The gate of the year

Clay masks, dating to the VII-VI century B.C., from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, now in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, Greece.
The temple of Artemis Orthia, near the city of Sparta, was located at the margins of the settlement, in a swampy area, as it was usual for the temple sites dedicated to Artemis, a goddess associated with the woodlands and the wild beasts. This cult site existed since the Geometric period (X-IX century B.C.). Here were performed ceremonies called Gymnopaidiai, initiatory rituals during which groups of youth entered in competition through choir contests, which were regarded both as an agon and as a test of endurance. The feast took place during the first month of the year, which for many Greek cities coincided with the period immediately following the harvest (Brelich, 1969). It can be hypothesized that these masks, or wooden copies of them, which represents partly-animal faces and could remind of images of the dead with their wrinkled skin, were employed during these ceremonies by the youths undertaking the initiation process.

[Source: http://www.theatrum.de/243.html]




Human-Animal Transformation

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Clay masks, dating to the VII-VI century B.C., from the sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, now in the Archaeological Museum of Sparta, Greece. The temple of Artemis Orthia, near the city of Sparta, was located at the margins of the settlement, in a swampy area, as it was usual for the temple sites dedicated to Artemis, a goddess associated with the woodlands and the wild beasts. This cult site existed since the Geometric period (X-IX century B.C.). Here were performed ceremonies called Gymnopaidiai, initiatory rituals during which groups of youth entered in competition through choir contests, which were regarded both as an agon and as a test of endurance. The feast took place during the first month of the year, which for many Greek cities coincided with the period immediately following the harvest (Brelich, 1969). It can be hypothesized that these masks, or wooden copies of them, which represents partly-animal faces and could remind of images of the dead with their wrinkled skin, were employed during these ceremonies by the youths undertaking the initiation process. [Source: http://www.theatrum.de/243.html]