Phallephoria 2014 — Honoring Dionysus in Athens


Two things.

1. “Phallephoria, the carrying of a phallus in procession in honor of Dionysus. For the first time after almost two thousand years, Phallephoria was celebrated in Athens.”

And that is tremendous. There is also a longer, 30-minute YouTube video

Although the weather looks rainy in the video, was it always so, archaeologists wonder.

2.  After thirty-some years of attending festivals, I know that the Wiccan ritual model of casting a circle is not the solution for big groups—too much standing around and waiting. Instead, the quintessential Pagan large-group creation of ritual space should be by processing, whether in the streets or the open country.

And the Greeks do a good job with masking too.

3 thoughts on “Phallephoria 2014 — Honoring Dionysus in Athens

  1. Medeina Ragana

    I emailed this to a friend who replied that he didn’t think the ancient Greek festivals were this tame. I then pointed out to him that the 4 women who were prominent in the festival were wearing body suits.

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