The Mounichia or Mounichia () was an ancient
Athenian festival
The festival calendar of Classical Athens involved the staging of many festivals each year. This includes festivals held in honor of Athena, Dionysus, Apollo, Artemis, Demeter, Persephone, Hermes, and Heracles. Other Athenian festivals were base ...
held on the 16th (full moon time) of the month
Mounichion (spring) of Athenian calendar in the honor of
Artemis
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...
''Mounichia''. The surname of the goddess come from the hill of
Munichia
Munichia or Munychia (; ) is the ancient Greek name for a steep hill ( high) in Piraeus, Greece, known today as Kastella (Καστέλλα).
This is a fashionable neighborhood in Piraeus. On the top of the hill is a Greek Orthodox church name ...
, where stood an Artemis’ temple, close to
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...
and to the site of the
Battle of Salamis
The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks.
The battle was fou ...
. The festival was instituted to commemorate the victory of the Greek fleet over the
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
ns at Salamis. Cakes adorned all round with burning candles were offered to the goddess. Young girls were dressed up as bears, as for the
Brauronia.
Sources
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities edited by William Smith (1870) {{usurped,
p.769}
Festivals in ancient Athens
Festivals of Artemis