Sexual life in ancient Greece : with thirty-two full-page plates

OTHER FESTIVALS

to take part in the festival were obliged to abstain from sexual intercourse for nine days before ; the cleverness of the priests demanded this as an act of piety, the real reason of course being that the women, whipped up by their long abstinence, might be able to take part in erotic orgies with less restraint. ‘To strengthen themselves in this chastity that was demanded of them, which they probably found hard enough to preserve, women laid cooling herbs and leaves in their bed, especially agnus castus (Avyos dyvos=dyovos: making nonproductive) and other plants (such as xvéwpov, xovuga), But, according to Photius (ii, 228 (ed. Naber)), at this time women ate garlic, in order to frighten men away by the unappetizing smell of their mouth.

2. OTHER FESTIVALS

At the country Dionysia a gigantic phallus, or several, was carried round in solemn procession. At the same time all kinds of rustic amusements were usual, grotesque dances and jesting banter, in which there was no lack of more or less coarse indecencies, On the second day of the festival, the Askolia+ caused special amusement. In this, naked boys hopped about on one leg on a wine-skin or sack filled full and well-greased with oil, the effort to hold themselves up and to avoid slipping off doubtless leading to highly laughable postures, although the gracefulness of the young “ wine-skin hoppers” also led to many beautiful pictures. According to Virgil (Georgica, ii, 384), this pastime was popular in Italy.

Soon after the country Dionysia the Lenza, the feast of winepresses, was celebrated in Athens itself; the chief part of the programme being a great banquet—for which the State supplied the meat—and a dance through the city with the more

1 Possibly derived from doxds wine-skin, bladder.

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