page_title: Patras Carnival
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Patras Carnival / History
caption_attribution_description: Patras Apollo Municipal Theatre in Georgiou I square, a work of the architect Ziller, built with the contributions of the thriving 19th century commercial class.
context_page_description: The Patras Carnival, Patrino karnavali is the largest event of its kind in Greece the 2nd biggest in Europe and the 3rd biggest in the world. It has more than 180 years of history. The events begin on 17 January and last up to Clean Monday. The carnival of Patras is not a single event but a variety of events that includes balls, parades, hidden treasure hunt and the children's carnival amongst others. It climaxes in the last weekend of Carnival with the Saturday evening parade of carnival groups, the extravagant Sunday parade of floats and groups, and finally the ritual burning of the carnival king at the St. Nikolaos Street pier in the harbour of Patras. Its characteristics are spontaneity, improvisation, inspiration and volunteerism.
context_section_description: The Patras Carnival, as most carnival events in the Mediterranean and the Balkans, is connected with ancient pagan rituals, such as those to honor Dionysus. According to these traditions, in the heart of the winter, the faithful invoke the deity with special feasts and he is reborn in order to bring spring once again.
   
  However, most people agree that the starting event of the Patras Carnival in its modern-day form was a ball given in the residence of the merchant Mortis in 1829. French troops of general Maison stationed in the city after its liberation from the Turks were a major influence on the carnival bringing their own culture and traditions to the festivities. During the 19th century new arrivals from the newly joined heptanese, the islands in the Ionian sea that became part of Greece in 1864, were to also dramatically influence the nature of the festivities with tremendous vitality, creativity and a sense of fun that were part of their vibrant regional culture and music. Later on, and as a consequence of the prosperity of the city at the end of the 19th century, the carnival festivities take on a more regular nature. The geographical location of the town and the ever-increasing dominance of the port ensured constant communication with Italy and the rest of Western Europe. Their grand carnivals and the Venetian carnival in particular were especially influential in shaping the festivities, giving the carnival to this day its western characteristics. 
  
  The first carnival floats appeared in the 1870s. At that time the floats were exclusively the creations of individuals. Only later did the Municipality of Patras undertake to construct a large number of them. 
  
  In 1872, with contributions from the town's wealthy raisin merchants, the celebrated Apollon Theatre was built by Ernst Ziller in George square. Carnival dances were hosted there and they continue to be hosted to this day. George square is the central location in carnival celebrations and the Apollon theatre serves as a backdrop to most major carnival events that take part in the square making it emblematic not only of the carnival but of the town itself. 
  
  In 1880 on Saint Anthony's day the first "ampoules" appeared. These were groups who were disguised and anonymously poked fun at friends and other people in the neighborhood. This custom has now disappeared. 
  
  As the historian of the Patras Carnival Nikos Politis points out, beautiful carnivals were organized during the belle époque in the years 1900, 1907, 1909 with attendance for the first time of individuals from all social classes and origins. This period also gave birth to the egg-war custom. Wax eggs were made stuffed with confetti using specially designed machines which the carnivals threw from balconies. Although this custom has disappeared, it is considered to be the precursor of the chocolate war which still persists. Bars of chocolates are thrown by revelers on floats or amongst groups at parties.
  The developments of the following decade were not favorable for the carnival; the continuous wars and conflicts (Balkan wars, World War I, Asia Minor campaign) sent the men to the front and  brought economic crisis and desolation to the city. In the first postwar years the situation did not improve perceptibly. Only some scattered events testify the arrival of the carnival. Obvious exception constitutes the imposing and amazing carnivals of the years 1938 and 1939. Nevertheless,  World War II and the consecutive Greek Civil War bring an obligatory interruption. At the beginning of the 1950s, the first hesitant thoughts for a resurgence of the carnival are expressed. The most pessimistic predict a failure: "nothing will be as before". However, the carnival is indeed reborn. The pioneer musical groups "Orpheus" and "Patraiki' Mantolinata", a mandolin ensemble, lead the effort. The Patras Carnival returns into the lives of the citizens of Patras but also all Greeks, particularly those that could afford to travel to Patras (mainly affluent Athenians) in order to participate in the carnival and to attend the f
caption: The Apollon theatre's external facade, emblematic of the Patras Carnival
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA", "Image Make": "OLYMPUS CORPORATION", "Image Model": "u30D,S410D,u410D", "Image XResolution": "314", "Image YResolution": "314", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition 3.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:04:03 12:47:36", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "298", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 20, 0, 1, 0, 20, 0, ... ]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/250", "EXIF FNumber": "10", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "64", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:04:02 16:59:11", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:04:02 16:59:11", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "163/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "219/25", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2272", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1704", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1256", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}