Athena Polias, Panathenaia, and the Peplos

This chapter discusses certain aspects of the Panathenaia, including its aitia, and some aspects of the cult of Athena Polias. A central focus of the investigations is the offering of the peplos to Athena and the ways in which the Panathenaia related to the Plynteria. It also engages with the much discussed topic of the Parthenon frieze, because certain readings of this representational nexus, and of the peplos itself, have taken insufficient account of the system of religious representations of which this offering was part. This is especially true of a few relatively recent suggestions...

This chapter discusses certain aspects of the Panathenaia, including its aitia, and some aspects of the cult of Athena Polias. A central focus of the investigations is the offering of the peplos to Athena and the ways in which the Panathenaia related to the Plynteria. It also engages with the much discussed topic of the Parthenon frieze, because certain readings of this representational nexus, and of the peplos itself, have taken insufficient account of the system of religious representations of which this offering was part. This is especially true of a few relatively recent suggestions concerning the peplos.