The city of Athens, Greece, is named for its protectress, the goddess Athena, and at the top of the hill called the Acropolis, there is a great temple in her honor. This temple, the Parthenon, contained a giant statue of Athena, made of ivory and adorned with gold, as a tribute to her magnificence. The residents of Athens took their relationship with their patron deity quite seriously, and every year held a spring festival in her honor, called the Plynteria. The name comes from a Greek word that means “to wash.” The Plynteria, like many other Greek festivals, spanned two to three days, around May 25th (fun fact: the Greeks…