SYNOI´KIA
SYNOI´KIA (
συνοίκια or
συνοικέσια), a festival celebrated every
year at Athens on the 16th of Hecatombaeon in honour of Athena. It was
believed to have been instituted by Theseus to commemorate the concentration
of the government of the various towns of Attica and Athens (
Thuc. 2.15; Steph. Byz. s. v.
Ἀθῆναι). According to the Scholiast on
Aristophanes (
Aristoph. Peace 1019),
an unbloody sacrifice was on this day offered to the goddess of peace
(
εἰρήνη)
[p. 2.748][
C. I. A. 1.157]. This festival, which Plutarch (
Plut. Thes. 24) calls
μετοίκια, is mentioned both by him and by Thucydides as
still held in their days. It must not be connected with the Panathenaea
(which was a far more ancient festival), as has been done by some writers,
but must be regarded rather as a separate peace festival. (A. Mommsen,
Heortol. p. 114.)
[
L.S]