- 著者
-
小山田 真帆
- 出版者
- 京都大学大学院文学研究科
- 雑誌
- 西洋古代史研究 = Acta academiae antiquitatis kiotoensis = The Kyoto journal of ancient history (ISSN:13468405)
- 巻号頁・発行日
- no.16, pp.25-48, 2016
In classical Athens unmarried girls, like adults and boys, also took part in some honorable rituals. This article focuses on the 'Arkteia', which was performed by girls in Brauron, one of the sanctuaries of Artemis in Attica. Most scholars have regarded the Arkteia as a ritual for girls entering maturity. However, some scholars have challenged this view, citing some contradictory literary sources. This paper shows that this ritual was not only a maturation rite in which young women participated, but that it also encouraged them to adapt to their future life as Athenian women. Firstly, this paper reexamines whether or not the Arkteia was a maturation rite, and reconsiders its age qualification. Literary sources attest that the girls who participated in the ritual wore 'krokotoi' (saffron robes) indicating that they were sexually mature women. The legend of Iphigeneia, who is associated with Brauron, also alludes to this ritual as marking the passage of young women into maturity. The Arkteia was therefore a maturation rite for girls, as previous scholarship has claimed. However, there is room for reconsidering the age qualification of 5-10 years, as this age group would have been ineligible for this particular type of ritual. Based on an investigation of various sources, this article suggests that this age qualification is not reliable. Secondly, this paper investigates the relationship between the Arkteia and the dedication performed by women for Artemis in Brauron. Women worshipped Artemis because she took care of mothers, childbirth and children. Many adult women dedicated expensive items to Artemis in Brauron, in expectation of her protection in gynecopathy or in childbirth, and her protection of their children. It seems that the girls who served as 'arktoi' (participants in the Arkteia) and the women who dedicated goods to Artemis were of an equivalent economic class. This means that the arktoi offered items to Artemis after they had reached maturity. The treasure records of Artemis Brauronia (an epigraphic source) indicate that most of the votive offerings were items of clothing and that some of these were exhibited in the temple of Artemis. In addition, an inventory was erected along the wall of the temple and on a large stoa in the sanctuary. These facts suggest that girls who participated in the Arkteia learned the ways of life of Athenian women by means of the many votive offerings and the lengthy inventory. It is worth noting that some of the clothes displayed in the temple reminded the girls of important work; weaving. This would have been how the girls were transformed into the 'Athenian women' that Athenian society, specifically Athenian men, demanded.