Dionysos Lenaios at Rhamnous. Lenaia ἐν ἀγροῖς and the “Lenaia vases”
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Michalis Tiverios
Abstract
The Dionysiac cult had a particularly marked presence in Rhamnous. It was not just ancient but also one of the most official in the area because the honorific decrees of the deme of the Rhamnousians were set up not only in the Nemeseion but also in the precincts of the Dionysian sanctuary. Rhamnous also happens to preserve the only evidence outside Athens of the cult of Dionysos Lenaios. Moreover, theatrical performances were held during the Dionysia, the ‘rustic’ (ἐν ἀγροῖς), but probably also during the Lenaia. Therefore, Rhamnous, combined with what a commentator on Aristophanes said, permits us to assert that the Athenians celebrated the Lenaia both in the city (ἐν ἄστει) and the countryside (ἐν ἀγροῖς). The “Lenaian” vase-paintings that depict cult rituals to a characteristic image of the god performed exclusively by female figures should be related to the Lenaia, the only Dionysiac orgiastic festival in ancient Athens. These scenes, many of which decorate stamnoi (probably the ancient krossoi), it is clear that they depict different cult images of the god, as well as different surroundings. Therefore, these vase-paintings can be linked not only with the urban Lenaia (ἐν ἄστει) but also with the rustic Lenaia (ἐν ἀγροῖς).
Abstract
The Dionysiac cult had a particularly marked presence in Rhamnous. It was not just ancient but also one of the most official in the area because the honorific decrees of the deme of the Rhamnousians were set up not only in the Nemeseion but also in the precincts of the Dionysian sanctuary. Rhamnous also happens to preserve the only evidence outside Athens of the cult of Dionysos Lenaios. Moreover, theatrical performances were held during the Dionysia, the ‘rustic’ (ἐν ἀγροῖς), but probably also during the Lenaia. Therefore, Rhamnous, combined with what a commentator on Aristophanes said, permits us to assert that the Athenians celebrated the Lenaia both in the city (ἐν ἄστει) and the countryside (ἐν ἀγροῖς). The “Lenaian” vase-paintings that depict cult rituals to a characteristic image of the god performed exclusively by female figures should be related to the Lenaia, the only Dionysiac orgiastic festival in ancient Athens. These scenes, many of which decorate stamnoi (probably the ancient krossoi), it is clear that they depict different cult images of the god, as well as different surroundings. Therefore, these vase-paintings can be linked not only with the urban Lenaia (ἐν ἄστει) but also with the rustic Lenaia (ἐν ἀγροῖς).
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents XI
- List of Figures XIII
- Tabula Gratulatoria XIX
- Vasileios Petrakos: A Life Dedicated to the Service of Greek Archaeology XXIII
-
Part I: Epigraphy and Ancient History
- Thucydides, Historical Geography and the ‘Lost Years’ of Perdikkas II 3
- Athens, Samothrace, and the Mysteria of the Samothracian Great Gods 17
- De quelques épitaphes d’étrangers et d’étrangères au Musée d’Érétrie 45
- Φυτωνυμικά τοπωνύμια Κωμών της Αργολίδος 103
- Le recours à l’arbitrage privé dans les actes d’affranchissement delphiques 117
- Προξενικό ψήφισμα από την Αιτωλία 137
- Women’s Religion in Hellenistic Athens 145
- Notes on Athenian Decrees in the Later Hellenistic Period 159
- “Those Who Jointly Built the City” 179
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Part II: Archaeology
- Attica and the Origins of Silver Metallurgy in the Aegean and the Carpatho-Balkan Zone 197
- Cultural Variation in Mycenaean Attica. A Mesoregional Approach 227
- Mythical and Historical Heroic Founders: The Archaeological Evidence 299
- Das Volutenkapitell aus Sykaminos 321
- Dionysos Lenaios at Rhamnous. Lenaia ἐν ἀγροῖς and the “Lenaia vases” 359
- Philoktet in Attika 383
-
Part III: History of Greek Archaeology
- Peiraieus in 1805 411
- Karl Otfried Müller in Marathon, Rhamnus und Oropos 423
- Spyridon Marinatos and Carl Blegen at Pylos: A Happy Collaboration 441
- Vassilis Petrakos et les fouilles suisses d’Érétrie 451
- List of Contributors 465
- Index of Epigraphical Texts 469
- Index Locorum 477
- Index of Mythological Names 483
- Index of Geographic Names (Place Names, Ethnic and Demotic Adjectives) 485
- Index of Ancient Personal Names 499
- Index Rerum 505
- Index of Modern Personal Names 515
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Preface V
- Contents XI
- List of Figures XIII
- Tabula Gratulatoria XIX
- Vasileios Petrakos: A Life Dedicated to the Service of Greek Archaeology XXIII
-
Part I: Epigraphy and Ancient History
- Thucydides, Historical Geography and the ‘Lost Years’ of Perdikkas II 3
- Athens, Samothrace, and the Mysteria of the Samothracian Great Gods 17
- De quelques épitaphes d’étrangers et d’étrangères au Musée d’Érétrie 45
- Φυτωνυμικά τοπωνύμια Κωμών της Αργολίδος 103
- Le recours à l’arbitrage privé dans les actes d’affranchissement delphiques 117
- Προξενικό ψήφισμα από την Αιτωλία 137
- Women’s Religion in Hellenistic Athens 145
- Notes on Athenian Decrees in the Later Hellenistic Period 159
- “Those Who Jointly Built the City” 179
-
Part II: Archaeology
- Attica and the Origins of Silver Metallurgy in the Aegean and the Carpatho-Balkan Zone 197
- Cultural Variation in Mycenaean Attica. A Mesoregional Approach 227
- Mythical and Historical Heroic Founders: The Archaeological Evidence 299
- Das Volutenkapitell aus Sykaminos 321
- Dionysos Lenaios at Rhamnous. Lenaia ἐν ἀγροῖς and the “Lenaia vases” 359
- Philoktet in Attika 383
-
Part III: History of Greek Archaeology
- Peiraieus in 1805 411
- Karl Otfried Müller in Marathon, Rhamnus und Oropos 423
- Spyridon Marinatos and Carl Blegen at Pylos: A Happy Collaboration 441
- Vassilis Petrakos et les fouilles suisses d’Érétrie 451
- List of Contributors 465
- Index of Epigraphical Texts 469
- Index Locorum 477
- Index of Mythological Names 483
- Index of Geographic Names (Place Names, Ethnic and Demotic Adjectives) 485
- Index of Ancient Personal Names 499
- Index Rerum 505
- Index of Modern Personal Names 515
