eul_wid: mmg-aj
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

On Athenian Sacred Rites by Anonymous Historians (FGrH)

On Athenian Sacred Rites is an anonymous collection of nine fragmentary passages concerning Athenian religious practices and sanctuaries. It survives as part of a larger antiquarian compilation known as the Historical Fragments, transmitted within the medieval manuscript tradition. The work is presented in the format of excerpted notes rather than a continuous treatise, and the original scope of the source material from which these excerpts were drawn remains unknown. The passages address specific elements of Athenian cultic life, including details of various cults and rituals, descriptions of sanctuaries and sacred spaces, and points of religious antiquities and local history, placing it within the tradition of Atthidography. Its significance lies in its contribution to the corpus of Atthidographic fragments, providing specific data points that supplement evidence from more extensive literary authors and epigraphic sources, thereby aiding the modern reconstruction of Athenian religious history and sacred topography.

Εὐστάθιος ὁ Θεσσαλονίκης Αἴλιος μέντοι Διονύσιος Δαῖραν γράφων δισυλλάβως τὴν Δάειράν φησιν, ὅτι οἱ περὶ τελετὰς καὶ μυστήρια τὴν ὑγρὰν οὐσίαν δαῖραν ὀνομάζουσιν.

Οὐαλέριος Ἁρποκρατίων Ἀπατούρια· Δημοσθένης ἐν τῶι Πρὸς Βοιωτόν. ἑορτή ἐστι παρʼ Ἀθηναίοις, ἣν ἄγουσι Πυανεψιῶνι ἐφʼ ἡμέρας δ, ὥς φασιν οἱ τὰ περὶ ἑορτῶν γράψαντες. πόθεν δὲ ἐκλήθη ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ εἰρήκασιν καὶ Ἔφορος ἐν β, ὡς διὰ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὁρίων ἀπάτην γενομένην, ὅτι Ἀθηναίων πολεμούτων πρὸς Βοιωτοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς Μελανίας χώρας Μέλανθος ὁ τῶν Ἀθηναίων βασιλεὺς Ξάνθον τὸν Θηβαῖον μονομαχῶν ἀπατήσας ἀπέκτεινεν.

Οὐαλέριος Ἁρποκρατίων Πυανόψια· .... Ἀπολλώνιος καὶ σχεδὸν πάντες οἱ περὶ τῶν Ἀθήνησιν ἑορτῶν γεγραφότες Πυανεψιῶνος ἑβδόμηι τὰ Πυανέψια Ἀπόλλωνι ἄγεσθαί φασι.

Οὐαλέριος Ἁρποκρατίων Σκίρον· .... φασὶ δὲ οἱ γράψαντες περί τε ἑορτῶν καὶ μηνῶν τῶν Ἀθήνησιν, ὧν ἐστι καὶ Λυσιμαχίδης κτλ.

Πορφύριος οἱ δὲ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἱερουγιῶν γεγραφότες καὶ θυσιῶν τὴν περὶ τὰ πόπανα ἀκρίβειαν φυλάττειν παραγγέλλουσιν, ὡς ἀρεστὴν τοῖς θεοῖς ταύτην ἢ τὴν διὰ τὴν ζώιων θυσίαν κτλ.

Πρόκλος ὅτι γὰρ τὰ ἐν Πειραιεῖ Βενδίδεια τῆι ἐνάτηι ἐπὶ δέκα τοῦ Θαργηλιῶνος, ὁμολογοῦσιν οἱ περὶ ἑορτῶν γράψαντες .... εἰ δέ, ὡς ἑξῆς ῥηθήσεται, καὶ Παναθηναίων ὄντων ὑπόκειται δῆλον ὅτι τὰ μικρὰ ἦν ταῦτα Παναθήναια· τὰ γὰρ μεγάλα Ἑκατομβαιῶνος ἐγίνετο τρίτηι ἀπιόντος ....

Πλατωνικὴ ὑπόμνησις ἑορτὴν ἐνταῦθα τὴν τῶν μικρῶν Παναθηναίων φησίν. ἦν γὰρ καὶ μεγάλα, καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἦγον εἰς ἄστυ Ἑκατομβαιῶνος μηνὸς τρίτηι ἀπιόντος· ἐν οἷς πέπλος τις ἀνήγετο τῆι Ἀθηνᾶι, καθʼ ὃν ἐδείκνυτο ἡ κατὰ τῶν Γιγάντων ταύτης τε καὶ τῶν Ὀλυμπίων νίκη θεῶν. τὰ δὲ μικρὰ Παναθήναια κατὰ τὸν Πειραιᾶ ἐτέλουν, ἐν οἷς καὶ πέπλος ἄλλος ἀνεῖτο τῆι θεῶι, καθʼ ὃν ἦν ἰδεῖν τοὺς Ἀθηναίους, τροφίμους ὄντας αὐτῆς, νικῶντας τὸν πρὸς Ἀτλαντίνους πόλεμον· ἃ δὴ τοῖς Βενδιδείοις καλουμένοις εἵπετο. — τούτων δὲ καὶ Θρᾶικες ἐκοινώνουν, ἐπεὶ καὶ Βένδις παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἡ Ἄρτεμις καλεῖται, καὶ αὕτη τιμωμένη κοινὴ παρʼ ἀμφοῖν. ταῦτα δὲ ἐτελεῖτο Θαργηλιῶνος ἐνάτηι ἐπὶ δέκα.