Stephanoi

[kittenpants]

Warning: syncretism ahoy.

So, another idle fantasy project I have is to make stephanoi for Beltane and Samhain. (Oh hell, I already have a stephanos for Yule, this isn't that bad.)

Beltane - pawpaw flowers (I'll have to make those myself, there's no way I'll find artificial ones anywhere), poppies, hyacinth, lily-of-the-valley, orchids, willow

Comments

[greyloch]

Okay, I feel woefully inadequate. What are stephanoi?

Based on the Samhain description, I'd really like to see how that one turns out. I like the darker, Autumnish colors (jeweled tones). :-)

Looking forward to seeing you @ D*C. Wanna plan to meet up sometime & are you teaching? I'd love to see if you guys do the Discworld costumes again. :-)

[kittenpants]

A stephanos is a Hellenic (ancient Greek) crown, worn on special occasions like festivals. Some materials (like laurel or olive leaves) are reserved for special achievements, and should not be worn by anyone who hasn't won the right. But most materials are fair game. The ancients used fresh flowers and vegetation, or dried, or crafted metal crowns in imitation of natural materials -- so I figure that if they'd had access to the wonders wrought of brightly colored silk and plastic at your average craft store, they'd be ALL OVER IT

[erl_queen]

You know, I never thought of making festival-specific stephanoi before. I have a couple that I use for everything, my primary one being made of silk grape leaves, of course :) but I really like the idea of making them thematically relevant to the festival. Thanks for the idea!