Serving Athena

The Festival of the Panathenaia and the Construction of Athenian Identities

Julia L. Shear

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781108485272
• eBook ISBN:
  9781108620901
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

In ancient Athens, the Panathenaia was the most important festival and was celebrated in honour of Athena from the middle of the sixth century BC until the end of the fourth century AD. This in-depth study examines how this all-Athenian celebration was an occasion for constructing identities and how it affected those identities. Since not everyone took part in the same way, this differential participation articulated individuals' relationships both to the goddess and to the city so that the festival played an important role in negotiating what it meant to be Athenian (and non-Athenian). Julia Shear applies theories of identity formation which were developed in the social sciences to the ancient Greek material and brings together historical, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence to provide a better understanding both of this important occasion and of Athenian identities over the festival's long history.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title page
• Title page
• Copyright page
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Preface
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 The Panathenaia: An Introduction
• 2 Giants and Heroes: The Mythologies of the Panathenaia
• 3 The Little Panathenaia
• 4 The Great Panathenaia: Ritual and Reciprocity
• 5 The Panathenaic Games: Entertaining the Goddess
• 6 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Athenian Men
• 7 Creating Identities at the Great Panathenaia: Other Residents and Non-Residents
• 8 The City, the Goddess and the Festival
• Appendix 1 The Hellenistic Archons of Athens: 323/2 to 48/7 bc
• Appendix 2 The Parthenon Frieze and the Panathenaia
• Appendix 3 The Races for the Apobates and the Dismounting Charioteer
• Appendix 4 The Pyrrhiche and the Tribal Team Events
• Appendix 5 The Date of IG II2 3079 = IG II3.4 528
• Appendix 6 The Officials of the Great Panathenaia in the Third Century bc
• Appendix 7 Tiberius Claudius Novius and the Great Panathenaia Sebasta
• Appendix 8 The Text of Agora XVIII C197
• Tables
• Bibliography
• Index Locorum
• Index of Collections
• General Index