Classical Athenian Priestesses

By Grace Hammett

Which do you think is an Athenian Priestess and why?

• In pairs discuss which image you believe is of a priestess and why.

• We will also discuss your expectations of the roles of a priestess and their involvement in society.

Image A: Image B:

Guess the object…

Role of the priestess in Panathenaic Procession.

Place tasks in order: The arrephoroi start weaving the peplos.

Priestesses of Athena finish weaving the peplos.

Kanephoroi also required to carry the peplos to present at Athena’s Altar.

During the procession, these females mingled freely with the noble Athenians men that participated in the festival.

Priestess of Athena draps the finished peplos over the statue of Athena at the end of the procession

Two young girls from noble families were chosen by the Archon Basileus as arrephoroi.

The arrephoroi live with the priestesses of Athena for a period of time before the procession.

During the Procession through the streets of Athens, the peplos was draped ceremonially like the sail of a ship over a cart on wheels.

Young virgins of noble blood known as kanephoroi carried sacred baskets and brought the sacrificial animals that were to be presented to Athena.

Competition time:

• Athena Nike vs Athena Polias.

Please include:

• What is the name of your cult?• How are priestesses chosen?• What evidence survives today about your

priestess?• What festivals can I become involved in? • Why you think I should join?• Where is your temple located within the acropolis?

Source Comparison:

• Who, What, Where, Why and When.

• Think about who produced it? • Why was it produced?• When was it produced?

Ancient Source:

• In 508 BC Herodotus (Histories 5.72.3) describes a scene in which a priestess of Athena ejects the Spartan King Cleomenes from the acropolis.

• What does this tell us about the influence of a priestess?

• How are they seen in society? • Would it have been different if it was another

king?

Grave Relief:

Bibliography: Ancient Sources: • Herodotus. The Histories. Trans. Alfred Godley. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D72%3Asection%3D3. (last accessed 15th

January).

• Pliny the Elder. The Natural History. Trans. John Bostock. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=34:chapter=19&highlight=lysimache. (last accessed 15th January).

Secondary Sources:• Blundell, S. 1995. Women in Ancient Greece. London: British Museum Press.

• Boedeker, D. 2007. Athenian religion in the age of Pericles. In L.J. Samons II (ed.) Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles, 46-69. Cambridge: CUP.

• Cantarella, E. 1987. Pandora’s Daughters: the role and status of women in Greek and Roman antiquity. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

• Connelly, J. B. 2007. Portrait of a Priestess: Women and ritual in Ancient Greece. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

• Dillon, M. 2002. Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion. London: Routledge.

• Humphreys, S. 1993. The Family, Women and Death. Comparative studies. Michigan: The University of Michigan Press.

• Jordan, B. 1979. Servants of the Gods: A Study in the Religion, History and Literature of Fifth-century Athens. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co KG. • Just, R. 1989. Women in Athenian Life and Law. London: Routledge • Keesling, C. 2012. Syeris, Diokonos of the Priestess Lysimache on the Athenian Acropolis (IG II2 3464). Hesperia 81.3: 476-505. • Lee, M. 2005. Constru(ct)ing Gender in the Feminine Greek Peplos. In L Cleland et al. (eds). The Clothed Body in the Ancient World. Oxford: Oxbow.

• Lougovaya-Ast, J. 2006. Myrrhine, the First Priestess of Athena Nike. Phoenix. 60 (3/4): 211-225.

• Osborne, R. 1993. Women and Sacrifice in Classical Greece. The Classical Quarterly. 43(2): 392-405. • Patterson, C. 2007. Other sorts: Slaves, foreigners and women in Periclean Athens. In L.J. Samons II (ed.) Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles, 153-178. Cambridge: CUP. • Pomeroy, S. 1995. Goddesses, Whores, Wives and Slaves. New York: Schocken Books.