BACCHIGLIONE, bilike-lyo'ne, a river of northern Italy. It rises in the Alps, passes through the towns of Vicenza and Padua and enters the Adriatic near Chioggia after a course of about 90 miles.
BACCHUS,Thilelcils, or DIONYSOS,' the god of wine. His history is one of the most perplexing in the Greek mythology. Semele was pregnant with him by Zeus, but became a victim of the craft of Hera. Zeus hastened to save the unborn fruit of his embrace and con cealed it till mature in his own thigh. He afterward committed the infant to Hermes, who carried him to the nymphs of Nysa in India, where he grew and prospere,d. His teacher was Silenus, afterward his constant companion.
In the vales of Nysa Bacchus invented the preparation of a beverage from grapes and taught the planting. of vines. To spread the knowledge of his invention he traveled over almost the whole lcnown world and received in every quarter divine honors. Drawn by lions he began his march, which resembled a triumphal pomp, with a great suite of men and women, Sileni, Satyrs and Mmnades. Inspired by the presence of the god, rejoicing, brandish ing the thyrsus and crowned with vines and ivy they danced around hitn, shouting ffEvoel Ele'leuslo over hill and valley, accompanied by the tones of Phrygian flutes and timbre's. The Thebans would not acknowledge his divinity and Pentheus armed himself against him. Bacchus resolved to punish the cnme and in spired the women with a fury which drove them from their dwellings to wander on Mount Cithwron. Pentheus himself was torn in pieces by his own mother and her sisters, to whom he appeared a wild beast. Bacchus punished the daughters of Mynias, who derided his feasts, with frenzy and transformation. At Naxos some Tuscan sailors attempted to carry him off to Italy, supposing him from his purple robe to be the son of a king.. They fettered him; but the fetters fell off, vines and ivy en twined the vessel and kept it fixed in the midst of the sea: the god transformed himself to a lion and the seamen, seized with madness, leaped into the waves, where they were changed into dolphins. On the other hand, he rewarded such as received him hospitably and rendered him worship, as, for instance, Midas, who re stored to him the faithful Silenus.
His love was shared by several; but Ariadne, whom he found deserted upon Naxos, alone was elevated to the dignity of a wife and became a sharer of his immortality. To confer the same favor on his mother, Semele, he descended into the realms of Pluto and con ducted her to Olympus, where she was hence forth called Thyone. In the dreadful war with the giants he fought heroically and saved the gods from impending.ruin. During the re joicing for victory Zeus joyfully cried to him, ((Evan, evoeP (Well done, my son!), with which words Bacchus was afterward usually saluted. We find him represented with the round, soft and graceful form of a maiden rather than that of a young man. An orna ment peculiar to him is the tiara. His long waving hair is gathered behind in a knot and wreathed with sprigs of ivy and vine leaves.
He is usually nalced; sometimes he has an ample mantle hung negligently round his shoulders; sometimes a fawn skin hangs across his breast. The earlier bearded Bacchus is properly of Indian or Egyptian origin. His head is sometimes shown with small horns (the sytnbol of invincible force). In his hand is borne a thyrsus, or a drinldng cup. The bull, panther, ass and goat were symbolically associated with this god.
The feasts consecrated to Bacchus were termed Bacchanalia, Dionysia, or in general Orgia. They were celebrated with peculiar solemnity in Athens, where the years were uni versally reckoned by them and during their continuance the least violence toward a citizen was a capital crime. The great Dionysia were celebrated in spring. The most important part of the celebration was a procession represent ing the triumph of Bacchus. This was com posed of a train of Bacchantes of both sexes, who were masked, clothed in fawn skins, crowned with ivy and bore in their hands drinking cups and rods entwined with ivy (thyrsi). Amidst this mad crowd marched in beautiful order the delegated bodies of the phratria (corporations of citizens). They bore upon their heads consecrated baskets, which contained first-fruits of every kind,. cakes of different shape and various mystenous sym bols. This procession was usually in the night-time. The day was devoted to spectacles and other recreations. At a very early hour they. went to the theatre of Bacchus, where musical or dramatical performances were ex hibited. Thespis, Icnown as the inventor of tragedy, is said to have introduced into the Bacchic performance an actor who carried on a dialogue with the coryphceus (leader) regard ing the myths narrated of Bacchus or some other divinity. The chorus, surrounding its leader, stood on the steps of the altar of Bac chus, while the actor occupied a table. Some regard this as the origin of the stage. The vintage festivals in rural districts were cele brated by Bacchic processions, ruder in form than those of Athens, but characterized by the same wild license and ribaldry. Coarse ridi cule of individuals was a marked feature of these occasions. In the course of time the mysteries celebrated became occasions for in toxication and.gross licentiousness. The Bac chanalia were introduced into Rome about 200 a.c. and at first were celebrated by women only. Later men were admitted, evening cele brations introduced and celebrations held fre quently instead of only three days in the Tear as at first. Gross immoralities were practised and finally in 186 a.c. the Senate ordered the arrest of the priests and forbade further meet ings in Italy. Consult (Senatus Consultum de Bacchanal ibus ) in Corpus In sc ript ionum Latinarum); Frazer, (The Golden Bough) (1913) ; Farnell, 'Cults of the Greek States) (Vol. V, Oxford 1910); Gruppe, O.,