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What happened during the Anthesteria festival in ancient Athens?
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Greek mythology
Oil on canvas by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, c. 1760; in the National Gallery, London.
The Anthesteria was an annual three-day Athenian festival held in the month of Anthesterion (February–March) to honor Dionysus and celebrate the arrival of spring and the maturation of the previous year's wine.1
The festival proceeded as follows:
- Day 1 (Pithoigia): Known as the "Jar Opening," this day involved offering libations to Dionysus from newly opened wine casks.1
- Day 2 (Choes): Known as "Wine Jugs," this day featured popular merrymaking and wine-drinking contests. During this time, the state conducted a secret ceremony in the Lenaeum sanctuary, where the wife of the king archon underwent a symbolic marriage to Dionysus. It was believed that on this day, the souls of the dead walked among the living; to protect themselves, people smeared their doors with tar and chewed whitethorn leaves.1
- Day 3 (Chytroi): Known as "Pots," this was a festival dedicated to the dead, involving the offering of pots containing seed or bran.1