Regarding the good attributes and ancient Greek events and festivals during the month of Gamelion -- the month in which Epicurus was born (which coincides with the modern calander months of January/February).
"...Gamelion... is the month of the Halcyon Days, days of warm sun and calm seas, Alkionides Meres, as the Greeks call them, which appear in mid January. These glorious Halcyon days of the month of Gamelion, also played a role in the reason certain dates were chosen for so many ancient Greek feasts, festivals and theatre, which were always held outdoors."
Edit Note: After the initial posting of this, I further researched about "halcyon days" and I am finding mixed references to the exact times.
QuoteDisplay MoreGamelion; the month of marriage, was the seventh month of the Attic calendar of ancient Greece which coincides with the modern day month of February.
The word derives from the Greek γαμηλίᾰ (gamēlía), meaning “wedding feast”, as it was the most popular month for weddings;
(γάμος – gámos – wedding in greek).
Gamelion:
A month of marriages and festivals
Not by chance was the ancient Greek month Gamelion the “Wedding-Month” a month for love, lust, weddings and festivals.
Ancient Greeks generally married in winter, in honour of the goddess of marriage, Hera (Juno) Greek Goddess of Women, Marriage, Childbirth, Children and Family, a time when, throughout the month, special sacrifices were made to the goddess.
As the ancient Greek wedding consisted of a three part ceremony which lasted for three days, held outdoors and usually at night, the weather had to be taken into consideration.
Gamelion, then, was the perfect month, as this is the month of the Halcyon Days, days of warm sun and calm seas, Alkionides Meres, as the Greeks call them, which appear in mid January.
These glorious Halcyon days of the month of Gamelion, also played a role in the reason certain dates were chosen for so many ancient Greek feasts, festivals and theatre, which were always held outdoors.
The sacred Marriage
Another reason the month of Gamelion is the month of marriages, is to commemorate the sacred Marriage, or Hieros gamos or Hierogamy, of Goddess Hera and Zeus; king of Greek gods.
The wedding took place, with much pomp and glory, in the Garden of Hesperides, where Gaia, Mother Earth, overcome with happiness, caused a tree to bloom with golden apples and was watched over by the dreaded fates (The Moirai) of ancient Greece, who were probably comparing notes with each other and deciding the destiny of this sacred coupling!
The wedding between Hera and Zeus was followed by a three hundred year honeymoon.
The Theogamia or Hieros Gamos, a sexual ritual, or fertility rite, which performs a marriage between a god and a goddess, an annual festival celebrating the marriage of the gods Zeus and Hera, a sort of wedding anniversary, took place in the temple of Hera in honor of the goddess as protector of Marriage.
The wedding of Zeus and Hera was celebrated at the Heraion of Samos.
Read more about this at the Article Source
Also during Gamelion was the
Lenaia festival.From Wikipedia
: "The festival was in honour of Dionysus Lenaios.[1] There is also evidence the festival also took place in Delphi.[2]
The term Lenaia probably comes from "lenos" 'wine-press' or from "lenai", another name for the Maenads (the female worshippers of Dionysus)."