The Carneian festival (Κάρνεια) was one of the most important religious festivals in ancient Sparta, held in honor of Apollo Carneios, who was worshipped in various parts of the Peloponnesus. There were nine major festivals on the Spartan calendar, the most important of which were the Carneia, the Gymnopaedia and the Hyakinthia held at Amyclae. The Carneia began on the seventh day of the month of Carneios (the Athenian Metageitnion) and lasted nine days. Nine tents were pitched near the city w ...

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Gymnopaedia, Gymnopaedia - Etymology, Gymnopaedia - Gymnopaedia in ancient Greece, Gymnopaedia - The gymnopaedia festival, Gymnopaedia - Roman era

Read more here: » Gymnopaedia: Encyclopedia II - Gymnopaedia - Etymology

Gymnopaedia - The gymnopaedia festival. In ancient Sparta, the Gymnopaedia was, since approximately 650 BC, a yearly celebration during which naked youths displayed their athletic and martial skills through the medium of dancing. The festival, celebrated in the summertime, was dedicated to Apollo (and/or, according to Plutarch, to Athena). Plato praises gymnopaedia-like exercises and performances in The Laws as an excellent medium of education: by dancing strenuously in the summer heat, Spartan youth were tra ...

See also:

Gymnopaedia, Gymnopaedia - Etymology, Gymnopaedia - Gymnopaedia in ancient Greece, Gymnopaedia - The gymnopaedia festival, Gymnopaedia - Roman era

Read more here: » Gymnopaedia: Encyclopedia II - Gymnopaedia - Gymnopaedia in ancient Greece