On This Day: The Last Day of Anthesteria
March 31: The Athenians ended their wine festival by inviting the dead to leave the city—politely but firmly.
Edward Dodwell — "Temple of Iupiter Olympios in Athens (1821)", Public domain
A haunted finish to the wine festival.
On the third day of Anthesteria—Chytroi—Athenians left offerings of cooked seeds and pulses in pots, not for friends, but for the wandering dead. It was a day when the barriers between worlds thinned, and ghosts joined the living for a final meal.
Hermes, the guide of souls, gets his due.
These offerings were dedicated to Hermes Chthonios, the underworld’s messenger, who could ferry souls back where they belonged. After sunset, Athenians shouted, 'Out with you, spirits! The Anthesteria is over!'—ritually expelling any lingering ghosts from their city.
The final day of Anthesteria, called Chytroi, was a strange blend of feasting and exorcism. Athenians offered pots of seeds and grains to Hermes and the restless spirits, then drove the ghosts away until next year.
