The Panathenaea were said to have been founded, or perhaps refounded, by
Theseus, who, according to legend, united into one state the village
communities of Attica. Certainly there existed an ancient yearly
festival in honour of Athene, though we cannot say if it bore the name
Panathenaea. This festival continued to be celebrated every year after
the founding of the greater festival, and was called the Little
Panathenaea.[86] The Great Panathenaea were a pentaëteris, and were held
in the third year of each Olympiad in the month of Hekatombaion or about
the end of July. The programme of the festival was even more varied than
that of the Isthmia. The great event of the festival, the procession
that bore the peplos to the temple of Athene on the Acropolis, afforded
an opportunity for the display of all the forces of Athens. The
competitions included, besides athletics and horse-races, musical
contests, recitations, torch-races, Pyrrhic dances, a regatta, and even
a competition for good looks. For most of the events the prizes
consisted in jars of Attic oil. Olive-oil was the most valuable product
of Attica: the olive trees were under the control of the state, and the
export of olive-oil was a state monopoly. As many as 1300 amphorae of
oil were distributed as prizes, the winner in the chariot-race receiving
as many as 140 amphorae. As even at a later period an amphora of oil was
worth 12 drachmae, it is clear that the prizes had a considerable
commercial value. Some of the jars containing the oil were ornamented
with scenes representing the various competitions. It is probable that
only one such painted vase was given for each victory. The manufacture
and painting of vases was already an important industry at Athens, and
the prize vase full of oil represented, therefore, the chief natural
product and the chief industry of early Attica. These prize vases must
have been greatly cherished. Numbers of them have been found in Italian
tombs and elsewhere, and the variety of the subjects depicted throws no
little light on the events of the festival. But details must be reserved
for another chapter.
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