The most ancient and celebrated deity of Sikyon was Apollo,
for whom Pausanias tell us the following story:
In the old days, according to the tradition, when Sikyon was called
Aigialeia, Apollo and his sister came here for purification, after
having killed the Python at Delphi. At a place in the Hellenistic city
in the Agora (their Ancient Acropolis at these times), the so-called
later "Phobos" (Fear), they
overpowered by fear and fled to Crete. From this incident a plague fell
in Aigialeia and the seers told them to propitiate Apollo and Artemis.
For this reason, they sent seven boys and seven girls, as suppliants to
the river Sythas. Apollo and Artemis persuaded by this, came back to
Acropolis and the plague disappeared.
A ceremony unchanged from these days was still taking place at Pausanias
time. Seven boys and seven girls went in procession to the river Sythas
and from there carried the gods to the sanctuary of Peitho (Persuasion),
that they had build in the place the gods felt fear, and placed
them to the temple of Apollo.
The next in order principal deity was Athena,
as the two old temples, the enormous and glamorous one build by Epopeos
in the Ancient Acropolis and the one at Titane, indicate.
At the times of Kleisthenes, Dionysos
became the main deity of the city. His rites, which were prohibited by
the aristocratic rule, came back with great force and the Olympians were
neglected.
Kleisthenes himself was severely insulted from the oracle at Delphi for
this and for changing the Adrastos cult. He was told that "Adrastos
was king and you are a mere stone thrower". We must have in
mind that this insult was made to a man who had saved and benefited the
Delphi oracle, such was the seriousness that the oracle gave to these
changes.
The wild celebrations of Dionysos faded at some time
later and the ceremony Pausanias describes, of the annual festival of
Dionysos Bakcheios and Lysios, is a
solemn one.
The statues of them, which were kept hidden the whole year, were brought
with hymns and lighted torches at night in procession, from the kosmeterion
to his temple. Kosmeterion was the building in which not only
the procession was organized but the place also where the gods were
ornamented and beautified with flowers, etc.
Bakcheios Dionysos was brought to Sikyon by
Androdamas, the son of Phlias and was celebrated wildly, until Phanes
brought from Thebes, at the command of Pythia, Dionysos Lysios
(Deliverer), who redeemed the man from paroxysm and frenzy, and at the
same time freed him from the worries and torments of life and gave him
happiness.
