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The Panathenaea (or Panathenaia) was a multi-day ancient Greek festival held annually in Athens that would always conclude on 28 Hekatombaion, the first month of the Attic calendar. [1] The main purpose of the festival was for Athenians and non-Athenians to celebrate the goddess Athena. [2]
The Lesser Panathenaia, a sister-event to the Great Panathenaia, was held every year with 3 to 4 days shorter in celebration. The competitions were the most prestigious games for the citizens of Athens, but not as important as the Olympic Games or the other Panhellenic Games. The Panathenaea also included poetic and musical competitions.
Caryatid Porch of the Erechtheion, Athens, 421–407 BCE. The Panathenaea (Ancient Greek: Παναθήναια, "all-Athenian festival") was the most important festival for Athens and one of the grandest in the entire ancient Greek world. Except for slaves, all inhabitants of the polis could take part in the festival.
Some Panathenaic amphorae depicted Athena Promachos, goddess of war, advancing between columns brandishing a spear and wearing the aegis, and next to her the inscription τῶν Ἀθήνηθεν ἄθλων "(one) of the prizes from Athens". On the back of the vase was a representation of the event for which it was an award.
A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos (Lycurgus) c. 400 BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD it had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned.
Site plan of the Acropolis at Athens showing the major archaeological remains – the Odeon is number 19, on the far right. The Odeon of Athens or Odeon of Pericles in Athens was a 4,000 m 2 (43,000 sq ft) odeon, built at the southeastern foot of the Acropolis in Athens, next to the entrance to the Theatre of Dionysus.
The Panathenaea was Athens' most important religious festival, and the Parthenon Frieze is believed to show the Great Panatheneia procession. In this section, the leading girl carries an incense burner; those behind her carry jugs for pouring libations.
The Attic calendar or Athenian calendar is the lunisolar calendar beginning in midsummer with the lunar month of Hekatombaion, in use in ancient Attica, the ancestral territory of the Athenian polis. It is sometimes called the Greek calendar because of Athens's cultural importance, but it is only one of many ancient Greek calendars .