Bacchic Orgies:
- tsugumi8
- Dec 25, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 14
Sex, Music and Wine – A Lot of Wine -Bacchanalia and Orgies in Ancient Rome
This is the season of parties, good food, and excesses, especially wine-related ones! Thence, this Christmas, I invite you to accompany me on a journey into the fascinating world of Bacchanalia - the ancient Roman festival dedicated to the god of wine, freedom, and good times—Bacchus - and that of Roman orgies. If such revelries are your cup of tea, keep on reading!
In this day and age, we might plan parties using phone apps, or when we have in mind something big, we might even think about hiring a professional. Thus, you might not be surprised if I tell you that orgy parties required a professional figure – the orgy planner – to ensure that everything proceeded flawlessly and that guests had a five-star experience! Orgy hosts wanted to thrill their party’s attendants and let their orgy be the topic of every person’s mouth (no pun intended), and this required a hell of attention to small details, such as hiring the most popular double-pipe player that drove every demoiselle crazy or purchasing a good wine to dilute with water. Yes, if you lived in ancient Rome, you wouldn’t drink your wine straight, I’m afraid, even during orgies or Bacchanalia!
Anyway, when talking about orgy planners, we cannot omit the name of Messalina – wife of Emperor Nero, later known for having lost her head, quite literally, during one of the emperor's temper tantrums. Her name still shines in the pantheon of orgy planners for having thrown a remarkable four days long orgy party. Sex was served between meals, and the same mouths that were guilty of being constantly wine-thirsty could even feel a different type of thirst and begin to crave blood. Wine bubbles certainly did not help psychos develop empathy, on the contrary, they exacerbated the deviated fantasy of figures such as that of Nero, notorious for having used human torches to light up the exquisite garden of his golden house. On that infamous night, cries of pain and pleasure mingled together until the flesh of the unfortunate Christians at the stake was devoured by the hungry flames. This might serve as a hint as to why he was so disliked…
Thus, orgies were a recreational activity thrown at the host’s whim, while Bacchanalia was celebrated at a specific time, precisely three days a year. The celebration represented a vibrant Roman take on the Greek celebration of Dionysia, a festival that celebrated the god Dionysus. Drunkenness and the following mass hysteria that raged during this holiday were a way of showing gratitude to the god of wine for having gifted humans with such indulgent drinks. Therefore, next time someone tells you that you’re too drunk, you know what to say! Often, drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and licentious acts gave way to social chaos, so much so that the Senate felt the need to intervene and contain the worship of Bacchus rather than eradicate it, as it is wrongly believed.
According to the Roman historian Livy (59 BCE – 17 CE), who described the events that preceded the Bacchanalia reform of 186 BCE, which aimed to contain this ritual, Bacchus’ followers committed crimes under the disguise of the god’s cult. However, it is rather tricky to rely on his account since it was written almost two centuries after the reform. Many historians believe, in fact, that he amplified the events. In the book Inquiry about Bacchanalia and Night Rites, Basilio Perri asserts that the reasons why the Senate attacked the cult were solely political and was a way for the Senate to claim control over the cult, which from then onwards was severely regulated (2015). After the reform, Bacchic orgies could not exceed the number of five participants (two men and three women), and those who sought to gather in the name of Bacchus should have been granted permission from the Senate.
Although there might have been a conflict of interest regarding this cult, things were probably getting out of hand before the reform. Livy reports that a Campanian matron – Pacula Annia - possessed by a singular fanatism, decided to revolutionise the cult, and instead of celebrating Bacchanalia three times a year, she wanted to honour the god five times a month with orgies and rivers of alcohol. Maybe she was a nymphomaniac in disguise, pretending to act on Bacchus’ behalf - I guess we’ll never know. Anyhow, initiations became more frequent, while violent orgies, alcohol and licentious behaviour had given way to crimes and weird appetites, menacing public security and order. As mentioned above, Livy wrote about these events about two hundred years after they happened, giving people plenty of time to spice up the story. However, what might have sparked the reform is the fact that the cult jeopardised social hierarchies and order in general, and, indeed, politicians must have seen it as a threat and took the chance to take matters under control.
The fervent followers of Bacchus don’t boast a glorious reputation in mythology either. You might be familiar with the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where he bravely ventures into the Underworld to save his beloved; however, the story of his death is less known, and rightly so, since it wasn’t as sweet as Bacchus’ inebriating drink. In ‘The Death of Orpheus’, Ovid paints a vivid picture of a frenzied pack of bloodthirsty maenads - the wild female followers of Bacchus, known for their energetic dances driven by the thunderous beat of drums - descending upon the unfortunate musician. With his enchanting lyre, Orpheus had captivated all the wild creatures of the forest, entrancing them with harmonious notes that wrapped around them like a spell. But in a wild frenzy, the maenads trampled those very beasts before turning their savage fury upon Orpheus himself, tearing his flesh to shreds simply because he spurned their advances (Metamorphoses 11. 1 - 66). It’s evident that rejection inflicts pain, yet in this chilling case, the rejector suffered far more than the rejected!
While the exact extent of the wild acts associated with orgies and Bacchanalia remains uncertain, these gatherings undeniably left a lasting legacy. Their influence can be seen in modern-day Carnivals, where participants often disregard social norms and engage in unrestrained behaviour or even in today’s parties, where alcohol is frequently the guest of honour that bubbles up the atmosphere! As you can see, modern-day celebrations are still animated by Bacchus' spirit. Will you let the spirit of the god of wine possess you this Christmas?
Written by Gabriella Sentina
25.12.2024
Wow, what a riveting dive into Ancient Rome’s wild nights! You captured the bacchanalia perfectly. Truly a feast for the senses. By the way, those Halloween Horror Nights jackets would complete the vibe!