Halieia
| Part ofa serieson |
| Ancient Greek religion |
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TheHalieia(Ancient Greek:Ἁλίεια,Halíeia) orHaliawas one of the principal festivals celebrated on the island ofRhodesin honour of their patron godHelios,theSun.[1][2]It was held every year insummer,with gymnic and musical contests and a great procession.[2]
Name
[edit]The name of the festival derives fromHalios,theDoricspelling of Helios' name.[2][3]
Description
[edit]The festival included games of horse-racing and chariot-racing, gymnastic contests for men and boys, as well as music contests,[4][5]and a sacrifice.[6]The prize offered for the victors was a wreath of whitepoplar,[4][2]a tree which was sacred to the god, due to the brilliance of its shining leaves.[7]According toFestus(s. v.October Equus),[8]the Halieia also included a ritual, that took place on the 24th day of the summer month of Gorpiaeus,[2]where the Rhodians sacrificed to the god a team of four whitehorses,by driving afour-horse chariot,representing the chariot of the sun, into the sea.[2][4][5][9]This ritual symbolised the setting of the sun as it sinks into the sea,[10]and in that way the Rhodians honoured his role as the celestial charioteer.[11]The Halieia drew athletes and musicians from all over the Greek world, and when the Colossus of Rhodes was erected in the harbour, the cult gained even more fame;[12]the festival attracted great athletes from abroad, and victors of games such as thePythia,theIsthmiaand theNemeafound it worthwhile to compete in the Halieia.[4]In the glory days of Rhodes, the neighbouring kingdoms, such asPergamoninAnatolia,would send envoys to the festival, and it was still flourishing even centuries after that.[4]
In the fictional workEphesian TalebyXenophon of Ephesus,the protagonists find themselves at Rhodes during a festival in honour of Helios, described thus:
[T]he next Day was a Festival dedicated to the Sun, and celebrated by the Rhodians, with the utmost publick Magnificence, the Pomp, the Sacrifices, and the Concourse of the Citizens, being exceeding great.[13][6]
The protagonist of the story, Anthia, cuts and dedicates some of her hair in Helios' temple with the inscriptionAnthia dedicated this hair to the god on behalf of Habrokomes.[13][14]
The Games dial on theAntikythera mechanism,an Ancient Greek hand-poweredorrery,is divided into four sectors, one of which is inscribed with the wordHalieia,as it was possibly used to track the cycle of various athletic games in antiquity.[15]
Connections
[edit]Rituals involving the sacrifice of horses in a similar manner to the sea-godPoseidonHippios are also attested, and might have influenced the horse-sacrificing rituals to Helios.[11]TheArgivesdrowned horses in Poseidon's honour,[9]inIllyriahorses were offered to him every four years in the same manner as during the Halieia, while he was worshipped as Hippios, god of horses, inLindos,one of the principal Rhodian cities.[4]Scholars have associated these rites, along with those of another Rhodian festival, the Hippokathesia.[8]
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ^Athenaeus,Scholars at Dinner13.12
- ^abcdefSmith, s. v.Halia
- ^A Greek-English Lexicon,s.v.ἥλιος
- ^abcdefTorr, pp73-74
- ^abSeyffert,s.v. Helios
- ^abNilsson 1906, p.427, especially note 4
- ^Decharme, pp240–241
- ^abParker, p.138
- ^abGardner and Jevons, p.247
- ^Jordan 2004,p. 120.
- ^abFarnell, p.20, note b
- ^Larson 2007,pp.158–159.
- ^abXenophon of Ephesus,Ephesian Talepp.107-108.
- ^Dillon 2002,p.216.
- ^Iversen 2017,pp. 141–47
References
[edit]- Athenaeus,Deipnosophists,Books 1-9 translated byCharles Burton Gulick(1868-1962),from theLoeb Classical Libraryedition of 1927-41, books 10- end by Charles Duke Yonge (1812-1891).
- Decharme, Paul,Mythologie de la Grèce antique,Garnier Frères, 1884.Google books(in French).
- Dillon, Matthew (2002).Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion.Routledge.ISBN0-415-20272-8.
- Farnell, Lewis Richard,The Cults of the Greek States vol. ΙV,Cambridge University Press,2010,ISBN978-1-108-01546-2.
- Gardner, Percy; Jevons, Frank Byron,A Manual of Greek Antiquities,University of Wisconsin,1895,Charles Scribner's Sons.
- Iversen, Paul A. (2017). "The Calendar on the Antikythera Mechanism and the Corinthian Family of Calendars".Hesperia.86(1): 130 and note 4.doi:10.2972/hesperia.86.1.0129.S2CID132411755.
- Jordan, Michael (2004).Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses.Facts on File. p.120.ISBN0-965-51025-5.
- Larson, Jennifer Lynn (2007).Ancient Greek Cults: A Guide.New York City, New York:Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-32448-9.
- Nilsson, Martin,Griechische Feste von religiöser Bedeutung, mit Ausschluss der attischen,1906.Internet Archive(in German).
- Parker, Robert,Polytheism and Society at Athens,Oxford University Press,2005.ISBN978-0-19-927483-3.
- Seyffert, Oskar,A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, Mythology, Religion, Literature and Art,from the German of Dr. Oskar Seyffert, S. Sonnenschein, 1901.Internet Archive.
- Smith, William,A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.William Wayte. G. E. Marindin. Albemarle Street, London. John Murray. 1890.
- Torr, Cecil,Rhodes in Ancient Times,Cambridge University Press,1885.
- Xenophon’sEphesian History: or the Love-Adventures of Abrocomas and Anthia, in Five Books.Translated from the Greek by Mr. Rooke [the Second Edition], London: Printed for J. Millan at Locke’s Head in Shug-Lane; 1727, pp. 87-112.