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The Ancient Greek [[w:First Fruits|first fruits]] offerings (or dedications) known as ''panspermia,''<ref group="note">For this reason, in Greece, Kollyva is also called ''sperma'' (i.e., "seed"). The ancients also used the word ''pankarpia''.</ref> consisted of a mixture of cooked seeds and nuts ([[w:Pulse (legume)|Pulse]]) which were offered during the festival of the [[w:Anthesteria|Anthesteria]].
The [[w:Anthesteria|Anthesteria]] <ref group="note">The name Anthesteria (Ἀνθεστήρια) is usually connected etymologically with the Greek ''anthos'' (ἄνθος; plural: ἄνθη or ἄνθεα; root: ἀνθεσ-), "flower" or "bloom", cognate to the Sanskrit ''andhas'' ("[[w:Soma|Soma]] plant/juice").</ref> was one of the four Athenian festivals in honour of Dionysus (collectively the ''[[w:Dionysia|Dionysia]]''), held annually for three days, from the eleventh to the thirteenth of the month of [[w:Anthesterion#List_of_months|Anthesterion]] (February-March). The month Anthesterion was named after festival predates the Ionian colonisation of the festivalearly eleventh century B.C., and not vice versa; and because the month's name is not restricted to <ref group="note">"The traditional date of the [[w:Attic calendarIonians|Attic calendarIonian]]migration is the early eleventh century B.C. (1086/85 or 1076/75; Jacoby, but was known also ''Mar. Par.'' 27, pp. 151-52 and ''FGrH'' No. 239, Comm. on 27) or in its third quarter (1044/43 according to [[w:IoniaEratosthenes|IoniaEratosthenes]], who placed it was considered by four generations after [[w:Trojan War|the Ancients that fall of Troy]]; 1045/44 for Ephesus and 1039/38 for the festival predates other cities according to [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] 1. 187. 36). These chronological indications have been accepted by most historians who regard the Ionian colonisation, making it the oldest datable part migration as a consequence of the [[w:Eleusinian MysteriesDorians|Eleusinian MysteriesDorian]]invasion of mainland Greece. " (Carl Roebuck. ''The name Anthesteria (Ἀνθεστήρια) is usually connected with the Greek Early Ionian League.'' '''Classical Philology'anthos''<ref group="note">ἄνθος; plural: ἄνθη or ἄνθεα; root: ἀνθεσ. Vol.50, No.1 (Jan.,1955), pp.26- 40.p.37.)</ref> - "flower," or "bloom", cognate to making it the oldest datable part of the Sanskrit ''andhas'' ("[[w:SomaEleusinian Mysteries|SomaEleusinian Mysteries]] plant/juice"). Although its name indicates a Festival of Flowers (''anthos''), the festival focused primarily on opening the new wine and on placating the spirits of the dead.
Wheat, like barley, was also associated with the Egyptian cult of [[w:Osiris|Osiris]]. Grain was planted in the ground on the same day traditionally commemorating the death of the god,<ref group="note">The 17th of Athyr (November 13).</ref> while the germinating seed symbolized Osiris rising from the dead.
The association between [[death]] and life, between that which is planted in the ground and that which emerges, is deeply embedded in the making and eating of Kollyva. The ritual food passed from [[paganism]] to early Christianity in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantium]] and later spread to the entire Orthodox world.
The Kollyva then, symbolize the Apostolically rooted hope in the [[resurrection]] of the dead as the only eventuality that gives meaning and attains the longed perfection on the part of the individual who takes his life to be a divinely ordained meaningful living forever.<ref>Rev. Dr. Nicon D. Patrinacos (M.A., D.Phil. (Oxon)). ''A Dictionary of Greek Orthodoxy - Λεξικον Ελληνικης Ορθοδοξιας''. Light & Life Publishing, Minnesota, 1984. pp.225-226.</ref>
The 16th century Archbishop Gabriel of Philadelphia<ref group="note">Consecrated by Patriarch [[Jeremias II (Tranos) of Constantinople|Jeremias II]].</ref> wrote that the Kollyva are symbols of the general resurrection, and the several ingredients added to the wheat, signify so many different virtues.<ref>Chambers, Ephraim (1680-ca.1740). ''[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/HistSciTech/HistSciTech-idx?type=turn&id=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01&entity=HistSciTech.Cyclopaedia01.p0420&q1=colyba COLYBA].'' In: Cyclopædia, or, An universal dictionary of arts and sciences. 1728. Pg. 266.)</ref>
==Occasions of Use==
During [[Memorial Services|memorial services]] (requiem services), the family or friends of the departed will often prepare a Kollyva which is placed in front of the memorial table before which the service is chanted, while submitting a list of first names of the deceased loved ones to the [[priest]]. Memorial services are served on the '''third''', '''ninth''', and '''fortieth''' days after the repose of an Orthodox Christian, as well as on the '''one-year''' anniversary.
In addition, there are several [[Saturday of the Souls|Soul Saturdays]] (''psychosabbataPsychosabbaton'') during the church year, including the two Saturdays prior to [[Great Lent]], the first Saturday of [[Great Lent]], and the Saturday before [[Pentecost]], during which general commemorations are made for all the departed, as well as on [[Radonitsa]], the second Tuesday after [[Pascha]].
These prescribed times are still observed in most Orthodox places.
* [[Memorial Services]] (''Mnemósynon; Panikhida'')
* [[Prayer#Prayer_for_the_dead|Prayer for the Dead]]
* [[Saturday of the Souls]] (''psychosabbatonPsychosabbaton'')
* [[Radonitsa]]
* [[Slava]]
