Ancient Greek Processions

Ancient Greeks often displayed their piety via performance: creating and maintain sanctuaries, sacrifices, festivals, etc.[^1] Religious processions were perhaps the biggest spectacle, and a highly anticipated event on every ancient Greek’s calendar. Many different people walked in the procession -- musicians, singers, and richly dressed priests and priestesses – and they might escort votive gifts or carry cultic equipment.[^2] Depending on the procession’s devotee, certain residents might be honored with the opportunity to process as well.[^3] This noisy, colorful crowd wound themselves through the city until they arrived at a sanctuary, ready to honor the deity.[^4]

This narrative is based on different types of evidence. Archaeological evidence is a bit tricky. Religious processions were in-motion, short-term events, so we can't excavate them. Luckily, ancient Greek artists captured processional scenes on pottery, sculptural friezes, and painted plaques. There's also the different votive objects and remains of sacrifice, excavated from different sanctuaries -- but it's difficult to know whether they were deposited after a procession. Ancient authors described processions in detail: we hear about colorful fabric, huge crowds, musicians, and food.[^5] But, these authors were mostly elite men, and they do not accurately represent everyone in attendance.

Without a wide range of perspectives represented, it is difficult to address sensory impact, and whether participants (those walking in the procession) and spectators (those watching) experienced the procession differently.[^6] To address these questions, archaeologists can draw comparisons with the modern world.[^7] We’re going to look at a religious procession in Nonantum, Massachusetts.

'Reading' Ancient Processional Scenes

Try and immerse yourself into the processional scenes below. Think about specific sensory experiences you might encounter, based on the different objects, people, animals, and scenery:

These processions seem calm and quiet. We don't see any musicians; there are no noisy crowds watching from the street. The participants are clearly organized, and everyone has a specific task to perform. Even the sacrificial animals look peaceful and unbothered ... except for this one suspicious-looking bull:

Remember -- artists have creative freedom and can suspend reality. These scenes are not telling us the whole story.

Artists thought about how ancient Greeks would use this art. Pottery painters, for example, could create processional imagery that was for a specific festival. Or, they could make a generic, nondescript processional scene.[^8] Artists had certain tricks to grab the viewer's attention and help them notice certain parts of the scene. Processional scenes might show fewer participants or even exclude whole groups of people. Sizes of people, objects, and deities expanded or contracted to convey their importance.[^9] Artists also negotiated with new technology and trends. For example, the new red figure pottery style appeared around 530 B.C.E., and it was all about intricacy. Religious pottery painting shifted: instead of processional scenes, artists showed a few people sacrificing around an altar.[^10]

The St Mary of Carmen Festa in Nonantum, Massachusetts

These artists weren't thinking about future archaeologists and their research questions. They created these scenes for other Greeks, and for the gods -- and they all knew what a processional environment was like. This is why the Saint Mary of Carmen procession is useful. Observing this live procession, we can begin to understand what sensory data is missing from the archaeological record.

Every July, the St Mary of Carmen Society hosts a multi-day Italian-American Festa in Nonantum, Massachusetts. Like most Italian-American Festas, the St Mary of Carmen Festa combines a religious procession with secular, family-friendly events.[^11] There's a multi-day carnival and concert series in Hawthorn Park, and all proceeds fund their scholarship and community aid programs.

The procession happens on the last day of the Festa. The society carries Saint Mary’s statue out of Our Lady Help of Christians Church. They push the statue through the streets of Nonantum; about two hours later, they arrive at the carnival. The statue travels through the gates, eventually resting underneath a custom wooden shed. Later that night, the statue is returned to the church. After fireworks and the “Flying Angel” ceremony, the statue is carried back into the church basement, where it rests until the next summer.[^12]

'Reading' the 2019 Procession

Around 12 PM, I arrived at Our Lady Help of Christians Church. Society members were getting ready for the procession. The first step was bringing the Saint Mary of Carmen statue out of the church's basement. They worked together, supporting the heavy statue down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

They adorn her with necklaces, strung with money and prayer cards; they put a crown on her head. A small group of girls watched, alongside older relatives and friends. The girls excitedly compared their summer dresses and waved their carnations in the air.