P 48

Athens Page 49

 P 50 

THE  PANATHENAEA

Hence, the celebration of the Panathenaea has two main characteristics:
- a religious one, with the poetical and gymnastic competitions and especially on account of the sacrifice to Athena.
- a political one with the citizens being reminded of their political, military and religious duties.

But this feast is not only for the citizens, it tends to have the whole of the city concerned and to show its consistency. Thus, all the inhabitants of the city, metics included, and their allied members are involved, the slaves were certainly admitted, too. The celebration plays the role of desegregating and unifying the people.

However, there exists no text on which this interpretation is founded, this procession has been supposed not to represent necessarily a true-to-live scene but the vision of an access to immortality for the Athenian athletes, who fell at Marathon. In fact, the mortal, having been made heroes, are often represented on their horses and the riders on the frieze are 192 in number, the exact figure of the dead runners, who died in the battle of Marathon.