Thymiaterion

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{{Short description|Type of incense burner}}

{{for|the ancient city founded by Hanno the Navigator|Thymiaterium}}

File:Bronze thymiaterion (incense burner) MET DP119634.jpg

File:Funerary altar of a Roman woman (SK Dresden Hm 359) 02.jpg

A thymiaterion (from Ancient Greek: θυμιατήριον from θυμιάειν thymiaein "to smoke"; plural thymiateria) is a type of censer or incense burner. Thymiateria have been used in the Mediterranean region since antiquity for spiritual and religious purposes and especially in religious ceremonies.

The first mention of thymiateria is found in Herodotus's Historia.{{cite journal |last1=Русяєва |first1=Марина |title=Основні відомості про давньоеллінські фіміатерії та їх призначення |journal=Text and Image: Essential Problems in Art History |date=2019 |volume=2 |issue=8 |doi=10.17721/2519-4801.2019.2.01 |url=https://txim.history.knu.ua/article/view/58 |language=uk |issn=2519-4801|doi-access=free }} They were used for rituals, including temple rituals, weddings, and funerals, in ancient Greece as early as the 6th century BC. Thymiateria could take a wide variety of forms,{{sfn|Zaccagnino|1998}} ranging from simple earthenware pots to elaborate carved, wheel-turned or cast items made from clay or bronze.{{sfn|Wigand|1912}}

The term has also come to refer to the censers of other peoples of the ancient world, such as the Phoenicians and Etruscans.{{sfn|Morstadt|2007}}

Various types of thymiateria are still used in Greek Orthodox rituals. They are commonly known also as "livanisteria" (from the word {{Lang|el|livanos}}, {{Translation|incense}}).