The Caryateia () was an annual festival held at the ancient sanctuary of
Artemis Caryatis in
Karyes
Karyes (Greek: Καρυές, before 1930: Αράχωβα - ''Arachova'') is a village of the Peloponnese peninsula, which is located in the southern part of Greece. The Peloponnese is made up of a number of states and Karyes belongs to the state ...
, Laconia, in honor of the goddess.
The festival had an agricultural character and was likely held before or after the summer harvest, as the faithful would seek to appease the goddess for a bountiful crop or to express their gratitude accordingly. During the festival, according to
Pausanias: "''Here, the maidens of the Lacedaemonians annually perform dances, and there is a local tradition of dancing...''," where prominent maidens of
Lacedaemon
Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the valley of Evrotas river in Laconia, in southeastern Pe ...
participated in the celebration as priestess-dancers of the goddess.
These priestesses, with their beauty and stature, seem to have inspired the artists of the Classical period, who utilized the female figure type in art, particularly in architecture, which became widely known as
Caryatid
A caryatid ( ; ; ) is a sculpted female figure serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or a pillar supporting an entablature on her head. The Greek term ''karyatides'' literally means "maidens of Karyai", an ancient t ...
s.
[P. & I. Meintanis, ''Karyatika'', Anatolia, 1950, p. 28.]
References
Bibliography
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External links
* http://karyes.gr/
Tabaki, K., «The museum under development at the 'Memory and Culture Center' of Karyai, Laconia: preparation of museological study and proposals for its promotion. (in Greek)»
Ancient Laconia
Festivals in ancient Greece
Festivals of Artemis
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