Dionysus - God of Winemaking, Fertility, Religious ecstasy - Maenads - Female Followers, Cult Members or Nurses of Dionysus - Ceramic plate

Item Specifics

Condition: New, Handmade in Greece
Diameter: 20 cm - 7,9 inches
Weight: 400 g
Material: clay, paint, ceramic, terracotta

DIONYSOS (Dionysus) was the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, pleasure, festivity, madness and wild frenzy. He was depicted as either an older, bearded god or an effeminate, long-haired youth. His attributes included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), a drinking cup and a crown of ivy. He was usually accompanied by a troop of Satyrs and Mainades (wild female devotees).

The cults of Dionysus also included his "maenads." What is a maenad? Maenads were the female followers, cult members, or nurses of Dionysus. The word maenads literally means "raving ones" because the maenads were known for dancing erotically and ravenously in a wine-induced intoxication. The purpose of these rituals for the maenads was to have a religious experience, obtain the state of a trance, and get closer to divinity.