English edit

Etymology edit

 
Runners at the Panathenaic Games depicted on an amphora (c. 530–520 B.C.E.) which would have been awarded to the winner of the Games.[n 1]

Learned borrowing from Latin Panathēnaea, and from its etymon Ancient Greek Πᾰνᾰθήναιᾰ (Panathḗnaia), a noun use of the neuter plural of Παναθηναῖος (Panathēnaîos, Panathenian) (in Παναθήναια ἱερᾰ́ (Panathḗnaia hierá, Panathenian solemnities)), from πᾰν- (pan-, prefix meaning ‘all; every’) + Ἀθηναῖος (Athēnaîos, of or relating to Athens, Athenian) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-íā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns). Ἀθηναῖος (Athēnaîos) is derived from either Ἀθῆναι (Athênai, Athens) or Ᾰ̓θήνη (Athḗnē, Athena, patron goddess of Athens) + -ῐος (-ios, suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives).[1]

Pronunciation edit

Proper noun edit

Panathenaea

  1. (Ancient Greece, historical) A festival formerly held annually in Athens to honour the city's patron goddess Athena, involving animal sacrifices, a grand procession, and, every fourth year, athletic and musical contests.

Alternative forms edit

Derived terms edit

Related terms edit

Translations edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ From the collection of the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

References edit

  1. ^ Panathenaea, n.”, in OED Online  , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, July 2023; Panathenaea, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading edit