The Canephoria (Greek: Κανηφορία, also known as Proselia) was an ancient Greek ceremony, which made part of a feast, celebrated by the maids on the eve of their marriage. The Canephoria, as practiced in Athens, consisted of the following: the maid, conducted by her father and mother, went to the Temple of Athena; carrying with her a basket full of presents, to engage the goddess to make the marriage happy; or rather, as the scholiast of Theocritus has it, the basket was intended as a kind of honorable amends made to that goddess, the protectress of virginity, for abandoning her party; or a ceremony to placate her wrath.
