Saturday, August 22, 2009

The Calendar of Feasts at Antioch

The social calendar of  the Antiochenes was a full one. As I have noted elsewhere they liked to party. Some of these parties emanated from religious festivals. The 4th century represented an interesting moment in which Christianity started to displace the old Graeco-Roman theology. This dealt a death blow to many of the festivals and thus made Antioch a duller place. I repeat again the feeling that Christianity did Antioch no favours. 

In Jean-Francois Vieslet's definitive work on Antiochene religious festivals,  Les Fastes d'Atnioche et le crepuscule du paganisme. Analyse des fetes paiennes D'Antioche au IVe s. ap. J-C. (Louvain 2004-2005) he produces a calendar whih I feel is useful to reproduce here.