TE SEE. — An Athenian festival celebrated on the 8th day of the month Pyanopson (= 21 Oct.) in honour of THESEUS (to whom the 8th day of every month was sacred) and lasting until the 11th.
To this hero, celebrated in numerous exploits (the Minotaur, the Amazons, etc.) and certainly the most beloved of the people of Attica, a sanctuary had been dedicated in Athens (Thesseia) at least since the time of Pisistratus; its rites were entrusted to the Phyletid clan. The TE SEE were celebrated with particular magnificence from 475 BC onwards, when the hero’s bones were brought to Athens. On the 7th, a ram was sacrificed in honour of the mythical tutor of Theseus, Conidas. On the 8th, after a solemn procession and a sacrifice, a distribution of food to the poor took place (the αἰθαρχή, a milk porridge, was consumed), and on the same day the χωλί, libations in honour of the dead, were offered. On the morning of the 9th, great games began (consisting of nine different contests) which ended on the 10th with a lampadodromia, a torch race by young men. The festival concluded on the 11th with a pappic contest.