Plynteria[pronunciation?] (Gr.πλυντήρια) was a festival ofancient Greece celebrated atAthens every year, on the 22nd ofThargelion, in honor ofAthena Polias,[1] with the heroineAglauros (or with the two combined as Athena Aglauros),[2][3][4] whose temple stood on theAcropolis.[5][6] The festival's name came fromplynein (πλύνειν), a Greek verb meaning "to wash".[7]
Plutarch states that the festival took place on the 25th, but probably only because it lasted for several days.[8][9] The day of this festival was at Athens among theapophrades (ἀποφράδες) ordies nefasti, that is, impure days on which temples were closed and business was not done. During the festival the temple of Athena was surrounded by a rope to preclude all communication with it.[10] Her statue was stripped of its garments and ornaments so that they might be ritually cleaned, and was in the meanwhile covered over to conceal it from the sight of man.[3][11] Thegenos of women who performed this service were calledpraxiergidai (πραξιεργίδαι).[1][3][12] The city was therefore, so to speak, on this day without its protecting divinity, and any undertaking commenced on it was believed to be necessarily unsuccessful. A procession was also held on the day of the Plynteria, in which a quantity of dried figs, calledhegetoria (ἡγητορία), was carried around.[13][14][15]
The Plynteria is thought to have originated inIonia, where some communities had a month namedPlynterion.[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London: John Murray.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)