Hieromenia (sacred month's time), was the time of the month at which the sacred festivals of the Greeks began, and in consequence of which the whole month received the name of ''

men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chrom ...

hieros '' (sacred month). It was a part of the international law of Greece that all hostilities should cease for the time between states who took part in these festivals, so that the inhabitants of the different states might go and return in safety. The Hieromeniae of the four great national festivals were the most important: they were proclaimed by heralds (spondophoroi or

theoroi The theoroi ( grc, θεωροί or ) in ancient Greece were sacred ambassadors, messengers sent out by the state which was about to organize a Panhellenic game or festival. Theoroi were both received and hosted by the ''theorodokoi''. In the class ...

), who visited the different states of Greece for the purpose. The suspension of hostilities was called

Ekecheiria In Greek mythology, Ekecheiria, Ekekheiria, or Ecechiria (; Ancient Greek: Ἐκεχειρία means 'armistice, truce') was the spirit and personification of truce, armistice, and cessation of hostilities. The term is also used to refer to the O ...

(Truce). In 420 BC, the

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

ns were excluded from the Olympics, after they had failed to pay a fine imposed on them, when they invaded

Lepreum Lepreum or Lepreon ( grc, Λέπρεον), alternately named Lepreus or Lepreos (Λέπρεος) was an Ancient Greek city-state in Triphylia, a district of Elis (now part of the Elis regional unit). It was located 40 stadia away from the sea at t ...

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

. Spartans protested in vain that the hieromenia and ekecheiria had not been declared by heralds on them.(Thuc.5.49-55)The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Warfare by Philip Sabin Page 100 (2007)

References

*Pilgrims and pilgrimage in ancient Greece By Matthew Dillon Page 3 (1997) (

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar is ...

. Isthm. ii. 23 ;

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

. viii. p. 343 ; Krause, Olympia, p. 40, &c.) {{SmithDGRA Panhellenic Games Ancient Greek religion Ancient Greek law