The Gymnopaedia was an annual festival celebrated exclusively in ancient Sparta, which helped to define Spartan identity. It featured generations of naked Spartan men participating in war dancing and choral singing, with a large emphasis placed on age and generational groups. It is believed that celebration of this festival began in 668 BCE to honour a Spartan victory in Thyrea. The festival likely evolved over time to celebrate other Spartan victories such as that over the Argives in the Battle of the Champions. The Gymnopaedia was primarily in honour of Apollo, but also celebrated Artemis and Leto, who served as representations of the childhood which would soon be left behind by the young participants. Though the festival was ritualistic, it should not necessarily be interpreted as religious. Pausanias describes the Gymnopaedia as "a festival which the Lacedaemonians take more seriously than any other" (Paus. 3.11.9).

thumb |350px|[[Corybantian dance, the type of dance most likely danced on Gymnopedia festivals (image from Smith's Dictionary of Antiquities).]]

Etymology

The word Gymnopaedia derives from the ancient Greek , composed of the words (gymnos, "naked" or "unarmed") and "paedia" from (pais, "child" or "youth").

Setting

Time and date

The Gymnopaedia took place each year in approximately July. July was the first month of the year for the Spartans as their calendar revolved around the summer solstice. Pausanias states that near this area there were statues of Apollo Pythaeus, Artemis, and Leto (Paus 3.11.9). Due to how little remains of structures or landmarks in Ancient Sparta we cannot be certain the exact location of the agora or potential "theatres".

Celebrations

The major element of celebration during the Gymnopaedia was the songs and dances performed by choruses of naked men as a form of competition. The main focus of the festival was the young men who were about to enter adulthood. Because the contests were more symbolic than strictly athletic in nature, they may be interpreted as a ceremonial and initiatory part of the agoge.

Because all of Sparta would gather to partake in or view the events of the Gymnopaedia, it helped to develop a communal identity and sense of being a part of a single group.

Choral song and dance

thumb|An artistic interpretation of Pyrrhic dance by Lawrence Tadema. Pryrrhic dance is similar to what the Spartans may have performed during the Gymnopaedia.

The choral groups would dance naked. The songs the young men sang drew attention to the physical maturity they were reaching. Though there were no shows of strength or arms taken up at the festival, the songs still had a militaristic quality. They sang songs described as having a "boastful" tone, which were written in iambic trimeter. The same songs would be used each year. The three groups competing and interacting with each other helped to place an emphasis on Spartans as a collective, rather than as individual competitors. It was considered as such because of the extremely hot conditions and precisely performed dance moves. These crowns were made out of palm leaves and were referred to as "feather crowns" due to the leaves' resemblance to feathers. The Spartans also used these crowns at other festivals.

The Gymnopaedia was important enough to the Spartans that they would avoid leaving the city even if called on. Thucydides explains an occasion of this in History of the Peloponnesian War (Thuc. 5.82). The Argive democrats knew how important the festival was to the Spartans, and waited until the festival began in order to attack the ruling oligarchs who were allied with Sparta. The Spartans eventually postponed the Gymnopaedia, but the oligarchs had already been defeated by this time. Xenophon writes that Agesilaus was extremely devoted to religion (Xen. Ages. 3.2), so he would have seen this participation as a duty.

The news of Spartan loss at the battle of Leuctra reached Sparta during the final day of the Gymnopaedia. Xenophon expands on this information, saying that the ephors instructed the families of the dead to suffer their grief in silence so as not to disrupt the festival. The following day all those who had lost relatives could be seen smiling and being cheerful in public. Those who had family members at the battle who were still living were sad and worried for their loved ones (Xen. Hell. 6.4).

Plutarch says Lichas, a wealthy Spartan, gained fame for entertaining many of the strangers at a "boys gymnastic festival" (Plut. Cim. 10, 5) This festival was interpreted by Xenophon to be the Gymnopaedia.

Ancient Greece

Plutarch mentions that the city was "full of strangers" during the Gymnopaidia suggesting that non-Spartans and potentially perioikoi would also attend the festival. (Plut. Ages. 29.2).

See also

  • For the pyrrhic dance, a war dance spread throughout ancient Greece, see Korybantes
  • Gymnopédie - 19th century music and poetry referring to gymnopaedia; particularly the three piano compositions by the French composer Erik Satie.
  • Hyacinthia - Another Ancient Spartan festival
  • Spartan pederasty
  • Carneia - Another ancient Spartan festival
  • Laconophilia - An affinity for Spartan history and culture
  • Agora - Main public spaces in ancient Greece
  • Agesilaus II - A King of Sparta
  • Apollo - Greek God and one of the 12 Olympian Gods
  • Leto - Mythological mother of Apollo and Artemis
  • Artemis - Greek Goddess and one of the 12 Olympian Gods

References

Citations

Further reading

For more information on the study of Ancient Spartan Religion and the challenges in studying it see: Spartan Religion by Sarah M. Norvell.

More information on Ancient Sparta can be found in A Companion to Sparta edited by Anton Powell.

More information on Ancient Greek Religion can be found in A Companion to Greek Religion edited by Daniel Ogden.