involved in the ritual of setting up the loom, and contributed to weaving the peplos. On this loom, the enormous peplos was woven by women volunteers, the ergastinai (meaning “female weavers”), who were either virgin girls of marriageable age or older matrons. Every year the peplos was woven by the Ergastinai under the supervision of a priestess of the Athena's cult. When the work at the loom began, the Arrephoroi wore white robes, and were present to offer their perceived sacredness. There were two ways the peplos was made: it was either a smaller peplos made by women, or a larger one made by men. The smaller peplos was woven annually by the ergastinai, and offered as a robe for the statue of Athena Polias during the Lesser Panathenaea. The larger peplos was woven every four years by male professional weavers, and was presented to Athena at the Greater Panathenaea. Regardless of size, the weavers had to create a particular scene on the peplos: Athena's defeat of Enceladus and the Olympian's defeat of the Giants, the Gigantomachy. During the battle between the Gigantes and the Olympian gods, Enceladus was disabled by a spear thrown by the goddess Athena. See also Athenian festivals References Festivals in ancient Athens Festivals of Athena Hephaestus