Bendideia: A Celebration of the Thracian Goddess Bendis: May 17 (19th of Thargelion)
- Jen Sequel
- May 17
- 2 min read
Each year on May 17, we have the opportunity to revisit one of ancient Athens' more fascinating and lesser-known festivals: Bendideia. Held on the 19th day of Thargelion, this celebration was in honor of the Thracian goddess Bendis, a deity associated with the moon, the hunt, and wilderness. Though Bendis was a foreign goddess, her festival became a vibrant part of Athenian religious life—especially among the non-citizen population.
Who Was Bendis?
Bendis was originally a Thracian goddess, often compared to Artemis, due to her association with the moon and her depiction as a huntress. Unlike the Greek Olympians, Bendis was a more chthonic, earthy figure—often shown clad in Thracian dress with a fox-skin cap, carrying torches or weapons, and moving in wild procession. Her cult made its way to Athens through the influx of Thracian immigrants and was officially recognized during the 5th century BCE.
The Festival in Athens
The Bendideia was unique in that it was dual in nature—one part held by the Thracian community, and the other by the Athenian citizens. This rare religious sharing highlighted the multicultural aspects of ancient Athens, especially during its Golden Age.
Most famously, Plato's Republic opens with a scene set during the Bendideia, describing a nighttime torch race on horseback—a spectacle not traditionally Athenian, but one that thrilled its citizens and visitors. Riders would pass flaming torches to each other mid-gallop, combining athleticism with ritual and symbolizing the goddess's lunar fire and guidance through darkness.
Ritual Elements and Symbolism
Processions (pompe) involving both Thracians and Athenians, often in separate but parallel events.
Torch races (lampadedromia) by horsemen, symbolic of light in darkness—Bendis being a lunar guide.
Sacrifices and feasting, likely including libations to Bendis and possibly Artemis as her Greek counterpart.
Dancing and music, reflecting the Thracian style, thought to be wild, ecstatic, and communal.
This blend of Athenian order and Thracian fervor made Bendideia unlike other religious observances in the polis. It honored a divine outsider while integrating foreign practices into the civic fabric.
Modern Reflections
Today, scholars and neopagans alike reflect on the Bendideia as a festival of inclusion, wilderness, and feminine mystery. For modern practitioners of Hellenism or polytheism, May 17 can be a day to honor the wild, instinctive, and intuitive aspects of the divine feminine, lighting torches, offering wine or fruit, and reflecting on the balance between civilization and the untamed.
Whether seen through a spiritual, historical, or symbolic lens, the Bendideia remains a compelling reminder that even ancient societies could embrace the "other" and find joy in diversity—through shared rituals, roaring fires, and the thunder of hooves under the moonlit sky.
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