Goddess and Polis: The Panathenaic Festival in Ancient Athens. With Contributions by E. J. W. Barber; Donald G. Kyle; Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway; H. A. Shapiro.

Hanover, NH: Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, 1992. Folio, black cloth (hardcover), illus. endpapers, slick pages, b&w photos., full-color photo plates, 227 pp. Fine (As New) in Fine (As New) dust jacket. From jacket: This book is the first devoted to the most important of...festivals held in ancient Athens, the Panathenaia, which was founded in 566 b.c. Performed in honor of the city’s patron goddess, Athena, this complex ritual incorporated many elements of the more established Greek festivals in an attempt to vie with them in gradeur and importance. In addition to the standard athletic and equestrian events, the quadrennial Panathenaia included musical competitions, poetry recitations, team sports, and tribal contests, such as boat races, torch relas, and even a male beauty contest. What particularly distinguishes the Panathenaia is the fact that works of art were commissioned from Athenian artisans in the service of the festival... This lavishly illustrated volume deals with all aspects of this multi-faceted festival and serves as a catalogue for the exhibition of the same name... Marshalling historical, literary, epigraphical, topographical, and archaeological evidence, as well as synthesizing new scholarship, these essayists have taken an interdisciplinary approach to their respective topics, and in so doing have produced a vivid portrait of the Panathenaia and the worship of Athena in ancient Athens. (Inventory #: qms588)