Pyanepsia
Athenian harvest festival featuring a bean stew and the eiresione olive branch
The Meaning of Pyanepsia
The Pyanepsia was an Athenian festival held on the seventh of Pyanepsion (October) honouring Apollo. Its name derives from the pyanos — a stew of various beans and grains boiled together — which commemorated the meal Theseus and his companions hastily prepared from their remaining provisions upon returning from Crete after slaying the Minotaur. A central ritual involved the eiresione: an olive branch wound with wool and hung with fruits, small flasks of oil, cups of wine, and pastries, which was carried in procession and then fixed above doorways as a charm for abundance. The Pyanepsia marked the transition from the agricultural year into winter, giving thanks for the harvest completed.
Parents
None recorded
Symbols
Fun Fact
The eiresione branch hung on Athenian doorways is a distant ancestor of the modern Christmas wreath
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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