Adonia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article refers to the ancient festival. The cruise ship Sea Princess operated under this name between 2003 and 2005.
Adonia, or Adonic feasts, were ancient feasts instituted in honor of Adonis, and observed with great solemnity among the Greeks, Egyptians, etc.
They were begun by the women, who imitated the cries and lamentations of Venus for the death of her paramour. When they were well weary of this, they changed their notes, and sung his praises, as if he were raised to life again. According to Johannes Meursius, these two rituals made two distinct feasts, which were held at different times of the year, the one six months after the other; Adonis being supposed to pass half the year with Proserpine, and half with Venus.
The feast was also called Salambon.
This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.
