Bacchanalia. What is it, many represent mainly on the canvases of the great painter Peter Paul Rubens. There is hardly anyone who has never heard this word. And everyone roughly represents its value. But few people think of the origin of this word and the phenomenon designated by it. So firmly it has entered the consciousness of many peoples, that it is considered unnecessary to comment on it, with it everything is clear to everyone. And meanwhile, this is a rather interesting phenomenon of the ancient being of Ancient Rome.
Bacchanalia. What it is?
In modern reality, this word is used quite often, but most often completely out of business. A variety of politicians and simply dissatisfied citizens on everything that they don’t like are used to labeling “bacchanalia”. What it is, they usually don’t know. And this is - neither more nor less - a sacred ritual of serving the ancient god of winemaking Bacchus. This is such a peculiar manifestation of religious feelings, and not some vulgar booze with other indecencies, as many probably think when they hear the name of this ancient holiday. In ancient Rome, this festival came from the east, where it was dedicated to the traditional completion of the grape harvest and its processing into young wine. But in Rome this festival acquired several other features. At first, only women took part in it. They gathered in an olive grove on the outskirts of Rome, exclusively at night. With large doses of wine, they brought themselves to a state of religious frenzy and hysteria. The action was accompanied by unbridled violence, mutilations and killings.
It became even more “fun”, men began to participate in the festivities, and they began to be held much more often, without looking at the calendar. The level of ugliness has become simply transcendental. Among these other gatherings, political conspiracies were woven and criminal unions were created. Everything negative in Rome gradually became associated with the word "bacchanalia". What is it, it became clear even not suffering from special modesty of the aristocracy. The Roman Senate was forced to issue a series of acts aimed at restricting these fun folk customs. The Roman authorities struggled with bacchanalia for a long time. With about the same success as in Russia with drunkenness.
Bacchanalia. Picture of an antique holiday as a popular image in world painting
This theme made a strong impression on many generations of artists. The painters of the following centuries addressed the topic of bacchanalia with enviable constancy. It was both fashionable and demanded by the aristocratic public in a number of countries of medieval Europe. Wealthy people, both merchants and nobles, loved to decorate their homes with scenes of Roman entertainment. Many sighed enviously, looking at how merrily the Romans lived.
And demand at all times creates supply. A recognized classic on this topic was Peter Paul Rubens. The Bacchanalia of the great Flemish master is an adornment of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.