Hieromênia and sacrifice during the Hyakinthia

Bibliographic Data

ID20062701
AuthorsAngeliki Petropoulou (Hellenic Open University, corresponding author)
Year2015
Pages167-188
Publication date2015-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueDossier : Aitia (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherÉditions de l’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4000/books.editionsehess.3366
OpenAlexW2734003046
ISBN9782713226120
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited24

The holiday period at Sparta associated with the Hyakinthia is mentioned by Herodotus in connection with the ten days during which an Athenian embassy was detained there in 479 B. C., although, according to Polycrates, the Spartans celebrated the Hyakinthia for three days. The apparent contradiction between Herodotus and Polycrates can be accounted for, if one recalls that the actual festival often occupied part of a longer holiday called the hieromênia. A careful reading of the Herodotean text suggests that the Hyakinthia lasted at least nine days. We argue that during the period preceding the actual festival the Spartans set up tents in the shrine of Apollo at Amyklai in order to accommodate the κοπίς, the ritual dinner held on the second day of the festival. Lastly, we argue that the sacrifice of numerous goats to Apollo for the kopis was the chief feature of the festival, which ended with athletic games on the third day

Aesthetics · Ancient history · Apollo · Archaeology · Art · Contradiction · Humanities · Literature · Political science · Sacrifice · Zoology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Literary Studies · History · Law · Philosophy

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