La freccia e il cerchio
anno 3, numero 3, 2012
pp. 64-65

Joanna Patera
Gathering around the fireplace.
Festivals and the family in ancient Greece

   Greek festivals held throughout the year mark the celebration of several occasions. Some festivals celebrate the birth or the power of gods. Others honour nature, vegetation and agriculture, and thus they have been often interpreted through the fertility paradigm. Others celebrations have been read as rites of passage for young boys into adulthood and for girls into womanhood. The gods worshipped in these festivals would guide the youths towards their new married and family life.
   Thus it is necessary to ascertain what festivals are actually related to the family in ancient Greece. Ceremonies celebrating weddings, births and deaths are carried out within the household; this is due to the fact that such events are seen as a cause pollution and thus their celebration is not allowed inside the shrines of the city. For a deeper understanding of the relationship between the family and religious festivals, the first step is to define what we mean by festival, and what exactly family means in this specific cultural context. Thus this paper aims to review the family structure in ancient Greece, the gods and festivals associated with it as well as the relationship between the family circle and its social environment. Far from targeting a limited number of participants, family festivals families in Greece are meant to involve larger groups of people, including individuals not necessarily related by blood.

   I. Festivals

   Festivals are celebrated on fixed dates and occur at regular intervals. The precise sequence of gestures and words, their neat repetition and formulaic occurrence provide a framework for the rites and the whole festival to be effective.
   According to Plato, the aim of festivals is to worship gods (Laws 809d). Furthermore, festivals are a chance for people to make sacrifices, to partake of the banquet, to dance and to amuse themselves. It is thus a chance to “feast” in the sense of experiencing something delightful, something that Aristotle defines as paidia in his Rethoric (1380b, 4). Far from being exclusively solemn celebrations, festivals are festive occasions. Right before the actual festivities, people dress up and join the crowd in the processions usually held before the festivals. Young women can look around and show themselves, and sometimes they can even find a husband.
   In the Greek language there are several words denoting what we translate as “festival”. The most commonly used, heortê, suggests the idea of “rejoicing”. The word sunodoi, which can be translated as “gathering”, refers specifically to meetings and associations. This is also the term Aristotle uses when talking about traditional religious gatherings that takes place after the harvest, when people have most time to spare (Nicomachean Ethics, 1160a, 25-28). Sometimes, the word paneguris is found. As it refers to a general assembly, the word is mostly used to designate solemn occasions (Plato, Laws, 653d).
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