Note 275 — Chapter III · HARVEST FESTIVALS. The Thargelia, Kallynteria, Plynteria.
Reading edition
My attention was kindly drawn to this vase by M. Perdrizet who proposes shortly to publish it. Suidas (s.v. εἴδωλον) seems to refer to the Charila ceremony, κελεύει ἡ Πυθία εἴδωλόν τι πεπλασμένον εἰς ὄψιν γυναικὸς μετέωρον ἐξαρτᾶν καὶ ἀνερρώσθη ἡ πόλις. For this and the oscilla ceremonies and the analogy of Artemis ἀπαγχομένη (P. VIII. 23. 7) see Lobeck, Aglaoph. p. 175. The beating of the female slave in the temple of Leucothea (Plut. Q.R. XVI.) seems to have been based on a racial taboo, but a φαρμακός ceremony may underlie it.