D. The Cult of Dionysus

The cult of Dionysus was closely related to the cult of Cybele, the Great Mother. It is generally accepted by most scholars today that his cult spread to Greece from Thrace, but the Thracians were related to the Phrygians;^{* [154] thus, the religious beliefs of the two peoples flowed from the same sources.}

Several festivals were connected with Dionysus. The biennial o/giflwere ecstatic rites held over mountaintops in the darkness of night, flickering torches providing the only light. The worship­pers, dressed in long robes made of animal skins, let their hair flow freely in the wind. Some attached horns to their heads; some carried sacred snakes^[157] and the Ihyrsos, a spear topped with a pine cone and wreathed with ivory and vine branches. Phrygian flutes, drums, and cymbals filled the air with music, which caused the excited participants to break out in uncontrollable and incoherent cries of joy. They danced and drank intoxicating drinks — above all, wine, which they believed contained the spirit of Dionysus. Thus wine was consumed as a solemn sacramental act, not merely as revelry. Eventually, as they began to hallu­cinate, they perceived the world of nature as supremely beautiful and sweet, or as Euripides says in the Bacchae, for them the ground flowed with milk, wine, and nectar.^[158] They felt possessed by the god, filled by the god, and the religion of Dionysus knew such inspired people who, in a state of extreme ecstasy, pro­phesied.^[159]

Both sexes were attracted to this religion, but R. S. Kraemer has argued convincingly that it was more common for women than for men. It is quite possible that women who otherwise had to conduct themselves in a restrained and decorous manner found this temporary liberation from their daily routine an especially welcome change.^[160] Sexual license was a part of the Dionysiac orgzas to the experience of Cybele’s initiates, to which we now turn.