Thesmophoria–Thanksgiving in Ancient Greece
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
In modern day western culture, our death holiday (Halloween) and our harvest celebration (Thanksgiving) are celebrated separately. Not so for the ancient Greeks.
Demeter was not a death divinity–she was the goddess of grain and she fed the world–but her story is closely tied together with her daughter, Persephone, Queen of Hades. Because of that tie, her celebration was one of both joy and sorrow. Check it out.
I particularly like the idea of ritual insults. I guess today’s version would be a celebrity roast.
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