Heraea
- a fortified city in Arcadia, on the Alphēus, Liv. 28, 7 sq.
HERAEA(Ἥραια) is the name of festivals celebrated in honour of Hera in all the towns of Greece where the worship of this divinity was introduced. The original seat of her worship, from which it spread over the other parts of Greece, was Argos ; whence her festivals in other places were, more or less, imitations of those which were celebrated at Argos. (Müller, Dor. 2.10.1.) The Argives had three temples of Hera: one lay between Argos and Mycenae, 45 stadia from Argos; the second lay on the road to the Acropolis, and near it was the stadium in which the games and contests at the Heraea were held (Paus. 2.24.2); the third was in the city itself (Paus. 2.22.1). Her service was performed by the most distinguished priestesses of the place; one of them was the high-priestess, and the Argives counted their years by the date of her office. (Thucyd. 2.2.) The Heraea of Argos were celebrated every fifth year, and, according to the calculation of Boeckh (Abhandl. der Berl. Akad. von 1818-19, p. 92 ff.), in the middle of the second year of every Olympiad. One of the great solemnities which took place on the occasion, was a magnificent procession to the great temple of Hera, between Argos and Mycenae. A vast number of young men--for the festival is called a panegyris--assembled at Argos, and marched in armour to the temple of the goddess. They were preceded by one hundred oxen (ἑκατόμβη, whence the festival is also called ἑκατόμβαια). The high-priestess accompanied this procession, riding in a chariot drawn by two white oxen, as we see from the story of Cleobis and Biton related by Herodotus (Hdt. 1.31) and Cicero (Tuscul. 1.47.113). The hundred oxen were sacrificed, and their flesh distributed among all the citizens. (Schol. ad Pind. O. 7.152, and ad Nem. 10.39.) The sacrifice itself was called λεχέρνα (Hesych. s. v.) or the bed of twigs. (Comp. Welcker on Schwenck's Etymologische Andeutungen, p. 268.) The games and contests of the Heraea took place in the stadium, near the temple on the road to the Acropolis. A brazen shield was fixed in a place above the theatre, which was scarcely accessible to any one, and the young man who succeeded in pulling it down received the shield and a garland of myrtle as a prize. Hence Pindar (Pind. N. 10.41) calls the contest ἀγὼν χάλκεος. It seems that this contest took place before the procession went out to the Heraeon, for Strabo (8. p. 556) states that the victor went with his prizes in solemn procession to that temple. This contest was said to have been instituted, according to some traditions, by Acrisius and Proetus (Aelian, Ael. VH 3.24), according to others by Archinus. (Schol. ad Pind. O. 7.152; Hermann, Gottesd. Alterth. § 52, n. 1).
The Heraea or Hecatombaea of Aegina were celebrated in the same manner as those of Argos (see Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 8.114; Müller, Aeginet. p. 149; Hermann, Gottesd. Alterth. § 52, n. 19).
The Heraea of Samos, which island also derived the worship of Hera from Argos (Paus. 7.4.4), were perhaps the most brilliant of all the festivals of this divinity. A magnificent procession, consisting of maidens and married women in splendid attire, and with floating hair (Asius, ap. Athen. 12. p. 525), together with men and youths in armour (Polyaen. Strat. 1.23, 6.45), went to the temple of Hera. After they arrived within the sacred precincts, the men deposited their armour; and prayers and vows were offered up to the goddess. Her altar consisted of the ashes of the victims which had been burnt to her. (Paus. 5.13.5.)
The Heraea of Elis were celebrated every fifth year, or in the fourth year of every Olympiad. (Corsini, Dissert. 3.30.) The festival was chiefly celebrated by maidens, and conducted by sixteen matrons who wove the sacred peplus for the goddess. But before the solemnities commenced, these matrons sacrificed a pig, and purified themselves in the well Piera. (Paus. 5.16.5.) One of the principal solemnities was a race of the maidens in the stadium, for which purpose they were divided into three classes, according to their age. The youngest ran first and the oldest last. Their only dress on this occasion was a χιτών, which came down to the knee, and their hair was floating. She who won the prize received a garland of oliveboughs, together with a part of a cow which was sacrificed to Hera, and might dedicate her own painted likeness in the temple of the goddess. The sixteen matrons were attended by as many female attendants, and performed two dances; the one called the dance of Physcoa, the other the dance of Hippodameia. Respecting further particulars, and the history of this solemnity, see Paus. 5.16.2, &c.; Hermann, Gottesd. Alterth. § 51, n. 3.
Heraea were celebrated in various other places; e. g. in Cos (Athen. 14. p. 639, 6. p. 262), at Corinth (Eurip. Med. 1379; Philostrat. Her. 19.14), at Athens (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 7.168), at Cnosus in Crete (Diod. 5.72), at Pellene in Achaia (Schol. ad Pind. O. 7.156; ad Nem. 10.82; Aristoph. Av. 1421; Krause, Gymn. i. pt. 2, p. 715; Hermann, Gottesd. Alterth. § 51, n. 28.)
[L.S] [W.W]HERAEA(Ἡραία: Eth. Ἡραιεύς, Ἡραεύς, in an ancient inscription Ἠρϝαοῖος: the territory Ἡραιᾶτις), the most important Arcadian town on the Lower Alpheius, was situated near the frontiers of Elis, and on the high road from Arcadia to Olympia. It is said to have been founded by Heraeeus, a son of Lycaon, and to have been called originally Sologorgus. (Paus. 8.26.1; Steph. B. s. v. Ἡραία) At an early period the Heraeans concluded a treaty with the Eleians for mutual protection and support for one hundred years; the original of which treaty, engraven on a bronze tablet in the old Peloponnesian dialect, was brought from Olympia by Gell, and is now in the Payne Knight collection in the British Museum. This treaty is placed about the 50th Olympiad, or B.C. 580, since it belongs to a time when the Eleians exercised an undisputed supremacy over the dependent districts of Pisatis and Triphylia; and the Heraeans consequently were anxious to avail themselves of their support. (For a copy of the inscription see Leake, Peloponnesiaca, p. 1; Böckh, Inscr. no. 11, vol. 1. p. 26.) Heraea was, at that time, the chief village among eight others which lay scattered upon the banks of the Alpheius and its tributaries the Ladon and Erymanthus; but the inhabitants of these separate villages were transferred to Heraea, and a city there was founded by the Spartan king Cleombrotus or Cleonymus. (Strab. 8. p. 337.) In consequence of their close connection with Sparta, the Heraeans incurred the hostility of the other Arcadians, who laid waste their territory in B.C. 370. (Xen. Hell. 6.5. 22) At a later time Heraea was a member of the Achaean League; and, as Elis was one of the chief places of the Aetolian League, it is frequently mentioned in the contests between these two powers. (Plb. 2.54, 4.77, seq.) It was afterwards in the hands of Philip, but it was restored to the Achaeans. (Liv. 28.8, 32.5, 33.34; Plb. 18.25, 30.) Heraea is mentioned by Strabo (8. p. 388) as one of the deserted cities of Arcadia; but when it was visited by Pausanias, it was still a place of some importance. The latter writer describes its temples, baths, plantations of myrtles and other trees along the banks of the Alpheius: among its temples he mentions two sacred to Dionysus, one to Pan, and another to Hera, of the latter of which only some ruins were left. (Paus. 8.26. § § 1, 2.)
The site of Heraea is fixed by its distance from the mouth of the Ladon, which, according to Pausanias, was 15 stadia. The same writer says that the greater part of the city lay upon a gently sloping hill, and the remainder upon the banks of the Alpheius. The remains of Heraea are visible on a hill west of the village of Aiánni(St. John), bounded on either side by a ravine, and sloping down towards the river. These ruins extend along the summit of the hill and the slope towards the river; but they are inconsiderable, and have for the most part been cleared away in consequence of the fertility of the land. A sweetish red wine is grown upon the spot, which Leake says has more flavour and body than almost any other he met with in the Morea. This wine was also celebrated in antiquity, and was said to make women fruitful. (Theophr. H. Pl. 9.20; Athen. 1. p. 31; Plin. Nat. 14.18. s.22; Aelian, Ael. VH 13.6.)
Heraea was favourably situated in several respects. Its territory was fertile, and it was situated, as we have already said, on the high road from Olympia into the interior of Arcadia. From the north of Arcadia a road led into the valley of the Alpheius, near Heraea; and two roads led into the Hereatis, one from Megalopolis, and the other from Messene and Phigalia, which joined the former close to the town. There was a bridge over the Alpheius close to Heraea, which Philip restored in B.C. 219. (Plb. 4.77, 78.) The Heraeatis was separated from Pisatis by the river Erymanthus, and from the territory of Megalopolis by the river Buphagus. (Gell, Itiner. of the Morea, p. 113; Leake, Morea, vol. 2. p. 91; Boblaye, Recherches, &c. p. 159; Curtius, Peloponnesos, vol. 1. p. 363, seq.) COIN OF HERAEA.
(Ἡραία). A town in Arcadia, on the right bank of the Alpheus, near the borders of Elis.
(τὰ Ἡραῖα). A festival held at Argos every five years in honour of Heré, the goddess of the country. The priestess of Heré drove in a car drawn by white oxen to the Heraeum, or temple of the goddess, situated between Argos and Mycenae. Meantime the people marched out in procession, the fighting men in their arms. There was a great sacrifice of oxen (ἑκατόμβη), followed by a general sacrificial banquet and games of all sorts. A special feature of these was a contest in throwing the javelin, while running at full speed, at a shield set up at the end of the course. The victor received a crown and a shield, which he carried in the final procession. Like feasts were held at Aegina, Samos, Elis, Cos, Athens, and other places (Hermann, Gottesd. Alterth. 51, n. 28).
- Paus. 3.8.7, 8, Paus. 5.7.1, Paus. 6.17.4, Paus. 8.26.1ff.
- consisting of race between virgins: Paus. 5.16.2-4