Does Halloween Have an Ancient Greek Origin?

Halloween is 1 of the astir beloved celebrations of the year. Many spooky stories that play a relation successful Halloween celebrations whitethorn stem from Ancient Greek beliefs. Credit: Paul Hermans/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0

It is reasonably communal cognition that the customs progressive successful Halloween originated with the Ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (despite immoderate modern attempts to amusement otherwise). This mightiness look to beryllium that Halloween has thing to bash with Ancient Greek beliefs and customs. However, could it beryllium that Samhain itself originated from Ancient Greece?

The power of Ancient Greece successful Celtic religion

Scholars person done overmuch probe into the connections betwixt the Celts and the Ancient Greeks. There is simply a batch of grounds that galore of their spiritual beliefs and customs yet originated from Greece. For example, determination is grounds that immoderate of the main gods of the Celts (such arsenic Belenus) were direct evolutions of Ancient Greek gods, specified arsenic Apollo.

Some of the beliefs and myths of the Celts besides show wide similarities to those of the Ancient Greeks. Examples see the communicative of Midas and his donkey ears, arsenic good arsenic the story of the Isles of the Blessed.

How precisely this power came to beryllium is up for debate. However, it apt has thing to bash with the Greek colony of Massalia successful confederate Gaul successful c. 600 BCE. From this constituent on, the Greeks traded extensively with the Celts. From astir 500 BCE, determination is grounds of adjacent much extensive Etruscan power among the Celts, and the Etruscans themselves were heavy influenced by Greek civilization and religion.

The Ancient Greek mentation of Halloween

However it whitethorn person happened, determination is simply a chiseled anticipation that the Celtic festival of Samhain stemmed from Ancient Greek customs. In turn, this would past mean that the roots of Halloween whitethorn besides beryllium from Ancient Greece.

Indeed, determination was an Ancient Greek festival that was rather akin to Halloween and its Celtic predecessor, Samhain. This festival was known arsenic Anthesteria. It was a solemnisation that occurred successful winter, usually towards the extremity of January oregon the opening of February.

Anthesteria was dedicated to the deity Dionysus. It lasted for 3 days. During this time, the Greeks believed that the transportation to the Underworld was astatine its strongest. Spirits of the dormant roamed the world and adjacent entered people’s homes. The festival besides progressive feasting, dressing up, and decorating one’s house. It galore ways, this Ancient Greek festival was conscionable similar modern-day Halloween.

The connections betwixt Samhain and Anthesteria

Of course, it would not marque consciousness to reason for a transportation betwixt the Ancient Greek festival of Anthesteria and Halloween connected the ground of customs that did not beryllium successful Samhain, the nonstop predecessor of Halloween. Hence, what are immoderate of the circumstantial similarities betwixt Anthesteria and Samhain?

One similarity is that they were not conscionable generic festivals of the dead. Both festivals specifically progressive the content that the bound betwixt the satellite of the surviving and the Underworld was astatine its weakest astatine this time. It was for this crushed that the spirits would travel up and roam the earth.

It was believed that the souls of the dormant would sojourn the homes of their families to person hospitality. In some festivals, nutrient was prepared for the visitors. In the lawsuit of Anthesteria, this happened connected the 3rd day.

Additionally, during Samhain, radical would smear the threshold of their beforehand doorway with the humor of a slaughtered animal. Presumably, this was done to support their household from evil. Similarly, during Anthesteria, radical would smear tar connected their beforehand doorway to support themselves from evil.

Ancient Greek vas fixed arsenic a acquisition during Anthesteria, depicting a kid dressed up arsenic the deity Eros. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, nationalist domain

Dressing up successful costumes

What astir dressing up successful costumes? Does this celebrated portion of Halloween person a imaginable root successful Ancient Greek customs done the Celtic Samhain? The signifier of dressing up during Samhain is good known. Scholars judge that the intent of this was some to disguise oneself from the wandering spirits arsenic good arsenic imitate them.

While dressed up, radical would spell from location to location requesting offerings. Essentially, they were imitating the spirits of the dead, who were believed to sojourn homes to person food. This is the root of the customized of trick-or-treating astatine Halloween.

Does this Halloween customized person immoderate imaginable predecessor successful the Ancient Greek festival of Anthesteria? Interestingly, the 2nd time of Anthesteria progressive dressing up. Some radical would formal up successful fancy clothing, portion others would specifically formal arsenic the companions of the deity Dionysus.

Furthermore, portion dressed up, these radical would past spell and sojourn the houses of assorted friends. This is intelligibly akin to the conception of dressing up and going doorway to doorway arsenic was communal successful Samhain.

The day of this Ancient Greek festival and Halloween

One contented that mightiness beryllium brought up with trying to subordinate Samhain, the predecessor of Halloween, with this Ancient Greek festival is that they did not hap astatine the aforesaid clip of year. Samhain occurred connected October 31st, whereas Anthesteria occurred astir the extremity of January oregon the opening of February. However, does that mean that they cannot beryllium connected?

The abbreviated reply is no, it does not mean that. It is not uncommon for festivals to alteration date, particularly aft they are borrowed by a antithetic culture. For example, the Roman predecessor to Christmas, called Saturnalia, was celebrated successful the 2nd fractional of December. Yet, it came straight from Kronia, a Greek festival that was celebrated successful the summer.

Additionally, determination is grounds that Anthesteria whitethorn good person a transportation to the accepted day of Halloween. One portion of the festival seems to beryllium successful grant of Theseus yielding Ariadne to Dionysus aft leaving Crete.

With this successful mind, it is absorbing that determination was different festival which besides had a transportation to Theseus. This was Pyanopsia. The intent of this festival was to retrieve Theseus offering a acquisition to the deity Apollo portion helium was successful Crete. This festival occurred connected the seventh time of the period Pyanepsion, which would mostly correspond to astir the extremity of October.

Although conscionable speculation, possibly the crushed that the customs of Anthesteria were moved to October by the Celts is due to the fact that ofthe  relation with this different festival involving Theseus and his connection to the gods.