Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans.
The Romans usually treated their traditional narratives as histor...
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Bacchus was not only the god of wine but he was also the Roman god of good-cheer, hilarity, mirth and revels. The festival called Bacchanalia was held in his honor. The terrible reputation of these festivals, notorious for their debauchery and where all kinds of crimes and political conspiracies were supposed to be planned, led to a ban on these festivals. In 186 B.C. the Roman Senate issued a decree, the so called 'Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus' by which the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout the whole of Italy, except in certain special cases, in which the senate reserved the right of allowing them.
Facts about Bacchus
Name: Bacchus
Gender Male: Bacchus was a Roman God
Jurisdiction: Bacchus was described as being the Roman God of wine
Mythology: Mythical Family Tree or Relatives: Bacchus was believed to be the God of Wine and drama. Bacchus was the son of Jupiter and Semele
Depiction / Description / Symbol: a bunch of grapes and a wine cup
Name of equivalent Greek God : Dionysus
March 15 and 16 was the notorious Bacchanalia, in honour of Bacchus the god of wine
Bacchanalia were held in secret and initially attended by women only, in the grove of Simila, near the Aventine Hill in Rome. Admission to the rites were subsequently extended to men and celebrations took place five times a month. The term bacchanalia has since been extended to refer to any drunken revelry.
Sacrifices to Bacchus - During sacrifices to the Roman gods the sex of the victim had to correspond to the sex of the god to whom it was offered. White animals were given to the gods of the upper world whereas black victims to the gods of the underworld
Myths of Bacchus
Some gods could turn into other things. This was called shape shifting. Bacchus had the power of shape shifting. He could be a fierce lion one minute, and a handsome young man the next.
One day, when he was in the shape of a rich man, wearing lots of jewels, he was spotted by some pirates. They kidnapped him. They planned to hold him for ransom. They were very rough with him and tied him to the mast of their ship. They sailed away, all pleased with themselves.
Bacchus waited until the ship had reached deep water. When he was sure he was far enough for shore that it would be very difficult for the men to swim safely back to land, Bacchus caused thick vines to rear up from the ocean floor. The vines tangled and strangled the men. Bacchus shape shifted into a lion. He roared and clawed. The terrified pirates, those who were not caught up in vines or ripped to shreds, jumped overboard to escape.
The vines fell away. Bacchus shape shifted into a handsome young man. With no one at the wheel, the ship magically sailed towards the distance island of Naxos. When Bacchus arrived at the island, the first thing he spotted was the lovely Ariadne, fast asleep on the sea wall. Bacchus fell in love. He waited patiently until Ariadne awoke, and then asked her to marry him.
Ariadne was a bit startled, but she took a long look at the beautiful young man in front of her. He was obviously wealthy, just look at his jewels! He had such a nice smile. He was undeniably handsome. Besides all that, Ariadne was very tired of the island of Naxos. She consented to be his wife.
Believe it or not, Ariadne and Bacchus lived happily ever after!
Roman gods
