In the culture of ancient Greece, many interesting phenomena can be distinguished. First of all, these are crazy maenads, companions of the god of wine and fun of Dionysus. They are also called bacchantes.
Who are they
Maenads are intoxicated, intoxicated women who took part in frantic dances in honor of the god Dionysus, in Roman mythology called Bacchus, therefore, another common name for these dancers is Bacchante. Crowds following the deity, they wriggled in a crazy rhythm, enthusiastic, glorifying the great patron of wine. More often half-naked, slightly covered with deer skins, with loose, tangled hair, these women made a frightening impression. Often, the bodies of slain snakes were used as belts to their robes. According to the myth, even Dionysus himself did not like his stupefied admirers.
Bacchanalia - festivities in honor of God, which were held at night. Initially, only women took part in them, but later the orgies became available to men.
In myths
Maenads are a semi-mythical phenomenon, information about them has come down to our days from ancient mythology. What are they famous for? These servants of the Bacchus cult had several distinguishing features:
- In their hands were holding thyres - wands decorated with ivy and vine leaves. They served as a weapon with which crazy women killed animals to offer to their god. Sometimes people became their victims.
- Often other women, who later also became maenads, were carried away into their crazy dances. This was the reason that the number of bacchanals was constantly increasing. Ancient sources mention that there were about 300 of them.
- They drank the blood of slaughtered animals and wine, making their eyes soaked with blood.
- Most often, young attractive girls became the maenads.
- An indispensable attribute of a maenad is a tambourine or tambourine.
The image of these drugged ministers of worship is reflected in the drama Euripides "Bacchus", which is the main source of our knowledge of the maenads.
Bacchus and Orpheus
The role of maenads in ancient mythology and history is great. So, it was these crazy dancers that caused the death of the great singer Orpheus, whose voice and marvelous sounds of the lyre captivated the hearts of both mortals and gods. The myth of Orpheus is sad: the son of the god Apollo and Calliope had an amazing gift - the ability to skillfully play and sing, even wild animals lay at his feet, struck by the delightful music. Orpheus met the beautiful nymph Eurydice, who became his wife, but happiness was short-lived, the bite of a poisonous snake turned out to be fatal, and the musician's beloved forever went to the dark kingdom of Hades. The patron saint of death, captivated by the singing of Orpheus, agreed to break the age-old rules and release Eurydice, but the singer should not have turned around all the way from the underground kingdom. Alas, the desire to see her lover turned out to be so strong that Orpheus violated the condition, and the beautiful nymph left the world of the living forever.
Overwhelmed by grief and despair, the musician began to lead a solitary lifestyle in the mountains. It was here that he met with the Thracian maenads. This caused the death of the musician. The cheerful frantic bacchantes called him to join their orgies, but he rejected them indignantly. Falling into a rage, the women tore Orpheus.
Lycurgus
What are maenads, we have already considered. There is another interesting story in Greek literature about the god Dionysus and his companions. The Theban ruler Lycurgus did not want to let the young god to his land and honor his cult, he expelled Dionysus and imprisoned the maenads loyal to God, many of the bacchanes were killed. The vengeful god smote the king with madness; blinded by him, Lycurgus killed his own son, dismembered his body, then chopped off his leg, imagining that it was destroying the plantings of the vineyard that he hated. Thebes, by the will of the offended deity, became a barren region, Dionysus announced that there would be no harvest while Lycurgus was alive. For this reason, their own subjects tore his master.
The real facts in history
Maenads are very real characters that existed in reality. So, it is known that the tradition of arranging wild orgies and mysteries in honor of the deity of wine came from the east, gradually spread throughout the southern part of Italy and Etruria, and from there came to Rome. Bacchanalia occurred in March, later they began to be held several times a month, men were allowed on them. Often, at the festivities, not only depravity reigned, but crimes were also committed, secret conspiracies were developed, this was the reason that crazy dances were strictly forbidden. Despite the harsh punishments, people circumvented the ban, all the same secretly gathered for unbridled fun and enjoyment of vice.
It was not possible to completely eradicate the bacchanalia. We will use the term now, as a synonym for drinking and debauchery. The meaning of the word "menada" at the present stage is not known to everyone, most often use the term "bacchanal".