(Ἀνθεστήρια; Anthestḗria). Spring festival, celebrated wherever Ionians settle (Thuc. 2,15,4: ‘the oldest Dionysia’; prior to the Ionian migration). It is to be equated in part with the ritual of the Katagogia ‘Collecting (of the god from the sea)’ [1].
On the first day of the three-day festival (11th-13th Anthesterion), the Pithoigea (πιθ-οιγία ‘cask opening’), the wine flasks/pithoi of the autumn are released for consumption and sale. The rural Dionysus sanctuary of Icaria celebrates the arrival of the god (Aiora [2]) and unites the …