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Bacchanalia |
Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
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Bacchanalia (băkənā`lēə), in Roman religion, festival in honor of Bacchus, god of wine. Originally a religious ceremony, like the Liberalia Liberalia (lĭbərā`lēə), in Roman religion, festival of Liber and Libera. ..... Click the link for more information. , it gradually became an occasion for drunken, licentious excesses and was finally forbidden by law (186 B.C.). Bacchanaliaor DionysiaIn Greco-Roman religion, any of the festivals of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus), which probably originated as fertility rites. The most famous Greek festivals included the Greater Dionysia, with its dramatic performances; the Anthesteria; and the Lesser Dionysia, characterized by simple rites. Bacchanalia were introduced from lower Italy into Rome, where they were at first secret, open only to women, and held three times a year. They later admitted men and became as frequent as five times a month. In 186 BC their reputation as orgies led the Senate to prohibit them throughout Italy, except in special cases. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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That's for the external scale--but there is also something particular about the internal scale of these bacchanals. At its best, the book is an unflinching (if heady) travelogue of the bacchanals of San Francisco's the Catacombs ("a temple of the butthole"), the Mineshaft, and the dance club the Saint, which for a brief moment had the reputation of being the origin point for "gay cancer. The well-fed, ruddy "Beauties" seemed like great-granddaughters of Rubens' bacchanals. |
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