Many kinds of celebrations were conducted at the temple, one of the original being the Procession of the Girls. It was thought that this celebration occurred when the temple opened at the very beginning. All of the details are not known as to what exactly occurred during this celebration, however, it was thought that the girls of Sparta brought gifts to offer Artemis while they sang songs to the Parthenos. Many inscriptions were found in relation to this celebration, ensuring the seriousness taken when worshipping the goddess.[4]
The Cult at Sparta were often found to use masks that imitated the appearance of various animals. This was because during a special feast named the Syracusan feast of Artemis, there could be a surrounding of creatures circling Artemis, it was of importance that one would be a female lion.[6] In connection with this, offerings at the temple usually including those of animals, at Sparta, the bear was seen as a significant symbol. It was suggested that Artemis Orthia and the bear were linked in ways that relate to mothering and the birthing of children.[7]
Because Artemis is related to the ideas of nature and nourishment, she is also thought to be fruitful. Many myths portray her as a figure that has a society of nymphs serving her as royalty along with satyrs that come from Dionysos , therefore, causing females at a young age to become very honourable towards the cult.[6] Young females seen honouring the cult were considered to be celibate. The statue representing Artemis for the cult was removed out of the sanctuary temporarily by the girls while their dance was performed.
I will give other evidence that the Orthia in Lacedaemon is the wooden image from the foreigners. Firstly, Astrabacus and Alopecus, sons of Irbus, son of Amphisthenes, son of Amphicles, son of Agis, when they found the image straightway became insane. Secondly, the Spartan Limnatians, the Cynosurians, and the people of Mesoa and Pitane, while sacrificing to Artemis, fell to quarrelling, which led also to bloodshed; many were killed at the altar and the rest died of disease.
Whereat an
Lycurgus changed the custom to a scourging of the
ephebos , and so in this way the altar is stained with human blood. By them stands the priestess, holding the wooden image. Now it is small and light, but if ever the scourgers spare the lash because of a lad's beauty or high rank, then at once the priestess finds the image grow so heavy that she can hardly carry it. She lays the blame on the scourgers, and says that it is their fault that she is being weighed down. So the image ever since the sacrifices in the Tauric land keeps its fondness for human blood. They call it not only Orthia, but also
Lygodesma (Λυγοδέσμα -
Willow -bound), because it was found in a thicket of willows, and the encircling willow made the image stand upright." (
Description of Greece III, 16, 9–11)
According to Plutarch , writing in Life of Aristides (17, 8), the ceremony is a reenactment memorializing an episode in the Greco-Persian Wars .[9]
In addition to diamastigosis (ritual flagellation), the cult entailed individual dances by young men and dances by choruses of girls. For the young men, the prize is a sickle, which implies an agricultural ritual.[9]
The presence of ex-votos (votive offerings) attests to the popularity of the cult: clay masks representing old women or hoplites as well as lead and terracotta figurines showing men and women playing the flute, lyre , or cymbals , or mounting a horse.[9]
Winged Artemis
Lead figure of a winged goddess, possibly Artemis Orthia, Metropolitan Museum of Art
The archaic winged Artemis, represented in many ex-votos from the 8th century to the later sixth, lingered longest here as Artemis Orthia. The doll-like figures of the goddess Artemis are consistently exhibited wearing a set of wings rather than placing an animal in her hands or by her side. Many differences can be observed from one figurine to the next, with the most important being in how the wings are designed as well as the "polos", however, neither holds any relevance. The body of the figurine slowly declined in detail over time, specifically in the structure of the wings, followed by a disappearance of the head, stick-like feet and a new triangle-shaped frame. Some of the figures that were created around 600 BCE were sometimes found to have messages devoted to Artemis Orthia inscribed in the piece being offered.[10]
Diamastigosis
The cult of Orthia gave rise to διαμαστίγωσις / diamastigosis (from διαμαστιγῶ / diamastigô , "to whip harshly"), where the éphēboi were flogged, as described by Plutarch , Xenophon , Pausanias , and Plato . Cheeses were piled on the altar and guarded by adults with whips. The young men would attempt to get them, braving the whips. This was done as a way to prepare boys at a young age for the life they will face as an adult and as a soldier. It was deemed as a rite of passage.[11]
During the Roman period, according to
Libanios indicates that the spectacle was attracting the curious as late as the 4th century CE.
[12]
Votive offerings
Votive offerings found in the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia were most often small but presented in large abundances. During the Archaic timeline, these offerings came in many variations and forms, leading to the assumption that the items were not specifically chosen as something that would pertain to or be associated with the god/goddess being praised. Instead, the offerings were thought to be selected from a more personal standpoint rather than something more representative of the honoured one. The idea of generosity was more important than the item itself that was being given and the connection it may have had to the god/goddess.[13]
Lead figure of a woman with wreath
Sanctuaries located in Laconia were often found to make offerings that were made from lead and formed into many shapes, the most common being the shape of a wreath. Many of these wreaths could often be found linked together by the left over lead still connected to the used equipment.[13] Lead offerings make-up over 100,000 of the lead offerings (now stationed in the Liverpool collections) that were discovered during professional digs at the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia. The dramatic decrease in the numbers of votives recovered from strata after c. 500 BC is coincident with the change in application of lead ores at Laurion in Attica, the probable source for these figurines, from lead to silver.[14]
The most popular figurines discovered in the Sanctuary consisted of warriors, female characters, Olympian deities, musicians and dancers. In relation to the representation of animals, deer were commonly found to be offered and were recognized as a replacement votive that directly related to hunting and preying.[15]
Tiny sized vases, another type of votive offering, first made an appearance in The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at the very start of the Archaic timeline.[16] Many of the tiny vases that were found were hand crafted while others were created using a wheel and had handles attached to the side. Most often, the tiny vases were not glossed over, but the occasional time they could be found glossed over in black.[15]
Offerings made of terracotta were also found to be used in the sanctuary and were usually self-crafted or moulded into various shapes and sizes. One of the most unique terracotta votives discovered in the Sanctuary of Artemis at Orthia were masks that were seemingly created to mimic the human appearance. These mask votives were thought to perfectly fit the face structure of a human, however, some masks that were discovered appeared to be smaller in size.[15]
Excavation of the site
The site was brought to light by the
R. M. Dawkins, quickly found evidence of Greek occupation. Dawkins writes, "The Roman theatre was easy to protect...a large quantity of ancient objects which by the light they shed on primitive Sparta, have given this dig capital significance." A long, continuous sequence of archaeological strata was revealed. Two distinct areas were marked and used to excavate the site entirely, they were labeled as trench A and trench B. Trench A covered the southern area of the sanctuary, running through the amphitheatre, trench B was marked only 10 meters from trench A still on the south, covering all parts of the infrastructure.
[8]
Trench A delivered many artefacts, likely thought to be items sacrificed to the goddess, deep within the soil below the amphitheatre. The most incredible discovery made from trench A was the abundance of masks, believed to be related to the cult.[8] Trench B was dug too far away from the main site, based on the minimal findings within.[8] Artifacts found within the trenches included ceramics, geometrically styled vessels, doll like figures, sculptures and more.[8]
A sign of human life at its earliest is noted within the darkest of dirt filled with many artifacts that lie directly beneath the altar of the temple. The piles of artefacts could be found nowhere else at the site in such abundances other than the spot in which it was believed the goddess was being worshipped. The remnants found, including bones, were thought to be related to the cult and were discovered to be the remains of animals that were offered by fire to Orthia.[8]
As well as the British Museum ,[17] a significant group of offerings were placed in the World Museum of Liverpool, United Kingdom, and are said to exhibit pieces that come from all time periods that the temple was utilized (the 8th century BCE to the 3rd century CE). Although there is information to suggest that the sanctuary was utilized long after the 8th century, most of the discovered votives were buried into the ground far before the mid 7th century. The votives can be dated back late in the 5th century BCE, while the largest amount was found near the end of the 6th century BCE.[15]
See also
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
Other sanctuaries devoted to Artemis:
Other Spartan festivals:
References
Bibliography
Thompson M.S, "The Asiatic or Winged Artemis." The Journal of Hellenic Studies , 29(1) (1909), pp. 286–307
Woodward, Arthur Maurice (1910). The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta: Inscriptions .
Dawkins, R.M , The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia at Sparta , Journal of Hellenic Studies, supplement no. 5, London, 1929 (Online text )
Dawkins, R. M. (1930). "Artemis Orthia: Some Additions and a Correction" . The Journal of Hellenic Studies . 50 (2): 298–299. .
Boardman, John (1963). "Artemis Orthia and Chronology" . The Annual of the British School at Athens . 58 : 1–7. .
Robbins, Emmet. "Heracles, the Hyperboreans, and the Hind: Pindar, "OL." 3", Phoenix 36 .4 (1982), pp 295–305.
Lloyd-Jones Hugh, "Artemis and Iphigneia" The Journal of Hellenic Studies . 103 (1983), pp 87–102.
Mcphee, Ian (1986). "Laconian Red-Figure from the British Excavations in Sparta" . The Annual of the British School at Athens . 81 : 153–166. .
Catling, R. W. V. (1994). "A Fragment of an Archaic Temple Model from Artemis Orthia, Sparta" . The Annual of the British School at Athens . 89 : 269–275. .
Chrimes, K. M. T.; Atkinson, Kathleen Mary Tyrer Chrimes (1999). Ancient Sparta: A Re-examination of the Evidence . Manchester University Press. .
Stevenson, Jed (2000). Assigning Meaning to the Masks from the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Sparta .
(in French)
Kopanias, Konstantinos (2009). "Some ivories from the Geometric stratum at the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Sparta: interconnections between Sparta, Crete and the Orient during the late eighth century BC" . British School at Athens Studies . 16 : 123–131. .
Waugh, Nicki (2009). "Visualising fertility at Artemis Orthia's site" . British School at Athens Studies . 16 : 159–167. .
Fisher-Hansen, Tobias; Poulsen, Birte, From Artemis to Diana: The Goddess of Man and Beast . (2009). Museum Tusculanum Press.
Boutsakis, E. "Temples, Stars and Ritual Landscapes, The Potential for Archaeoastronomy in Ancient Greece." American Journal of Archaeology , 115(1) (2011), pp. 55.
Salapata, Gina. "The More The Better? Votive Offerings in Sets." Australasian Society for Classical Studies 32, 2 (Online text )
Gimatzidis, Stefanos. "Feasting and Offering to the Gods in Early Greek Sanctuaries: Monumentalisation and miniaturisation in Pottery." Pallas Revue d'etudes antiques , 86(1) (2011), pp. 75–96.
Muskett, Georgina (2014). "Votive Offerings from the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, Sparta in Liverpool Collections" . The Annual of the British School at Athens . 109 : 159–173. .
Rosenberg, Jonah Lloyd (2015). "The Masks of Orthia: Form, Function and the Origins of Theatre" . The Annual of the British School at Athens . 110 : 247–261. .
Kristoffersen, Tore Rovs (2019). "The Artemis Orthia inscriptions and spoken Laconian in the Imperial period: In defence of dialect survival at Sparta" . Glotta . 95 : 169–189. .
Further reading
External links
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