Thesmophoriazousai. Mytilenean women and their secret rites

Abstract

During the 1984–1994 excavations on the acropolis in Mytilene, a sanctuary devoted to Demeter from the Late Archaic to the Early Hellenistic period was discovered. A series of five or more altars to the east of the site was excavated, producing approximately 5,000 animal bones. The bones of young sheep, goat and pigs predominated, in contrast with other contemporary Demeter sanctuaries in the Greek world which have yielded a characteristic predominance of pig bones. The sanctuary in Mytilene also produced figurines of Kybele, Isis, Aphrodite and Eros, reflecting the polytheistic nature of this place of worship. These different associations may provide the reason for the high percentage of bovid bones from this sanctuary. A circular ash pit at the western end of the row of altars was found filled with calcined bones of perinatal piglets. The exclusive sacrifice of piglets, particularly in this sanctuary context, is reminiscent of Thesmophoric ritual. Ancient testimonia of the rites of the Thesmophoria are examined in this paper, and compared to the faunal evidence in order to reconstruct the ancient ritual that took place on the acropolis in Mytilene. Special attention is paid to the timing of the placement of the piglets in the megara prior to their offering on the altar.