thiasos

E89053

Thiasos is the ecstatic retinue or procession of Dionysus in ancient Greek religion, typically composed of satyrs, maenads, and other mythic followers engaged in frenzied revelry.

Aliases (2)

Statements (47)
Predicate Object
instanceOf cultic retinue
mythological concept
religious procession
alsoKnownAs thiasus
appearsIn Greek relief sculpture
Greek vase painting
Roman sarcophagi decoration
associatedRitual Bacchic rites
Dionysian mysteries
associatedWithDeity Dionysus
characteristicActivity drinking wine
ecstatic revelry
frenzied dancing
music-making
culturalRole popular motif in Greek vase painting
subject in Hellenistic and Roman art
domain Dionysian cult
etymologyRoot Greek word θίασος (thiasos)
function celebrate the power of wine
express Dionysian ecstasy
symbolize loss of social restraint
iconographyFeature Dionysus riding in a chariot
animal skins worn by followers
followers surrounding Dionysus
musical instruments such as aulos
musical instruments such as tympanon
thyrsus-bearing figures
wild animals accompanying the procession
influenced Roman Bacchic imagery
languageOfOrigin Ancient Greek
leader Dionysus
relatedConcept Bacchic procession
Bacchic revels
relatedDeity Ariadne
Pan
religion ancient Greek religion
symbolizes ecstasy
fertility
transgression of norms
timePeriod Archaic Greece
Classical Greece
Hellenistic period
typicalMembers maenads
nymphs
panes
satyrs
sileni

Referenced by (2)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Thiasos ("thiasus")
alsoKnownAs
Dionysus
associatedWith

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