Carneia took place every year from the 7th to the 15th of the month Carneus. This is the run made in that Spartan festival. A man decked with garlands (possibly the priest himself) started running, pursued by a band of young men called σταφυλοδρόμοι ("running with bunches of grapes in their hands"); if he was caught, it was a guarantee of good fortune to the city; if not, the reverse.