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An orgy (όργιον) was a secret cultic congregation at nighttime in Ancient Greek religion, overseen by an orgiophant (a teacher or revealer of secret rites).^[1] In modern parlance an orgy may refer to an event involving group sex. Peter Fendi, 1835 Group sex is sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time. ... Orgy originally meant a secret ritual in ancient Greek religion. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ... Greek religion encompasses the collection of beliefs and rituals practiced in Ancient Greece in form of cult practices, thus the practical counterpart of Greek mythology. ... Peter Fendi, 1835 Group sex is sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time. ...

Etymology

Greek όργιον is cognate with έργον "work, effect, [religious] service" (ultimately cognate to English work itself). The term was lent into English in the 16th century, via the Latinized orgia.

Since the 17th century, due to its connection with Dionysus and the Bacchanalia, the English term orgy could refer to "any licentious revelry", in particular group sex or promiscuity, but the term can also denote other acts which may not include sex. For example an "alcoholic orgy" is an event where people show no restraint in alcohol consumption. This is better known as binge drinking. This article is about the ancient deity. ... The Bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman god Bacchus. ... Peter Fendi, 1835 Group sex is sexual behaviour involving more than two participants at the same time. ... Promiscuous redirects here. ... Drinking too much alcohol may qualify as binge drinking if it leads to at least two days of inebriation and the drinker neglects usual responsibilities The British Medical Association states that there is no consensus on the definition of binge drinking. ...

The Greek orgia

An orgion was a secret rite of the Greek Mystery religions, practiced in the worship of Demeter at Eleusis (mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter) or in worship of Dionysus (Herodotus 2.81), the Cabeiri, Demeter Achaia (Herodotus 2.51, 5.61), Orpheus, Eumolpus, or Cybele. Mystery religions, or simply Mysteries, were belief systems of the Graeco-Roman world full admission to which was restricted to those who had gone through certain secret initiation rites. ... This article is about the grain goddess Demeter. ... Eleusis (Game) The cardgame invented by Robert Abbott in 1962, and later popularized in 1977 by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American magazine. ... The anonymous Homeric Hymns are a collection of ancient Greek hymns. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC (ca. ... Cabeiri in Greek mythology, were a group of minor deities, of whose character and worship nothing certain is known. ... For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione (or Hermes and Aglaulus). ... A fountain in Madrid depicting Cybele in her chariot drawn by lions, in the Plaza de Cibeles Originally a Phrygian goddess, Cybele (Greek: Κυβέλη) was a deification of the Earth Mother who was worshipped in Anatolia from Neolithic times. ...

The term could also refer to rites or sacrifices in general, the verb ὀργιάζω denoting ritual celebration.

Notes

References

External links and further reading

• World Record: Largest Orgy