Προχαριστήρια
Procharisteria, Thanksgiving
Translated by David Whitehead29 Oct 2001Vetting: high6 revisions
Translation
A day on which all [sc. Athenian] office-holders used to sacrifice to Athena, with the crops beginning to grow and winter already ending.1 The name of the sacrifice [was] Procharisteria. Lycurgus in the [speech] On the Priesthood [writes]: "so the most ancient sacrifice [is held] because the goddess is coming up [sc. from the underworld]; it is named Thanksgiving because the growing crops are sprouting".2
Greek original · Adler’s text
Προχαριστήρια· ἡμέρα ἐν ᾗ οἱ ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ πάντες ἀρχομένων καρπῶν φύεσθαι, λήγοντος ἤδη τοῦ χειμῶνος, ἔθυον τῇ Ἀθηνᾷ. τῇ δὲ θυσίᾳ ὄνομα Προχαριστήρια. Λυκοῦργος ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῆς ἱερωσύνης· τὴν τοίνυν ἀρχαιοτάτην θυσίαν διὰ τὴν ἄνοδον τῆς θεοῦ, ὀνομασθεῖσαν δὲ Προχαριστήρια, διὰ τὴν βλάστησιν τῶν καρπῶν τῶν φυομένων.
Betacode
*proxaristh/ria: h(me/ra e)n h(=| oi( e)n th=| a)rxh=| pa/ntes a)rxome/nwn karpw=n fu/esqai, lh/gontos h)/dh tou= xeimw=nos, e)/quon th=| *)aqhna=|. th=| de\ qusi/a| o)/noma *proxaristh/ria. *lukou=rgos e)n tw=| *peri\ th=s i(erwsu/nhs: th\n toi/nun a)rxaiota/thn qusi/an dia\ th\n a)/nodon th=s qeou=, o)nomasqei=san de\ *proxaristh/ria, dia\ th\n bla/sthsin tw=n karpw=n tw=n fuome/nwn.
Notes (2)
- 1In short, at the beginning of spring. ↩
- 2Lycurgus fr.53 Sauppe (fr.50 Conomis). This quotation suggests what one might have suspected anyway: that the sacrifice was not for Athena, as claimed here, but for (Demeter and?) Kore. The error perhaps stems from a misreading of Harpokration s.v. Proschairisteria (sic),
e(orth\ par' *)aqhnai/ois a)gome/nh ktl . ↩
Neighbouring entries
Revision history6 revisions · last 8 Dec 2021
- cosmeticule — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- tweaked tr; expanded n.2 — David Whitehead
- another keyword — David Whitehead
- more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- typo, status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead