Talk:Temple of Athena Alea

Maiden or Boy?
The priestess of the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea was always a maiden, who held her office only until she reached the age of puberty.

Actually all the translations I can find say that the priesthood was held by a boy. How about that?--Lamassus (talk) 21:35, 4 February 2019 (UTC)

Actually it seems to come from Joan Breton Connelly, Portrait of a Priestess. Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece, Princeton UP, 2007. 1 vol. 21  26 cm, 415 p., 27 pl., fig. ISBN : 0-691-12746-8. But in a review Beate Dignas points out: With regard to some of these, C. is rather imprecise. Pausanias, e.g. does not tell us that “Marpessa served as priestess of Athena Alea at Tegea until she reached marriageable age” (40) but rather that she was a woman of Tegea who surpassed all other women in daring (VIII, 47, 2-3; 48, 5). In fact, her label as gyne contrasts with the label pais with which the priestess of Athena Alea is described in the same paragraph.--Lamassus (talk) 23:51, 4 February 2019 (UTC)