Agrionies
The Agrionies (
Άγριώνια
) of the ancient Greece is dionysaques festivities which proceeded in several areas of Greece. Nevertheless the original hearth would be the Béotie and in particular Orchomène. The legend made some go up the origin with the crime of the Minyades, the three girls of the king Minyas. Those, having refused to join the procession of following of Dionysos, were struck of madness by the god and killed then démenbrèrent the son of the one among elles.
At the time of Agrionies d' Orchomène, the men took mourning and one called them the ashy (
ψολόεις
/ psoloeis / covered with soot ). The priest of Dionysos provided with a sword continued the women, named the malfaisantes (
όλοαι
/ oloai ), and had the right to kill (symbolically) that which it could capture. Thereafter, the women made pretense seek Dionysos and said that it had taken refuge at the Muses then feasted together while launching out devinettes.
At the time of Agrionies of Chéronée, it is the priest of Dionysos which escaped and which was continued by the women. It is known that similar agrionies or festivals were held in several areas of Greece: Thèbes, Argos, Lesbos, Tap-holes, Crete… In all the cases they seem to be unrolled of night.
Agrionies evoked the cruel and wild character of the god Dionysos. It then was qualified agrionios ( άγριώνιος /the savage) or of omophagos ( ώμοφάγος /the carnivore). In the myths which tell its life, Dionysos is shown to us on several occasions as particularly bestial with those which have it insult or pushed back its worship. Human sacrifices could have been carried out in its honor in the oldest times. Within the framework of Agrionies, the sacrifice also seems to be substituted by the violent pulling up of ivy. At all events it is the transgression in the world ordered which was commemorated at the time of Agrionies, Dionysos and its cruelty symbolize stamping with the laws and morals civilized, the disorganization of the company. But the disorder it scandal induced by Dionysos is also salutary, it allows a regeneration. Such is one of the directions of Agrionies. One can also see there a festival with inversion of the roles sexual, at least in his unfolding with Orchomène, the women dominate and the murder symbolic system restores it good order of the things .