Carnea

Carnea (Ancient Greek: Κάρνεια, Karneia, or Κάρνεα, Karnea) was the name of one of the great national festivals of Sparta, held in honour of Apollo Carneus. Whether Carneus (or Carnus) was originally an old Peloponnesian divinity subsequently identified with Apollo, or merely an "emanation" from him, is uncertain; but there seems no reason to doubt that Carneus means "the god of flocks and herds" (Hesychius, s.v. Κάρνος), in a wider sense, of the harvest and the vintage. The chief centre of his worship was Sparta, where the Carnea took place every year from the 7th to the 15th of the month Carneus (=Metageitnion, August). During this period all military operations were suspended.