Festivals of Attica: An Archaeological Commentary

by Erika Simon

The festivals of the Athenian sacred calendar constitute a vital key to classical Greek culture and religion.  Erika Simon sets out here to explicate those complex and often obscure festivals.  By careful marshaling of a variety of proofs from literary, historical, and archaeological sources, she is able to justify some startling conclusions and achieve a comprehensive and truly original synthesis that clarifies, as never before, the probable origins and meanings of the Attic cults.

Genres: Religion

180 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1983

Reviews

[Midori · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information gathered and offered in Festivals of Attica is in many ways unique in the current bibliography. It treats the festival calender of ancient Attica and explains it-not thoroughly, so the book should considered more a general introduction than anything else- with the aid of archaeological material-mainly pottery. The dangers of interpreting cults and rites from images are many and therefore, many a solutions given can be debated. Another element that is missing here are the myths related to the

cults which I believe offer a firmer basis for dating their beginnings than the all- encompasing chronological estimations of "Neolithic" and "Bronze Age" dates. Overall, the book is worth reading and thought provoking.

cults