There were various smaller festivals which we must pass over, and turn to the festivals of Dionysus, which had an important influence on life in Greece, as well as on its literature and art. There were four of these every year at Athens; in the month of Poseidon (February), the country Dionysia, called also “the lesser,” took place. Naturally this was a vine festival, as would result from the character of the god; but the common opinion, that it was to celebrate the vintage, is open to many objections, especially since the time of the feast seems too late for the vintage. It is more probable that the new wine was then tasted for the first time. This festival was not connected with any special place; country Dionysia were celebrated in every village, and not only in Attica, but everywhere in Greece where vines were cultivated, and it always bore the character of a cheerful national feast connected with fun and merry frolic. In the “Acharnians” of Aristophanes a peasant celebrates the festival alone with his family; it begins with prayer and a procession to the sacrifice, in which the daughter, as basket-bearer (κανηφόρος), carries the basket of offerings on her head; the slave with the _Phallus_, the symbol of fertility and the never extinct producing power of the earth, next follows; and the master of the house sings his merry phallic song, while his wife looks on at the procession from the roof of the house. What was done here on a small scale by a single family, we must assume was performed on a larger scale in the real ceremony by all the assembled villagers. There were also other parts of the festival, especially the chorus, which stood round the altar during the sacrifice of the goat, and praised the god in speech and song, probably also in answering refrain; they sang the birth, sufferings, and death of Dionysus, and were the origin of the dithyramb as well as of the drama, since this latter, as is well known, owes its origin to the festivals of Dionysus. Often there were real dramatic representations at the lesser Dionysia; it was especially the custom for strolling actors on these occasions to perform before the country people old plays, which had been already represented in the towns. Among the other entertainments, along with the festive processions, choruses, and banquets, one is especially worthy of mention (ἀσκώλια). This was a game in which the young people of the village hopped about on greased wine skins, and tried to push each other down, while the falls were greeted with laughter by the bystanders; those who succeeded in retaining their place received prizes. This entertainment, which may be set on a par with our own running in sacks, was customary, too, at other festivals of Dionysus.