Hekatombaion – July – New Year in Ancient Greece
The ancient Athenian month of July, Hekatombaion, named after the Hekatomb Procession of sacrificial bulls – Cattle led to the sacrifice. South frieze of the Parthenon, ca. 447–433 BC.
In the Gregorian calendar July is named after Julius Caesar who was born in this month.
However, for the ancient Athenians July, known as Hekatombaion, named after the Hekatomb a procession of sacrificial bulls, was the first month of the year, today’s January, so to speak.
In Ancient Greece or Rome a Hecatomb; a hundred bulls or oxen on their way to be slaughtered, signified any great public sacrifice or feast.
The ancient Athenian month of July, Hekatombaion, named after the Hekatomb Procession of sacrificial bulls
The word hecatomb, in ancient Greek, literally means the “offering of 100 oxen”, or in general, “a great public sacrifice”.
It is made up of hekaton, the Greek word for “one hundred” and the second part of the word originates from “bous”, the Greek word for ox.
The ancient Athenians used the Attic or Athenian calendar (only one of many calendars used in ancient Greece) mainly to keep track of the numerous jubilations going on more or less every day all over the city.
Not much has changed!
Today, thousands of years later, daily festive goings on still seem to be the norm, after all Greeks are known for their love of partying!
Who hasn’t heard the phrase “party like a Greek“?
The Attic or Athenian Calendar
Summer (Θέρος)
1. Hekatombaion (Eκατομβαιών) July/August
2. Metageitnion (Μεταγειτνιών) August/September
3. Boedromion (Βοηδρομιών) September/October
Autumn (Φθινόπωρον)
4. Pyanepsion (Πυανεψιών) October/November
5. Maimakterion (Μαιμακτηριών) November/December
6. Poseidon (Ποσειδεών) December/January
Winter (Χεῖμα)
7. Gamelion (Γαμηλιών) January/February
8. Anthesterion (Aνθεστηριών) February/March
9. Elaphebolion (Eλαφηβολιών) March/April
Spring (Ἔαρ)
10. Mounichion (Μουνιχιών) April/May
11. Thargelion (Θαργηλιών) May/June
12. Skirophorion (Σκιροφοριών) June/July
Hekatombaion and the New Year in ancient Athens began at sunset, just after midsummer, with the first sighting of the new, or crescent moon, after the summer solstice.
Crescent moon over the Temple Of Poseidon. Cape Sounion Greece. Photo by Chris Kotsiopoulos.
Festivals Held Throughout the Month of Hekatombaion
1st Hekatombaion
Ancient Athenian New Year
The Athenian New Year was dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicraft and warfare who was also guardian of the city of Athens.
Varvakeion Athena Parthenos Greco-Roman marble statue from Varvakeion C2nd A.D. National Archaeological Museum Athens.
2nd Hekatombaion
Feast of the Charites
The Charites, or Graces; minor goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility, usually three, said to be daughters of Zeus are Aglaea (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Good Cheer) and Thalia (Festivity).
The Three Graces – Edouard Bisson. 1899
3rd Hekatombaion
Feast of Aphrodite (Venus)
Feast of the Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation.
The followers of ‘Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism’, who recreate ancient Greek religious rituals, still observe this festival today.
The main festival dedicated to Athena was the The Aphrodisia.
The Birth of Venus (c. 1485) by Sandro Botticelli
9th Hekatombaion
The Adonia Festivals
The Adonia festivals, a sixteen day celebration, spanning the full moon, was celebrated by women grieving over the death of Adonis, mortal lover of Aphrodite.
Women climbed upon the rooftops of Athens where they sang and danced in honour of Adonis.
They also planted “Gardens of Adonis”, consisting of lettuce and fennel seeds planted in potsherds which sprouted, flourished, and quickly died symbolising the short life of this handsome Greek youth.
“The Gardens of Adonis”, once they had withered and given up the ghost were buried at sea along with images of Adonis.
The Gardens of Adonis (1888) by John Reinhard Weguelin depicts the casting of the gardens of Adonis into the sea at the end of the Adonia.
11th Hekatombaion
Feast of Theano
Theano, a philosopher, born circa 546 BC, probably on Crete was the muse and wife of Pythagoras, ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Pythagoreanism. and founder of Pythagoreanism.
Unfortunately, except for a few fragments, none of Theano’s writings which included Pythagorean Apophthegms, Female Advice, On Virtue, On Piety, On Pythagoras, Philosophical Commentaries and Letters, exist today.
Pythagoreans celebrate sunrise by Fyodor Bronnikov.
12th Hekatombaion
The Kronia festival
The Kronia festival was held in honour of Cronus (Kronus), leader and youngest, of the first generation of Titans, overthrown by his own son, Zeus.
This festival is said to commemorate the Golden age when Cronus still ruled the world and was a real knees up!
Slaves, free, rich and poor all partied together and inhibitions were thrown to the wind as the inhabitants of ancient Athens ran riot through the streets.
Chronos and his child by Giovanni Francesco Romanelli, National Museum in Warsaw, a 17th-century depiction of Titan Cronus as “Father Time,” wielding a harvesting scythe
15th Hekatombaion
Synoikia – Feast of Union
Synoikia, a feast of union (also called the Thesean Synoikismos and the Feast of Union) was a celebration of peaceful harmony between city states and neighbours and the union of the original twelve villages of Attica and was dedicated to the mythical King Theseus.
The first joining together of villages was the union of Attica when King Creops created the original twelve cities of Attica which the mythological King Theseus later merged into neighborhoods of Attica.
This myth led to Theseus being known as one of the founders of Athens.
A festival in ancient Athens by Greg Ruhl
19th Hekatombaion
Marriage of Adonis and Aphrodite
The marriage of Adonis and Aphrodite celebrated the mid point or the half year of Andonis’ short presence in the world.
After a jealous spat between Aphrodite and Persephone (queen of the underworld) Zeus had condemned Adonis to live six months underground, (autumn/winter) with Persephone and six months above ground (spring/summer) with Aphrodite.
The myth of Aphrodite and Adonis is a story of love and loss.
Adonis had a passion for hunting which Aphrodite nagged him to give up fearing she would lose her handsome lover to this dangerous sport.
However, her pleading fell on deaf ears and one fateful day, Adonis, while out hunting, was killed by a wild boar (which was actually the god Ares, jealous lover of Aphrodite).
On hearing of her lovers death Aphrodite ran to Adonis, took the dead boy in her arms and on seeing his blood dripping onto the earth transformed the blood drops into windflowers, the short – lived anemones, in memory of their love.
Benjamin West – Venus (Aphrodite) Lamenting the Death of Adonis – 1768 – Carnegie Museum of Arts
21st Hekatombaion
Damo
Damo was held in remembrance of the philosopher daughter of Pythagoras and Theano.
It’s said Pythagoras handed down his writings to his daughter Damo who kept them safe and refused to sell them, believing that poverty was more precious than gold.
Damo, in turn, passed her father’s works to her daughter.
The writings, as well as those by Damo herself, are not known to have survived.
Illustration from 1913 showing Pythagoras teaching a class of women.
28th Hekatombaion
The Panathenaea
The Panathenaea was the most important of all the festivals at Athens held in honour of goddess Athena as daughter of wisdom.
Starting in 566/5 B.C the Great Panathenaea was celebrated every four years and lasted twelve days.
It was a feast of many rites and sacrifices, the most important being the hecatomb, (from where the month Hekatombaion gets its name), the sacrificing of one hundred ox to the Greek gods.
At sunrise on the 28th of the month, the goddess Athena’s birthday, Athenians bearing torches, set off from Keraimeikos cemetery, the largest necropolis of ancient Greece, for Academus, beyond the city walls, to renew the fire burning on the altar of Athena at the Acropolis.
A Procession wound its way to the Acropolis where gifts and offerings were laid before the wooden image of Athena Polias.
The goddess Athena was presented with a new veil of white wool, woven with gold (taken from the statue of Athena on the Acropolis), which was also used as a sail on one of the boats in the procession.
Phidias, model of Athena Parthenos (now lost) within the Parthenon, ca. 438 BC. Statue was approximately 11-12 meters (about 40 feet tall) and made of gold and ivory.
30th Hekatombaion
Heracleia Festival
The Heracleia Festival commemorated the death of the Greek hero Heracles.
Ancient Athenians celebrated the Heracleia in a sanctuary dedicated to Heracles at Cynosarges outside the walls of Athens.
Cynosarges (Greek: Κυνόσαργες Kynosarges) was a public gymnasium located just outside the walls of Ancient Athens on the southern bank of the Ilissos river. Its exact location is unknown but it is generally located in what is now the southern suburbs of Athens.
