Do you know when all of Persephone's holidays are?
No, I donāt think I do know ALL of them. I do know some though.Ā
Thereās the festival of Kore, which has been dated as approximately January 5th and is a celebration of Persephone in her aspect as Kore Goddess of Spring.Ā
Thereās Stenia dedicated to Demeter and Persephone that is held three days beforeĀ Thesmophoria. Not a lot of info on Stenia survived, so weāre not actually sure what the traditional means of celebrating were, but it seems like it was an extensive purification ritual and celebration before one could participate in Thesmophoria.
Thesmophoria is a three day celebration that honors Demeter and Persephone. Historically, there were pretty strictly observed segregations of men and women, and you werenāt allowed to have sex during Thesmophoria.Ā Thesmophoria is held sometime in October, when Ancient Greeks would be getting ready to plant their fall crops. Check outĀ āInterpreting the Athenian Thesmophoria,ā by Allaire B. Stallsmith if youāre interested in Thesmophoria, even though itās a more Demeter-centric celebration.Ā
Then thereās the Elesusian Mysteries festival which was also held in the fall, and lasted three days. It followed the theme of the descent-the search-and the ascent, focusing on Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. Very little is known about the mysteries, because they were secret rites and not ever written on. We do know thereās a strong theme with the underworld and that more than likely the initiated ancient Greeks who took part in the Elesusian Mysteries used items to induce visions. From vase painting we can assume that dance was an important part of the rituals.
Ā In Sicily there was a festival specifically to celebrate Persephoneās descent, where other festivals tended to focus on her ascent more than anything else. It was calledĀ Koris Katagogi (Nilsson (1967) Vol I, pp. 463ā466).Ā
AndĀ Anthesphoria was another festival in Sicily, that was a flower festival dedicated to Persephone, Iāve never found anything indicating an exact day, but it was held to celebrate Persephoneās return to the world of the living, so I tend to locate it in the spring. There is also evidence thatĀ Anthesphoria could be held in honor of any Goddess since it was pretty literally a festival of flowers. The biggest thing aboutĀ Anthesphoria was that participants should gather flowers themselves and it was considered disgraceful to purchase flowers. The flowers were made into garlands, wreaths, and decorations, all of which were used as offerings to welcome Persephone back (A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.).
