TheKronia orCronia (Ancient Greek:Κρόνια) was anAthenian festival held in honor of Kronos (Cronus) on the 12th day ofHekatombaion, the first month of theAttic calendar, and roughly equivalent to the latter part of July and first part of August.[a]
The festival was also celebrated in parts ofIonia, and in these places the month was calledKronion, named after the festival.[2]: 82 [3]: 385 [b] Scholars usually interpret it as a celebration of the mid-summer (first) harvest. Its Roman equivalent isSaturnalia.[2]: 38
TheRoman playwrightAccius says that to celebrate theKronia, "In nearly all fields and towns they happily feast upon banquets, and everyone waits upon his own servants."[5] Slaves and the free, rich and poor, all dined together and played games.[d]
The freedom from work and socialegalitarianism enjoyed on the day represented the conditions of the mythicalGolden Age, whenKronos (Cronus) still ruled the world.[6] In the Golden Age, the earth had spontaneously supported human life, and since labor was unneeded, slavery had not existed.[e] William Hansen describes the Golden Age of Kronos as "a period of thorough harmony in which hierarchical, exploitative, and predatory relationships were nonexistent."[3]: 385, 391 [note 34]
TheKronia was a time for social restraints to be temporarily forgotten. Slaves were released from their duties, and participated in the festivities alongside the slave-owners. Slaves were "permitted to run riot through the city, shouting and making a noise."[7] Other than theKronia, there is only limited evidence of religious devotion toKronos (Cronus).[2]: 83
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