The Theseia (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Θησεῖα, Thēseĩa) was an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

festival held in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

in the honor of

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

. This festival was first implemented in the 470s BCE, after an Athenian general known as

Cimon Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian ''strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician. He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Batt ...

son of Miltiades attacked the island of

Skyros Skyros ( el, Σκύρος, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros ( grc, Σκῦρος, ), is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the ...

in search of the bones of Theseus, after receiving instructions from an oracle of Delphi to go there. Once he defeated the local Dolopians, he scoured the island and found a tomb of a gigantic man that he would proclaim to be the remains of Theseus and would bring them back to Athens for proper burial. The contests held during Theseia were usually a torch race, athletic events that make a ''gumnikos agon'', and competitions in horsemanship and military displays. The athletic events were conducted by

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Polis, city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with ...

s in their armor and would compete in footraces, displays of their weapon handling skills, and would culminate in equestrian competitions. These first events were only open to Athenian males but were soon followed more multinational events that were open to foreigners. This festival could be considered a ''euandria'' or a contest judge men which could mean to judge beauty but in the case of the Theseia its meant more to judge there military character.

References

Festivals in ancient Athens October observances November observances {{Athens-stub

See also

References