Bacchus Bacchus by Micha F. Lindemans The Roman god of wine and intoxication, equated with the Greek Dionysus . His festival was celebrated on March 16 and 17. The Bacchanalia, orgies in honor of Dionysus, were introduced in Rome around 200 BCE. These infamous celebrations, notorious for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they were forbidden by the Roman Senate in 186 BCE. Bacchus is also identified with the old-Italian god Liber . The worship of Bacchus is vividly depicted in Euripides' play The Bacchae. Article details: Roman Festivals Liber Bacchus is ever loved, And is into their bellies shoved, By day and by night; Liber Codex is neglected And with scornful hand rejected Autumn Far out of their sight.

AAnd as if the simple monastic folk of modern times were deceived by a confusion of names, while Liber Pater is preferred to Liber Patrum, the study of the monks nowadays is in the emptying of cups and not the emending of books; to which they do not hesitate to add the wanton music of Timotheus, jealous of chastity, and thus the song of the merry-maker and not the chant of the mourner is become the office of the monks The Philobiblon ROMAN FESTIVALS Myth, Cult, Art and History AA Spring Festival by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema The slave had no rights, while the rights of the master included unrestricted sexual access to the slave's body. So radical an inequality created a realm of compliant submission (servilis patientia) that shaped profoundly the sexual behavior and attitudes of Romans. Not even the "Romans of old," records Plutarch, "thought it shameful for a man to love male slaves who were in their season of youthful beauty." Most Romans thought it self-evident law of nature that attractive adolescent males, before they grew up and began to be desired by women, should be desired by men.

The growth of art, and of poetic art especially, in antiquity was intimately associated with the development of national festivals. The thanksgiving-festival of the Roman community, which had been already organized in the previous period essentially under Greek influence and in the first instance as an extraordinary festival, -- the -ludi maximi- or -Romani-,(1) -- acquired during the present epoch a longer duration and greater variety in the amusements. Originally limited to one day, the festival was prolonged by an additional day after the happy termination of each of the three great revolutions of 245, 260, and 387, and thus at the close of this period it had already a duration of four days. Nevertheless the government adhered to the practice of allowing the spectacle proper -- namely the chariot-race, which was the principal performance -- to take place not more than once at the close of the festival.

On the other days the multitude were probably left mainly to furnish amusement for themselves, although musicians, dancers, rope-walkers, jugglers, jesters and such like would not fail to make their appearance on the occasion, whether hired or not But about the year 390 an important change occurred, which must have stood in connection with the fixing and prolongation of the festival, that took place perhaps about the same time. A scaffolding of boards was erected at the expense of the state in the Circus for the first three days, and suitable representations were provided on it for the entertainment of the multitude. That matters might not be carried too far however in this way, a fixed sum of 200,000 -asses- (2055 pounds) once for all appropriated from the exchequer for the expenses of the festival; and the sum was not increased up to the period of the Punic wars. The aediles, who had to expend this sum, were obliged to defray any additional amount out of their own pockets; and it is not probable that they at this time contributed often or considerably from their own resources.

That the new stage was generally under Greek influence, is proved by its very name (-scaena-, -- skene -- ). It was no doubt at first designed merely for musicians and buffoons of all sorts, amongst whom the dancers to the flute, particularly those then so celebrated from Etruria, were probably the most distinguished; but a public stage had at any rate now arisen in Rome and it soon became open also to the Roman poets In the 2nd century B.C. the Greek Gods invaded the Roman Empire and easily conquered the weary Roman deities. Rome was an early pioneer of creating syncretic polytheism, gladly absorbing and blending local gods into their pantheon. The evolution of Dionysianism continued in the Roman Empire, with the Bacchic Mysteries, as they were known in Italy. Here Dionysos was merged with the local fertility god Liber, whose consort Libera was the inspiration for the statue of liberty, a principle she and her partner also represented. Yet Rome's strength, like that of Carnaval today, was its successful multiculturalism where the role of festivals brought together foreigners and natives in a space devoted to celebration and joy.

Over time the church took over the year end holiday season with Christmas as well as the spring holiday Easter and gave the irrepressible Carnaval holiday a space in between just before the season of fasting and penitence leading up to the rebirth of Christ. Yet even the church respected the nature traditions by setting Easter like Passover based upon the first Sunday following the first full moon following the Spring Equinox where day and night are equal in time and naming the holiday after the was moved to a point midway between Christmas and Easter as determined by the lunar calendar and Spring Equinox which picks Easter's date. We acclaim Rome not for its military victories but its role in civilizing the Mediterranean beyond the trading cities and instilling the best from a myriad of sources on its subject peoples. Rome represents the agent of change at the beginning of the last great age. Great ages are defined by the changes in the night sky as brought about by the 26,000 year full cycle caused by the earth's wobble as it circles the sun. The Roman empire was most responsible for the changes in the transition of the last great age about 2,160 years ago when we moved from the age of Aries to Pisces .

Rome's last act was to convert it's empire to the monotheism of Christianity which is symbolized by the fish of Pisces. However, Rome's reign was most successful under the pagan gods of its conquered subjects and their unifying festivals. The Roman Bacchic Cult typically emphasized the sexual aspects of the religion, and invented terrifying, chthonic ordeals for it's Mystery initiation. It was this aspect that led to the cults banning by the Roman authorities in 186 BC, for alleged sexual abuse and other criminal activities, including accusations of murder. Whether these charges were true or not is uncertain, there may have been individual cases of corruption as in any institution, but there is no evidence of widespread corruption, and the general opinion is that these were trumped up charges levelled against a cult seen as a danger to the State. The Roman Senate thus sought to ban the Dionysian rites throughout the Empire, and restricted their gatherings to no more than a handful of people under special licence in Rome. However this was never fully successful and only succeeded in pushing the cult underground.

They gained even more infamy due to the claims that the wife and inspirer of Spartacus, leader of the Slave Revolt of 73BC, was an initiate of the Thracian Mysteries of Dionysos, who considered her husband an incarnation of Dionysos Liber. But they were revived in a slightly tamer form under Julius Caesar around 50 BC, with his one time ally Mark Anthony becoming an enthusiastic devotee, and gaining much popular support in the process. They remained in existence, along with their carnivalesque Bacchanalian street processions, until at least the time of Augustine (A.D. 354-430)) and were implanted in most Romanised provinces. There were two allies a December year end festival is the most often sited origin for the Carnaval celebration , most do not appreciate its many ties to Christmas and New Years Day. The Romans feast of Flowers is the best source for perhaps the most widely recognized official holiday, May Day on May 1st. Valentine's Day relates to the ritual commemorating the founding of Rome.

Christianity most important ally in its domination of West culture was Roman civilization whose openness to religious concepts was ended when the emperor Justinian Mayday and Inherent in the Christian holidays and customs (Christmas, Shrovetide, Easter, Midsummer Day, Holy Cross Day, etc.) are different heathen rites and magic symbols. The pagan pantheon is related to the Christian saints - February: The month February is derived from the latin word Februum, literally, instrument of purification, was the last month of the Roman year when injustices and ill fortunes of the old year were purged. VESTAL VIRGINS The Vestals were chosen between the ages of six and ten and served for thirty years, ten as students, ten in service, and ten as teachers. A violation of their vow of chastity led to execution by being buried alive. In Roman state cult, each Vestal Virgin, one of six virginal attendants to the goddess Vesta's sacred flame, dressed as a bride to ascend her throne. After she took her vow, the Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest, embraced her and called her his beloved, and the two symbolically became man and wife.

Graves sees this as a relic of early Vestals' coupling in a sacred marriage with the Roman king's attendants; the resulting children became heirs to the throne. The Temple of Vesta was located in the southwest corner of the Roman Forum. The most important job of the six Vestal Virgins was to maintain the fire in a the public hearth of the temple. It was said that disaster would strike Rome if the fire ever went out. In addition, the Vestals made a special kind of flour called mola which was sprinkled on all public offerings to a god. They appeared often in public and had special, reserved seats at banquets and games. I'm a path of cinders Burning under your feet Parentalia, Feralia & Carista : All Souls Trinity of Holidays in February February was the last month in the "old" Roman calendar, but strangely enough (from our point of view), the first day of spring was celebrated on February 5 (the Nones). It was a month, accordingly of "spring cleaning," i.e. purifcation and fertility rituals - something akin to the way Christians think of Lent.

According to Ovid, the Latin word februa, ("the means of purification") derived from an Etruscan word equivalent for "purgamentum" ["purging"]. Parentalia The first of three related festivals in February for appeasing the dead which started on the Ides and lasted until the 22nd. From noon on February 13 through the 21st (the Feralia, FP or F, the feast of infernal powers)all temples were closed, marriages were forbidden, and public officials lay down their insignia of office. Although the Parentalia always began with the performance of ceremonies in honor of dead parents by a Vestal Virgin, Romans basically celebrated the Parentalia at the family level. Families walked outside the city to visit the family tombs and performed private sacrifices in honor of dead kin. The sacrifices were simple, a little wine, a little corn or bread, perhaps some votive garlands. It was a quiet, personal, reflective day, followed by a quiet reflective week or so to think about loved ones and the importance of the family. Feralia, the closing ceremony for the Parentalia.

A darker, scarier rite which in Ovid's description has overtones of witchcraft and magic and at which sheep were sacrificed to the spirits of the dead. On February 22,and was the last day of the Parentalia, Carista, was a family reunion, where the living, now that they had paid respect to the dead, gathered to celebrate their own family (and resolve any outstanding quarrels). It was a potluck dinner and sacrifices were made to the Lares (every family had personal gods which Romans referred to as their "Lares and Penates." If your family didn't invite you to the Carista it meant that they thought you were unkind or guilty of something pretty nasty. Also said to be the last day of of the week of remembrance. Terminalia: February 23 On this day, landowners would honor the boundaries of their land at the boundry markers. Garlands were placed over the boundry stones, and altars were built near them. Offerings of grain and homey were given by the children, and the adults would offer wine. Everyone was dressed in white, and were required to keep silent throughout the offerings. A picnic feast was held at the end of the ritual.

Bacchanal | Article about bacchanal by The Free Dictionary Bacchanal | Article about bacchanal by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Dictionary , Thesaurus , Legal , Wikipedia . Bacchanalia (băkənā`lēə), in Roman religion, festival in honor of Bacchus, god of wine. Originally a religious ceremony, like the Liberalia Liberalia , in Roman religion, festival of Liber and Libera. The rustic festival of great rejoicing and merrymaking was held on Mar. 17. Roman youths generally first assumed the toga virilis (i.e., began dressing like adults) at this time. ..... Click the link for more information. , it gradually became an occasion for drunken, licentious excesses and was finally forbidden by law (186 B.C.). Dionysia (Bacchanalia) Symbols and Customs: Bull, Goat, Thyrsus, Winnowing Fan ORIGINS The Greek religion flourished in the ancient Greek city-states and surrounding areas between the eighth and fourth centuries B . C . E . The city-state of Athens was the center of ancient Greek civilization and major ceremonies took place there.

Within Athens, the Acropolis was the religious center, consisting of temples dedicated to the gods and goddesses. However, smaller sanctuaries to the gods and goddesses also existed throughout the region. Ancient Greek religion pervaded every aspect of life, and there was no concept of a separation between sacred and secular observances. Thus, ancient Greek festivals were religious occasions. Ritual and sacrifice, athletic games, dramatic performances, and feasting were all elements of festivals. A series of festivals in ancient Greece were held in honor of Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, and drama. In the fall there was the Oschophoria ("carrying of the grape cluster"), which included a footrace for young men. The rustic Dionysia was held in December or January at the first tasting of the new wine. The Lenaea, held in Athens in January or February (Dionysus was sometimes known as Lenaeus), included a procession of jesting citizens through the city. The Anthesteria, observed in February or March, celebrated the beginning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored during the previous year.

Best known of all was the Great Dionysia, held in the spring (March-April) in Athens for five or six days. It featured the performance of new tragedies, comedies, and satiric dramas at the Theater of Dionysus on the side of the Acropolis. According to mythology, Dionysus was the offspring of Zeus and Semele. When Semele died in the sixth or seventh month of her pregnancy, Zeus saved the infant by keeping him in his thigh until the full nine-month term was up. When the child was reborn from his father's thigh, he was given to Semele's sister, Ino, and her husband, Athamas, to rear. Hera, whose intense jealousy was originally responsible for Semele's death, drove Athamas mad, and the care of Dionysus was transferred to the nymphs on Mount Nysa. Roaming freely over the mountain, Dionysus tasted the wild vine and discovered how to extract its juice. Like other vegetation gods, Dionysus was believed to have died a violent death. In one myth, he is attacked by the Titans with knives to punish him for mocking his father.

He keeps changing form, appearing first as a young man, then a lion, a horse, and a serpent. It is finally in the form of a BULL that he is cut to pieces. In some versions of the myth, he is pieced together again, or rises from the dead and ascends to heaven. His resurrection was believed to ensure the regeneration of plants and the fertility of animals in springtime. At the festivals in his honor, Dionysus' death and resurrection were reenacted by killing a BULL (or GOAT ) and then stuffing and setting up the slain animal, as was customary at the Athenian BOUPHONIA. The Dionysia came to Greece by way of Egypt. Because the Greeks already had other fertility gods, the Dionysian rites there focused on wine and the exhilaration it produced. There were obscene songs and dances designed to magically stimulate plant growth, and sex orgies whose original purpose may have been to induce fertility in the fields. Peasants and shepherds dressed in animal skins and pretended they were Satyrs.

The spring rituals in honor of Dionysus included a procession into the fields led by a maiden carrying a phallus and followed by the farmer, his wife, and his daughters, all of them singing bawdy songs. When the worship of Dionysus was introduced into Rome (where he was known as Bacchus, and his festival as the Bacchanalia), the debauchery eventually reached the point where it resulted in a wave of crime and immorality throughout Italy. The Roman authorities cracked down on such behavior and instituted a death penalty for anyone who failed to obey the new restrictions. Just as wine could make people either high spirited or drunk and irresponsible, Dionysus was both a merry god who inspired great poetry and a cruel god. His festivals therefore combine elements of bloodshed and revelry. He is usually shown as an effeminate young man wearing a crown of vine and ivy and carrying a THYRSUS . SYMBOLS AND CUSTOMS Bull Although Dionysus was a god of vegetation, he was often represented in animal form, especially that of a bull.

One theory as to why he is associated with the bull Dionysia is that he was the first to yoke oxen to the plow, which had formerly been dragged along by hand. But whatever the reason, images of Dionysus frequently show him wearing a bull's hide with the head, horns, and hoofs hanging down behind him. Sometimes he is shown as a calf-headed child with clusters of grapes around his brow and horns sprouting from his head. The tearing apart of live bulls and calves was a regular feature of Dionysiac rites. According to Greek mythology, it was when he had assumed the form of a bull that Dionysus was torn to pieces by the Titans. When his worshippers killed a bull and ate it, therefore, they were symbolically killing the god and partaking of his flesh and blood, thus securing for themselves a portion of the god's life-giving and fertilizing influence. Goat To save him from the wrath of the jealous Hera, Zeus changed the youthful Dionysus into a kid. And when the gods fled to Egypt to escape the fury of Typhon, Dionysus was turned into a goat.

But this is only part of the explanation for why worshippers of Dionysus often tore a live goat to pieces during his festival and ate its flesh raw. Although it may seem a strange practice to kill and eat an animal who embodies the god being worshipped, the custom of killing a deity in animal form can be traced back to a very primitive stage of human culture. Goats may also have been sacrificed during the Dionysia because they had a tendency to nibble away at grapevines, and Dionysus was the god who protected the vineyards. Dionysus is closely associated with Pan, the Satyrs, and other minor deities who resemble goats. Pan is usually shown in painting and sculpture with the face and legs of a goat, while the Satyrs are depicted with pointed goat-ears, sprouting horns, and short tails. In early Greek drama, their parts were often played by men dressed in goatskins. Whether it was a goat or a BULL that was sacrificed at the Dionysia, the purpose of eating the flesh raw was to physically ingest some of the positive force associated with the god of vegetation.

Some worshippers carried pieces of goat home and buried them in their fields to convey to the earth some of the god's quickening influence. Thyrsus The thyrsus, a staff tipped with a pinecone and twined with ivy, is always associated with Dionysus, the Satyrs, and Dionysian revelers. In addition to being the god of the vine, Dionysus was also the god of trees in general, and cultivated trees in particular. Fruit farmers would often set up an image of him in the shape of a natural tree stump in their orchards. Among the trees sacred to Dionysus was the pine tree. Like other evergreens, it was a symbol of immortality. Pinecones, because they contained so many seeds, symbolized fertility. So the thyrsus was not only a phallic symbol, in keeping with the wild sexual behavior that Dionysian revelers engaged in, but also an apt reminder of the fertility and regeneration in the natural world over which Dionysus was thought to have influence. Winnowing Fan A winnowing fan is a large, open, shovel-shaped basket.

Until modern times, it was used by farmers to separate the grain from the chaff by tossing the corn in the air and allowing the chaff to blow away. Dionysus is said to have been placed at birth in a winnowing fan, and in paintings he is often shown as an infant cradled in such a basket. FURTHER READING Cirlot, J.E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962. Fowler, W. Warde. The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic. New York: Macmillan Co., 1925. Frazer, Sir James G. The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion. New York: Macmillan, 1931. Henderson, Helene, ed. Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary. 3rd ed. Detroit: Omnigraphics, 2005. Jobes, Gertrude. Dictionary of Mythology, Folklore, and Symbols. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1962. Leach, Maria, ed.

Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology & Leg- end. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1984. Lemprière, John. Lemprière's Classical Dictionary. Rev. ed. London: Bracken, 1994. Scullard, H.H. Festivals and Ceremonies of the Roman Republic. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1981. Whibley, Leonard. A Companion of Greek Studies. 3rd ed. Cambridge: University Press, 1916. Dionysia Bacchanalia index Visitors since01/06/2015 BACCHUS The Roman god of wine and intoxication, equated with the Greek Dionysus. His festival was celebrated on March 16 and 17. The Bacchanalia, orgies in honor of Dionysus, were introduced in Rome around 200 BCE. These infamous celebrations, notorious for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they were forbidden by the Roman Senate in 186 BCE. Bacchus is also identified with the old-Italian god Liber.

First GAY Tapas bar in Cozumel, the best spot in paradise, speakeasy, great drinks and music. Meet the local crowd as well as visitors from all over. 1 BACCHANALIA History Bacchanalia History Roman Timeline [36 -79 AD] Cato the Censor (234 BC - 149 BC) issued many warnings about the innumerable quack astrologers and magicians coming to Rome in and around 200-150 BC. But the influence of the quack astrologers was far outweighed by the influence of the knowledge accumulated by Greek astronomers, and the Romans were enormously impressed by scientific achievements. When Marcellus conquered Syracuse in 212 BC, and returned to Rome with a magnificent model of the celestial spheres which he had found in the house of Archimedes (killed when the city fell), it was greatly admired - and used. Cato would eventually learn Greek as well.

Starting in the middle of the second century BC, in every aspect of the private culture of the upper classes, Greek culture was increasingly in ascendancy, in spite of tirades against the "softening" effects of Hellenized culture from the conservative moralists. By the time of Augustus, cultured Greek household slaves taught the Roman young (sometimes even the girls); chefs, decorators, secretaries, doctors, and hairdressersï¿½all came from the Greek East. Cato Quotes Cato the Younger (95 BCï¿½46 BC), known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather Cato the Elder, was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy. He is remembered for his legendary stubbornness and tenacity especially in his lengthy conflict with Julius Caesar, as well as his immunity to bribes and famous distaste for corruption. Bacchus on Roman Coins Bacchus, with his attributes, is more frequently found on colonial imperial coins; especially on those struck in Syria and Phoenicia, by most cities of which regions he was worshipped, on account of his traditional expeditions to the East.

Besides Apamea, in whose mintages the Indian Bacchus appears, the God of Wine is seen on several coins of Berytus, mostly dedicated to Gordianus Pius. On a brass coin dedicated at Damascus, to Trebonianus Gallus, Bacchus under the figure of a young man, stands naked, on a plinth, holding a vine tendril in each hand. His image on this coin shows that he was worshipped by the inhabitants of Damascus, in whose terrority he was said to have originally planted the vine. Calendar 45 BC In order to return festivals to their original position Julius Caesar made his most significant contribution to world history, among many -- the Julian calendar. Caesar employed the Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes to work out a new 12-month calendar based upon 12 months and 365.25 days. The new calendar set abandons the lunar cycle. The first Roman year began in the month of March (named after Mars), when the earth begins to spring to life again after winter. This made September the seventh month of the year.

In Latin, Septembris, Octobris, Novembris and Decembris (September, October, November, and December) mean the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th month respectively. When Julius Ceasar changed the Roman calendar in 46 BC he made January the first month, and did not change the names of the months or their relative order. He coined the names of 8 months leaving the four misnamed as a deference to a successor or perhaps to help insure his memory whenever the question is asked. April is named after Aphrodite. May is named for the Goddess Maia and June, for Juno. The fifth month, Quintilis, was named Julius (July) to honor Julius Caesar. And the sixth month, Sextilis, was renamed Augustus in honor of the second Caesar. The oldest Roman calendars only contained the ten months Januarius (named for Janus, the Roman God of doors) and Februarius were added to the calendar. Februarius came from a Latin word meaning, "to purify" and this month of purification was shortened or lengthened in order to fit the solar year.

It solved the 1/4 day by making every 4th year being a leap year or adding an extra day every four years. The matter of a year actually having an additional 11 minutes beyond solar year length every calendar year would not be resolved till the middle of the sixteenth century when these added minutes had accumulated to point that Christian festivals were not being observed during their original time frames. Pontifex Maximus At the head of Rome's religion was the Pontifex Maximus, who, when Rome became a republic, had replaced the Etruscan king in this role. Under the Pontifex Maximus was a college of priests, who were called pontiffs. They were officers of the government in charge of handling Rome's relations with the supernatural. It was their duty to keep the city on good terms with the gods by preserving religious traditions and by making sure that every important act of state was sanctioned by the gods, including relations with foreign communities. Priests were assigned to individual gods, and laws derived from myths governed their actions: the priest of Jupiter was forbidden to walk under an arbor of vines, touch a dead man, eat bread fermented with yeast or to go outside without his cap.

Franz Cumont Cumont, who also wrote The Mysteries of Mithra was a Belgian scholar who specialized in the study of ancient religion. Topics include the cults of the Magna Mater, Cyblele, Isis, Astarte, Mithrism and Zoroastrianism, as well as a study of astrology and how it became part of Roman beliefs wiki/ Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans , by Franz Cumont at sacred-texts.com The ancient Roman calendar had only ten months and started the year on 1 March. It was dedicated to Roman God of War, Mars who was honored daily with parades of the priests of Mars dancing through the streets. The culmination of the year end celebration was March 16 and 17th which were the feast days of Bacchus which was how Dionysus was known throughout the Roman empire. Fear of a powerful non-roman religious hierarchy resulted in restrictions by Senate decree in 186 AD which were not repealed until Julius Caesar was in power. Into this vacuum flowed numerous other cults whose mythic stories often replayed the great cosmic drama of life-death-rebirth. The backdrop was the Mediterranean and particularly the world's first great multicultural community of Rome.

Today, as above, we continue to use the symbol of a festive baby for our commemoration of New Year's. Meanwhile, for those cities fortunate to have an annual Carnaval parade, your most likely find the best repository for the ancient rhythms and dances of the rite which celebrates rebirth in this cosmic dance. Neo-Platonism [ wiki ], attempted the reconciliation of the antiquated religions with the advanced moral and intellectual ideas of its own time by spiritual interpretation of outgrown cult stories and cult practices several times over the course of history including the change from Christianity to the Roman Catholic Church. Yet the tension between Apollo and Dionysos -Bacchus has never been far below the surface, as revelations seek a communion with truth. A powerful revitalizing force from vital Oriental religions who entered the Roman arena wtih the advent of the Great Mother of the Gods in B. C. 204 and never left despite the downfall of paganism at the end of the fourth century continues to the present. The eventual triumph of Christianity in the age of Pisces must be considered an evolution in these mysteries.

The Great Mother and Attis, with self-consecration, enthusiasm, and asceticism; Isis and Serapis, with the ideals of communion and purification; Baal, the omnipotent dweller in the far-off heavens; Jehovah, the jealous God of the Hebrews, omniscient and omnipresent; Mithra, deity of the sun, with the Persian dualism of good and evil, and with after-death rewards and punishments--all these, and more, flowed successively into the channel of Roman life ROMAN EMPIRE: Dionysus , Orpheus , Attis , Serapis-Osirus , Mithras and Jesus were all gods whose cult adherents believed had died and risen again. Mystery cults offered their believers access to a personal relationship with the divine that would offer them a meaningful peace in their human existence, and more importantly, a belief in a new life that transcended death in after world. Worshippers would also experience a personal initiation or baptism in which a special ceremony would reveal secrets only to be known by members. Cult ceremonies often included hymns and ritual feasts. Most observed a calendar of yearly celebrations which might be preceded by periods of ritual preparation by members.

Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus Roman, 186 B.C Bronze; L: 27,3 cm, W: 28,5 cm This inscription from the year 186 B. C. is the oldest surviving Senatorical Decree and an important document in the history of the Latin language. The popularity with citizens of the Roman Empire, and their own different hierarchical nature in terms of deference paid to priests disturbed Rome's political/religious leadership. As the priests, were often not Roman, and not of the 'best' social background it was perceived that there was an undermining of Roman values concerning gender, status and class. When cult popularity advanced ethnically distinct groups within Rome, the Roman rulers grew concerned. Cults that refused to participate in the multicultural milieu of pagan worship like Christianity further increased Roman suspicion and raised the ire of all Roman citizens. The organization of cults was specific and hierarchical. While some might allow any to be priest or priestess, others, such as high priests of Isis were at first limited by birth to the priestly caste based in Egypt. Most cults, including the Bacchic, were democratic in their membership allowing women and men worshipped together regardless of ethnic or social caste.

Roman women of the senatorial elite frequently played major roles as patrons of and participants in mystery cults. While traditional Roman, public religion offered a place for women, it did not offer them much of an active role in ritual observations and, with very few exceptions, offered them no positions of religious authority. Female worshippers of Dionysus were called Bacchants and celebrations in his honor were called the Bacchanalia. Originally the Roman initiation into the cult of Bacchus was attended by women only, on three days in the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill, around March 16 and 17. But democratic growth brought all sexes and classes into a weekly observance. The growth of the powerful female priesthood attracted the attention of the Roman Senate. The Bacchic cult had been established in Greece for centuries and was established in Etruria and southern Italy long before Senatorial decree of 186 BCE and for some time in Rome as well.

The Roman fertility deities Liberia and Liber became synonymous with Bacchanalia although Liberia resembled the Greek agricultural goddess Persephone more than Dionysus' wife Ariadne All three goddesses are preservers of marriage and the sacred law Thus, the Senate's action was taken against a cult it had tolerated for a long while but whose influence was growing and whose hierarchy threatened the elite. The free participation in Dionysian rites by slaves and free, Romans and foreigners, and men and women was undermining the rank of the powerful men. The "ecstatic" practices - which included drink and an encounter with the god described in erotic language might be found unsettling or even threatening. While much of the Roman propaganda against the cult focused on critiques of ritual practice, the Senate's edict was, in fact, directed only against the hierarchical organization of the cult. It forbade Romans to be priests. It forbade adherents to share money and property in kind. It forbade adherents to recognize the authority of Bacchic priests in their daily lives.

Thus, devotees of Bacchus could get drunk and have sex as much as they liked, as long as their worship didn't create a structure of social and religious authority that members of the Senatorial elite could not control. Similarly, in the propaganda Livy reiterates attacks on the role of women in the cult, what appears to have prompted at least part of the Senatorial response was the fact that cult had begun to become popular with Roman men. Thus the existing cult structure would have permitted women authority over the lives of male adherents. Nevertheless, as throughout the empire, the cult of Dionysus continued to remain the most practiced and popular, yet the action no doubt enhanced the advantage to rival cults. The women only cult of Bon Dia , where the name Bacchus could not be mentioned appears to have become the place for the elite women of Rome. Official Propaganda ROMAN SENATE BANS BACCHANALIA Burkert writes in Ancient Mystery Cults, p. 105, of Livy's testimony about the Bacchanalia of 186 B.

C: "With as much explicitness as Augustan prudery would allow, he says that the initiands suffered homosexual rape." In 186 B.C. the Roman Senate, alarmed at reports of deterioration in the ceremonies attempted to regulate the practice throughout the country.ï¿½ the so-called Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in Calabria (1640), now at Vienna ï¿½ by which the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate. Hispala , a courtesan, was the chief witness the Senate used to justify their restriction. She gave this account on Bacchus mystery practices. The Testimony of the Chief Witness "At first,those rites were performed by women. No man used to be admitted. They had three stated days in the year on which persons were initiated among the Bacchanalians, in the daytime. The matrons used to be appointed priestesses, in rotation. Paculla Minia, a Campanian, when priestess, made an alteration in every particular, as if by the direction of the gods.

For she first introduced men, who were her own sons, Minucius and Herrenius, both surnamed Cerrinius; changed the time of celebration, from day to night; and, instead of three days in the year, appointed five days of initiation, in each month. "From the time that the rites were thus made common, and men were intermixed with women, and the licentious freedom of the night was added, there was nothing wicked, nothing flagitious, that had not been practiced among them. There were more frequent pollution of men with each other than with women. If any were less patient in submitting to dishonor, or more averse to the commission of vice, they were sacrificed as victims. "To think nothing unlawful was the grand maxim of their religion. The men, as if bereft of reason, uttered predictions, with frantic contortions of their bodies; the women, in the habit of Bacchantes, with their hair disheveled, and carrying blazing torches, ran down to the Tiber; where, dipping their torches in the water, they drew them up again with the flame unextinguished, being composed of native sulphur and charcoal.

They said that those men were carried off by the gods, whom the machines laid hold of and dragged from their view into secret caves. These were such as refused to take the oath of the society, or to associate in their crimes, or to submit to defilement. This number was exceedingly great now, almost a second state in themselves, and among them were many men and women of noble families. During the last two years it had been a rule, that no person above the age of twenty should be initiated; for they sought for people of such age as made them more liable to suffer deception and personal abuse. "Whatsoever may have remained to represent the original intent of the rites, regarded as Rites of Initiation, the externalities and practice of the Festivals were orgies of wine and sex: there was every kind of drunkenness and every aberration of sex, the one leading up to the other. Over all reigned the Phallus, which - in its symbolism a rebours - represented post ejaculation the death-state of Bacchus, the god of pleasure, and his resurrection when it was in forma errecta. Of such was the sorrow and of such the joy of these Mysteries".

(A E Waite, New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry ) 'This Dionysiac mystery-cult,' according to the consul 'is a growing evil; its adherents grow more numerous every day it weakens loyalty to the state; it is a conspiracy; it is the sole cause of all the evils of recent years; and unless we are vigilant, it will take over the state (for that is their aim).. .' Livy , History of Rome, Book 39.8-19. Describing the ban on Dionysan worship. "The trouble had started with the arrival in Eturia of a Greek of humble origin, possessed of none of those numerous accomplishments which the Greek people, the most highly educated and civilized of nations, has introduced among us for the cultivation of mind and body; he dealt in sacrifices and soothsaying. But his method of infecting people's minds with error was not by the open practice of his rites and the public advertisement of his trade and his system; he was the hierophant of secret ceremonies performed at night. There were initiations which at first were only imparted to a few; but they soon began to be widespread among men and women.

The pleasures of drinking and feasting were added to the religious rites, to attract a larger number of followers. When wine had inflamed their feelings, and night and the mingling of sexes and of different ages had extinguished all power of moral judgment, all sorts of corruption began to be practiced, since each person had ready to hand the chance of gratifying the particular desire to which he was naturally inclined. The corruption was not confined to one kind of evil, the promiscuous violation of free men and women; the cult was also a source of supply of false witnesses, forged documents and wills, and perjured evidence, dealing also in poisons and in wholesale murders among the devotees, and sometimes ensuring that not even the bodies were found for burial..... "The Senate decreed that the priests of these rites, male and female, were to be sought out...so that they should be available for the consuls [who were investigating the cult]...

"The next task entrusted to the consuls was the destruction of all shrines of Bacchic worship, first at Rome and then throughout Italy...for the future it was provided by decree of the Senate that there should be no Bacchanalia in Rome or Italy." (Trans: Henry Bettenson, "Livy: Rome and the Mediterranean", New York, Penguin, 1976) Plutarch describes a famous scandal which sheds light on the cult of Bon Dia "I wished my wife to be not so much as suspected." Caesar replied "Publius Clodius was a patrician by descent, eminent both for his riches and eloquence, but in licentiousness of life and audacity exceeded the most noted profligates of the day. He was in love with Pompeia, Caesarï¿½s wife, and she had no aversion to him. But there was strict watch kept on her apartment, and Caesarï¿½s mother, Aurelia, who was a discreet woman, being continually about her, made any interview very dangerous and difficult. The Romans have a goddess whom they call Bona, the same whom the Greeks call Gynaecea.

The Phrygians, who claim a peculiar title to her, say she was mother to Midas. The Romans profess she was one of the Dryads, and married to Faunus. The Grecians affirm that she is that mother of Bacchus whose name is not to be uttered, and, for this reason, the women who celebrate her festival cover the tents with vine-branches, and, in accordance with the fable, a consecrated serpent is placed by the goddess. It is not lawful for a man to be by, nor so much as in the house, whilst the rites are celebrated, but the women by themselves perform the sacred offices, which are said to be much the same with those used in the solemnities of Orpheus. When the festival comes, the husband, who is either consul or praetor, and with him every male creature, quits the house. The wife then taking it under her care sets it in order, and the principal ceremonies are performed during the night, the women playing together amongst themselves as they keep watch, and music of various kinds going on.

As Pompeia was at that time celebrating this feast, Clodius, who as yet had no beard, and so thought to pass undiscovered, took upon him the dress and ornaments of a singing woman, and so came thither, having the air of a young girl. Finding the doors open, he was without any stop introduced by the maid, who was in the intrigue. She presently ran to tell Pompeia, but as she was away a long time, he grew uneasy in waiting for her, and left his post and traversed the house from one room to another, still taking care to avoid the lights, till at last Aureliaï¿½s woman met him, and invited him to play with her, as the women did among themselves. He refused to comply, and she presently pulled him forward, and asked him who he was and whence he Clodius told her he was waiting for Pompeiaï¿½s own maid, Abra, being in fact her own name also, and as he said so, betrayed himself by his voice. Upon which the woman shrieking, ran into the company where there were lights, and cried out she had discovered a man. The women were all in a fright.

Aurelia covered up the sacred things and stopped the proceedings, and having ordered the doors to be shut, went about with lights to find Clodius, who was got into the maidï¿½s room that he had come in with, and was seized there. The women knew him, and drove him out of doors, and at once, that same night, went home and told their husbands the story. In the morning, it was all about the town, what an impious attempt Clodius had made, and how he ought to be punished as an offender, not only against those whom he had offended, but also against the public and the gods. Upon which one of the tribunes impeached him for profaning the holy rites, and some of the principal senators combined together and gave evidence against him, that besides many other horrible crimes, he had been guilty of incest with his own sister, who was married to Lucullus. But the people set themselves against this combination of the nobility, and defended Clodius, which was of great service to him with the judges, who took alarm and were afraid to provoke the multitude.

Caesar at once dismissed Pompeia, but being summoned as a witness against Clodius, said he had nothing to charge him with. This looking like a paradox, the accuser asked him why he parted with his wife. Caesar replied, "I wished my wife to be not so much as suspected." Some say that Caesar spoke this as his real thought, others, that he did it to gratify the people, who were very earnest to save Clodius. Clodius, at any rate, escaped; most of the judges giving their opinions so written as to be illegible that they might not be in danger from the people by condemning him, nor in disgrace with the nobility by acquitting him. CAESAR (100-44 B.C.) Plutarch translated by John Dryden MAIA: The Goddess honored by Bon Dia cult's is an early earth goddess which corresponds can mean either Isis or Cybele who were prominent but the earliest earth goddess for Rome was Maia who Caesar named the month of May after in 46 BC.

Roman Timeline : 36 BC: Rome tries to invade Persia 31 BC: Octavianus (Augustus) becomes the first emperor after defeating Mark Anthony at the battle of Actium 30 BC: Cleopatra commits suicide and Egypt is annexed to Roma 20 BC: a treaty between Roma and Persia (Parthians) fixes the boundary between the two empires along the Euphrates river (Iraq) 17 BC: the theater of Marcellus 13 BC: Augustus expands the borders to the region of the Danube 6 BC: Jesus is born in Palestine 1 AD: Roma has about one million people 2 AD: the Forum of Augustus 5 AD: Roma acknowledges Cymbeline, King of the Catuvellauni, as king of Britain 6 AD: Augustus expands the borders to the Balkans 12 AD: The last Etruscan inscription is carved 14 AD: Augustus dies and Tiberius becomes emperor 14 AD: five million people live in the Roman empire 25 AD: Agrippa builds the Pantheon 37 AD: Tiberius dies and the mad Caligula succeeds him 41

 AD: Caligula is assassinated and is succeeded by Claudius 43 AD: Claudius invades Britain 46 AD: Thracia becomes a Roman province 50 AD: the Romans found Londinium in Britain 54 AD: Claudius is succeeded by Nero 58 AD: the Romans conquer Armenia 64 AD: Nero sets fire to Roma and blames the Christians for it 68 AD: March 16th (Feast of Bacchus) Nero, the last blood relative of Caesar commits suicide and is succeeded by Vespasianus 79 AD: Vespasianus is succeeded by Tito 70 AD: Tito destroys Jerusalem and Jews spread in Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Spain and Greece 77 AD: the Romans conquer Wales 79 AD: The Coliseum is completed.

Mt. Vesuvius erupts and Pompeii is buried under ash. By the first century the new mysteries was flourishing among the wealthy in southern Italy, as inscriptions, wall paintings in villas, reliefs, and decorations on sarcophagi continue to show to our delight. Traveling guilds of actors that presented plays throughout the empire were organized as a religious association dedicated to Dionysus. They were considered "sacred" and granted immunity and special protection by the rulers. Dionysiacs used the term mysteries loosely for their dances and for dramatic contests (both of which were public). The dances, masquerades, banquets and accompanying revelry, and singing were the main attraction for many.

88 BC: Italians are granted full citizenship 83 BC: Sulla becomes dictator 74 BC: Cicero enters the senate 73 BC: Spartacus leads the revolt of the gladiators 71 BC: Mithridates VI of Pontus is conquered by Roman general Lucius Lucullus 71 BC: Crassus puts down Spartacus' revolt 70 BC: Crassus and Pompey are elected consuls 69 BC: Rome invades Tigranes' Armenian kingdom and destroys its capital, Tigranocerta 64 BC: Syria becomes a Roman province under general Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius) 63 BC: Pompeus captures Jerusalem and annexes Palestine to Roma " Ceasar was elected pontifex maximus [high priest], allegedly by heavy bribes.

62 B.C., Clodius and Caesarï¿½s second wife, Pompeia, is involved in a scandal concerning the violation of the secret rites of Bona Dea , and Caesar obtained a divorce, saying, ï¿½Caesarï¿½s wife must be above suspicion.ï¿½ 60 BC: Crassus, Pompey and Caesar form a "triumvirate, ambitious for the consulate. Against senatorial opposition he achieved a brilliant strokeï¿½he organized a coalition, known as the First Triumvirate, made up of Pompey, commander in chief of the army; Marcus Licinius Crassus, the wealthiest man in Rome ; and Caesar himself. Pompey and Crassus were jealous of each other, but Caesar by force of personality kept the arrangement going. 59 BC: Caesar is elected consul 58 BC: Caesar begins his successful campaign to conquer Gaul 55 B.C., Caesar made explorations into Britain, and in 54 B.C. he defeated the Britons, led by Cassivellaunus. Pompey's wife, Caesar's daughter, dies 53 B.C.

Crassus was killed in battle with the Parthians; and the triumvirate was dissolved 52 B.C. Caesar met his most serious opposition in Gaul from Vercingetorix, whom he defeated in Alesia By the end of the wars Caesar had reduced all Gaul to Roman control. These campaigns proved him one of the greatest commanders of all time. In them he revealed his consummate military genius, characterized by quick, sure judgment and indomitable energy. After the First Triumvirate ended, the senate supports Pompey, who became sole consul 51 BC: Caesar crushes revolt of Vercingetorix in Gaul Meanwhile, Caesar had become a military hero as well as a champion of the people. The senate feared him and wanted him to give up his army 49 BC: Caesar crosses the Rubicon, defeats Pompey and becomes sole dictator of Rome, The army called for action, and on Jan. 19, 49 B.C., Caesar with the words ï¿½Iacta alea estï¿½ [the die is cast] crossed the Rubicon, the stream bounding his province, to enter Italy. Civil war had begun. The senate fled to Capua.

Caesar pursues Pompey to Greece where Pompey gathers forces far greater in number than Caesar. Caesar engages Pompey at Dyrrhachium but is forced to fall back and begin a long retreat southward, with Pompey in pursuit. This proved difficult since provisions were difficult to obtain. But after he took Gomphi, a town of Thessaly, he not only found provisions for his army, but physic too. For there they met with plenty of wine, which they took very freely, and heated with this, sporting and revelling on their march in bacchanalian fashion, they shook off the disease, and their whole constitution was relieved and changed into another habit. 48 B.C. August Near Pharsalus, Caesar camped in a very strategic location. Pompey, who had a far larger army, attacked Caesar but was routed and fled to Egypt, where he was killed. 47 BC: Caesar follows Pompey to Egypt. He becomes involved in the politics of the Ptolemies taking the side of Cleopatra against her brother and husband Ptolemy XII. In an Egyptian ceremony, he marries Cleopatra, while still married to his Roman wife, and makes her Queen.

She bears him a son named Caesarion. 46 BC: Caesar declared dictator for ten years He also restored the Festival of Bacchus to March 16 to be celebrated in conjunction with the Roman Gods of Fertility, Liber and Libera (March 17th) On his return to Rome, where he was now tribune of the people and dictator, he had four great triumphs [victory celebrations] and pardoned all his enemies. He set about reforming the living conditions of the people by passing agrarian laws and by improving housing accommodations. He also drew up the elaborate plans (which Augustus later used) for consolidating the empire and establishing it securely. Winter of 46 B.C.ï¿½45 B.C. he returns to Spain to defeat the revolt led by the sons of Pompey most notably Gaeus Pompeius. Caesar's costly victory on the feast of Bacchus Julius Caesar: "The battle was fought on the feast of Bacchus, and the Pompeians were entirely routed and put to flight; insomuch that not a man could have escaped, had they not sheltered themselves in the place whence they advanced to the charge.

The enemy lost on this occasion upward of thirty thousand men, and among the rest Labienus and Attius Varus, whose funeral obsequies were performed upon the field of battle. They had likewise three thousand Roman knights killed, partly Italian, partly provincial. About a thousand were slain on our side, partly foot, partly horse; and five hundred wounded. We gained thirteen eagles, and several standards, and emblems of authority, and made seventeen officers prisoners. Such was the issue of this action. This was the decisive Civil War victory, yet there was little mercy shown by Caesar who would not live to celebrate its anniversary. 45 BC On his return, he celebrated a triumph, such as had never occurred before, over vanquished citizens. By his ostentatious ambition of becoming a king, and by the assumption of honours too lofty for mortal man, he incurred the hatred of many individuals, and the envy of all classes. 44 BC March 15 (the Ides of March and the Eve of the Feast of Bacchus), 44 B.C., he was stabbed to death in the senate house. His will left everything to his 18-year-old grandnephew Octavian later the emperor Augustus.

43 to 36 B.C. SECOND TRIUMVIRATE Personal alliance between Mark , Octavian and Lepidus. The primary purpose of this alliance was to avenge the death of Julius Caesar on the Senators who supported Cassius and Brutus. This was achieved by the Battle of Philippi in 42 B.C. where Mark Antony defeated the two conspirators and their armies. After Philippi, the triumvirs divided the Roman Empire among themselves. They shared the administration of Italy. Mark Antony took the East including Egypt; Lepidus got North Africa; and Octavian took Spain and Gaul. 40 BC Second Triumvirate renewed at Brundisium The alliance broke down when Mark Antony married Cleopatra in 37 B.C. Mark Antony who was married to Octavia, the sister of Octavian took up with the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Thus the political rivalry between Antony and Octavian now became a personal one as well. Antony had also failed in an expedition against the Parthians in 36 BC which also hampered his credibility among the Roman elite. Lepidus was easily removed from North Africa by Octavian.

Thereafter Civil war broke out between Mark Antony and Octavian. Octavian won the power struggle at the naval Battle of Actium in September 31 B.C. Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide in Egypt. This coin was struck in Asia in 39 BC in honor of Marc Antony. The obverse is inscribed with the legend Marcus ANTONIVS IMPerator COnSul DESIGnatus, ITERum ET TERTium, which translated reads, ï¿½Marc Antony, general-in-chief, consul elect for the second and third time.ï¿½ Antony is portrayed here wearing an ivy wreath which was symbolic of the god Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, the god of wine and male fertility. Antony often fashioned himself after this god. Upon Antonyï¿½s return from Italy to Greece in the year that this coin was struck, statues of him were erected throughout Asia Minor bearing the name Bacchus and the Athenians saluted him as this god as well. His rival Augustus was much in the model of Apollo. See Apollo & Dionysus Baalbeck The temple of Bacchus at Baalbeck in Lebanon was built about 150 A.D.

and is likely where the celebration of mysteries occurred in the monumental development. The temple complex was begun in 60 A.D. with the construction of the temple of Jupiter-Baal who was identified with the Phoenician sun god Baalbeck. It was completed by Emperor Septimus Severus [193 to 211 AD] who was originally from Carthage which was founded by the great Phoenican [ wiki ] traders, originally from Lebanon which dominated the seas for over a millennium before the rise of the Roman empire. Built on an ancient trade route to Syria Baalbaak is 85 kilometers from Beirut "Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee," UNESCO [ wiki] reported in making Baalbek a World Heritage Site [ wiki ] in 1984. Popular Triad: Under the Roman empire the local gods simply took on Roman citizenship. Hadad became Jupiter Heliopolitanus, the great goddess was called Venus Heliopolitana and the young god of spring/fertility turned into Mercury [Hermes]. This triad was extraordinarily popular.

Altars dedicated to the Heliopolitan triad are found, not only in the eastern provinces, but throughout the whole Roman world, from the Balkans to Spain, Gaul and Scotland. The best preserved temple is identified with Bacchus because of his popularity in Roman times in the region and the the carvings of grapes and opium poppies on the main door jamb and some carved Bacchic scenes. During the Byzantine period the temple of Venus was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Barbara. who is the patron saint of Baalbeck to this day. Near the Temple of Venus are the remains of "The Temple of the Muses", dating from the beginning of the 1st century A.D. According to the Ministry of Tourism [ tourisminlebanon.com ] "Baalbeck is more than a fascinating group of ruins of awe-inspiring majesty. It is a place where east and west have met and merged, a crossroad where different influences and beliefs have come together in mutual understanding, as in Lebanon today."

Question: Which festival in honour of a Roman god was forbidden in Rome in 186 BC?
Answer: Bacchanalia