The Gymnopaedia was an annual festival celebrated exclusively in ancient

Sparta 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 Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, which helped to define Spartan identity. It featured generations of naked Spartan men participating in war dancing and choral singing, with a large emphasis placed on age and generational groups. It is believed that celebration of this festival began in 668 BCE to honour a Spartan victory in Thyrea. The festival likely evolved over time to celebrate other Spartan victories such as that over the

Argives Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...

in the Battle of the Champions. The Gymnopaedia was primarily in honour of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, but also celebrated

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 ...

and

Leto In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Leto (; ) is a childhood goddess, the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Titaness), Phoebe, the sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis.Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...

, who served as representations of the childhood which would soon be left behind by the young participants. Though the festival was ritualistic, it should not necessarily be interpreted as religious. Pausanias describes the Gymnopaedia as "a festival which the

Lacedaemonians 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 ...

take more seriously than any other" (Paus. 3.11.9).

Etymology

The word '' Gymnopaedia'' derives from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

, composed of the words (''gymnos'', "naked" or "unarmed") and "paedia" from (''pais'', "child" or "youth").

Setting

Time and date

The Gymnopaedia took place each year in approximately July. July was the first month of the year for the Spartans as their calendar revolved around the summer solstice. The festival was the first public gathering of the new year for the Spartans. The Gymnopaedia celebrated Apollo, a fitting tribute as he was also the god of civic reunions such as gatherings, and this was the first large gathering of the year. There are conflicting accounts of how many days the Gymnopaedia lasted for, but it is accepted to have been at least three days. The Spartans would have partaken in the festival from dusk until dawn each of these days. The festival came to an end during the full moon which fell closest to the

heliacal rising The heliacal rising ( ) of a star or a planet occurs annually when it becomes visible above the eastern horizon at dawn just before sunrise (thus becoming "the Morning Star (disambiguation)#Astronomy, morning star"). A heliacal rising marks the ti ...

of the star

Sirius Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Greek word (Latin script: ), meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated Canis Majoris, Latinized to Alpha Canis Majoris, and abbr ...

being visible in Sparta. The festival took place at the hottest time of the year in Sparta, which meant most of the activities happened under very harsh sun.

Location

The festival lasted for several days and took place in multiple areas, as different sources describe different locations for the activities of the Gymnopaedia. Pausanias writes of an area of the Spartan

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

known as the ''choros'' or "dancing ground" because of the significant role it played in the Gymnopaedia. The ''choros'' was likely located in the east of the agora where the chorus dances were known to have been performed. Pausanias states that near this area there were statues of Apollo Pythaeus,

, and

(Paus 3.11.9).

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

(Hdt. 6.67.3),

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; ; 355/354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Ancient Greek mercenaries, Greek mercenaries, the Ten Thousand, who had been ...

(Xen.

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

. 6.4.16), and

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

(Plut. Ages. 29.2), each make note of crowds gathering in a "theatre" or "viewing place" for festivals in Sparta; this was likely a place where the public would gather on a slope to view performances on level ground below. Due to how little remains of structures or landmarks in Ancient Sparta we cannot be certain the exact location of the agora or potential "theatres".

Celebrations

The major element of celebration during the Gymnopaedia was the songs and dances performed by choruses of naked men as a form of competition. The main focus of the festival was the young men who were about to enter adulthood. Because the contests were more symbolic than strictly athletic in nature, they may be interpreted as a ceremonial and initiatory part of the

agoge The ( in Attic Greek, or , in Doric Greek) was the training program prerequisite for Spartiate (citizen) status. Spartiate-class boys entered it at age seven, and would stop being a student of the agoge at age 21. It was considered violent by ...

. Because all of Sparta would gather to partake in or view the events of the Gymnopaedia, it helped to develop a communal identity and sense of being a part of a single group.

Choral song and dance

The choral groups would dance naked. The songs the young men sang drew attention to the physical maturity they were reaching. Physical ability was an important aspect of becoming a citizen in many Ancient Greek

poleis Polis (: poleis) means 'city' in Ancient Greek. The ancient word ''polis'' had socio-political connotations not possessed by modern usage. For example, Modern Greek πόλη (polē) is located within a (''khôra''), "country", which is a πατ ...

, but Sparta was the only polis which celebrated this so prominently. These celebratory dances took place in a specified area in the agora. The practices of song and dance were not reserved for only the young men. In a different area of the city three groups of choruses would gather to perform traditional songs together. They would honour Apollo through songs and performed songs which represented the phases of life. The songs would have been written by famous Spartan poets. Though there were no shows of strength or arms taken up at the festival, the songs still had a militaristic quality. By performing songs with this quality the Spartans could connect the festival to their military exploits. They sang songs described as having a 'boastful' tone, which were written in

iambic trimeter The Iambic trimeter, in classical Greek and Latin poetry, is a meter of poetry consisting of three iambic metra (each of two feet) per line. In English poetry, it refers to a meter with three iambic feet. In ancient Greek poetry and Latin po ...

. The same songs would be used each year. The choruses were divided into three groups, one for young men or boys coming to maturity, one for men in their prime, and one for old men. There is little surviving evidence of what songs and dance would be performed, but Plutarch writes that at least one element of the performance would involve the old men singing: "We once did deeds of prowess and were strong young men”, to which the men in their prime would sing: “We are so now, and if you wish, behold and see”, followed by the boys singing: “We shall be sometime mightier men by far than both” (Plut. Lyc. 21.2). The three groups competing and interacting with each other helped to place an emphasis on Spartans as a collective, rather than as individual competitors. Scholars consider the actions of the Gymnopaedia to be both a crucial part of Spartan education and a test of endurance for the children coming of age. It was considered as such because of the extremely hot conditions and precisely performed dance moves. This aspect of the festival was such a spectacle that non-Spartans would visit Sparta during the Gymnopaedia just to see it. Palm branch

Special garments

The leaders of each chorus group would wear a headpiece known as the "feather crown" or "thyreatic crown". These crowns were made out of palm leaves and were referred to as "feather crowns" due to the leaves resemblance to feathers. The Spartans also used these crowns at other festivals.

Historical relevance

Ancient Sparta

King Leotychides used the gathering of the Gymnopaedia to deliver an insult to the recently deposed king Demaratus, asking him via messenger what it felt like to hold public office after being a king. He responded calmly that he had experience in both unlike Leotychides himself, also saying that this question would be the beginning of either great fortune or great evil for Sparta. He then left the festival and made a sacrifice to Zeus. (Hdt. 6.67). The Gymnopaedia was important enough to the Spartans that they would avoid leaving the city even if called on.

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

explains an occasion of this in

History of the Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' () is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...

(Thuc. 5.82). The Argive democrats knew how important the festival was to the Spartans, and waited until the festival began in order to attack the ruling oligarchs who were allied with Sparta. The Spartans eventually postponed the Gymnopaedia, but the oligarchs had already been defeated by this time. The festival was of such importance to the Spartans that even king

Agesilaus Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...

participated despite his lameness, but was hidden in the back of the group so no one could see his physical flaws. Xenophon writes that Agesilaus was extremely devoted to religion (Xen. Ages. 3.2), so he would have seen this participation as a duty. The news of Spartan loss at the

battle of Leuctra The Battle of Leuctra (, ) was fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebes (Greece), Thebans, and the History of Sparta, Spartans along with their allies amidst the post–Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the ...

reached Sparta during the final day of the Gymnopaedia. Despite the large negative effect this news would have on Sparta's power, the

ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

would not allow any dances to be cancelled or for the celebrations to be changed. When the families of the deceased soldiers had been told of the news, the ephors brought the festival to a close (Plut. Ages. 29. 2-3). Xenophon expands on this information, saying that the ephors instructed the families of the dead to suffer their grief in silence so as not to disrupt the festival. The following day all those who had lost relatives could be seen smiling and being cheerful in public. Those who had family members at the battle who were still living were sad and worried for their loved ones (Xen. Hell. 6.4).

says Lichas, a wealthy Spartan, gained fame for entertaining many of the strangers at a "boys gymnastic festival" (Plut. Cim. 10, 5) This festival was interpreted by

to be the Gymnopaedia.

Ancient Greece

Plutarch mentions that the city was "full of strangers" during the Gymnopaidia suggesting that non-Spartans and potentially perioikoi would also attend the festival. (Plut. ''Ages''. 29.2).

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

seems to have made a reference praising the effects of the songs and rituals of the gymnopaedia in his work ''

Laws Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

'' (Plat. Laws 633c)''.''