Pyanepsia
(
τὰ πυανέψια, sc.
ἱερά).
A festival celebrated at Athens on the seventh day of the month Pyanepsion, the end of October, in honour of the departing god of summer, Apollo. The
festival received its name from the cooked beans which were offered to the god as firstfruits
of autumn. Another firstfruit offering of this festival was the
eiresioné (
εἰρεσιώνη), a branch of olive
or bay, bound with purple and white wool, and hung about with all sorts of autumn fruits,
pastry, and small vessels full of honey, wine, and oil. This branch was borne by a boy whose
parents were both alive; a song, which bore the same name,
eiresioné, was sung, while he was escorted by a procession to the temple of
the god, where the wreath was deposited as a votive offering. Other branches were hung at the
doors of the houses. In later times this festival was also kept as a mark of gratitude for the
safe return of Theseus from Crete, which was supposed to have taken place on this day; and the
cooking of the beans was regarded as commemorating the cooking of the scanty remains of the
provisions of his ships. In the ancient calendar of the Attic festivals
built into the wall of the metropolitan church at Athens, the festival of the Pyanepsia is
represented by a youth carrying the
eiresioné. Besides
Apollo, the Horae were worshipped at the Pyanepsia with offerings and invocations, as the
goddesses of the blessings of the year.