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 p414  Dioscuria

Article by Leonhard Schmitz, Ph.D., F.R.S.E., Rector of the High School of Edinburgh
on p414 of

William Smith, D.C.L., LL.D.:
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875.

DIOSCURIA (διοσκούρια), festivals celebrated in various parts of Greece in honour of the dioscuri.​a The Spartan dioscuria mentioned by Pausanias (IV.27 § 1; compare with III.16 § 3) and Spanheim (ad Callim. Hymn. in Pall. 24), were celebrated with sacrifices, rejoicings, and drinking. At Cyrene the dioscuri were likewise honoured with a great festival (Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. V.629). The Athenian festival of the dioscuri has been described under Anaceia. Their worship was very generally adopted in Greece, especially in the Doric and Achaean states, as we conclude from the great number of temples dedicated to them; but scarcely anything is known respecting the manner in which their festivals were celebrated.


Thayer's Note:

a That is, the twins Castor and Pollux.


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Page updated: 20 Sep 07