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ДУХОВНА КУЛТУРА И РЕЛИГИОЗНОСТ

Evy Johanne HålandUDC 398.33(=14)

271.222(495)-565.79

THE FESTIVAL OF AGIOS ATHANASIOS

11 - Evy Johanne Haland.indd 199 18.12.2012 15:39:28

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ТЕМАТСКИ ЗБОРНИК


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Abstract: The festival dedicated to Agios (i.e. Saint) Athanasios is celebrated on 18 January in Greece. The following account if the festival is based on the celebration as it is carried out by the Anastenarides and the Anastenarissas (i.e. those who celebrate the Anastenaria festival) in the village of Agia Elenē in Greek Macedonia. This is the second most important festival of the annual ritual cycle of the Anastenaria, and is dedicated to the saint who by his very name, i.e. Ai Thanasē and Charo, is particularly related to death. After the blessing of the agiasma („holy water”), the celebrants dance barefoot over red-hot coals in the konaki, the shrine of the Anastenarides. Over the next two days, they visit all the houses of the village. Afterwards they dance in the konaki. On the third night of the festival, a meal is served for the celebrants in the konaki.

Key words: Anastenaria, Anastenarides, Agios Athanasios, agiasma, konaki, ritual dance.

Agios Athanasios in Agia Elenē on 18 January

This celebration was my fi rst en co un ter with the vil la-

ge of Agia Ele nē in Gre ek Ma ce do nia in 1992 du ring an ex-

ten ded pe riod of fi eld work, when I vi si ted qu i te a few re li gi o-

us festivals several places in Greece, and most of which I have

described in detail in another context (Håland 2007a: ch. 4, cf.

al so 2007, 2008). Im por tant in this con nec tion are the Ana ste na-

ri des and the Ana ste na ris sas, i.e. tho se who ce le bra te the Ana-

ste na ria (i.e. to Ana ste na ri/ta Ana ste na ria) fe sti val on 21-23 May.

Ho we ver, an im por tant ri tual du ring the ri tual year of the Ana ste-

na ri des is al so ce le bra ted on 18 Ja nu ary, the day de di ca ted to the


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sa int, At ha na si os, when they ce le bra te his de ath and al so the na-

me day which al so is re la ted to De ath, i.e. Ai Tha na sē and Cha ros

(Lo u ka tos 1985: 94 f.; Ro ma i os 1949: 94 ff .).

Ac cor ding to the Gre ek re se ar cher Ma ria Mic haēl-De de (1973,

167, cf. 1979, 223) the fe sti val de di ca ted to Agi os At ha na si os has

not hing to do with the Ana ste na ria, sin ce the for mer is a fe sti val

de di ca ted to a lo cal sa int which has been mi xed with the fe sti val

of the Ana ste na ri des: „The Ana ste na ri it self has been mi xed with

the lo cal cults of ot her sa ints, espe ci ally of Agi os At ha na si os, so-

met hing which has been ex tre mely mi sle a ding to the in ve sti ga-

tion of the cu stom (Mic haēl-De de 1973: 167).”

On the ot her hand, ani mal sac ri fi ces are re la ted both to the

Ana ste na ria and the fe sti val of Agi os At ha na si os in nort hern Gre-

e ce and alt ho ugh the Ana ste na ria is ce le bra ted by the Ana ste na-

ri des, the ir sa ints are ce le bra ted all over Gre e ce as is al so Agi os

At han si sos, and all the se sa ints are im por tant wit hin the Gre ek

Ort ho dox Church. Furt her mo re, Agi os At ha na si os is al so con nec-

ted with anot her im por tant event du ring the ri tual cycle of the

Ana ste na ria, sin ce pre pa ra ti ons for the main fe sti val be gin on 2

May, the day the Ort ho dox Church ce le bra tes the de po si tion of

the re lics of Agi os At ha na si os.

Ac cor ding to the Gre ek scho lar G. Me gas (1982: 54 f.), pe o-

ple ge ne rally sac ri fi ce bulls and she ep in pu blic on the fe sti val

de di ca ted to Ag. At han sa si os in the ru ral are as of Nort hern Gre-

e ce. The sac ri fi ce aims to en su re he alth and hap pi ness for the

vil la gers. De spi te the pu blic com mon sac ri fi ce, ho we ver, each

fa mily fi nd it ne ces sary to sac ri fi ce a cock for the ir own hap pi-

ness, this chtho nic symbol was al so as so ci a ted with Askle pi os

and the re alm of the dead in the an ci ent world. Me gas con ti-

nu es his de scrip tion, tel ling that it is said to be bad luck to start

any kind of work on this day, a saying we al so me et in ot her

con texts when pe o ple ce le bra te a fe sti val, and which might be

re la ted to its im pli ca tion of sig nifying a pas sa ge ri te wit hin the

an nual year cycle.


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The im por tan ce of

the two de ce a sed sa-

ints, Agi os Kōn stan ti nos

and his mot her, Agia

Ele nē (Fig. 1), in this

area of nort hern Gre e ce

is al so il lu stra ted by the

vil la ge, Kōn stan ti nos,

which is si tu a ted in the

vi ci nity of the vil la ge of

Agia Ele nē, whe re I car-

ried out se ve ral pe ri ods

of fi eld work in 1992.

Agi os Kōn stan ti nos is

iden ti fi ed with Kōn-

stan ti nos the Gre at, the

fi rst Ro man Em pe ror to

pro fess Chri sti a nity. He

con ver ted to Chri sti a-

nity in 323 CE (was bap-

ti sed be fo re his de ath

in 337) and de di ca ted

Kon stan ti no ple (na med

af ter him), for merly Byzan ti um, as the new eastern ca pi tal of the

Ro man Em pi re. In la ter Gre ek Ort ho dox tra di tion he is re gar ded as

the fo un der of the Byzan ti ne Em pi re and the de fen der and sa vi o-

ur of the Chri stian re li gion. He was the son of Kōn stan ti nos from

a pre vi o us mar ri a ge with a „wo man of the pe o ple”. Many said that

she was a maid ser vant in a gu est-ho u se, and was na med Ele nē

(see Le mer le 1990: 10). Ac cor ding to F. Schott-Bil lmann (1987: 60,

see al so 123) Agia Ele nē was ori gi nally a po or Je wish pro sti tu te.

My in for mants in the vil la ge na med af ter her, are very con cer ned

abo ut her pil gri ma ge to the Holy Land, whe re she di sco ve red the

True Cross, and bro ught frag ments back ho me.

Fig.1 An icon of Agios Kōnstantinos and

Agia Elenē in their icon covers at the

icon shelf in the konaki in the village of

Melikē (Greek Macedonia). 21 May 1992.

(Photograph by Thomas Thomell)


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On the eve of the fe sti val of Ag. At han sa si os, I vi si ted the

vil la ge church which ho we ver se e med de ser ted and de so la ted.

Apart from the vil la ge pri est, only a wo man en te red lig hting

a can dle be fo re she de par ted again. In the church I see so me

vo ti ve gifts and je wel lery de di ca ted to the icon de pic ting Agi-

os Kōn stan ti nos and Agia Ele nē. When asking the lo cal pri est

if the re wo uld be a ce le bra tion to night, the an swer was: „not

as far as I know”. When ar ri ving at the ko na ki the shri ne of the

Ana ste na ri des, la ter the sa me eve ning, I un der stood why the

pri est didn’t know anything. The ri tu als of the Ana ste na ri des are

re gar ded as a com pe ti tor by the Offi cial Gre ek Ort ho dox Church

(cf. Håland 2007a: ch. 4).

When le a ving the church, I head for the ko na ki, which is si tu-

a ted at the ed ge of the vil la ge, as in ot her vil la ges whe re they ce-

le bra te the Ana ste na ria, such as in the vil la ge of Me li kē in We stern

Gre ek Ma ce do nia, whe re I al so con duc ted fi eld work in 1992. Next

to the ko na ki is a small cha pel and a spring ho u se, agi a sma. Agi a-

sma si gi ni fi es both „holy wa ter” and the spring ho u se, a small cha-

pel-lo o king bu il ding, that con sists of a do or ope ning on a damp

Fig. 2: Agiasma, the well, next to the konaki in the village of Agia Elenē

(Greek Macedonia). (Author’s photograph)


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sta ir way that le ads down to the well (Fig. 2) whe re they fetch holy

wa ter. On the ot her si de of the road is an en clo su re which re minds

of a spor ting gro und with ben ches all aro und. This is the dan cing

pla ce, „alō ni” (i.e. thres hing fl o or), the si te of the fi re-dan ce. He re is

al so the wa ter to wer of the vil la ge, as in Me li kē, whe re an im por-

tant ri tual ta kes pla ce at the start of the Ka lo ge ros fe sti val du ring

car ni val when pe o ple gat her in front of the church de di ca ted to

Agi os At ha na si os which is si tu a ted clo se to the wa ter to wer of the

vil la ge (cf. Håland 2005).

When I ar ri ved at the ko na ki ear li er that af ter noon, the main

en tran ce was clo sed, but la ter pe o ple star ted to gat her. In si de,

three per sons sit in a kind of „tran ce-lo o king” pe a ce, one of them is

Ni kos, the last per son who be ca me a mem ber of the gro up. The fi re

is lit in the fi re pla ce, and a par ti cu lar per son tends the fi re, sin ce this

is a he re di tary task wit hin a par ti cu lar fa mily. The fo ur walls of the

ro om are li ned with ben ches. The icon shelf is si tu a ted in the cor-

ner, and fi ve em bro i de red ta ble cloths hang over light pur ple „vel-

vet cur ta ins” which al so are de co ra ted with cros ses, on the se ta ble

cloths are al so

so me sil ver-

and gold-pla-

ted ex-vo tos

(i.e. ta ma/ta).

Two oli ve-oil

lamps are su-

spen ded abo-

ve the icons.

Bet we en the

cor ner and

the fi re pla ce,

se ve ral can-

dles are lig hted in a brass-de vi ce fi l led with sand, si mi lar to tho se

fo und in all Gre ek-Ort ho dox chur ches. Be hind, three lar ge whi te

can dles (lam pa des) are lit. The fi re pla ce is si tu a ted to the right and

Fig.3: Tasos in front of the icon shelf, konaki,

Agia Elenē. (Author’s photograph)


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on the ot her si de three lar ge drums are han ging. Beyond the main

ro om is smal ler ro om, an offi ce. Pic tu res from the fe sti val hang on

the walls. He re are al so se ve ral pic tu res from the Ka lo ge ros fe sti-

val, and pic tu res sho wing wo men in tra di ti o nal co stu mes. Out si-

de, so me pe o ple are tal king.

The ma na ger of the ko na ki en ters the agi a sma and go es

down to the well, which is go ing to be bles sed to night. Clo se to

the top of the sta ir way is a bench on which are pla ced an icon, so-

me oli ve-oil bot tles and ot her im ple ments. Downsta irs, and next

to the well are three icons (Fig.3). Next to the agi a sma is a big ger

cha pel. Ge ne rally, the fe sti val of Ag. At ha na si os starts in the mor-

ning by ce le bra ting a li turgy in the lo cal church.1Af ter wards, a pro-

ces sion of Ana ste na ri des vi sits all the ho u ses of the vil la ge, bles-

sing all the icons of the fa mi li es, and in the eve ning they dan ce in

the ko na ki. Ac cor ding to the ma na ger of the ko na ki, this pro gram

will not be fol lo wed du ring the fe sti val in 1992, sin ce one of the

vil la gers died re cently. So, the fe sti val star ted aro und 5 o’clock in

the af ter noon, and the 1992-ver sion of the fe sti val of Ag. At ha na-

si os was so me how „in ter rup ted” sin ce an old wo man died in the

vil la ge. Ac cor dingly, they did not to ur the ho u ses of the vil la ge on

Sa tur day and Sun day as they ge ne rally do ac cor ding to cu stom.

Sin ce the wo man died and was bu ried the fol lo wing day, they did

not dan ce in the ko na ki on the fi rst eve ning, i.e. on Fri day on the

eve of the day of Ag. At ha na si os. They sha red a meal in the ko na ki,

on the third eve ning, i.e. on Sun day.

On Sa tur day, the fe sti val day then, I was back in the ko na ki

to wit ness the ce le bra tion, and pe o ple start to gat her in the holy

bu il ding: When a be li e ver ar ri ves at the ko na ki, the per son ap pro-

ac hes the holy cor ner and the icon shelf, drop so me mo ney on a

pla te, picks up can dles to be lig hted, and puts them in the sand

of the afo re men ti o ned brass-de vi ce. Af ter wards, the pi o us bows

her or his head in front of the icon shelf alt ho ugh the icons ha ve

not been col lec ted yet. They kiss the ta ble cloth and cross them-1 In the big ger township Ser res ho we ver, Ag. At ha na si os is ce le bra ted on 19 Ja nu-

ary, per haps be ca u se most pe o ple will be in Agia Ele nē on the fe sti val day?


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sel ves. Af ter a whi le, the le a der of the Ana ste na ri des, Ta sos Re klos,

ar ri ves. He we ars two lar ge sē ma dia (i.e. lar ge red and whi te ker-

chi efs which ge ne rally are dra ped over the icons), tied to get her at

the cor ners aro und his neck. He ar ran ges them on the icon shelf,

kis ses the ta ble cloths, and car ri es the cen ser along the icon shelf

ma king the sign of the cross. Du ring this ce re mony, everybody ri-

se. The le a der wis hes „Chro nia Pol la” (i.e. Many Years), and ask them

to sit down. Two mu si ci ans en ter ca rrying the ir Thra cian li ras.2

A new mem ber of the gro up is lead for ward to wards the icon

shelf, and told what she shall kiss: the two ta ble cloths which are

fo und to wards the left over which the sē ma dia are ar ran ged. Anot-

her mu si cian ar ri ves and ta kes one of the drums. When the ce re-

mony starts, ap prox. fi fty per sons are pre sent in the ko na ki, but

mo re pe o ple are ar ri ving con stantly. The pu ri fi ca tion ri tual starts:

Ta sos gi ves the cen ser to an old black-clad wi dow. She cen ses, i.e.

car ri es the cen ser over and along the icon shelf, the fi re pla ce and

all the par ti ci pants from the left, i.e. to wards the right, in a co un-

ter cloc kwi se di rec tion. Pe o ple wa ve so me smo ke to wards the ir fa-

ces with the ir hands, whi le cros sing them sel ves. The wo man go es

out on the sta ir way at the left en tran ce and cen ses, af ter wards

in to the smal ler ro om. Next she go es out the ot her do or le a ding

to the bal cony and the kitchen which is al so out si de. In this way all

the ko na ki and everyone pre sent are cen sed. Next, and suc ces si-

vely, two men ca rry out the sa me ri tual, fol lo wed by the le a der and

anot her per son. One of the Ana ste na ris sas starts dan cing whi le

ca rrying the cen ser. On her way aro und the ro om, the dan cer cen-

ses the ko na ki again. Af ter wards, a pro ces sion of Ana ste na ri des is

con sti tu ted to go and fetch the icons: the le a der hands over the

cen ser to an Ana ste na ris. The one who al ways ta kes ca re of the fi re

gets a long whi te can dle. Af ter wards, they le a ve the ko na ki, le a-

ded by the mu si ci ans. Next fol low the one who car ri es the cen ser

2 It is worth men ti o ning that as in Gre ek chur ches and mo na ste ri es pe o ple cor-rect me, if I, co in ci den tally, sho uld hap pen to sit with my legs cros sed, a po si-tion which, un for tu na tely, is mo re con ve ni ent and which I un con sci o usly adopt when ta king no tes.


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and the one who hold the can dle. The pro ces sion go es to the old

ko na ki, which is si tu a ted to the left of the church. This is the pla ce

they used to gat her be fo re the Fol klo re So ci ety of Agia Ele nē bu ilt

the new ko na ki aro und 1980 whe re they gat her now.

On the se cond fl o or, is one of the most sac red and po wer ful

icons in the vil la ge. He re are al so sē ma dia and ot her holy symbols.

Ta sos in cen ses over the icons and the ot her symbols with the in-

cen se bur ner, he al so in cen ses the pe o ple who are pre sent and the

who le ro om as well as the cor ri dor out si de, pa ral le ling the for mer

ri tual in the new ko na ki. Af ter wards, he di stri bu tes the symbols to

so me of the mem bers.

The icon be lon ging to the ho u se is al ways car ried by the sa-

me per son. When the symbols are di stri bu ted, they cir cle the ro-

om and start dan cing. To re ce i ve the symbols in the ir arms se ems

to be so me sort of re fl ex mo ve ment: the sa int spe aks to the per-

son, or pos ses ses the fa ith ful and the dan ce starts, it is a kind of

„sympat he tic ma gic” (i.e. ma gic, that de pends on a re sem blan ce

or per ce i ved si mi la rity bet we en the ob ject, sub stan ce, or ac tion

used in per for ming the ma gic and the de si red eff ect). The com-

mu ni ca tion bet we en the sa int and the Ana ste na ri des is al so the

co re ele ment of the cult, sin ce the Ana ste na ria pre sents ec sta tic

dan ce by pe o ple who are pos ses sed by the ir sa int. The se ini ti a ted

per sons are in a sta te of tran ce. Af ter so me dan cing, the who le

con gre ga tion le a ve the ro om and de scend by the sta irs. They set

off to the ho u se whe re they ha ve the ol dest icon in the vil la ge.

When the le a der has car ried out the ri tual cen sing aro und the

holy ro om, they al so dan ce for a whi le in this ko na ki of the ho u se,

sin ce in fact se ve ral ho u ses in the vil la ge ha ve lar ge icon shel ves

and the reby ko na ki ac cor ding to the mem bers. The se are „im por-

tant ho u ses” (ba ria spi tia), whe re the mem bers of the gro up li ve,

and the icons and the sē ma dia can rest on the lar ge icon shel ves

du ring the ir vi sits.

When the Ana ste na ri des ha ve col lec ted the ir icons and ot-

her symbols, the pro ces sion of Ana ste na ri des re turn to the new


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ko na ki fol lo wing the ir re gu lar

ri tual man ner: They en ter one

of the ga tes, con ti nue ac ross

the dan cing pla ce, and le a ve

by the ot her ga te. In this way

the dan cing pla ce is pu ri fi ed,

and they al ways mo ve in a cir-

cle co un ter cloc kwi se or „al ways

to the right” un til en ding up in

the ko na ki.3 In si de, Ta sos pla ces

the icons on the icon shelf (Fig.

3), ar ran ges the sē ma dia and in-

cen ses aro und the ro om. Be fo re

the dan ce starts, he car ri es the

icons aro und the ro om in the ri-

tual co un ter cloc kwi se di rec tion,

and is then jo i ned by one of the

Ana ste na ri des on anot her ro-

und. The dan cers very soon ta-

ke off the ir sho es and con ti nue

dan cing ba re fo ot. The man who

tends the fi re spread out bur ning pi e ces of co als on to a squ a re

sandy part in front of the fi re pla ce, li ned by sto nes. Bet we en this

dan cing pla ce and the wo o den fl o or is a sort of mat or co ver whe-

re pe o ple might wi pe off the ir fe et on the ir way from the red-hot

co als. It se ems that so me pe o ple are in a clo ser re la ti on ship with

the sa int than ot hers, sin ce the sa me pe o ple most of ten start the

dan ce, par ti cu larly the man and wo man from the „Pe tra kis’ ho u se”,

the ow ners of the ol dest icon, the „Pe tra kis icon”. They dan ce for 3 Re gar ding the co un ter cloc kwi se di rec tion – from the left to the right – this is the sa me way as the Gre ek ro und dan ce go es, and all ort ho dox li tur gi cal ri tu als wit hin the church. Ac tu ally many re se ar chers ha ve il lu stra ted the im por tan ce of the right-han ded („al ways to the right”) pro ces si o nal mo ve ment wit hin Gre ek cul tu re: how the right-han ded dan ce pat tern stands uni ver sally for the un de vi a-ting for ward mo ve ment of bles sed and auspi ci o us gi ving in bap tism, mar ri a ge, in kin ship and at de ath, see Håland 2007a: ch. 4 and 6, see al so du Bo u lay 2009.

Fig. 4: Sēmadi and icon in hand, an Anastenarissa dances over red-hot

coals in the konaki on the festival of Agios Athanasios 18 January 1992 in the village of Agia Elenē (Greek

Macedonia).


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a whi le. All the ti me, De spo i na Stri kos, the wi fe of the drum mer,

stands ready, hol ding a glass of wa ter, a wa ter ca ra fe and a to-

wel. One of the black-clad wo men, the most eager dan cer, Ma ri ka

(Fig. 4), stri ves to get one of the ot her mem bers in to the co als as

well. He ap pa rently stri ves with se ri o us pro blems. Af ter a whi le, he

yields and the two dan ce for a long ti me (Fig. 5). The Ana ste na ria

has ne u ro lo gi cal/psychi a tric ex pla na ti ons, be ca u se the Ana ste na-

ri des be co me pu ri fi ed thro ugh the dan ce whi le fi g hting the ir own

pro blems. Thus, the in di vi dual par ti ci pant tri es to sol ve her or his

pro blems thro ugh the dan ce.

Both the re ce ipt of the in cen se bur ner, the icon and the ot her

symbols from the le a der as well as the re turn of the se to the le a-

der, con sti tu te a par ti cu lar ri tual: the re ci pi ent per son kis ses the

hand of the per son who holds the symbol. They al so kiss the hand

of the le a der, but is se ems that the kis ses of Ma ri ka’s hand are the

most de vo ut.4 The dan ce ends just be fo re 8 PM, and many le a ve

the ko na ki. They will al so dan ce to mor row. Af ter a whi le, the mu sic

starts again, and they throw mo re wo od at the fi re pla ce. One of

the Ana ste na ri des bre aks down and cri es in front of the icons, and

is com for ted by Ta sos. He sits down and re mo ves his sho es, me an-

whi le one of the youn ger Ana ste na ri des dan ces in front of him. Af-

ter a whi le he ac cepts the icon and starts dan cing. The black-clad

Ma ri ka dan ces aro und ca rrying the in cen se bur ner. Ot her mem-

bers dan ce ca rrying the ot her symbols. They con ti nue the dan ce

un til la te eve ning. The vil la ge church rests empty and de ser ted,

but ko na ki and the two ot her cha pels, agi a sma in clu ded, are il lu-

mi na ted be ne ath the full moon, and in the ko na ki pe o ple dan ce.

The day’s ce le bra ti ons ends very la te by the pro ces sion of Ana-

ste na ri des brin ging the icons back to the ir ho u ses fol lo wing the

sa me ri tual ce re mony as when the pic ked up the icons.

4 One may com pa re the ri tual kis ses in the church of Olympos, Kar pat hos island (So ut hern Gre e ce) af ter the Re sur rec tion of Christ on Easter Sun day, Håland 2007a: ch. 4.


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Early Sun day af ter noon, the wo men, par ti cu larly De spo i na

Stri kos and her mot her-in-law, Sō tē ria, clean and tidy up in the

ko na ki. Sō tē ria, ta kes ca re of the kitchen, pre pa ring the com mu-

nal meal, which is an im por tant part of the fe sti val and which

will be laid out on the fl o or in the ko na ki the sa me eve ning. They

start „when pe o ple ha ve ar ri ved”, i.e. aro und 6 o’clock PM as

usual. Af ter the dan ce they are ser ved the ri tual meal.

Wo men and the Ana ste na ria

Lo ring M. Dan forth (1989: 99) has rightly ar gued that the fe-

sti val is a pos si bi lity for wo men to exer ci se po wer. This is al so il lu-

stra ted by the wo man be ing the fi rst to ca rry aro und the cen ser,

a wo man is al so the fi rst to start dan cing at the Ag. At ha na si os-fe-

sti val, alt ho ugh, on both oc ca si ons, she gets the cen ser from the

le a der, i.e. a man. Si mi larly, men al ways ca rry the icons in the pro-

ces si ons. Men al so lead the pro ces si ons. Per haps this is al so the

re a son that Dan forth in the ar tic le, „Po wer thro ugh Sub mis sion in

the Ana ste na ria” (1983, cf. al so 1989), has ar gued that this em po-

we ring of wo men ma inly re la tes to the ge ne rally sub or di na te and

Fig. 5: An Anastenaris dances over the red-hot coals in the konaki on the

festival of Agios Athanasios 18 January 1992 in the village

of Agia Elenē. (Author’s photograph)


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po wer less wo men wit hin Gre ek so ci ety (vs. Ale xi ou 2002). One

may, ho we ver, ar gue that the fe sti val in many ways fi rst and fo re-

most is re la ted to the fe ma le do me stic sphe re. The fe sti val re pre-

sents „wo men’s things” in ge ne ral, i.e. re li gion, il lness, and fa mily

li fe (cf. Håland 2007a, 2009). Ge ne rally, wo men are the fi rst to light

a can dle, to dan ce, and the bu ses co ming from ot her vil la ges du-

ring the main fe sti val, most of ten are lo a ded by fe ma le pil grims.

Wo men, in ge ne ral, ha ve an ex cep ti o nal pla ce in the tho ughts

and fe e lings of the Ana ste na ri des, ac cor ding to M. Mic haēl-De de

(1973), who al so stres ses that the re spect shown to Agia Ele nē ap-

pe ars to be the ol dest ele ment of the cult and se ems to be re la ted

to the cult of the Gre at Mot her. When Ele nē died on 18 August 327

or 328, her son esta blis hed cult for his holy mot her in the gar den

of the Nymph, Dap hne, de di ca ted to Apol lo.5

5 Schott-Bil lmann 1987: 82, see al so ch. 4, cf. Håland 2006, 2007: ch. 6 for ot her Mot her God des ses dying/ce le bra ted in August, cf. ch. 4.


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Har vey.

Håland, Evy Johanne 2005. >Let it rain=, or >rain, conceive=:

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in Modern and Ancient Greece: A Comparative Approach. Cosmos:

The Journal of the Traditional Cosmology Society 17, 2: 197-251.

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agricultural cycle, life-cycle passages of Mother Goddesses and

fertility-cult. In First International Conference of the SIEF working

group on The Ritual Year. In association with The Department of

Maltese University of Malta, Junior College, Msida, Malta, 2005:

Proceedings, ed. G. Mifsud-Chircop, Malta: Publishers Enterprises

Group Ltd: 303-326.

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Academic Press. PhD dissertation, University of Bergen, 2004. An

English version is forthcoming: Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge

Scholars Publishing.

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to the Ancient Adōnia. In The Ritual Year and Ritual Diversity -

Proceedings. Second International Conference of the SIEF Working

Group on The Ritual Year. Gothenburg June 7-11, 2006, eds.

Midholm, Lina/Nordström, Annika, Göteborg: Institutet för språk

och folkminnen; Dialekt-, ortnamns- och folkminnesarkivet i

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Еви Јохан Халанд (Evy Johanne Håland)

ФЕСТИВАЛ АГИОС АТАНАСИОС (AGIOS ATHANASIOS)

Фестивал, посвећен свецу Атанасију (однoсно – Аgios

Athanasios), прославља се сваког 18. јануара у Грчкој. Опис

фестивала заснива се на прослави коју спроводе Анастенариди

/Anastenarides и Анастенариси/Anastenarissas (односно – они

који прослављају фестивал Анастенарија) у селу св. Јелене у

грчком делу Македоније. Ово је други по важности фестивал

годишњег обредног циклуса Анастенарије, и посвећен је свецу

чије се име (тј. Ai Thanasē и Charo) дословно односи на смрт.

Након благосиљања „светом водом“ (agiasma), слављеници

играју босоноги по црвеном, ужареном угљу у конакију (konaki),

светилишту Анастенарида. Следећа два дана, они посећују

све сеоске куће. Након тога, они играју у конакију. Треће ноћи

фестивала, у конакију се слављеницима служи јело.


216



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