Chalceia: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Religious festival}} |
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In ancient [[Attica]], a festival called '''Chalceia''' was held on the 30th day of [[Pyanepsion]] (autumn). The festival honored the god [[Hephaestus]] and the goddess [[Athena]] in her ''Athena Ergane'' form (Athena as patroness of craftsmen and artisans). |
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The '''Chalkeia''' festival (also spelled '''Chalceia'''), the festival of Bronze-workers, was a religious festival devoted to the goddess [[Athena]] and the god [[Hephaestus]]. It was celebrated on the last day of Pyanepsion (October or November in the [[Attic calendar]]). The festival celebrated Athena and Hephaestus, in honor of both gods as patron deities of Athens, and as deities of handicrafts.<ref name=Erika>Erika Simon, Festivals of Attica, pg. 38-39, University of Wisconsin Press. 1983</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Parke|first=H. W.|title=Festivals of the Athenians|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1977|isbn=978-0801494406|location=Ithaca, New York|pages=92–93}}</ref> |
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Each year, preparations were begun for a specialized [[peplos]] (a robed garment worn by Greek women), which was made to be offered to the goddess at another festival, the [[Panathenaic Games|Panathenaea]].<ref>Jenifer Neils, Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens, pg. 113 Princeton University Press. 1992</ref> |
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==Traditions== |
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Though Hephaestus was involved, the festival's main focus was Athena, specifically under the epithet [[Athena#Epithets and attributes|Athena Hephaistia]]<ref name=":0" /> and [[Athena#Epithets and attributes|Athena Ergane]].<ref name="Haland" /> The offerings recorded for each day were always for Athena, not her male counterpart. Also, the main focus of the festival (the sacred peplos) was for Athena, while Hephaestus wasn't given any gifts.<ref>Larson, Ancient Greek Cults, pg. 45, Routledge. 2007</ref> |
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'Athena Hephaista' was the epithet given to Athena in this context as a special association with Hephaestus, the god of the smiths. A statue of this aspect of Athena was constructed in the ''[[Temple of Hephaestus|Hephaisteion]]'' next to the cult statue of Hephaestus in 343 B.C. <ref name=":0" /> |
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{{Ancient-Greece-stub}} |
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{{Reli-festival-stub}} |
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‘Athena Ergane’ was a specific title given to Athena as the patron of crafts, particularly weaving. Under this moniker, she was the goddess of all handicrafts, or functional artwork. To honor this, on the day of the festival, a loom is set up by the priestesses of Athena and the [[Arrephoros|Arrephoroi]]. From the loom, a great peplos is warped and woven. The Arrephoroi were young girls, not much more than seven years old, and had been chosen by the [[archon basileus]] from four aristocratic girls nominated by the Athenian people. Because of their youth they were not really directly involved with the weaving, but it was believed that the beginning of the work was blessed by their presence. It was considered a great honor to be chosen to be an Arrephoros; there are honorific portrait statues and inscribed statues that have been found that commemorate various daughters’ involvement as child servants of Athena.<ref name=Haland>Evy Johanne Haland, “The Ritual Year of Athena: The Agricultural Cycle of the Olive, Girls’ Rites of Passage, and Official Ideology,” Journal of Religious History, Vol. 36, No. 2, pg. 256 June 2012</ref> |
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[[ca:Càlcia]] |
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[[el:Χαλκεία]] |
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==The Sacred Peplos== |
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[[es:Calqueas]] |
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Athena Ergane was the goddess of spinning and weaving, and so every year at the Chalkeia, on the day of the festival, the priestesses of Athena Polias and the young Arrephoroi would ritualistically set up a loom to make a sacred peplos to be offered to the goddess. It is very likely that the [[Charites|Graces]], were somehow involved in the ritual of setting up the loom, and contributed to weaving the peplos.<ref>Palagia, “Women in the Cult of Athena,” Worshipping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens, pg 33-35, Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. 2008</ref> |
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[[fr:Chalkeia]] |
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On this loom, the enormous peplos was woven by women volunteers, the [[Kanephoros|ergastinai]] (meaning “female weavers”), who were either virgin girls of marriageable age or older matrons. Every year the peplos was woven by the Ergastinai under the supervision of a priestess of the Athena's cult. When the work at the loom began, the Arrephoroi wore white robes, and were present to offer their perceived sacredness.<ref name="Erika"/> |
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There were two ways the peplos was made: it was either a smaller peplos made by women, or a larger one made by men. The smaller peplos was woven annually by the ergastinai, and offered as a robe for the statue of Athena Polias during the Lesser Panathenaea. The larger peplos was woven every four years by male professional weavers, and was presented to Athena at the Greater Panathenaea.<ref>Zoe Stamatopoulou, “Weaving Titans for Athena: Euripides and the Panathenaic Peplos,” Classical Quarterly Vol. 62.1 pg. 72–80. May 2012</ref> |
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Regardless of size, the weavers had to create a particular scene on the peplos: Athena's defeat of [[Enceladus (giant)|Enceladus]] and the Olympian's defeat of the Giants, the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Gigantomachy]]. During the battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was disabled by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena.<ref name="Haland"/> |
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==See also== |
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* [[Athenian festivals]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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Latest revision as of 15:14, 10 August 2022
The Chalkeia festival (also spelled Chalceia), the festival of Bronze-workers, was a religious festival devoted to the goddess Athena and the god Hephaestus. It was celebrated on the last day of Pyanepsion (October or November in the Attic calendar). The festival celebrated Athena and Hephaestus, in honor of both gods as patron deities of Athens, and as deities of handicrafts.[1][2]
Each year, preparations were begun for a specialized peplos (a robed garment worn by Greek women), which was made to be offered to the goddess at another festival, the Panathenaea.[3]
Traditions
[edit]Though Hephaestus was involved, the festival's main focus was Athena, specifically under the epithet Athena Hephaistia[2] and Athena Ergane.[4] The offerings recorded for each day were always for Athena, not her male counterpart. Also, the main focus of the festival (the sacred peplos) was for Athena, while Hephaestus wasn't given any gifts.[5]
'Athena Hephaista' was the epithet given to Athena in this context as a special association with Hephaestus, the god of the smiths. A statue of this aspect of Athena was constructed in the Hephaisteion next to the cult statue of Hephaestus in 343 B.C. [2]
‘Athena Ergane’ was a specific title given to Athena as the patron of crafts, particularly weaving. Under this moniker, she was the goddess of all handicrafts, or functional artwork. To honor this, on the day of the festival, a loom is set up by the priestesses of Athena and the Arrephoroi. From the loom, a great peplos is warped and woven. The Arrephoroi were young girls, not much more than seven years old, and had been chosen by the archon basileus from four aristocratic girls nominated by the Athenian people. Because of their youth they were not really directly involved with the weaving, but it was believed that the beginning of the work was blessed by their presence. It was considered a great honor to be chosen to be an Arrephoros; there are honorific portrait statues and inscribed statues that have been found that commemorate various daughters’ involvement as child servants of Athena.[4]
The Sacred Peplos
[edit]Athena Ergane was the goddess of spinning and weaving, and so every year at the Chalkeia, on the day of the festival, the priestesses of Athena Polias and the young Arrephoroi would ritualistically set up a loom to make a sacred peplos to be offered to the goddess. It is very likely that the Graces, were somehow involved in the ritual of setting up the loom, and contributed to weaving the peplos.[6]
On this loom, the enormous peplos was woven by women volunteers, the ergastinai (meaning “female weavers”), who were either virgin girls of marriageable age or older matrons. Every year the peplos was woven by the Ergastinai under the supervision of a priestess of the Athena's cult. When the work at the loom began, the Arrephoroi wore white robes, and were present to offer their perceived sacredness.[1]
There were two ways the peplos was made: it was either a smaller peplos made by women, or a larger one made by men. The smaller peplos was woven annually by the ergastinai, and offered as a robe for the statue of Athena Polias during the Lesser Panathenaea. The larger peplos was woven every four years by male professional weavers, and was presented to Athena at the Greater Panathenaea.[7]
Regardless of size, the weavers had to create a particular scene on the peplos: Athena's defeat of Enceladus and the Olympian's defeat of the Giants, the Gigantomachy. During the battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was disabled by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Erika Simon, Festivals of Attica, pg. 38-39, University of Wisconsin Press. 1983
- ^ a b c Parke, H. W. (1977). Festivals of the Athenians. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-0801494406.
- ^ Jenifer Neils, Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens, pg. 113 Princeton University Press. 1992
- ^ a b c Evy Johanne Haland, “The Ritual Year of Athena: The Agricultural Cycle of the Olive, Girls’ Rites of Passage, and Official Ideology,” Journal of Religious History, Vol. 36, No. 2, pg. 256 June 2012
- ^ Larson, Ancient Greek Cults, pg. 45, Routledge. 2007
- ^ Palagia, “Women in the Cult of Athena,” Worshipping Women: Ritual and Reality in Classical Athens, pg 33-35, Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. 2008
- ^ Zoe Stamatopoulou, “Weaving Titans for Athena: Euripides and the Panathenaic Peplos,” Classical Quarterly Vol. 62.1 pg. 72–80. May 2012