Book contents
- Serving Athena
- Serving Athena
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Panathenaia: An Introduction
- 2 Giants and Heroes: The Mythologies of the Panathenaia
- 3 The Little Panathenaia
- 4 The Great Panathenaia: Ritual and Reciprocity
- 5 The Panathenaic Games: Entertaining the Goddess
- 6 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Athenian Men
- 7 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Other Residents and Non-Residents
- 8 The City, the Goddess and the Festival
- Book part
- Tables
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index of Collections
- General Index
3 - The Little Panathenaia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 April 2021
- Serving Athena
- Serving Athena
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- 1 The Panathenaia: An Introduction
- 2 Giants and Heroes: The Mythologies of the Panathenaia
- 3 The Little Panathenaia
- 4 The Great Panathenaia: Ritual and Reciprocity
- 5 The Panathenaic Games: Entertaining the Goddess
- 6 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Athenian Men
- 7 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Other Residents and Non-Residents
- 8 The City, the Goddess and the Festival
- Book part
- Tables
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index of Collections
- General Index
Summary
This chapter focuses on the Little Panathenaia, the version held in three years out of four, and an occasion neglected by the existing scholarship. It asks what we know about the so-called ‘annual’ celebration and how it created identities. The limited evidence shows that it was a much less complex occasion than the Great Panathenaia and it was focused on the procession and sacrifices to Athena in her sanctuary on the Akropolis. It also included a pannychis or all-night revel. The Little Panathenaia received additional elaboration in the late second century BC, when a peplos began to be offered to the goddess, while, in at least the later fifth and fourth centuries BC, a very limited set of competitions open only to Athenians was included. The identities created at the Little Panathenaia focused on Athenians and sub-groups of the city, rather than on displaying the city to external, non-Athenian visitors.
Keywords
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- Information
- Serving AthenaThe Festival of the Panathenaia and the Construction of Athenian Identities, pp. 83 - 115Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021