.
 
Other sacrifices were larger; a chicken really was the smallest animal one could sacrifice in good conscience. A swine/pig came after, followed in desirability by sheep, goats, and oxen/cows. For home sacrifices, it would have been rare for any of the latter to take place: the sacrifice of a pig, sheep, or goat would have been shared with a whole residential block or maybe your very extended family. An ox was usually enough to satisfy an entire village. Meat could be stored, saved or sold, but especially in smaller towns, it was customary for all the meat to be eaten on the spot.

So which deity was offered which animal? There are a few generalized rules I can give you that seem to hold up through the city-states, but there were undoubtedly instances where these 'rules' did not apply. Like I said before, nothing smaller than a chicken; male animals were gifted to male deities, female animals for female deities; and black animals were given to khthonic deities, while white animals were given to Ouranic deities. The most complete information on the exact animals comes from Attica (and mostly Erkhia), but I think money was usually the defining factor for the exact animal, along with the need for the prayer to be honoured. In general, the more important the occasion, the more expensive and large the animal. We have a few examples (oxen for Athena at Athens, for example, and pigs to Demeter at Eleusis), but in other city-states, or even within the city-state, this is turned up-side-down again: at Erkhia, both regularly got sheep. Aphrodite is another exception, as she often received doves in sacrifice, and many other Gods have 'quirks' like these. Doves, by the way, were an acceptable offering of the poor, but were greatly down looked upon unless in connection to Aphrodite.

A factor seems to be the promise made to the deity at hand, as that promise was honoured above all else. Especially in situations of war, generals of armies made large boasts of sacrifice to come if only the Gods would help them be victorious. Afterwards, arrangements were made to actually perform said sacrifices. These promises were sometimes so outlandish that they were only accomplished with great difficulty. The Kharisteria is a festival that takes place on the sixth of the month of Boedromion and commemorates the battle of Marathon which took place in 490 BC. During the battle of Marathon, around 11,000 Hellenes stood their ground against a Persian force between 30.000 and 100.000 men. 203 Hellenes fell, opposite 6,400 Persians. That was quite a victory--especially if you consider that the Hellenes were the attacking side. The casualty numbers are known because the Hellenes set up a memorial for their fallen comrades. The Persian dead were counted for a very specific reason: the Hellenes had promised to the Theoi a sacrifice of one goat for every Persian killed. In the end, they discovered they'd killed so many Persians that they couldn't find enough goats. A payment plan of sorts was devised, and over the course of thirteen years, roughly 500 goats per year were sacrificed. The choice of a goat sounds a practical one to me: they probably knew the death count would be high, so offering oxen was going to be impossible, but they also did not want to undercut themselves and loose the battle because Artemis felt short-changed. A goat is a nice 'in-between' offering.

I feel that the Gods don't prefer any type of sacrifice; what they are looking for is sacrifice, period. It's up to the giver to decided what to give, and that depends on a multitude of factors, most of which I have tried to go into here. In the end, the ancient Hellenes gave the maximum they could spare, and that would be a good measure for us as well.

• Tuesday, December 24, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture animals Artemis Athena Athens Demeter Erkhia festivals Hellenismos 101 Kharisteria requested post sacrifice

The festivals of early Boedromion

The month of Boedromion is an interesting one. It has barely any large festivals--the huge exception are the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries--but it has a very large number of small sacrifices, minor festivals, and commemorative events. It is a trend that seems to have continued from the previous month where the second half of the month--at least in Erchia, but also Athens--was dotted with them, far more than is usual in any of the other months. I want to risk a guess on why this is, but more on that later.

Today, I want to have a small discussion about six festivals celebrated the third to the seventh of the month. I would have done this yesterday (so as to be on time for the first of these festivals), but family circumstances did not permit that. The festivals and sacrifices we discuss today were largely celebrated in Athens and Erchia, but there are clues that at least one of these was a panhellenic event. These festivals and the dates they were celebrated on this month are:

3 - Plataia
4 - Sacrifice to Basile in Erchia
5 - Genesia
5 - Sacrifice to Epops at Erchia
6 - Kharisteria
7 - Boedromia

Plataia - The Plataia (or Plataea) seems to have been a commemorative festival, for the Hellenes fallen at the battle of Plataea. The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Hellas. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Megara, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I. Some 38,700 Hellenes stood their ground against 300.000 Persians. The Hellenes marched out of the Peloponnesus and the Persians retreated to Boeotia and built a fortified camp near Plataea. The Hellenes surrounded the camp, but refused to enter the bare terrain surrounding the camp. They waited for eleven days, and then found their supplies driddled. They attempted to retreat, and Persian general Mardonius ordered his forces to pursue them. The Hellenes, however--particularly the Spartans, Tegeans and Athenians--stood their ground, and won a great victory over the Perians. The Persian infantry was slaughtered, and Mardonius killed. Plutarch gives the date for the battle to be the fourth of this month, but also attested that the Athenians commemorated the event on the third. In Boeotia (and especially in Plataea), the rememberance seems to have been held on the fourth.

Herodotus, in his Histories (9. 52. 1), and Plutarch, in his 'Life of Arestides' both remark the following about what is most likely this battle:

"The seer slew victim after victim, Pausanias turned his face [historical general of the Persian Wars], all tears, toward the Heraion, and with hands uplifted prayed Kithaironion Hera and the other gods of the Plataian land that, if it was not the lot of the Hellenes to be victorious, they might at least do great deeds before they fell."[Life of Aristides, 18. 1]

As such we can assume that, besides the fallen, a sacrifice to Hera was also made.

Sacrifice to Basile in Erchia - In the calendar from Erchia the heroine Basile was given a holókaustos on the 4th of the month of Boedromion. The sacrifice to Basile consisted of a white, female, lamb and was followed by a wineless libation. The colour of the animal is noteworthy, since holókaustoi have commonly been classified as khthonian sacrifices, and it is usually assumed that the victims used in such rituals were black. Basile was also worshipped elsewhere in Attica, but nothing is known of the kind of sacrifices she received at those locations. Basile seems to have been a local heroine. Nothing survives about her deeds, as far as I have been able to find, but she was important enough to warrant her own personal sacrifice--the Erchian calendar also makes note of collective sacrifices to 'the heroines'.

Genesia - The Genesia seems to have been a festival of the dead--especially of dead parents. It was celebrated on the fifth of the month of Boudromion in Athens, but that is all we know for sure. There is reason to believe that the Genesia was panhellenic--although we do not know if all city-states performed the rites on the same day. We are also unsure if the Genesia was a set day for all children to visit their parents' grave and perform sacrifices there, or if there was a public commemoration of all parents. The day is also sacred to Gaea, who housed the remains of the dead, and brought fertility and wealth to the living.

Sacrifice to Epops at Erchia - In the calendar from Erchia, the hero Epops received two holókaustoi on the fifth of Boedromion. The victims of the two holókaustoi to Epops were piglets and the sacrifices were to be followed by wineless libations designated. Sacrifices to Epops are known only from the Erchia calendar. The mythological context of Epops is not clear, but he was a hero, perhaps linked (by Kallimachos) to the conflict between the city-states Paiania and Erchia.

Kharisteria - The Kharisteria takes place on the sixth of the month--a day sacred to Artemis. This festival is another commemoration of a battle, in this case, the battle of Marathon which took place in 490 BC. It was also a festival to pay off a debt to the Theoi. During the battle of Marathon, around 11,000 Hellenes stood their ground against a Persian force between 30.000 and 100.000 men. 203 Hellenes fell, opposite 6,400 Persians. That was quite a victory--especially if you consider that the Hellenes were the attacking side. The casualty numbers are known because the Hellenes set up a memorial for their fallen comrades. The Persian dead were counted for a very speciffic reason: the Hellenes had promised to the Theoi a sacrifice of one goat for ever Persian killed. In the end, they discovered they'd killed so many Persians that they couldn't find enough goats. A payment plan of sorts was divised, and over the course of thirteen years, roughly 500 goats per year were sacrificed, a practice that was still performed in Plutarch’s day. Plutarch also confirms that the sacrifice took place at Artemis Agrotera’s sanctuary at Agrai.

Boedromia - The festival that gives its name to the month. It might have been sacred to Apollon, and was thus most likely held on His sacred day--the seventh of the month. The Boedromia might have been another war commemoration. The epithet of Apollon associated with this festival is 'Boedromios', the helper in distress. The origin of the epithet and festival are explained in different ways. According to Plutarch, the name was awarded to Him (and the festival created) because he had assisted the Athenians in the war with the Amazons, who were defeated on the seventh of Boedromion, the day on which the Boedromia were afterwards celebrated. According to others, the name was awarded after the war of Erechtheus and Ion against Eumolpus, because Apollon had advised the Athenians to rush upon the enemy with a war-shout (Boê), if they wanted to win--and they did.

All these sacrifices have a khthonic character--to me, this is not odd, considering the Mysteries would be held only a few days afterwards. It was a time where death and the afterlife were on the mind, and where the dead were honored--because the Mysteries most likely also included appeasement and remembrances of the dead. Also remember the Niketeria, which was celebrated in the beginning of the month as well, and commemorated another battle.

To a modern Hellenist, none of these events--except perhaps the Genesia--relate to our life. These battles were not exactly in our lifetime, nor our country. Still, it is good to honor the dead, and take a moment to remember that the world would have been a very different place if the Persians had been victorious. Would it have been a worse place? That sort of value judgement is best reserved for the philosophers and historians. I am neither. I will give sacrifice to the dead, and to the heroes and heroines, and I will be thankful that my parents are still alive and I do not have reason to celebrate the Genesia. I will, however, mark the day with a sacrifice for the ancestors, in remembrance of a family line I am not exactly proud of, but am grateful for--because without them, I would not have been here.

• Tuesday, September 10, 2013
  ancient Hellenic culture Apollon Apollon Boedromion Artemis Artemis Agotera Basile Boedromia Epops Erkhia festivals Gaea Genesia Hera Heroes holókaustos Kharisteria Pausanias Plataia Plutarch Temples