Daphnephoria was a festival held every ninth year at
Thebes in Boeotia in honour of
Apollo Ismenius or
Galaxius.
History
The Daphnephoria consisted of a procession in which the chief figure was a boy of good family and noble appearance, whose father and mother must be alive. With young participants, the procession was able to combine components together, which signified an important stage or rite of passage.
Immediately in front of this boy, who was called the Daphnephoros ('
laurel
Laurel may refer to:
Plants
* Lauraceae, the laurel family
* Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel
People
* Laurel (given name), people with the given name
* Laurel (surname), people with the surname
* Laurel (mus ...
bearer'), walked one of his nearest relatives, carrying an
olive branch
The olive branch, a ramus of '' Olea europaea'', is a symbol of peace. It is generally associated with the customs of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and is connected with supplication to divine beings and persons in power. Likewise, it is f ...
hung with laurel and flowers and having on the upper end a bronze ball from which hung several smaller balls. Another smaller ball was placed on the middle of the branch or pole (which was called a κώπω), which was then twined round with purple ribbons, and at the lower end with saffron ribbons. These balls were said to indicate the sun, stars and moon, while the ribbons referred to the days of the year, being 365 in number.
The Daphnephoros, wearing a golden crown, or a wreath of laurel, richly dressed and partly holding the pole, was followed by a chorus of maidens carrying suppliant branches and singing a hymn to the god.
Ancient sources
The Daphnephoros dedicated a
bronze tripod in the temple of Apollo, and
Pausanias (ix. 10.4) mentions the tripod dedicated there by
Amphitryon
Amphitryon (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρύων, ''gen''.: Ἀμφιτρύωνος; usually interpreted as "harassing either side", Latin: Amphitruo), in Greek mythology, was a son of Alcaeus, king of Tiryns in Argolis. His mother was named ...
when his son
Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
had been Daphnephoros. The festival is described by
Proclus
Proclus Lycius (; 8 February 412 – 17 April 485), called Proclus the Successor (, ''Próklos ho Diádokhos''), was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major classical philosophers of late antiquity. He set forth one of th ...
, quoted by
Photius
Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...
in his ''Bibliotheca'', codex 239.
References
Further reading
*
August Mommsen
The Mommsen family is a German family of influential historians.
*Jens Mommsen (1783–1851) ∞ Sophie Elisabeth Krumbhaar (1792–1855)
**Theodor Mommsen (1817-1903), 1902 Nobel Laureate in Literature ∞ Marie Reimer (1832–1907)
***Marie Momm ...
, ''Feste der Stadt Athen'' (1898);
*
KO Müller, ''Orchomenos'' (1844);
* Article in Daremberg and Saglio's ''Dictionnaire des antiquités'';
*
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
's ''
Patience
or forbearance, is the ability to endure difficult or undesired long-term circumstances. Patience involves perseverance or tolerance in the face of delay, provocation, or stress without responding negatively, such as reacting with disrespect ...
'', a comic opera about the
Aesthetic Movement
Aestheticism (also known as the aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century that valued the appearance of literature, music, fonts and the arts over their functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be produced to b ...
which references Frederic Leighton's painting of the festival.
External links
More detail on the Daphnephoria and Daphnephoros
{{EB1911 article with no significant updates
Festivals of Apollo
Festivals in ancient Boeotia