Which do you think is an Athenian Priestess and why? In pairs
discuss which image you believe is of a priestess and why. We will
also discuss your expectations of the roles of a priestess and
their involvement in society.
Slide 3
Image A:Image B:
Slide 4
Slide 5
Guess the object
Slide 6
Role of the priestess in Panathenaic Procession.
Slide 7
Place tasks in order: The arrephoroi start weaving the peplos.
Priestesses of Athena finish weaving the peplos. Kanephoroi also
required to carry the peplos to present at Athenas Altar. During
the procession, these females mingled freely with the noble
Athenians men that participated in the festival. Priestess of
Athena draps the finished peplos over the statue of Athena at the
end of the procession Two young girls from noble families were
chosen by the Archon Basileus as arrephoroi. The arrephoroi live
with the priestesses of Athena for a period of time before the
procession. During the Procession through the streets of Athens,
the peplos was draped ceremonially like the sail of a ship over a
cart on wheels. Young virgins of noble blood known as kanephoroi
carried sacred baskets and brought the sacrificial animals that
were to be presented to Athena.
Slide 8
Competition time: Athena Nike vs Athena Polias.
Slide 9
Please include: What is the name of your cult? How are
priestesses chosen? What evidence survives today about your
priestess? What festivals can I become involved in? Why you think I
should join? Where is your temple located within the
acropolis?
Slide 10
Source Comparison: Who, What, Where, Why and When. Think about
who produced it? Why was it produced? When was it produced?
Slide 11
Ancient Source: In 508 BC Herodotus (Histories 5.72.3)
describes a scene in which a priestess of Athena ejects the Spartan
King Cleomenes from the acropolis. What does this tell us about the
influence of a priestess? How are they seen in society? Would it
have been different if it was another king?
Slide 12
Grave Relief:
Slide 13
Bibliography: Ancient Sources: Herodotus. The Histories. Trans.
Alfred Godley.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0126%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D72%3Asection%3D3.
(last accessed 15 th January). Pliny the Elder. The Natural
History. Trans. John Bostock.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0137:book=34:chapter=19&highlight=lysimache.
(last accessed 15 th January). Secondary Sources: Blundell, S.
1995. Women in Ancient Greece. London: British Museum Press.
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L.J. Samons II (ed.) Cambridge Companion to the Age of Pericles,
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role and status of women in Greek and Roman antiquity. Baltimore:
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Priestess: Women and ritual in Ancient Greece. Princeton: Princeton
University Press. Dillon, M. 2002. Girls and Women in Classical
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the Religion, History and Literature of Fifth-century Athens.
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1989. Women in Athenian Life and Law. London: Routledge Keesling,
C. 2012. Syeris, Diokonos of the Priestess Lysimache on the
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2005. Constru(ct)ing Gender in the Feminine Greek Peplos. In L
Cleland et al. (eds). The Clothed Body in the Ancient World.
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Priestess of Athena Nike. Phoenix. 60 (3/4): 211-225. Osborne, R.
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