The Panathenaia www.misterconnor.org

What were they? A celebration of the city’s patron- goddess, Athena. A series of ceremonies and contests. Held every fout years. The first was in 566BCE; the last in the third century CE. They were hosted in a stadium built for the purpose.

Religious Festival The festival was known as the Great Panathenaia, a huge religious occasion. This included sacrifices to Athena, Poseidon and other gods. The festival was designed to praise Athena, who had won her association with Athens after a competition with Poseidon. It was important because it united the population of the polis.

The Lesser Panathenaia A smaller celebration – the Lesser Panathenaia – was held every year, though it was three of four days shorter. The competitions were the most prestigious games for the citizens of Athens, but not as important as the Olympic Games or the other Panhellenic Games.

Ceremony The procession to the Parthenon was more important than the games themselves. During the Great Panathenaia, a special robe (the peplos) was made by the women of Athens for the statue of Athena, which was carried to the Parthenon as part of the procession. There was also a large sacrifice made to Athena, the the hekatombe ("sacrifice of a hundred oxen") and the meat from the sacrificed animals was used in an enormous banquet on the final night of the festival, the pannychis (Greek παννυχίς, "all-nighter").

Prizes Award ceremonies included the giving of Panathenaic amphorae which were the large ceramic vessels that contained the oil given as prizes. The winner of the chariot race received as a prize one-hundred and forty Panathenaic amphora full of olive oil.

Cultural Events The Panathenaia also included poetic and musical competitions. Prizes were awarded for recitation of Homeric poetry, for instrumental music on the aulus and cithara, and for singing to the accompaniment of these instruments. In addition, the Games included a reading of both the Odyssey and the Iliad.

The Panathenaic Stadium The athletic events were staged at the Panathenaic Stadium, which is still in use today. In 1865, Evangelis Zappas left a vast fortune in his will with instructions to excavate and refurbish the ancient Panathenaic stadium so that modern Olympic Games could be held every four years "in the manner of our ancestors".  The Panathenaic stadium has hosted modern Olympic Games in 1870, 1875, 1896, 1906 and 2004.

Contests The Panathenaic Games held contests in a number of musical, athletic, and equestrian events. Due to the fact that there were so many contests held, the games usually lasted a little over a week. There were two age categories for the music events but three age categories for the athletic events. According to scholars, the age groups are boys: 12-16; beardless youths: 16-20; men: over 20.[ One thing that was different about these games than normal funeral games is that prizes were given to runners-up, not just the lone victor.

The Programme Day 1: Musical and Rhapsodic Contest Day 2: Athletic Contest for Boys and Youths Day 3: Athletic Contest for Men Day 4: Equestrian Contest Day 5: Tribal Contest Day 6: Torch Race and Sacrifice Day 7: Boat Race Day 8: Awarding of Prizes, Feasting and Celebrations.

Details The musical events which took place were cithara players, flute players, and singers. The athletic events were the stadion (roughly, a 200m sprint), pentathlon, wrestling, boxing, and pankration (weaponless fighting – think ancient MMA). The equestrian events were two-horse chariot race, horse race, and javelin throw on horseback. Men were rewarded a certain amount of drachmas and/or a valuable crown worth a certain amount of drachmas. Boys and youths were given a certain number of amphorae of olive oil.

The Skinny A celebration of the city’s patron-goddess, Athena lasting eight days. A series of ceremonies and contests held every four years. This included sacrifices to Athena, Poseidon and other gods. The procession to the Parthenon was more important than the games themselves. The sporting games included wrestling, racing and equestrian events. Panathenaic Amphorae (large ceramic vessels that contained olive oil) given as prizes. Prizes were also awarded for musical and poetical performances.

Sources https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panathenaic_Games