Legends about Bacchus even reached India after the conquest of the East by Alexander the Great. The religious mysteries in honor were famous for their licentiousness and immorality.
The festival in honor of Bacchus has served as inspiration for many artists. Titian, Rubens, Caravaggio, Velazquez, Vrubel captured the image of the god of wine and his noisy festivities on their canvases.
In one of the myths, Bacchus becomes the husband of Ariadne, whom Theseus left. But soon the young wife died. The inconsolable Bacchus threw the crown of his beloved high into the sky. There the immortal gods secured it - this is how, according to legend, the constellation Ariadne's Crown appeared.
Bacchus - god of winemaking
In Roman mythology, Bacchus is the god of wine and winemaking, the patron of the harvest. His wife was the goddess Libera, who helped the winegrowers. Bacchus is called Dionysus, Bacchus. He is depicted in ancient sculpture and painting as a young man with bunches of grapes in his hands. His scepter is entwined with ivy, and his chariot is drawn by panthers or leopards.
While still very young, Bacchus was appointed god of wine. The satyr Silenus, half-man, half-goat, was involved in his upbringing and education. He was next to young Dionysus in all his travels and wanderings.
The holiday in honor of Bacchus in ancient times was accompanied by traditional sacrifice, fun, and copious libations.
The history of the holiday
Bacchus and Libera were revered by the common people. Numerous events were held in their honor. The holiday in honor of Bacchus from ancient times was celebrated on March 16-17. Funny jokes and songs were heard in cities and villages. A special feature of the holiday was the adoption of a wonderful drink - grape wine.
The ceremonial events were called Dionysia, Liberals, Vendemialia, Bacchanalia. The holiday in honor of Bacchus served as the basis for theatrical performances. The entry of choirs dressed in goatskins attracted many residents. The singers sang praises in honor of Bacchus and Libera. Later, according to legend, the genre of tragedy (this word means “song of goats”) and comedy arose from dithyrambs.
How does the celebration take place?
According to ancient legend, it was Bacchus, the Roman deity, who taught man to make wine from grapes. It relieved anxiety and worries, removed moral principles. Therefore, bacchanalia is associated with unbridled, intoxicating ecstasy.
Wine was used during religious ceremonies to unite God and man. Bacchanalia was accompanied by intoxication, unbridled orgies, ritual dancing and the praise of Bacchus.
Initially, the bacchanalia took place secretly. Only women took part in them. Later men joined them and the festivities began to be held much more often - 5 times a month.
Bacchus's cousin, King Pentheus, wanted to ban unholy celebrations. They were often accompanied by violence and murder. Pentheus was torn to pieces by the maddened Bacchantes. His mother Agave, in a state of intoxication, mistook her son for an animal and led his murder.
In 186, the Senate took strict measures to eradicate this riotous celebration. A wave of exiles and executions swept across Italy. But the government did not achieve the complete eradication of immoral mysteries.
The myth of the birth of Bacchus
According to the myths of the ancient world, the mother of Bacchus, the earthly woman Semele, burned in fire. The newborn was saved by his father, the god Jupiter. Out of great love for Semele, Jupiter took her soul to heaven and made her an immortal goddess.
The hatred of Juno, the wife of Jupiter, knew no bounds. To protect himself from her anger, Jupiter begged Mercury to take Bacchus to the nymphs so that they would take care of the baby.
When the very young Dionysus was appointed god of wine, he created a large retinue for himself. It included nymphs, satyrs, fauns, men and women who worshiped the deity.
The holiday in honor of Bacchus from ancient times was a cheerful and noisy feast. The God of Wine loved to travel. His retinue moved with him to different cities and countries, showing how to praise Bacchus. The procession played pipes, beat cymbals, and treated everyone to wine.
The Feast of Bacchus in the Modern World
The ancient holiday in honor of Bacchus has continued to this day. In France, it gathers large crowds of people wanting to take part in the competition. Rolling wine barrels, parades of wine brotherhoods and orders, winemaking master classes - such events are not complete without a feast in honor of Bacchus.
In Italy, during the traditional honor of Bacchus, a fountain with wine was opened in the square. This event brought joy to the ranks of the townspeople. The fountain worked every evening during all carnival days.
In Bacchus it is timed to coincide with the grape harvest. It is accompanied by performances by folklore ensembles and demonstrations of crafts. Warm Prague wine is sold on every corner during the celebration.
Bacchus (lat. Bacchus) -
God is the patron saint of vineyards, winemaking and wine, revered under the name Liber (Liber means “free” in Latin).
Apparently, this name contained a hint of some freedom and licentiousness held in honor of Bacchus festivities). His wife was the goddess Libera, who helped winegrowers and winemakers. The holiday in honor of this married couple was celebrated on March 17 and was called liberalia.
In cities on this day, in addition to solemn sacrifices, theatrical performances were held, and in rural areas it was marked by cheerful processions, jokes, dances and feasts with an abundance of libations Bachus-Liberu , who frees a person from all worries with his wonderful drink, and his kind and beautiful wife Libera. During liberalism, sacrifices were also made to the goddess Ceres. The sanctuary of Liber and Libera was located in the temple of Ceres.
Bacchus corresponds Dionysus or Bacchus- in ancient Greek mythology.
It is believed that seeing this god in a dream is a bad sign; you will be upset about something. As you know, wine and everything connected with it represents Bacchus. In an esoteric sense, wine is the blood of the god Bacchus, divine energy transformed into grape juice. Wine was used in religious cults and intoxication was perceived as a state pleasing to God. The presence of God, the connection with him “while drunk” became more obvious than when sober. Bacchanalia, festivities in honor Bacchus, developed into orgies, which were sacrifices in honor of God. The main characters of the bacchanalia were women, servants of God, his messengers. A description of the "army of God" has been preserved Bacchus"According to Lucian, it consisted of "women distraught and inflamed with passions. Their heads were crowned with ivy, and deer skins were draped over their naked bodies; they shook short spears entwined with grapes and ivy (it was believed that ivy prevented intoxication) and small shields, which, at the slightest touch, emitted a long roar. Among them were guys - naked, dancing the kordak, with tails and horns." The kordak that Lucian speaks of was an openly erotic group dance and was somewhat reminiscent of the current lambada: holding hands and moving in a circle, the participants frantically swayed their hips and egged each other on with sharp jokes. The young men portrayed demons or sileni, spirits of fertility, with whom the servants of Bacchus were obliged to enter into communication. The image of this act is often found on ancient Greek vases and, probably, an echo of these orgies was continued in medieval ideas about incubi and succubi. seductive demons.
A.A. Neihardt
Ceres
The goddess of the harvest, the patroness of fertility, Ceres was deeply revered by Roman farmers. In her honor, solemn celebrations were held - cerealias, which began on April 11 or 12 and lasted 8 days. Cerealia were observed especially zealously by the lower classes - the plebeians. They dressed up in white clothes (as opposed to ordinary work clothes), decorated themselves with wreaths, and after ceremonial sacrifices (they offered pigs, fruits, honeycombs), they had fun with horse racing in the circus for eight days. The Roman people hosted festive meals, inviting everyone passing by to appease Ceres, who provided hearty food. Gradually, the cult of the goddess Ceres merged with the cult of the “Bright Goddess” (Tellura) and the Greek Demeter, but the festival of Cerealia with its fun and wide hospitality was preserved.
Bacchus
Bacchus is the patron god of vineyards, winemaking and wine, worshiped under the name Libera. His wife was the goddess Libera, who helped winegrowers and winemakers. The holiday in honor of this married couple was celebrated on March 17 and was called liberalia. In the cities on this day, in addition to solemn sacrifices, theatrical performances were held, and in the countryside it was marked by cheerful processions, jokes, dances and feasts with an abundance of libations for Bacchus Liber, who frees a person from all kinds of worries with his wonderful drink, and his kind and beautiful wife Libere. During liberalism, sacrifices were also made to the goddess Ceres. The sanctuary of Liber and Libera was located in the temple of Ceres. The cult of Bacchus-Liber was very close to the cult of the Greek Dionysus.
The famous slogan “Bread and Circuses” vividly characterizes the way of life of the ancient Romans. Huge amounts of money were spent on spectacles in Rome, even the most stingy emperors did not spare money on this - it was a competition in luxury. Gladiator fights and circus games came first, and theater came second. Rome was also very fond of night performances with illuminations.
From an early time, various festivals and performances played an important role in the public life of Rome. At first, public performances were also religious ceremonies; they were an indispensable part of religious holidays. In the VI century. BC e. they began to organize performances of a secular (not religious) nature, and not priests, but officials began to be responsible for their conduct. The venue for them was not the altar of one god or another, but a circus located in the lowland between the Palatine and Aventine hills.
Ancient Roman festivities.
In ancient Rome, all knowledge about the gods essentially boiled down to how they should be revered and at what moment to ask for their help. A thoroughly and precisely developed system of sacrifices and rituals constituted the entire religious life of the Romans.
The Romans held festivals in honor of their gods. The most important of them were:
Vinalia- dedicated to Jupiter, celebrated twice - in April and in August.
Quinquatria- holidays in honor of Minerva. The big ones took place in the second half of March and lasted five days, the small quinquatria took place from June 13 and lasted three days. On the first day of the big festivities, hostilities were interrupted, students were excused from classes and brought their tuition fees, then gladiatorial games were held.
Consular- August harvest festival.
Liberals- holidays in honor of Bacchus (Libera) and his wife Libera. Held on March 17th. Theatrical performances took place in the cities, and cheerful processions and feasts took place in the countryside.
Lupercalia- holidays in honor of the god Faun (Luperka). They took place on February 15 in the sanctuary of God (Lupercale), located near the grotto on the Palatine Hill. They were founded by Romulus and Remus, who grew up among shepherds.
Matronalia- holidays in honor of the goddess Juno. Celebrated by married women on March 1st.
Saturnalia- holidays in honor of the god Saturn and his wife Ops. It took place on December 17 and lasted a week.
Terminalia– holidays in honor of the god of state borders, Terminal, celebrated in February
Fawnalia- holidays in honor of the god Faun (Luperka). Celebrated by farmers and shepherds on December 5th in the open air.
Floralia- holidays in honor of the goddess Flora. Held from April 28 to May 3. Women were allowed to wear colorful dresses, which was strictly prohibited on ordinary days.
Fontinalia- holidays in honor of the god of fountains, Fons. We settled in October. The wells were decorated with garlands of flowers, and wreaths were thrown into the springs.
Cerealia- holidays in honor of Ceres. Held from April 11 and lasted eight days
Lupercalia
Lupercalia is an ancient Roman festival of eroticism in honor of the goddess of “feverish” love, Juno Februata. The place where the she-wolf (following the legend) fed Romulus and Remus (the founders of Rome) was considered holy by the Romans. Every year on February 15, a holiday called “Lupercalia” (from the Latin lupo she-wolf) was held here, during which animals were sacrificed. Whips were made from their skins and after the feast, young people took whips from the skin of sacrificial animals and went into the city to flog the women. The main part of the Lupercalia festival was naked men carrying goat skin straps running past women and beating them; women willingly exposed themselves, believing that these blows would give them fertility and an easy birth. At the end of the celebrations, the women also stripped naked. These festivals became so popular that even when many other pagan holidays were abolished with the advent of Christianity, this one still existed for a long time. The Lupercalia festivities ended with a kind of lottery. Teenage girls wrote their names on notes and placed these notes in a huge urn, and then each man pulled these notes out of the urn. The girl whose name the man drew out became his sexual partner for a whole year until the next celebrations. Thus, people associated the holiday with free love and sex.
In ancient Greece, this holiday was called Panurgia - ritual games in honor of the god Pan (in the Roman tradition - Faun) - the patron saint of herds, forests, fields and their fertility. Pan is a merry fellow and a rake, plays the flute beautifully and always pursues the nymphs with his love. All of the above can be considered a pagan contribution to the tradition of Valentine's Day.
Saturnalia
Saturnalia (lat. Saturnalia) is a holiday among the ancient Romans in honor of Saturn, with whose name the inhabitants of Lazio associated the introduction of agriculture and the first successes of culture. Especially colorful were the celebrations in honor of Saturn and his wife - Saturnalia, which began on December 17 after the end of the harvest and lasted seven days. During these celebrations, people sought to revive the memory of the golden age of Saturn’s reign, when, in the words of the Roman poet Ovid, “spring stood forever” and “the Earth brought harvests without plowing”, “safely living people tasted the sweet peace.”
The holiday fell on the last half of December - the time when agricultural work came to an end and everyone sought relaxation and fun in connection with the end of the harvest. During the Saturnalia, public affairs were suspended, schoolchildren were excused from classes, and criminals were forbidden to be punished. Slaves received special benefits these days: they were freed from ordinary labor, had the right to wear pilleus (a symbol of liberation), received permission to eat at the common table in the clothes of their masters, and even accepted services from them. The public celebration began with a sacrifice before the temple of Saturn in the forum; then a religious feast was held, in which senators and horsemen, dressed in special costumes, took part. In families, the day began with a sacrifice (a pig was slaughtered) and passed in joy, with friends and relatives exchanging gifts. The streets were crowded with crowds of people; Exclamations of Jo Saturnalia were heard everywhere (this was called clamare Saturnalia). The ritual side of the festival was originally Roman in nature, although in 217 lectisternia and the custom of standing bareheaded during sacrifice were introduced. According to Marquardt, the holiday of slaves, who in these days were, as it were, equal in rights with their masters in remembrance of the universal equality that existed under Saturn, was consecrated by the same prescription of the Sibylline books as the establishment of lectisternia. Festive entertainment continued for several days (seven in the final period of the Republic). Holiday gifts included, among others, cerei (wax candles) and sigillaria (figurines made of terracotta or dough). The first served as a symbol of the fact that the festival of Saturnalia fell on the winter solstice (bruma); the latter were a relic of the ritual of sacrifice to Saturn.
Bacchanalia(lat. Bacchanalia)
In Ancient Rome, mysteries in honor of Dionysus (Bacchus), from the 2nd century. BC e. taking on the character of orgies. Initially only women participated in the Bacchanalia, but then men were also allowed. In 186 BC e. By a special resolution of the Senate, Bacchanalia was banned in Italy under penalty of criminal prosecution. However, they were secretly organized in some areas of Southern Italy until the times of the Empire.
Matronalia
The divine wife of Jupiter, the queen of the sky Juno, just like him, who gives people favorable weather, thunderstorms, rains and harvests, and bestows success and victories, was also revered as the patroness of women, especially married women. Juno was the guardian of marriages and an assistant during childbirth. She was also revered as a great goddess of fertility. The cult of Jupiter was in charge of the priest - the Flamin, and the cult of Juno - the wife of the Flamin. Married women annually celebrated the so-called matronalia on the first of March in honor of Juno. With wreaths in their hands, they marched to the Temple of Juno on the Esquiline Hill and, together with prayers for happiness in family life, sacrificed flowers to the goddess. At the same time, slaves also took part in the celebration.
Quinquatria
The goddess who patronized cities and the peaceful pursuits of their inhabitants was the daughter of Jupiter Minerva. Craftsmen, artists and sculptors, poets and musicians, doctors, teachers and skilled needlewomen enjoyed its special favor. Celebrations in honor of the beautiful and wise goddess were held in the second half of March, called quinquatras and lasted five days. On the first day of the quinquartia, students were freed from classes and brought tuition fees to their teachers. On this day, hostilities, if they took place, were interrupted, and a general bloodless sacrifice of cakes, honey and oil took place. Then gladiatorial games were held, and on the last day, sacrifices were made to Minerva in a special room for shoemakers and the solemn consecration of trumpets took place, which were under the special patronage of the goddess, since the class of trumpeters played a large role in city life, participating in ceremonies, funerals and various rituals. The flutists considered their main holidays to be the minor quinquatria in honor of Minerva, which were celebrated from June 13 and lasted for three days.
Terminalia
Near the Capitoline Hill there was a sanctuary of the god Terminus, the patron saint of boundaries, boundary stones between land plots and the boundaries of the city and state. Sacred ceremonies to establish borders and boundary stones were introduced by King Numa Pompilius. A fire was lit in a hole dug for the boundary stone; A sacrificial animal was placed over it so that its blood, flowing into the pit, would not extinguish the fire. Honey, incense and wine were poured there, fruits were thrown and, finally, a stone decorated with a wreath was placed. On the day of the Terminalia holiday, the owners of adjacent fields gathered at their boundary stones, decorating them with flowers, and sacrificed cake, honey and wine to the god Terminus. Then a cheerful and friendly feast began. The most important incarnation of the god Terminus was the sacred stone located at the Capitoline Temple.
Floralia
Flora, in ancient Roman mythology, the goddess of flowers, youth and spring blossoms. In honor of Floralia, Floralia was celebrated, during which games took place, which sometimes took on an unbridled character. lasted from April 28 to May 3. On these days, the doors of all houses were decorated with flower garlands and wreaths, women in colorful colorful dresses (which was strictly prohibited on ordinary days), wearing fragrant wreaths, indulged in merry dances and jokes. All the people at the festivals in honor of the beautiful and joy-giving goddess had fun and feasted. On one of the florarium days, games and competitions were organized.
Neptunalia
Neptune, in ancient Roman mythology, the god of springs and rivers. Subsequently identified with the ancient Greek Poseidon, Neptune began to be revered as the god of the seas, causing them to be agitated and pacifying them with his trident. In Rome, a temple of Neptune was erected in the Circus of Flaminius; An ancient holiday in honor of Neptune (Neptunalia) was celebrated on July 23.
Mars
The furious and indomitable god of war, Mars was revered as the father of the great and warlike Roman people, whose glory began with the founding of the city of Rome - Romulus (Romulus and his twin brother Remus, according to legend, were the sons of Mars). Mars had two nicknames - Mars Marching into Battle (Gradivus) and Mars the Spearbearer (Quirinus). After the death of Romulus and his deification, the god Quirinus appeared, into whom Romulus turned, thus becoming the double of Mars. Special sacrifices were dedicated to the Trinity of gods - patrons of military valor and guardians of the Roman state - Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, and they were called upon for victory in battles. The third month of the year (March) was named after Mars, and in the first days of the year, horse competitions were held, since horses, a faithful support for a warrior in battle, were dedicated to the god Mars. On the first of March, in honor of the warlike god, there was a procession of his priests - the Salii, who moved with sacred dances and chants, striking their shields with spears, one of which, according to legend, fell straight from the sky under King Numa Pompilius. The words of these hymns, sung by the Saliyas, were incomprehensible to the priests themselves, which, of course, indicated the magical meaning of the entire ritual, which apparently went back to ancient times. On this day, men gave gifts to their wives, and women - to slaves. Therefore, farmers and shepherds made sacrifices to Mars, and the woodpecker and wolf were dedicated to him.
Telluria
Tellura, mother earth, was one of the oldest Italic goddesses. She personified that fertile land on which everything that a person needs for existence grows. She was considered the mistress of earthquakes and the ruler of the living and the dead. According to legend, the first servant of Tellura (she was also called the “Bright Goddess”) was the wife of the shepherd Faustulus (who found and raised the twins Romulus and Remus), whose name was Acca Larentia. She had 12 sons of her own, and all of them unanimously helped their mother during sacrifices in honor of the goddess Tellura. When one of the brothers died, Romulus took his place. Having become the Roman king, Romulus established a priestly college of 12 people, which was called the college of the Arval brothers (from the Latin word “arvum” - arable, field). Once a year, a solemn ritual of sacrifice was performed to the “Bright Goddess” so that she would send down a good harvest to the fields of Roman farmers. The time of this festival, which usually fell in the second half of May, before the harvest, was announced in advance by the head of the Arval brothers. The ritual was observed very strictly, since the slightest violation could displease the goddess and, consequently, threaten the harvest. The entire ceremony lasted three days. On the first and last day, the priests gathered in the city, in the house of the head of the Arval brothers. In ceremonial clothes, they offered a sacrifice to Tellura with wine and incense. Then the ceremony of blessing the loaves, crowned with laurel leaves, and the ears of the past and new harvest took place. Somewhat later, a common meal of the priests was arranged with joint prayers and libations on the altar of Tellura.
At the end of the ceremony, the participants offered roses to each other with wishes of happiness. On the second day, the holiday was transferred to the sacred grove of the “Holy Goddess,” where her temple and a building with a feast hall for sacred meals were located. Early in the morning, the head of the college brought a cleansing sacrifice - two pigs and one heifer. In the afternoon, wearing crowns of ears of grain and covering their heads, they all went to the grove, where they sacrificed a fat sheep, incense and wine. Then a libation was poured out, and the Arval brothers went to the nearest field to get some ears of corn, cut them and passed them on, transferring them from their left hand to their right. This procedure was repeated twice, after which it was done with the bread, which the priests, upon entering the temple, distributed among themselves. Having locked the temple and removed all strangers from there, the Arval brothers began a sacred dance, while singing a hymn, the words of which they themselves did not understand. And since it was difficult to remember them, and a mistake threatened the wrath of the goddess, everyone had special liturgical records, which they strictly followed. Of course, these were ancient spells about sending down the harvest, addressed to the earth.
Cerealia
The goddess of the harvest, the patroness of fertility, Ceres was deeply revered by Roman farmers. In her honor, solemn celebrations were held - cerealias, which began on April 11 or 12 and lasted 8 days. Cerealia were especially zealously observed by the lower classes - the plebeians. They dressed up in white clothes (as opposed to ordinary work clothes), decorated themselves with wreaths, and after ceremonial sacrifices (they offered pigs, fruits, honeycombs), they had fun with horse racing in the circus for eight days. The Roman people hosted festive meals, inviting everyone passing by to appease Ceres, who provided hearty food. Gradually, the cult of the goddess Ceres merged with the cult of the “Holy Goddess” and the Greek Demeter, but the festival of Cerealia with its fun and wide hospitality was preserved.
Liberals
Bacchus is the patron god of vineyards, winemaking and wine, revered under the name Liber. (Liber means “Free” in Latin. Apparently, this name contained a hint of some freedom and licentiousness in the festivities held in honor of Bacchus.) His wife was the goddess Libera, who helped winegrowers and winemakers. The holiday in honor of this married couple was celebrated on March 17 and was called liberalia. In the cities on this day, in addition to solemn sacrifices, theatrical performances were held, and in the countryside it was marked by cheerful processions, jokes, dances and feasts with an abundance of libations for Bacchus Liber, who frees a person from all kinds of worries with his wonderful drink, and his kind and beautiful wife Libere. During the liberals, sacrifices were also made to the goddess Ceres. The sanctuary of Liber and Libera was located in the temple of Ceres. The cult of Bacchus-Liber was very close to the cult of the Greek Dionysus.
Vertumnus and Pomona
Vertumnus was the god of the change of seasons and the transformations that occur with earthly fruits - first they bloom, then ripen and, finally, fall from the branches bent under their weight. Vertumnus sent down to the earth the flowering of spring, the summer harvest and the abundance of autumn fruits. But the young and hardworking goddess Pomona carefully took care of the fruit trees, especially apple trees. The Romans deeply revered this young divine couple. The temple of Vertumnus was erected on the Aventine Hill, and Pomona had its own priest, the Flaminus. When the fruits began to ripen, gardeners made sacrifices to these gods, and on August 13 a festival took place in honor of Vertumnus and his beautiful wife.
Under the patronage of the goddess Faun there were fields and gardens, which she generously endowed with fertility, being the wife of the god Faun and sharing his concerns with him. By the name of the “Good Goddess,” she showed special favor to women, who celebrated two solemn holidays in her honor. One of them took place on the first of May in the temple of the goddess, located on the Aventine Hill, where crowds of Roman women flocked who wanted to honor their high patroness and make her the customary sacrifices. The second celebration took place in the first days of December and was celebrated in the house of one of the highest officials (consul or praetor). The men were forced to leave the house all night. The sacraments of the ceremony were supervised by the priestesses of the goddess Vesta and the mistress of the house where the service was performed. Only women could be present, and they kept the secrets of this ritual so sacredly that to this day no one has been able to find out what exactly happened there.
It was only known that the tent where the image of the goddess stood was decorated with vines, sacred earth was poured at the feet of the statue, and all sacrifices were accompanied by music and the singing of hymns. In the history of this cult, only a single case is known when a young man tried to enter the house where the sacrament was taking place, dressing in a woman’s dress and posing as a musician. The deception was exposed by the maids and the culprit was accused of sacrilege. This insolence was allowed by the young Roman aristocrat Clodius, who bribed one of the servants in the house of Julius Caesar, where the sacrament in honor of the “Good Goddess” took place. Clodius was accused of impiety, and a wave of indignation broke out about this. Then Julius Caesar divorced his wife. He was asked why he did this, because she was not to blame for anything. Caesar responded with a phrase that became a proverb: “I did it because Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion.”
Vulcanalia
The Romans’ veneration of the god Vulcan is also associated with the state cult of fire and hearth. There was no Temple of Vulcan in the city itself, but in the center of Rome, on a hill above the forum, there was a sacred platform, the so-called volcano, where, as if at a state hearth, meetings of the Senate were held. All the temples of Vulcan, like deities, were located outside the city walls. Vulcan, like the Greek god Hephaestus, was a skilled blacksmith and patron of artisans and jewelers. His wife was the beautiful goddess Venus. The festivities held in honor of Vulcan took place on August 23 and were celebrated with sacrifices and noisy games in a large circus. Vulcan was also revered as the god of underground fire, which always threatened with eruptions. It was believed that his divine forge was located in the depths of Mount Etna in Sicily, where giant Cyclopes helped him in his work.
The role of theater in celebrations
Procedure for holding festivities
Each festival consisted of several parts:
1) a solemn procession led by a magistrate - the organizer of the games, called a pomp.
2) directly competitions in the circus, chariot races, horse racing, etc.
3) stage performances in the theater of plays by Greek and Roman authors. The performances usually ended with a feast, a massive meal for several thousand tables.
The origins of Roman theater and drama go back, as in Greece, to rural harvest festivals. Even in distant times, when Rome was a small community of Latium, villages celebrated holidays in connection with the end of the harvest. At these holidays they sang cheerful, rough songs, the so-called fescennins. As in Greece, there were usually two half-choirs performing, who exchanged jokes and ridicule with each other, sometimes of a sarcastic content. Having originated during the clan system, the Fescennines existed in subsequent centuries, and in them, according to the testimony of the writer of the times of Augustus Horace, the social struggle between patricians and plebeians was reflected. Horace says that the Fescennine ridicule did not spare the nobility, who tried to curb them - strict punishment was established for anyone who would reproach another in malicious verses.
There was another form of primitive spectacle - satura. These embryos of drama in Rome were influenced by the Etruscans. The Roman historian Titus Livius (1st century BC) talks about this interestingly. In 364 BC. e. Rome suffered a pestilence. In order to appease the gods, they decided, along with other measures, to resort to the establishment of stage games, “a new thing for a warlike people, since before this spectacle was limited only to horse racing.” Actors were invited from Etruria. These were dancers who performed their dances to the accompaniment of a flute. The Etruscan actors were then imitated by Roman youth, who added comic dialogue, written in awkward verse, and gestures to the dance. This is how saturas gradually arose (according to the literal translation, this word means “mixture”). Saturas were dramatic scenes of an everyday and comic nature, including dialogue, singing, music and dancing, and the musical element played a significant role in them. The influence of Etruscan actors on the formation of the Roman theater is indicated by the Etruscan origin of the word histrion, which in Rome began to be used to call folk entertainers (This name was also preserved in the medieval theater).
Another type of early dramatic performance, also of a comic nature, was the atellans in Rome. The Romans adopted them from the Osci tribe in Campania (probably around 300 BC) when Rome fought many years of war in southern Italy. There was a town in Campania called Atella. Perhaps, after the name of this town, the Romans began to call the comic scenes that came to them from the Oscan tribe, Atellana, which soon became completely acclimatized in Rome. The sons of Roman citizens became interested in these games and began to play them on holidays. Participation in the performance of the Atellans did not impose any dishonor on citizens, whereas later, when the Romans already had literary drama, the acting profession was considered shameful.
Performances were held in Rome during various public holidays. The plays were performed at the festival of the patricians - the Roman Games, celebrated in September, in honor of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva; at the festival of the plebeians - the Plebeian Games, which took place in November; at the Apollo Games - in July. Performances were also given during triumphal and funeral games, during the elections of senior officials and on other occasions. At Roman festivals, stage games often took place together with circus games and gladiatorial battles, and spectators often preferred the latter.
Roman games
The earliest Roman civil holiday was the festival of the Roman Games. For several centuries it was the only civil holiday of the Romans. From the 3rd century. BC e. new ideas are established. Plebeian games become of great importance. At the end of the 3rd - beginning of the 2nd century. BC e. Apollonian games, games in honor of the Great Mother of the Gods - Megalenian games and floralia in honor of the goddess Flora were also established. These games were annual and regular, but besides them, extraordinary games could also be held, depending on a successful war, deliverance from an invasion, a vow, or simply the desire of the magistrate.
The actors in tragedies and comedies were no longer amateurs (as in the Atellans), but professional artists. They were called actors or histrions. Roman actors came from freedmen or slaves, and in comparison with Greek actors they occupied, for the most part, a low social position. This is explained by the fact that almost from its very origins, the Roman theater acted as a purely secular institution and, as already mentioned, was not associated with any cult similar to the cult of Dionysus in Greece. In addition, for a long time, the theater was considered by the ruling classes of Rome only as one of the entertainments, and one that sometimes even caused contempt on the part of the nobles. The acting profession had a stigma of dishonor; an actor could be flogged for a bad performance.
Mime has also been famous in Roman society for a long time. However, it especially spread at the end of the republican period. The actors performed in mimes without masks, and this opened up wide scope for the art of mime acting. Women's roles were played by women. Mime actors acted barefoot or wore only thin soles on their feet, so that they appeared barefoot. Therefore, mime performers were called barefoot.
All kinds of abuse and beatings played a big role in the mimes. An essential part of them were dances accompanied by a flute. Judging by the testimony of contemporaries, the boundaries of decency were violated in mime more often than in other types of comedy. Mimes often included attacks against the authorities, which were met with approval by the audience. The democratic tendencies of mime, along with the participation of women in it, greatly contributed to its establishment on the Roman stage in the 1st century. BC e. Until the middle of the 1st century. BC e. mime remained an improvisation. Only in the second half of the century, from the time of Caesar, did he receive literary treatment, which was given to him by two playwrights - Decimus Label and Publius Sir.
Gladiator fights and competitions I
Gladiator fights receive extraordinary development in Rome. Before that, they had been located in Etruscan cities since the 6th century. BC e. From the Etruscans they entered Rome. For the first time in 264, a fight between three pairs of gladiators was staged in Rome. Over the next century and a half, gladiatorial games were held at the funerals of noble persons, called funeral games and had the character of a private performance. Gradually, the popularity of gladiator fights is growing. In 105 BC. e. gladiatorial fights were declared part of public spectacles and magistrates began to take care of their organization. Along with magistrates, private individuals also had the right to give fights. To give a performance of a gladiatorial fight meant to gain popularity among Roman citizens and to be elected to a public office. And since there were many people who wanted to receive a magistrate’s position, the number of gladiator fights increased. Several dozen, several hundred pairs of gladiators are already entering the arena. Gladiatorial fights are becoming a favorite spectacle not only in the city of Rome, but in all Italian cities. They became so popular that a special type of building was created - an amphitheater, where gladiator fights were held.
Gladiators (lat. gladiator, from gladius - sword), in the Ancient. In Rome, slaves, prisoners of war and others were forced to fight in the circus arena among themselves or with wild animals. Gladiators studied in special schools (in Rome, Capua, where the Spartacus uprising began, in Praeneste and Alexandria). Heavily armed gladiators bore the names of the peoples from which they came - Thracians, Samnites, Gauls. There were also the following categories of gladiators: velites - who fought with darts; retiarii (fishermen) - who fought with a trident and a metal net; bestiaries - those who fought with wild animals; andabats - protruding in a blank helmet with slits for the eyes; dimacheres - without a shield and helmet with two daggers; equites - on horses with a spear, sword and a small round shield; essuaries - who fought on war chariots driven by charioteers; Lakvarii - those who caught with a lasso; Lukhori - with a wooden sword or blunt instrument; petniarii - those who fought with a whip or stick. There were also naval battles. During the imperial period, the performance began with a solemn procession of gladiators with welcoming cries of Ave Caesar, moritori te salutant - “Hello, Caesar, those going to death salute you.” The battle began with the Luhorii and Petniarii placed in pairs against each other. The defeated gladiator raised his index finger up as a sign of asking for mercy. If the audience (or sometimes just the emperor) spared him, they raised their thumbs up or waved handkerchiefs. The thumb pointing down meant death. A gladiator could also earn release from service after successful performances. Such retired gladiators were called rudiarii; they dedicated their military weapons to the temple of Hercules. Rudiarii could continue performing for a fee. The Romans extolled the art of gladiators, highly rewarded the winners, their portraits could be seen on pots, fruits, lamps, rings; gladiators were sung by poets and loved by free Roman women. But these were slaves, destined to entertain in both life and death. Since the beginning of the 5th century, gladiator fights were prohibited.
Gladiatorial combat through the eyes of the Romans
Thanks to the facts we have studied, we can almost completely reconstruct the picture of a gladiatorial fight.
After the appearance of posters about gladiatorial fights or baiting of animals, thousands of residents from different parts of the empire flocked to the city. In the amphitheater one could see all classes and all ages. And gladiators fight in the arena. When it is possible to plunge the sword into the enemy’s body, the winner emits a short cry. The dying man falls on his shield, observing the custom: to give the audience the pleasure of admiring his death throes.
Remember the famous phrase that was used to escort gladiators to fights - “With a shield or on a shield,” and the gladiators themselves began the fight with the words “Ave. Caesar, morituri te salutant” - “Hail, Caesar, those going to death salute you!” Pools of blood spread on the yellow sand of the arena, and the battles continue, and the audience becomes more and more heated.
Having quenched their thirst during the break and received fruits and sweets from the hands of the attendants, the audience is ready to relax a little and look at the magicians and clowns. This is a short rest before a new wave of blood - baiting of wild animals lies ahead.
In front of a roaring crowd, hungry dogs torment gazelles. But the crowd needs a man to fight the beast; and now a bastiary, sentenced to death, comes out against the hungry bear, who is given the opportunity to avoid it or die in a fight with a predator. And then the man is again replaced by animals - bull versus panther. And then again the hunters and animals, and the frantic passions that captivate the crowd.
Exuberant Rome rejoices... solemnly thunders
The wide arena applauds;
And he, pierced in the chest, lies silently,
His knees slide in dust and blood...
And the dull gaze begs for pity in vain:
An arrogant temporary worker and a flatterer, his senator
They crown victory and shame with praise...
What to the nobles and the crowd is the slain gladiator
He is despised and forgotten...a booed actor.
M. Yu. Lermontova
“You will start asking. – writes L.F. Losev, what kind of bloodthirsty, hysterical, bestial aesthetics is this? What kind of voluptuousness is this at the sight of a senseless massacre, at the sight of blood, at the sight of a silent mountain of corpses?... Rome is a country of complete and real absolutism, this is the kingdom of some kind of state mysticism, before which the individual simply does not exist, he is just a cog in this universal machine, which has meaning only to the extent of its adaptation to this world whole; and with all this, you see what exaltation, what enthusiasm, what hysteria, voluptuous sensuality and rapture captures his spirit - at the behest of the same world absolutist government.”
Triumphant holidays
One of the inventions of Rome is triumphs. The term “triumph” came to us from Rome and meant for the Romans the ceremonial entry of a victorious commander (triumphant) with his army into the city of Rome from the Campus Martius to the Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol.
The triumphal procession in Ancient Rome was opened by senators and magistrates, followed by a chariot drawn by four white horses, with the triumphant crowned with a laurel wreath and attributes of Jupiter; the chariot was accompanied by musicians and singers. Then the army marched, carried booty, and also led noble captives. On the Capitol, sacrifices were made to Jupiter, and the spoils were partially divided. Then the feast and games in the circus began. The triumph was organized with the permission of the Senate for the most outstanding services to the state or the greatest victories and was the highest award for a commander (just remember the triumph of Gaius Julius Caesar). Few worthy ones were awarded the honor of triumph; the name of the triumphant was forever recorded in triumphal fasts.
“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language” by V. Dahl defines triumph as “a victorious triumph of glory, a solemn meeting.” That is why today triumph is synonymous with brilliant success, outstanding victory.
To consolidate the triumph, a triumphal arch or triumphal gate was built in honor of the triumphant or in memory of glorious events. The hero returns with victory, and is greeted by a jubilant people. Emperor Titus was awarded a triumph after the destruction of Jerusalem. Huge wealth captured by the soldiers was carried in front of the crowd. Women and children were crushed in the crowd, but this did not bother anyone, since the main thing was to glorify Titus. “It was the apotheosis that here referred not so much to the personality of the emperor, but to the monarchical power itself in general, and even simply to the Roman Empire and its power, and its universal “genius.” The Emperor here is thus largely impersonal; this is a symbol of Roman autocracy with all its legal and military apparatus; this is the absolutization of statehood,” this is the position of A.F. Losev.
Roman holiday calendar
JANUARY:
1 – Feast of Juno, Feast of Aesculapius, Feast of Vediyov
3 – Beginning of the Compitalia dedicated to the Compitalia Laras, the Feast of Peace
4 – Continuation of the Compitalia dedicated to the Compitalia Laras
5 – The last day of the Compitalia, dedicated to the Compital Lars, the memorable day of the consecration of the screen in honor of Vicki Pota
8 – Holiday of Justice
9 – Agonalia dedicated to Janus
11 – Carmantalia dedicated to Carmenta, Yuturnalia dedicated to Juturna
12 – Compitalia dedicated to Laras
13 – Celebration of the awarding of the title “Augustus” to Octavian
15 – Carmentalia dedicated to Carmenta
16 – Feast of Concordia (Concord)
17 – Feast of Felicitas (Happiness)
19 –23 Beginning of Forkanalia
24 – Continuation of Forkanalia, beginning of Sementiv (Paganalia)
25 – Continuation of Forkanalia, continuation of Sementiv (Paganalia)
26 – Continuation of Forkanalia, last day of Sementiv (Paganalia)
27 –29 Continuation of Forkanalia
30 – Continuation of the Forkanalia, the memorable day of the consecration of the Altar of Peace
31 – Continuation of Forkanalia
FEBRUARY:
1 – Continuation of Forkanalia, the beginning of the festival of Juno Sospita
2 – Continuation of the Forkanalia, the festival of Ceres, the end of the festival of Juno Sospita
3–4 Continuation of Forkanalia
5 – Continuation of the Forkanalia, the beginning of the holiday of Concordia (Concord), the memorable day of Augustus receiving the title “Father of the Fatherland”
6 – Continuation of Forkanalia, continuation of the holiday of Concordia (Concord)
7 – Continuation of Forkanalia, continuation of the holiday of Concordia (Concord), the first day of spring
8 –11- Continuation of Forkanalia, continuation of the holiday of Concordia (Concord)
Dionysus - god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture, winemakingA deity of eastern (Thracian and Lydian-Phrygian) origin, which spread to Greece relatively late and established itself there with great difficulty. Although the name Dionysus appears on the Cretan Linear B tablets back in the 14th century. BC, the spread and establishment of the cult of Dionysus in Greece dates back to the 8th-7th centuries. BC. and is associated with the growth of city-states (polises) and the development of polis democracy.
During this period, the cult of Dionysus began to supplant the cults of local gods and heroes. Dionysus, as the deity of the agricultural circle, associated with the elemental forces of the earth, was constantly contrasted with Apollo - as primarily the deity of the tribal aristocracy. The folk basis of the cult of Dionysus was reflected in the myths about the illegal birth of the god, his struggle for the right to become one of the Olympian gods and for the widespread establishment of his cult.
Note: the authors and titles of the paintings pop up when you hover over them.
France. Fine art of the 1st century. BC e. - 17th century F. Girardon. “Apollo and the Nymphs” (decorative group in the grotto of the park at Versailles), Marble. 1662-72.
There are myths about various ancient incarnations of Dionysus, as if preparing for his coming. The archaic hypostases of Dionysus are known: Zagreus, son of Zeus of Crete and Persephone; Iacchus, associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries; Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Demeter (Diod. III 62, 2 - 28). According to the main myth, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and the daughter of the Theban king Cadmus Semele.
At the instigation of the jealous Hera, Semele asked Zeus to appear to her in all his greatness, and he, appearing in a flash of lightning, incinerated the mortal Semele and her tower with fire. Zeus snatched Dionysus, who was born prematurely, from the flames and sewed him into his thigh. In due time, Zeus gave birth to Dionysus, unraveling the sutures in his thigh (Hes. Theog. 940-942; Eur. Bacch. 1-9, 88-98, 286-297), and then gave Dionysus through Hermes to be raised by the Nisean nymphs (Eur. Bacch. 556-569) or the sister of Semele Ino (Apollod. III 4, 3).
The boy born three months later was the god Dionysus, who, having reached maturity, found his mother in the underworld, after which Semele was transferred to Olympus. Semele's envious sisters interpreted her death as a punishment sent by Zeus for giving herself to a mortal. Subsequently, Zeus took revenge on Semele's sisters by sending all kinds of disasters to their sons.
The name Semele is of Phrygian origin, meaning "earth"; Semele was probably a Phrygian-Thracian earth deity. The myth of the birth of Dionysus from Zeus was supposed to ensure the introduction into the Olympian pantheon of a god who initially did not belong to it.
Dionysus found a vine and taught people how to make wine.
Hera instilled madness in him, and he, wandering through Egypt and Syria, came to Phrygia, where the goddess Cybele-Rhea healed him and introduced him to her orgiastic mysteries.
After this, Dionysus went to India through Thrace (Apollod. III 5, 1). From the eastern lands (from India or from Lydia and Phrygia) he returns to Greece, to Thebes. While sailing from the island of Ikaria to the island of Naxos, Dionysus is kidnapped by sea robbers - the Tyrrhenians (Apollod. III 5, 3). The robbers are horrified at the sight of the amazing transformations of Dionysus. They chained Dionysus to sell him into slavery, but the chains themselves fell from Dionysus's hands; entwining the mast and sails of the ship with vines and ivy, Dionysus appeared in the form of a bear and a lion. The pirates themselves, who threw themselves into the sea out of fear, turned into dolphins (Hymn. Nom. VII).
This myth reflected the archaic plant-zoomorphic origin of Dionysus. The plant past of this god is confirmed by his epithets: Evius (“ivy”, “ivy”), “bunch of grapes”, etc. (Eur. Bacch. 105, 534, 566, 608). The zoomorphic past of Dionysus is reflected in his werewolfism and the ideas of Dionysus the bull (618 920-923) and Dionysus the goat. The symbol of Dionysus as the god of the fruitful forces of the earth was the phallus.
On the island of Naxos, Dionysus met his beloved Ariadne, abandoned by Theseus, kidnapped her and married her on the island of Lemnos; from him she gave birth to Oenopion, Foant and others (Apollod. epit. I 9). Wherever Dionysus appears, he establishes his cult; everywhere along his path he teaches people viticulture and winemaking. 
The procession of Dionysus, which was of an ecstatic nature, was attended by bacchantes, satyrs, maenads or bassarides (one of the nicknames of Dionysus - Bassarei) with thyrsus (rods) entwined with ivy. Belted with snakes, they crushed everything in their path, seized by sacred madness. 
With cries of "Bacchus, Evoe" they praised Dionysus - Bromius ("stormy", "noisy"), beat the tympanums, reveling in the blood of torn wild animals, carving honey and milk from the ground with their thyrses, uprooting trees and dragging crowds with them women and men (Eur. Bacch. 135-167, 680 - 770). 
Dionysus is famous as Liaeus (“liberator”), he frees people from worldly worries, removes the shackles of a measured life from them, breaks the shackles with which his enemies are trying to entangle him, and crushes walls (616-626). He sends madness to his enemies and punishes them terribly; This is what he did with his cousin, the Theban king Pentheus, who wanted to prohibit Bacchic rampages. Pentheus was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes under the leadership of his mother Agave, who in a state of ecstasy mistook her son for an animal (Apollod. III 5, 2; Eur. Bacch. 1061 - 1152).
God sent madness to Lycurgus, the son of the king of the Aedons, who opposed the cult of Dionysus, and then Lycurgus was torn to pieces by his own horses (Apollod. III 5, 1)
Dionysus entered the list of the 12 Olympian gods late. In Delphi he began to be revered along with Apollo. On Parnassus, orgies were held every two years in honor of Dionysus, in which the fiads - bacchantes from Attica (Paus. X 4, 3) participated. In Athens, solemn processions were organized in honor of Dionysus and the sacred marriage of the god with the wife of the archon basileus was played out (Aristot. Rep. Athen. III 3). 
An ancient Greek tragedy arose from religious and cult rites dedicated to Dionysus (Greek tragodia, lit. “song of the goat” or “song of the goats,” that is, goat-footed satyrs - companions of Dionysus). In Attica, the Great, or Urban, Dionysias were dedicated to Dionysus, which included solemn processions in honor of the god, competitions of tragic and comic poets, as well as choirs singing dithyrambs (held in March - April); Leneys, which included the performance of new comedies (in January - February); Small, or Rural, Dionysia, which preserved the remnants of agrarian magic (in December - January), when dramas already played in the city were repeated. 
In Hellenistic times, the cult of Dionysus merged with the cult of the Phrygian god Sabazius (Sabasius became the permanent nickname of Dionysus). In Rome, Dionysus was revered under the name Bacchus (hence the bacchantes, bacchanalia) or Bacchus. Identified with Osiris, Serapis, Mithras, Adonis, Amun, Liber. 
Maenads (M a i n a d e z, “mad”), bacchantes, bassarides · companions of Dionysus. Following the thias (crowds) behind Dionysus, the maenads, decorated with vine leaves and ivy, crush everything in their path with thyrses, also entwined with ivy. Half-naked, in the skins of sika deer, with matted hair, often belted with strangled snakes, they in mad delight call on Dionysus Bromius ("Noisy") or Dionysus Ivy, exclaiming "Bacchus, Evoe." 
They tear apart wild animals in the forests and mountains and drink their blood, as if communing with the torn deity. With thyrses, maenads beat milk and honey out of rocks and earth, and human sacrifices are not uncommon. They attract women with them, introducing them to the service of Dionysus. 
The source of myths about maenads is the tragedy of Euripides “The Bacchae”, but already in Homer Andromache, who learned about the death of Hector, is called “a maenad with a strongly beating heart” (Homer “Iliad”, XXII 460 seq.).
Bacchanalia - this is what the Romans called the orgical and mystical festivals in honor of the god Bacchus (Dionysus), which came from the East and spread first across the south of Italy and Etruria, and by the 2nd century. BC e. - throughout Italy and Rome. 
The Bacchanalia was held in secret, attended only by women who gathered in the grove of Similia near the Aventine Hill on March 16th and 17th. Later, men began to come to the ceremony, and celebrations began to be held five times a month. 
The notoriety of these festivals, at which many different crimes and political conspiracies were planned, which was partly spread by the Senate - the so-called Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus (an inscription on a bronze tablet found in Calabria in 1640) - contributed to the prohibition of the Bacchanalia throughout Italy , except for certain special cases that had to be approved directly by the Senate. 
Despite the heavy punishment imposed on violators of this decree, Bacchanalia was not eradicated, at least in the south of Italy, for a very long time. In addition to Dionysus, Bacchus is equated with Liber (as well as Liber Pater). Liber ("free") was the god of fertility, wine and growth, he was married to Liber. The holiday in his honor was called Liberalia, it was celebrated on March 17, but according to some myths, the holiday was also celebrated on March 5. 
These festivities were combined with a wild, frenzied revelry of the lowest animal passions and were often accompanied by violence and murder. In 186, the Senate took the most severe measures against them (Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus has come down to us on a bronze plaque, now kept in Vienna). The consuls carried out searches throughout Italy, which resulted in many executions, exiles and imprisonments (Livy, 29, 8-18). However, it was not possible to completely eradicate these immoral mysteries, and their name remained for a long time to designate noisy drinking bouts, and in this sense it is also used in Russia. 
There are many sources of information, including: http://www.greekroman.ru, http://mythology.sgu.ru, http://myfhology.narod.ru, http://ru.wikipedia.org
