Thesmophoria

The Thesmophoria (, from θεσμός (divine law) and φόρος (carrier, bearer)) was an ancient Greek religious festival, held in honour of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone. It was held annually, mostly around the time that seeds were sown in late autumn – though in some places it was associated with the harvest instead – and celebrated human and agricultural fertility. The festival was one of the most widely celebrated in the Greek world. It was restricted to adult women, and the rites practiced during the festival were kept secret. The most extensive sources on the festival are a comment in a scholion on Lucian, explaining the festival, and Aristophanes' play Thesmophoriazusae, which parodies the festival.

==Festival== alt=Semi-circular painting showing a procession of women, dressed in white robes. A Greek temple is partially visible in the background.|thumb|Painting of the Thesmophoric procession by the American artist Francis Davis Millet. The Thesmophoria was one of the most widespread ancient Greek festivals. The fact that it was celebrated across the Greek world suggests that it dates back to before the Greek settlement in Ionia in the eleventh century BCE. The best evidence for the Thesmophoria concern its practice in Athens, but there is also information from elsewhere in the Greek world, including Arcadia, Sicily and Eretria.