I have always been intrigued by Greek mythology, especially the story of Demeter and Persephone. In Jane Ellen Harrison's Ancient Art & Ritual, she has a chapter on the spring festival in Greece. The spring festival, which still occurs today, takes place on Easter Tuesday at the "Anaklethra" rock. This rock is also called the "Place of coming up," because it is the place where Persephone called up her daughter Demeter. Greeks have an annual festival at this place to call up spring. I was at first astonished that this tradition is still carried out after all of these years, but upon furthur reflection it makes sense because mythology is such a strong element of their culture.
We also have spring festivals in America, but they do not have as rich of a history as the Greeks. Even on this campus of CNU, we celebrate the changing of the seasons with our SpringFest at the end of April. SpringFest is taking place today which made me think about this Greek tradition and the possible ties between the two.
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