page_title: Omophagia
hierarchical_section_title: Omophagia
caption_attribution_description: English: Roman relief showing a dancing maenad holding a thyrsus. Español: Relieve romano de una ménade bailando con un tirso.
context_page_description: Omophagia, or omophagy is the eating of raw flesh. The term is of importance in the context of the cult worship of Dionysus.
  Omophagia is a large element of Dionysiac myth; in fact, one of Dionysus' epithets is Omophagos "Raw-Eater". Omophagia may have been a symbol of the triumph of wild nature over civilization, and a symbol of the breaking down of boundaries between nature and civilization. It might also have been symbolic that the worshippers were internalizing Dionysus’ wilder traits and his association with brute nature, in a sort of “communion” with the god.
  Mythology sometimes depicts Maenads, Dionysus' female worshippers, eating raw meat as part of their worship; however, there is little solid
  evidence that historical Maenads consumed raw meat.
  The Dionysiac diet of raw meat may be more properly attributed to Dionysus himself, rather than his followers—he received sacrifices of raw meat and was believed to consume them, but his followers did not share in the consumption.
context_section_description: Omophagia, or omophagy (from Greek ωμός "raw") is the eating of raw flesh. The term is of importance in the context of the cult worship of Dionysus.
  Omophagia is a large element of Dionysiac myth; in fact, one of Dionysus' epithets is Omophagos "Raw-Eater". Omophagia may have been a symbol of the triumph of wild nature over civilization, and a symbol of the breaking down of boundaries between nature and civilization. It might also have been symbolic that the worshippers were internalizing Dionysus’ wilder traits and his association with brute nature, in a sort of “communion” with the god.
  Mythology sometimes depicts Maenads, Dionysus' female worshippers, eating raw meat as part of their worship; however, there is little solid 
  evidence that historical Maenads consumed raw meat.
  The Dionysiac diet of raw meat may be more properly attributed to Dionysus himself, rather than his followers—he received sacrifices of raw meat and was believed to consume them, but his followers did not share in the consumption.
caption: Marble image of a dancing Maenad; approximately 120-140 AD. Attributed to Callimachus.
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