torch-race
torch-race
- Robert Parker
Extract
Torch-race (lampadedromia), a spectacular ritual race, normally a relay, in which fire was taken from one altar to another. Most of the evidence comes from Athens, where lexicographers say three torch-races were held, at the *Panathenaea, the Hephaestea, and the Promethea (see prometheus); three more are in fact attested before the end of the 4th cent., for *Pan, for *Bendis (on horseback—a great novelty), and for *Nemesis of *Rhamnus, and several others emerge in the Hellenistic period. It was the form of ritual activity most distinctively associated with the *ephēboi (Xen.Poroi 4. 52; BCH1877, 11), a matchless competitive display of dexterity and speed.
Subjects
- Greek Myth and Religion
