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It is a festival in Athens held in the month of Anthesterion.[1] They say that the festival came about thus, when Orestes, after killing his mother, came into Athens and [the] Athenians welcomed him and entertained him; but they did not share their wine with him; instead, the people set aside a pitcher for him and entertained him this way, marking off a small area for Orestes.[2]
And otherwise:[3] Pitchers [is] a festival at Athens, [instituted] for this reason; Orestes, after the killing of his mother, came into Athens to [the house of] Pandion, his kinsman settled there, who happened to be king of the Athenians. He encountered him in the act of celebrating a festival at public cost. So Pandion, ashamed to send Orestes away, yet thinking it impious to share drink and table [with him] as he had not been purged of the murder, set out one pitcher for each of the invited guests, so that [Orestes] would not drink from the same bowl.

*xo/es: e)/stin e(orth\ *)aqh/nhsin a)gome/nh mhni\ *)anqesthriw=ni. th\n e(orth/n fasin ou(/tw gegone/nai, o(/te *)ore/sths a)nelw\n th\n mhte/ra h)=lqen ei)s *)aqh/nas kai\ e)de/canto au)to\n *)aqhnai=oi kai\ ei(sti/asan: ou) mh\n e)koinw/nhsan au)tw=| tou= oi)/nou: a)lla\ xwri\s xoa= paraqei\s au)tw=| o( dh=mos, ou(/tws ei(stia=to, a)ponei/mas o)li/gon ti xwri\s tw=| *)ore/sth|. kai\ a)/llws: e(orth\ *)aqh/nhsi *xo/es, a)po\ toiau/ths ai)ti/as: *)ore/sths meta\ th\n th=s mhtro\s a)nai/resin h)=lqen ei)s *)aqh/nas para\ *pandi/ona, suggenh= kaqesthko/ta, o(\s e)/tuxe basileu/wn tw=n *)aqhnai/wn. kate/labe de\ au)to\n eu)wxi/an tina\ dhmotelh= poiou=nta. o( toi/nun *pandi/wn parape/myasqai me\n to\n *)ore/sthn ai)dou/menos, koinwnh=sai de\ potou= kai\ trape/zhs a)sebe\s h(gou/menos, mh\ kaqarqe/ntos au)tou= to\n fo/non, w(s a)\n mh\ a)po\ tou= au)tou= krath=ros pi/noi, e(/na e(ka/stw| tw=n keklhme/nwn pare/qhke xoa=.

OCD(4) p.97, under 'Anthesteria'. See also chi 370.
[1] Anthesterion corresponds roughly to our February; the Anthesteria was its principal festival; and "Pitchers" was the second of its three days.
[2] In Euripides, Iphigeneia in Tauris 949, Orestes speaks of a monotrapeza ('individual table') for himself; and Plutarch, Moralia 643A refers to a personal table (trapeza idia) for Orestes. People at the Choes were supposed to sit alone when they drank, if possible at their own tables.
[3] Meaning, from another source: in this instance the scholia to Aristophanes, Knights 95 (where the phrase 'a pitcher of wine' occurs).

David Whitehead (modified headword and translation; augmented notes; added bibliography and keyword; cosmetics) on 4 December 2000@09:23:07.
David Whitehead (augmented n.2; more keywords) on 8 January 2004@06:05:28.
David Whitehead (cosmetics) on 8 August 2011@04:56:51.
David Whitehead (more keywords) on 12 November 2013@06:45:32.
David Whitehead (updated a ref) on 1 August 2014@06:29:25.
David Whitehead (tweaked tr and added a note, at the prompting of Dr Mary Frances Williams) on 28 July 2015@03:31:09.
Catharine Roth (tweaked note) on 1 June 2023@18:43:29.

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