Thargelia
edition published: 2026
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Morphology

Θαργήλια, -ων n. Greek

Etymology

Its name is derived from a stew of first fruits—cooked in a pot called θάργηλια—offered to Apollo during the festival (offering).

Testimonies

In Athens, during the sixth and seventh days of the month Thargelion, corresponding roughly to the months of May/June, a celebration known as Θαργήλια took place. Harpocration confirms this information under his entry Θαργήλια: ἑορτή ἐστι τὰ Θαργήλια, ἄγεται δὲ Θαργηλιῶνι μηνὶ, ὅς ἐστιν ἱερὸς Ἀπόλλωνος().

According to Diogenes Laertius the festival was placed on the days when tradition collocated the respective births of Artemis and Apollo, to whom the festival was dedicated ( divinities).

On the first day of this festival, a purificatory rite took place. It involved the ritual expulsion of two φαρμακοί who were previously maintained at public expense (religious practice).

The connection between the φαρμακός and the Athenian festival of Θαργήλια is firstly attested in fragment 104 W2 of Hipponax, in which a fight and perhaps some sexual practices were mentioned, but unfortunately the precise content of the iamb is largely uncertain as its main witness is the fragmentary P.Oxy. XVIII 2175 ().

The most interesting verses for the present study are 47–49: ὁ δ' ἐξολισθὼν ἱκέτευε τὴν κράμβην τὴν ἑπτάφυλλον, ἧι θύεσκε Πανδώρα Θαργηλίοισιν ἔγκυθρον πρὸ φαρμακοῦ. Despite the obscurity of this passage, the text clearly establishes a connection between Θαργήλια and the cathartic expulsion of the φαρμακός

This ritual is also mentioned in the lexicographical work Περὶ τῶν Λέξεων τῶν Δέκα Ῥητόρων by the second century AD grammarian Valerius Harpocration. He transcribed the testimony from a student of Callimachus, Istros: ‘Φαρμακός’: Λυσίας ἐν τῷ κατ ̓ Ἀνδοκίδου ἀσεβείας, εἰ γνήσιος. δύο ἄνδρας Ἀθήνησιν ἐξῆγον καθάρσια ἐσομένους τῆς πόλεως ἐν τοῖς Θαργηλίοις, ἕνα μὲν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἕνα δὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν γυναικῶν. ὅτι δὲ ὄνομα κύριόν ἐστιν ὁ Φαρμακός, ἱερὰς δὲ φιάλας τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος κλέψας, ἁλοὺς ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα κατελεύσθη, καὶ τὰ τοῖς Θαργηλίοις ἀγόμενα τούτων ἀπομιμήματά ἐστιν, Ἴστρος ἐν ά τῶν Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπιφανειῶν εἴρηκεν.().

Harpocration immediately refers to the sixth oration of Lysias in which the defendant is described as a criminal whose presence in the city cannot be tolerated. Indeed, Andocides, guilty of impiety, must be expelled like a scapegoat in order to prevent the spread of his contamination within the community. The lemma then continues noticing that during Θαργήλια two men, symbolizing the whole Athenian citizenry, were expelled and one of them was probably dressed as a woman (clothing).

It is important to notice that the female costume attested in Harpocration contrasts with the note of the lexicographer Hesychius, who probably lived during the fifth century AD in Alexandria. Indeed, in his Λεξικόν he does not admit the presence of two men but of a man and a woman: Φαρμακοί: καθαρτήριοι. περικαθαίροντες τὰς πόλεις, ἀνὴρ καὶ γυνή(). Harpocration also tried to reconstruct the etymology of the word φαρμακός: there was a mythological character whose name was Φαρμακός, who, guilty of robbing some objects consecrated to Apollo, was stoned to death. According to this interpretation, the practice of lynching the φαρμακός merely retraced this mythical event.

In any case, this etiology is in contrast with what is read in Helladius, preserved by Photius in Βιβλιοθήκη (VII, 534a). In this version, the ritual is linked instead to a plague following the death of Androgeus of Crete. Thus different traditions explain the origin of the same practice.

In any case, this etiology is in contrast with what is read in Helladius, a grammarian of the fourth century AD from Antinopolis. His work Chrestomathy was a collection of literary texts in iambic trimeters witnessed by the Byzantine patriarch of the ninth century AD, Photius. In his Βιβλιοθήκη (VII, 534a), a sort of encyclopedia in which the lexicographer had recorded all his readings, the author stated:

ἔθος ἦν ἐν Ἀθήναις φαρμάκους ἄγειν δύο, τὸν μὲν ὑπὲρ ἀνδρῶν, τὸν δὲ ὑπὲρ γυναικῶν, πρὸς τὸν καθαρμὸν ἀγομένους. καὶ ὁ μὲν τῶν ἀνδρῶν μελαίνας ἰσχάδας περὶ τὸν τράχηλον εἶχε, λευκὰς δ’ ἅτερος. συβάκχοι δέ φησιν ὠνομάζοντο. τὸ δὲ καθάρσιον τοῦτο λοιμικῶν νόσων ἀποτροπιασμὸς ἦν, λαβὸν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπὸ Ἀνδρόγεω τοῦ Κρητός, οὗ τεθνηκότος ἐν ταῖς Ἀθήναις παρανόμως τὴν λοιμικὴν ενόσησαν οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι νόσον, καὶ ἐκράτει τὸ ἔθος ἀεὶ καθαίρειν τὴν πόλιν τοῖς φαρμακοῖς.

In this source, as well in the previous one, two φαρμακοί were mentioned, representing the male and female citizens. They were adorned differently, with a necklace of black figs for the male φαρμακός and a necklace of white figs for the female one. (Adornments) It is also necessary to highlight the different etiological cause for the development of Θαργήλια established by Photius/Helladius in contrast with what is said by Hesychius/Harpocration.

Photius stated that this festival originated not from the theft by Φαρμακός but from the killing of Minos' son, Androgeus of Crete. However, as it has been observed, almost all sources testify the presence of two φαρμακοί for the Athenian rite of Θαργήλια. It would therefore seem somewhat illogical to suppose the presence of two people to recall the theft made by a single one. Instead, it would be more appropriate to connect this latter explanation to the Ionian context for which sources suggest the presence of a single φαρμακός. For the Athenian rite the most appropriate myth would seem to be that of Androgeus of Crete, whose death was caused by the entire community of Athens. For this reason, the entire citizenry, both male and female, had to be represented in this ritual.

Furthermore, Hesychius, under the entry for Θαργήλια, wrote:

Ἀπόλλωνος ἑορτή. καὶ ὅλος ὁ μὴν ἱερὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐν δὲ τοῖς Θαργηλίοις τὰς ἀπαρχὰς τῶν φυομένων ποιοῦνται καὶ περικομίζουσι· ταῦτα δὲ θαργήλιά φασι· καὶ μὴν θαργηλιών. καὶ τὴν εὐετηρίαν ἐκάλουν θάργηλον. καὶ Ἀρχίλοχός φησιν· †ὡς φαίε† νῦν ἄγει Ταργήλια καὶ ὁ θάργηλος χύτρα ἐστὶν ἀνάπλεως σπερμάτων ().

Even in the byzantine Suda () it is stated:

ἑορτὴ ̓Αρτέμιδος καὶ ̓Απόλλωνος. καὶ μὴν Θαργηλιών. καὶ ὁ τῶν σπερμάτων μεστὸς χύτρος ἱεροῦ ἑψέματος. ἥψουν δ' ἐν αὐτῆ ἀπαρχὰς τῶ θεῶ τῶν πεφηνότων καρπῶν, ὀνομαζόμενον ἀπὸ τοῦ θέρειν τὴν γῆν [...]. ἵσταντο δὲ ἐν αὐτῆ καὶ χοροί. καὶ ἀγαθῶν Θαργήλια.

The sources agree in attributing this festival to those celebrated in honor of Apollo (Suda suggests the possibility that it was dedicated also to his sister Artemis). Both lexicons place this celebration in the month of θαργηλιών and they mention a pot in which a stew of first fruits from the first harvest was cooked as offering to the god (Offering). Suda also reports a greeting pronounced during Θαργήλια (Speech Acts) and informs us that during that occasion there was also a choral contest, also mentioned by Photius (Ritual Pratices).

After the purification rite - necessary to celebrate properly a festival connected to agriculture - on the second day of the Θαργήλια a procession (Religious practices) was held to the naos of Apollo Pythion, likely located near the valley of Ilissus (Buildings). During this celebration, also a branch of laurel, called εἰρεσιώνη, was carried, symbolizing seasonal renewal after the harsh winter period (Objects).

This πομπή is clearly described by neoplatonic philosopher Porphyry in Περὶ ἀποχῆς ἐμψύχων (II, 7). Speaking of offerings brought to the divinities, he lists those paid during Θαργήλια:

Οἷς μαρτυρεῖν ἔοικεν καὶ ἡ Ἀθήνησιν ἔτι καὶ νῦν δρωμένη πομπὴ Ἡλίου τε καὶ Ὡρῶν. Πομπεύει γὰρ εἰλυσπόα ἄγρωστις ἐπὶ πυρηνίων ἡγηρίας, ὄσπρια, δρῦς, μιμαίκυλα, κριθαί, πυροί, παλάθη ἡγητηρία, ἀλεύρων πυρίνων καὶ κριθίνων φθοῖς, ὀρθοστάτης, χύτρος ().

Instead, referring the words of the rhetorician Pausanias, Eustathius in his commentary on Iliadtitle> (XXII, 496) informs us about the εἰρεσιώνη with regard to another festival, the Πυανέψια:

ἐν δὲ τοῖς Παυσανίου κεῖται ταῦτα· εἰρεσιώνη θαλλὸς ἐλαίας, ἐστεμμένος ἐρίῳ, προσκρεμαμένους ἔχων διαφόρους ἐκ γῆς καρπούς· τοῦτον ἐκφέρει παῖς ἀμφιθαλὴς καὶ τίθησι πρὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱεροῦ ἐν τοῖς Πυανεψίοις. λέγεται γάρ, φησί, Θησέα, ὅτε εἰς Κρήτην ἔπλει, προσσχόντα ∆ήλῳ τῇ νήσῳ διὰ χειμῶνα εὔξασθαι Ἀπόλλωνι καταστέψασθαι κλάδοις ἐλαίας, εἰ τὸν Μινώταυρον κτείνας σωθῇ, καὶ θυσιάσειν. καὶ γοῦν τὴν ἱκετηρίαν ταύτην καταστέψας ἑψῆσαι λέγεται χύτρας ἀθάρας καὶ ἔτνους καὶ βωμὸν ἱδρύσασθαι. [...] ἦγον δὲ ἔσθ' ὅτε ταῦτα καὶ ἐπὶ ἀποτροπῇ λιμοῦ. ᾖδον δὲ παῖδες οὕτω «Εἰρεσιώνη σῦκα φέρει καὶ πίονας ἄρτους, καὶ μέλιτος κοτύλην, καὶ ἔλαιον ἐπικρήσασθαι, καὶ κύλικ' εὔζωρον, ἵνα μεθύουσα καθεύδῃ». μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἑορτὴν ἔξω ἀγρῶν τιθέασι παρὰ τὰς θύρας. Κράτης δέ φησιν ἀφορίας ποτὲ κατασχούσης Ἀθήνας, θαλλοὺς καταστέψαντας, ἐρίοις ἱκετηρίαν ἀναθεῖναι Ἀπόλλωνι. Ἀλλαχοῦ δὲ λέγεται καὶ ὅτι στέμμα λευκὸν καὶ φοινικοῦν ἀπήρτητο τοῦ θαλλοῦ, καὶ ὅτι προὐτίθετο ἱκεσία τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι, καθ' ἣν ἡμέραν οἱ περὶ Θησέα σωθῆναι δοκοῦσι, καὶ ὅτι καταχύσματα καὶ κύλικα οἴνου κεκραμένην καταχέοντες αὐτῆς ἐπέλεγον τὴν ῥηθεῖσαν ᾠδήν. ().

A scholiast of Aristophanes, commenting on the verse 729 of The Knights, connects the εἰρεσιώνη to the Θαργήλια:

Πυανεψίοις καὶ Θαργηλίοις Ἡλίῳ καὶ “Ὥραις ἑορτάζουσιν ̓Αθηναῖοι. φέρουσι δὲ οἱ παῖδες τούς τε θαλλοὺς ἐρίοις περιειλημμένους, ὅθεν εἰρεσιῶναι λέγονται. καὶ τούτους πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν κρεμῶσιν.

This branch is also mentioned in a scholium to the verse 1045 of Aristophanes' Pluto:

εἰρεσιώνη. στέμματα πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν περιειλημένα πλακουντικοῖς τισὶ κολλύραις καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶ τοιουτοτρόποις, τοῖς τε ὡραίοις καρποῖς, καὶ ἐλαίῳ ἀποκεκραμένα ().

Also the byzantine lexicon Suda, under the entry εἰρεσιώνη, stated:

Εἰρεσιώνη. θαλλὸς ἐλαίας, ἐστεμμένος ἐρίοις καὶ προσκρεμαμένους ἔχων παντοδαποὺς τῶν ἐκ γῆς καρπῶν. τοῦτον δὲ ἐκφέρει παῖς ἀμφιθαλὴς καὶ τίθησι πρὸ τῆς θύρας τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἱεροῦ τοῖς Πυανεψίοις. [...] Εἰρεσιώνη, κλάδος ἦν ἐλαίας ἐρίοις πεπλεγμένος· ἐξήρτητο δὲ αὐτοῦ τὰ ὡραῖα πάντα. ἵστασαν δὲ αὐτὴν πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν κατὰ παλαιὸν χρησμόν. οἱ μὲν γάρ φασιν, ὡς λοιμοῦ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν κατασχόντος ὁ θεὸς εἶπε προηρόσια τῇ Δηοῖ ὑπὲρ πάντων θῦσαι θυσίαν Ἀθηναίους· οὗ ἕνεκεν χαριστήρια πανταχόθεν ἐκπέμπουσιν Ἀθήναζε τῶν καρπῶν τὰς ἀπαρχάς. ἄλλως. Πυανεψίοις καὶ Θαργηλίοις Ἡλίῳ καὶ Ὥραις θύουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι: φέρουσι δὲ οἱ παῖδες τὰ προκατειλεγμένα ἀκρόδρυα καὶ ταῦτα πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν κρεμῶσι. κατά τι δὲ χρηστήριον πρὸς ἀποτροπὴν λοιμοῦ ταύτην ἐποίουν τὴν ἀνάρτησιν. Εἰρεσιώνη δὲ λέγεται διὰ τὰ ἔρια.

In Plutarch’s Lives of Theseus (XXII, 4–7) it is narrated:

Θάψας δὲ τὸν πατέρα, τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι τὴν εὐχὴν ἀπεδίδου τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τοῦ Πυανεψιῶνος μηνὸς ἱσταμένου· ταύτῃ γὰρ ἀνέβησαν εἰς ἄστυ σωθέντες. [...] τὴν δὲ εἰρεσιώνην ἐκφέρουσι, κλάδον ἐλαίας ἐρίῳ μὲν ἀνεστεμμένον, ὥσπερ τότε τὴν ἱκετηρίαν, παντοδαπῶν δὲ ἀνάπλεων καταργμάτων διὰ τὸ λῆξαι τὴν ἀφορίαν, ἐπᾴδοντες·
Εἰρεσιώνη σῦκα φέρει καὶ πίονας ἄρτους
καὶ μέλι ἐν κοτύλῃ καὶ ἔλαιον ἀποψήσασθαι
καὶ κύλικ ̓ εὔζωρον, ὡς ἂν μεθύουσα καθεύδῃ.

In Etymologicum Magnum, a byzantine lexicon dating from the early 12th century AD, we can read similar material on εἰρεσιώνη, including ritual descriptions and the same hymn tradition.

Εἰρεσιώνη. εὐμεγέθης κλάδος ἐξ ἐρίων ἔχουσα στέμματα, κλῶνας καὶ ἰσχάδας καὶ τῶν χαθαρῶν ἄκροδρύων ὁρμαθούς. ἢ θάλλος ἐστὶν ἐλαίας πάντας τοὺς καρποὺς ἔχον ἀπηρτισμένους, καὶ στέμμα λευκὸν καὶ φοινικοῦν. προετίθετο δὲ ἱκεσία τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ἐχείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, ᾗ οἱ περὶ Θησέα σωθῆναι δοχοῦσι. καταχύσματα δὲ καὶ κύλικα οἴνου κεκραμένην καταχέοντες αὐτῆς ἐπιλέγουσιν·
Εἰρεσιώνη σῦχα φέρει χαὶ πίονας ἄρτοις,
καὶ μέλιτος χοτύλην χαὶ ἔλαιον ἀποψήσασθαι
καὶ χυλιχ ̓ εὐζώροιο οἴνου ἵνα μεθύουσα καθεὕδῃ.

After having mentioned the main sources on εἰρεσιώνη, it would be useful to summarize what has emerged: the εἰρεσιώνη consisted of branches of olive or laurel carried in a procession for Apollo by a παῖς ἀμφιθαλὴς (Individuals) a boy with both parents still alive. These branches were probably arranged as garlands to which figs, dried fruits, well-cooked bread, amphoras of oil, honey or wine, as well as fruits of all kinds were attached with ribbons of white and red (or only white) wool (Offering). During this procession, a chant was sung, (Speach acts) praising the abundance that the εἰρεσιώνη was supposed to bring. Subsequently, these branches were sprinkled with wine, attached to the doors of houses for a year and then replaced every year with new flourishing εἰρεσιώναι. The cathartic value linked to the plant is evident: following the advice of a non-specified oracle, whenever there was a famine or a pestilence, the Athenians used to offer an εἰρεσιώνη to Apollo (Offering). This usage is fully in line with the figure of the scapegoat. The apotropaic function linked to Θαργήλια, therefore, was also realized also through the procession with the εἰρεσιώνη. This plant had the function of purifying the land, ensuring proper soil regeneration and promoting the abundance for the future harvest. Just as the φαρμακός guaranteed the purity of the social group of citizens, so the εἰρεσιώνη ensured the fertility and purity of the land of Athens. Such a value confirms the words of Aelian, who in Varia Historia asserts that the sixth day of the month of Thargelion brings benefits not only to the Athenians but also to many others ().

Catalogue of occurrences

Ael. VH (2, 25)

D.L. (2.5.44)

D.L. (3.1.2)

EM (v. εἰρεσιώνη)

Eust., ad Il. XXII, 496

Harp. (see Θαργήλια)

Harp. (see φαρμακός)

Hsch. (see Θαργήλια)

Hsch. (see φαρμακός)

Hippon. (fr. 104 W2.)

Phot., Bibl. (7, 534a)

Plu., Thes. (XXII, 4-7)

P.Oxy. XVIII 2175

Porphyr. Abstin. (2, 7)

Schol. ad Eq. 729

Schol. ad Pl. 1054

Suid. (see Θαργήλια)

Suid. (see εἰρεσιώνη)

Discussion / Interpretation

Θαργήλια was a purification festival, an overall social and physical regeneration of Athens – primarily of the soil and then of the society as a whole – which involved forms of ritual expulsion useful for eliminating the danger of plagues or famines. It occurred during the month Thargelion, which is entirely dedicated to purification, primarily of the city through the rite of the φαρμακός and subsequently also of its poliadic deity through the rites of the Καλλυντήρια and Πλυντήρια, in which the temple and the statue of Athena Polias were cleaned. This time of the year, in fact, precedes the harvest season and therefore requires the utmost attention regarding apotropaic rites and auspicious purification in order to ensure the success of an abundant harvest.

Bibliography

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