The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman and Greek god Bacchus. Introduced into Rome from lower Italy by way of Etruria (c. 200 BC), the bacchanalia were originally held in secret and only attended by women. The festivals occurred on three days of the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill, on March 16 and March 17. Later, admission to the rites was extended to men and celebrations took place five times a month. According to Livy, the extension happened in an era when the leader of the Bacchus cult was Paculla Annia - though it is now believed that some men had participated before that. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (2536x2036, 549 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Bacchanalia ... Peter Paul Rubens (June 28, 1577 – May 30, 1640) was a prolific seventeenth-century Flemish and European painter, and a proponent of an exuberant Baroque style that emphasized movement, color, and sensuality. ... A head of Minerva found in the ruins of the Roman baths in Bath Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... The area covered by the Etruscan civilzation. ... The eastern hemisphere in 200 BC. Antiochus IIIs forces continue their invasion of Coele Syria, defeating the Egyptian general Scopas at Panion near the source of the Jordan River, and thus gaining control of Palestine. ... The Aventine Hill is one of the seven hills on which ancient Rome was built. ... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A portrait of Titus Livius made long after his death. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... Paculla Ania was a southern priestess from Campania. ...

Livy informs us that the rapid spread of the cult, which he claims indulged in all kinds of crimes and political conspiracies at its nocturnal meetings, led in 186 BC to a decree of the Senate—the so-called Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in Apulia in Southern Italy (1640), now at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna—by which the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate. In spite of the severe punishment inflicted on those found in violation of this decree (Livy claims there were more executions than imprisonment), the Bacchanalia survived in Southern Italy long past the repression. Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 230s BC 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC - 180s BC - 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC 140s BC 130s BC Years: 191 BC 190 BC 189 BC 188 BC 187 BC - 186 BC - 185 BC 184 BC... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ... This article is bad because of the Italian region. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ... Madonna in Green by Raffaello Tower of Babel by Pieter Brueghel. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ...

Bacchanalia (Auguste Léveque)

Modern scholars hold Livy's account in doubt and believe that the Senate acted against the Bacchants for one or more of three reasons. First, because women occupied leadership positions in the cult (contrary to traditional Roman family values). Second, because slaves and the poor were the cult's members and were planning to overthrow the Roman government. Or third, according to a theory proposed by Erich Gruen, as a display of the Senate's supreme power to the Italian allies as well as competitors within the Roman political system, such as individual victorious generals whose popularity made them a threat to the senate's collective authority. Image File history File links LevequeBacchanalia. ... Image File history File links LevequeBacchanalia. ... Erich S. Gruen (born 1935) is a notable American classicist and ancient historian. ...

Modern usage

The term bacchanalia has since been extended to refer to any drunken revelry. In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens uses the phrase "the law was certainly not behind any other learned profession in its Bacchanalian propensities." For other uses, see A Tale of Two Cities (disambiguation). ... Dickens redirects here. ...

See also

• Maenad - female worshippers of Dionysus
• Dionysus - Another name for Bacchus in Greek
• Thriambus - a hymn sung in processions in honour of Dionysus
• Dionysian Mysteries
• Roman Senate - political body responsible for suppressing the Bacchanalia

Maenad carrying a hind, fragment of an Attic red-figure cup, ca. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... A Thriambus (also Thriamb; Greek ) is a hymn to Dionysus, sung in processions in his honour, and at the same time an epithet of the god himself, according to Diodorus (4. ... Maened The Dionysian Mysteries probably began as an ancient initiation society, or family of similar societies, centred on a primeval nature god (and his consort), apparently associated with horned animals, serpents and solitary predators (primarily big cats), later known to the Greeks in the eclectic figure of Dionysus. ... The Roman Senate (Latin: Senatus) was the main governing council of both the Roman Republic, which started in 509 BC, and the Roman Empire. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Euripides Bacchae, a Greek tragedy, gives some insight as to what was involved in a Bacchanalian rite.
• Bacchanales. Actes des colloques Dionysos de Montpellier (1996-1998). Textes réunis par Pierre Sauzeau. Montpellier : Publications de l'Université Paul Valéry, 2000, 300 p. (ISBN 2-84269-382-5) ; Cahiers du GITA'' nº 13 (ISSN 0295-9900).

Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ... A statue of Euripides. ... In Greek mythology, Maenads [MEE-nads] were female worshippers of Dionysus, the Greek god of mystery, wine and intoxication. ... Tragedy is one of the oldest forms of drama. ...

External links

• Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus in Latin at The Latin Library
• Senatus Consultum de Bacchaniabus in English and Latin at forumromanum.org
• Description of the Bacchanalia and the Senate's ruling from Fordham.