amphictyony

[ am-fik-tee-uh-nee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural am·phic·ty·o·nies.

(in ancient Greece) any of the leagues of states, especially the league at Delphi, united for mutual protection and the worship of a common deity.

amphictyony

/ æmˌfɪktɪˈɒnɪk; æmˈfɪktɪənɪ /

(in ancient Greece) a religious association of states for the maintenance of temples and the cults connected with them

From the Greek word Amphiktyonía, dating back to 1825–35. See amphictyon, -y ³

Sometimes this tendency to religious fraternity took a form called an Amphictyony, different from the common festival.

Thus there was an Amphictyony of seven cities at the holy island of Caluria, close to the harbor of Troezen.

This later class of festivals agreed with the Amphictyony in being of a special and exclusive character, not open to all Greeks.

It did not even prevent members of the Amphictyony fighting one another.

The Panionium, the centre of a religious amphictyony, became for the moment the centre of a political league.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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