Aphrodisia

The Aphrodisia festival (Ancient Greek: 'Αφροδίσια), an annual festival held in Ancient Greece in honor of the goddess Aphrodite Pandemos, (Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδίτη Πάνδημος) took place in several Ancient Greek towns, but was especially important in Attica and on the island of Cyprus, where Aphrodite Pandemos was celebrated with a magnificent celebration. The festival occurred during the month of Hekatombaion, which we recognize as starting from the third week in June to the third week of July on the Gregorian calendar. Aphrodite was worshipped in most towns of Cyprus, as well as in Cythera, Sparta, Thebes, Delos, and Elis, and her most ancient temple was at Paphos. Textual sources explicitly mention Aphrodisia festivals in Corinth and in Athens, where the many prostitutes that resided in the city celebrated the festival as a means of worshipping their patron goddess. Though no textual sources expressly mention an Aphrodisia festival in Cythera, Thebes, or Elis, it likely occurred since textual and iconographical sources indicate that Aphrodite Pandemos had a cultic following in these areas. The Aphrodisia festival was one of the most important ceremonies in Delos, though we do not know much about the details of the celebration. The inscriptions merely indicate that the festival required the purchase of ropes, torches and wood, which were customary expenses of all Delian festivals.