Dionysian ceremonies were performed well away from centers of population, typically in the mountains, where the maenads could cavort unobserved. Many Greeks believed that the maenads, inspired by Dionysus or more particularly by wine, performed preternatural feats of strength, such as uprooting trees. They were also reputed to have captured wild animals, shredded them alive with their bare hands (a ritual known as sparagmos), and then eaten them raw (a ceremony known as omophagia).
Additional stories about the maenads related that they possessed magic powers. They could charm snakes, which they placed in their hair or around their bodies. They could not be harmed by fire, which they carried in their hands or
Left: Dance of the Maenads
(1526—1535).This fresco by Pippi de’ Gianuzzi (c.1499— 1546) decorates the walls of the Palazzo del Te in Mantua, Italy.
On their heads. The leading maenads would brandish a thyrsos, a rod made of ivy or fennel branches and tipped with a pinecone. When they tapped the ground with their staffs, it would flow with honey, milk, or wine.
The worship of Dionysus was not condoned by conventional Greeks, who perceived it as a flagrant disregard for social norms and a threat to civilization.
Hence the word maenad derives from the verb “to be insane,” for maenads were thought to have been driven mad by Dionysus. For all their wildness, however, the activities of the maenads represented a useful outlet for repressed feelings. The cult of Dionysus was popular because it served a need for catharsis (emotional release), particularly in women, that was not satisfactorily provided by mainstream festivals. Although events such as the Adonia (a celebration of Adonis) or the Thesmophoria (a three-day annual festival held in Athens in honor of Demeter) were useful safety valves for pent-up emotions, they did not offer the uninhibited release that came from being a maenad.
World History
