Carneia

Not to be confused with Cornea, Carna (disambiguation), Carneal, or Carneau.
Male dancer at festival of Apollo Karneios, wearing kalatiskos hat in the temple of Karneios, 5th century BC, from Ceglie del Campo[1]

Carneia (Ancient Greek: Κάρνεια or Καρνεῖα) or Carnea (Κάρνεα) was one of the tribal traditional festivals of Sparta, the Peloponnese and Doric cities in Magna Grecia, held in honor of Apollo Karneios. Whether Carneus (or Carnus) was originally an old Peloponnesian divinity subsequently identified with Apollo, or merely an "emanation" from him, is uncertain; but there seems no reason to doubt that Carneus means "the god of flocks and herds" (Hesychius, s.v. Κάρνος), in a wider sense, of the harvest and the vintage. The chief centre of his worship was Sparta, where the Carneia took place every year from the 7th to the 15th of the month Carneus (i.e. Metageitnion, August). During this period all military operations were suspended.[2]

  1. ^ John K. Papadopoulos: The Motya Youth: Apollo Karneios, Art, and Tyranny in the Greek West. The Art Bulletin, Vol. 96, No. 4 (December 2014), pp. 395-423
  2. ^ Chisholm 1911.