The tradition & historical record
5 min read · 2 sourcesThe Diisoteria was an ancient Greek festival celebrated in the city of Piraeus, in the region of Attica. It was dedicated to the deities Zeus Soter and Athena Soteira (where "Soter" and "Soteira" are epithets, each meaning 'Saviour'). The central element of the festival was a procession that ended at the temple dedicated to the two gods in Piraeus. As early as the 4th century BC, there was a procession to a shrine of Zeus Soter in the city, and an inscription from the same century mentions the sale of a large number of skins of animals sacrificed as part of the festival. Two inscriptions from the Athenian agora, where there was another cult to a Zeus Soter, refer to a procession in honour of Zeus Soter and Athena Soteira; this has elicited scholarly suggestions about the possible relationship of the procession in Piraeus to the god's cult in the agora. The name "Diisoteria" is first attested in 140 or 139 BC, and in its later history the festival may have included boat racing. It was celebrated during Skirophorion, the Attic calendar's final month, though the exact days on which it was held are unclear. 1
Cult
Piraeus was a deme (or district) of the region of Attica, situated along its western coast. It was around 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from Athens, and included that city's main harbour. In the harbour city of Piraeus, Zeus Soter – that is, Zeus under the epithet "Soter", meaning 'Saviour' – was honoured with a cult, which was among Attica's most popular during the classical period (c. 5th–4th centuries). There was also a cult of Zeus Soter in the Athenian agora (a public assembly space within the city), where he was identified with Zeus Eleutherios ('of freedom'). The cult of Zeus Soter in Piraeus is attested by the early 4th century BC, and mostly serviced individual worshippers hoping to be "saved" from personal problems, attracting visitors from Attica and abroad. He was the recipient of a temple in the city, where he was honoured alongside Athena Soteira ("Soteira" being the feminine form of "Soter", and thus also meaning 'Saviour'). 1