A Date with Adonis

Abstract

During the classical period Athenian women gathered once a year to celebrate the Adonia. With ritualised lament they shared Aphrodite's grief over the death of Adonis, her youthful lover. This was not an official festival of the state or any of its political subdivisions; it was not publicly financed or regulated. It was celebrated informally by small, ad hoc groups of women (citizens and non-citizens, friends, relatives, neighbours) on the roofs of their houses. This unusual festival has long intrigued modern commentators, who have suggested a wide variety of interpretations regarding its nature and meaning—including one recently offered by this author. My purpose in this short article is to focus on one particular aspect of the Adonia—its date. Like almost everything else about this festival, its celebration-date has been the subject of scholarly controversy. Three seasons of the year have found advocates, winter being the lone discard.