Serving Athena
Serving Athena
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In ancient Athens, the Panathenaia was the most important festival and was celebrated in honour of Athena from the middle of the sixth century BC until the end of the fourth century AD. This in-depth study examines how this all-Athenian celebration was an occasion for constructing identities and how it affected those identities. Since not everyone took part in the same way, this differential participation articulated individuals' relationships both to the goddess and to the city so that the festival played an important role in negotiating what it meant to be Athenian (and non-Athenian). Julia Shear applies theories of identity formation which were developed in the social sciences to the ancient Greek material and brings together historical, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence to provide a better understanding both of this important occasion and of Athenian identities over the festival's long history.
- The first monograph-length treatment of the festival of the Panathenaia, integrating written evidence with evidence from material culture
- Covers the entire course of the Panathenaia's long history, fully engaging with the Hellenistic and Roman periods as well as the Archaic and Classical
- Applies theories of social identity to the ancient Greek material
Reviews & endorsements
'Shear's approach is programmatically holistic; she uses literary, epigraphical, and archaeological sources as well as theories of the social sciences … This book provides impressive evidence for the festival throughout its history and thought-provoking insights into the logics of constructing identities for the various subgroups attested as participants over the course of time. Hopefully, it will motivate further discussion about the importance and relevance of cult practices for social history - and for the cult.' Marion Meyer, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
'Shear's long-awaited publication is a detailed and lengthy analysis which presents what is known of the festival's history, religious significance, and associated events.' Tyler Jo Smith, Religious Studies Review
Product details
February 2021Adobe eBook Reader
9781108620901
0 pages
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- Preface
- 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
- Appendix 1. The Hellenistic Archons of Athens:
- 323/2 to 48/7 BC
- Appendix 2. The Parthenon Frieze and the Panathenaia
- Appendix 3. The Races for the Apobates and the Dismounting Charioteer
- Appendix 4: The Pyrrhiche and the Tribal Team Events
- Appendix 5: The Date of IG II2 3079 = IG II3.4 528
- Appendix 6: The Officials of the Great Panathenaia in the Third Century BC
- Appendix 7: Tiberius Claudius Novius and the Great Panathenaia Sebasta
- Appendix 8: The Text of Agora XVIII C197
- Tables
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index of Collections
- General Index.
