Festivals, celebrations and athletic

games in ancient Greece

Grade 6 Social studies: ancient Greece series
Overview

● Introduction: background and meaning

● City-specific festivals

● Pan-Hellenic festivals

● Performance and private entertainment

Introduction

● Many festivals

● Harvest or religious celebrations

● Financed by the state

● Matter or civic pride and prestige

● Local, city-wise and pan-Hellenic

festivals Sacrifice of food during a festival: factsanddetails.com

The festivals of ancient Athens

● Only known calendar of festivals

● Holy days observed every month

● Big celebrations during harvest, new

moon and gamelion (month of

weddings)

● Festivals dedicated to gods and Runners in an athletic game: wikimedia

goddesses
The Panathenaia, Παναθήναια (Panathenaic Games)

● Held every 4 years, in August

● Started in 566 B.C.

● Religious festival

● Ceremony of prize-giving

● Athletic games
The activities in Panathenaia, image source
● Poetic and music competitions
The religious festival

● Honouring Athens, the patroness

● Honouring Poseidon, the almost-patron

● A procession

● The torch-bearing

● Celebrating the might of Athens

● “Small Panathenaia” held every year The ivory-and-gold statue of Athena: reconstruction
The Torch-Bearing: read more here
The Procession
The musical and poetic competitions:
read more here
● Rhapsodic reciting of Homeric

poetry

● Instrumental music: aulus and

cithara

● Singing accompanied by
Aulos: double reed Kithara: yoke lyre/lute
instruments: citharody
Music competitions depicted on vases
Athletic competitions: the Stadium
The Athletic Games: took place at the Stadium

● Running

● Combat sports

● Horse/chariot races

● Torch-race between villages

● Javelin-throwing

● Traditional dances
 Torch-race
The athletic games: races
Stadion, dialous and dolichos Running in armor
The athletic games: combat sports
Boxing
Pankration Wrestling
 Javelin-throwing
The athletic games: “heavy” sports
Discus-throwing
Penthatlon

1. Discus-throwing
2. Long jump
3. Javelin-throwing
4. Running
5. Wrestling The long jump
Equestrian sports: horse races Four-horse chariots

Horse rider

Two-horse chariots
 Rewarding ceremony

Crowning ceremony of a victor

Panathenaic amphora: 1x 40 l. Olive oil

 Great inspiration for the ancient world

For a very good summary of everything we discussed today: read here.