Dispelling Some Myths: Orgies…not what you might think

Orgies…your first thought is so wrong. How many readers have savoured the knowledge that the ancient Romans, for example, delighted in a good orgy? A wild time of drink, sex and debauchery. It is certainly an image championed in some movies (an especial favourite of the adult film industry). There is only one problem - this is such a narrow-minded and modern notion out of step with its origins.

In ancient Greek religion, ὄργιον, or an orgion, (pl: ὄργια, orgia, “secret rites”) was an ecstatic form of worship characteristic of the Eleusinian Mysteries initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone, the Dionysian Mysteries, and the cult of Cybele. The “mystery” (Greek: μυστήρια) element refers to religious movements or cults in the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved for initiates (mystai) granted knowledge of its secrets – its mysteries. The particulars of the initiation and the ritual practices could not be revealed to outsiders. One famous example was the orgion integral to the cult celebration of Dionysus, the god of wine [1]. The Greeks also called him Bacchus, a name the ancient Romans adopted. Their celebrations known as Bacchanalia featured “unrestrained” masked dances by torchlight and included animal sacrifices often taking place five times a month. The rites spread to Rome from the Greek colonies in Southern Italy where they had begun as secret rituals only attended by women. Admission to Bacchanalia was extended to men some time later.

The Roman historian Titus Livius Patavinus (59 BC - AD 17) - known as Livy in English - writes of the rapid spread of the cult, which he claimed indulged in all kinds of crimes and political conspiracies at its nocturnal meetings. In 186 BC, the Roman Senate prohibited Bacchanalia throughout all Italy except in certain specially approved cases. Although threatened with severe punishments for those found in violation of the Senate’s decree, Bacchanalia survived in Southern Italy long past the attempted repression.

Orgia are popularly thought to have involved sex but, while sexuality and fertility were cultic concerns, the primary goal of orgia was to achieve an ecstatic union with the divine. Indeed, those who partook of Dionysian Mysteries were believed to become possessed and empowered by the god himself. However, over time the connection with sex has given rise to the modern association with parties of consenting adults engaging in sexual activity. So, now you know orgies were originally religious worship...not necessarily a wild sex party. Bon appétit!

Endnote:

1. In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus is the god of winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus (Ancient Greek: Βάκχος Bacchos) by the Greeks (a name later adopted by the Romans) for a frenzy he was said to induce called baccheia. As Dionysus Eleutherius (“the liberator”), his wine, music, and ecstatic dance were said to free his followers from self-conscious fear and care.