Mainadism: myth and history

Epigraphic evidence of cultic mainadism from the third century and later can be used to construct a model of Classical mainadic ritual, but there are nagging questions about the origins of Hellenistic mainads: were they the direct recipients of authentic ancient traditions, or were they creatively drawing from poetic descriptions, such as the Bacchae, to “revive” cultic traditions that had long since lapsed? The possibility that the Bacchae may have played an instrumental role in such mainadic revivals is especially relevant to the famous Magnesian mainad inscription. In the reign of Hadrian, a time of keen antiquarian interest, a Hellenistic inscription recording an oracle of Apollo was copied onto a new stone (IMagn. 215). The inscription told how the inhabitants of Magnesia on the Maiandros river consulted Delphi after finding an image of Dionysos in a plane tree. The Pythia told them, “Go to the holy plan of Thebes to get mainads who are from the race of Kadmeian Ino. They will give you orgia (ecstatic rites, or perhaps sacred objects) and noble customs and will establish thiasoi (worship groups) of Bakchos in your city.” The inscription continues with the story of how three Theban mainads were indeed brought to Magnesia and ultimately buried in places of honor. The organization of the Magnesian thiasoi closely follows the scheme laid out in the Bacchae: Kadmos’ daughters Ino, Autonoe, and Agave lead three mainadic groups who rove over Mt. Kithairon. Whether this arrangement reflected Classical Theban ritual practice, we simply do not know. In any case, this inscription, taken together with others, shows that post-Classical mainads were highly respected members of the community, performing state-sponsored and presumably decorous rituals.23

When conducted under state auspices, sacrifices for Dionysos usually followed the same conventions as those for other gods, but non-standard sacrifices are prominent in Dionysiac myth, particularly in mainadic contexts.24 Many Attic vases depict the mainads or Dionysos himself holding the torn remains of an animal, a fawn or goat. This motif refers to a specialized form of sacrifice: the mainads violently tore animals limb from limb (sparagmos). Scholars and late antique sources, particularly the Christian fathers, often assume that mainads ate the raw flesh of animals so sacrificed (cimophagia), but this is less clear. The chorus in the Bacchae (138) speaks of “the joyful act (charis) of eating raw meat,” but they are describing Dionysos’ behavior, not necessarily their own. Later, the raving mainads tear apart a herd of cattle (734-47), but there is no mention of omophagy. The consumption of raw flesh, however, may have played a role in certain Dionysiac mysteries. A fragment of Euripides’ Cretans (472 TrGF) alludes to a sacred meal of raw meat, which formed a stark contrast to the pure vegetarian diet of the initiates. Dionysos Omestes (Raw-Eater) is mentioned already by Alcaeus, a native of Lesbos, and the related epithet Omadios is attested for Chios and Tenedos, where there are rumors of human sacrifice.25 Greek myth is full of accounts of men or infants torn to pieces by the mainads, who fail to distinguish between human and animal quarry, yet there is no credible evidence that such forms of “sacrifice” were regularly practiced in any Greek city.