In the worship of Dionysus two distinct forms may he traced. The one appears roost distinctly in the Attie festivals, especially the country Dionysia. It is essentially a joyous but rude and boisterous vintage festival, celebrated by men, and abounding in mummeries and coarse jests. Its connection with vegetation and fruitfulness is shown by the phallic procession, which held a prominent place in the celebration. (For an ac count of the Attic Dionysia, see GREEK FESTI VALS.) The other form of Dionysiac worship was highly orgiastic, and celebrated by women, at the time of the winter solstice in alternate years; hence called the Triaterie Dionysia. The celebrants. in Greek Mainades. or Mdenads, wan dered among the mountains, indifferent to the cold, wearing fawnskins and carrying the thyr sus and torches, for the chief rites were held at night. The god was said to be lost. and was sought with wild cries. The culmination of the orgy was in tearing in pieces fawns, kids, and other animals, and devouring the raw flesh in honor of the god. We even hear of human vic tims being rent asunder. These rites were thought to be an endeavor to arouse the dead or sleeping god; but it is also clear that originally the slain animal was the god, who was killed to be reborn. It is a common feature of primitive religions for the worshiper to partake of the god, especially if it be a deity connected with vegeta tion or fertility. These orgiastic rites were espe cially associated with Thebes and Delphi, though we hear that even Athenian women went to Mount Parnassus to join in this fierce and bloody worship. In later times tire mysteries celebrated
under the name of Dionysus became more and more occasions for intoxication and gross licen tiousness.
The L'acchaualiu were introduced into Home early in the Second Century B.C., and at first were celebrated on three days of the year by women only. Later a priestess opened the mys teries to men, introduced evening celebrations, and greatly increased their frequency. The gath ering soon became suspected of gross immorali ties; and in B.C. I Sfi, the Senate ordered the con sults to arrest the priests, and forbid further meetings of the association throughout Italy. The result of the judicial inquiry was that the majority of the members were sentenced to death, and others to life imprisonment, while by a de cree of the Senate all such associations were for bidden in Italy. The decree (Scnatus ('onsuitum de Racchanalibus) has been preserted in a sin gle copy. Corpus Inseriptionnin Latinarum, I., 196-X. 104.
on the vegetation spirits and their worship, consult: Mannhardt, 1•ald mind Feldkulte (Ber lin. 1875-77). On Dionysus, consult: Roscher, Lexikon der griechischen and romischen Hy iliologie, Vol. 1. (Leipzig, 1884-90) : Preller-Rob ert . Gricchischc Mythologic, Vol. I. ( Berlin, 1594) ; and B. I. Wheeler, Dionysos and humor /alit y (Boston, 1599)