Orgies

The orgies were Fête S religious celebrated in the Antiquité. Bound to the dionysiaques mysteries, they were held in the honor of Dionysos - Bacchus, god of the Vin, intoxication and the overflows, in particular sexual. Inspired by the old Greek festivals Dionysiaque S , the ceremonies of the orgies were introduced in Italy where, mingling with other habits, they were used soon as pretext with the orgies and the most extravagant disorders.

Unfolding

In fact orgiaques festivals night had often bad reputation, because of public intoxication and of the sexual licenses which they caused. At the beginning, these festivals were reserved to the women and took place three times per annum under the control of sizeable matrons. They were celebrated in all the Grande Greece, in Egypt and mainly with Rome.

Rome

However, the Romans were wary of this worship orgiastic sowing the disorder (Rome always lives in the worships with mysteries, requiring the secrecy on behalf of the mystes, a risk for the State). The men pretended there of the crowned furies, the women disguised in bacchantes ran to the the Tiber with torches. The Secte of the initiates was soon so numerous that it trained almost people ( jam prope populum known as Tite-Live). It counted among its members of the men and the women of high ranking. One decided not to more admit with the ceremonies but young old people of less than twenty years, instruments more flexible at the time of the initiatory orgies.

Business of the orgies

A named courtesan Hispala Fecenia revealed the secrecy of these practices to a young boy whom she loved and whom his own mother wanted to initiate with the mysteries of Bacchus. This one informs the consul Posthumius who made a secret investigation. The senate was moved and it was feared that the sect did not hide a plot against the République. The senate charged the consuls extraordinarily informing against the night Orgies and sacrifices, promising rewards with the Délateur S and with prohibiting the gatherings of the initiates. The “Scandale of the Orgies” (in 186 av. J. - C.) led to a repression of the worship where 7000 people approximately were condemned to death. A prophetess of Campanie had organized with her followers a form of generalized Escroquerie having involved assassinations for extortion. The ministers of this worship were questioned; a great number of followers were torture victims, imprisoned or banished. One estimates at 7.000 the number of these entreated. A Senatus consult (decided inter alia by Matthaeus Aegyptius) prohibited this worship lasting nearly one century and half. It was again authorized by César.

The Carnaval is a heritage of the orgies, Saturnales and Lupercales of Old.

See too

External bond

The business of the orgies of -186 exposed by Tite-Live

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