InGreek mythology[1] andreligion, thethiasus[a] was the ecstaticretinue ofDionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival in the form of a procession. The grandest such version was his triumphant return from "India", which influenced symbolic conceptions of theRoman triumph and was narrated in rapturous detail inNonnus'sDionysiaca. In this procession, Dionysus rides achariot, often drawn bybig cats such astigers,leopards, orlions, or alternativelyelephants orcentaurs.[3][4]
Thethiasos of the sea godPoseidon is depicted as a triumphal wedding procession withAmphitrite, attended by figures such as seanymphs andhippocamps. Inhistorical Greek society,thiasoi (pl.:Greek:θίασοι) werereligious organizations whose existence was protected bylaw.[5]
The most significant members of thethiasus were the human female devotees, themaenads, who gradually replaced immortalnymphs. InGreek vase-paintings orbas-reliefs, lone female figures can be recognized as belonging to thethiasus by their brandishing thethyrsos, the distinctive staff or rod of the devotee.
Other regulars of the retinue were various nature spirits, including thesileni (or human dancers costumed as such),phalluses much in evidence,satyrs, andPan. Theithyphallic sileni are often shown dancing on vase paintings.[6] The tutor of Dionysus is represented by a single aged Silenus. The retinue is sometimes shown being brought before a seated recipient: the tragic human welcomer of thegift of wine,Ikarios orSemachos, and his daughter,Erigone.[7] In the triumphal form of procession,Ariadne sometimes rides with Dionysus as his consort.Heracles followed the thiasus for a short while following his loss of a drinking contest to Dionysus.
On the 6th-century BCFrançois Vase, Dionysus is accompanied in procession by the threeHorae.[8] Other notable depictions in art include the silver "Great Dish" from theMildenhall Treasure, theLycurgus Cup, and in theRenaissanceTitian'sBacchus and Ariadne. The Dionysian retinue was a popular subject forRoman art, especiallybas-reliefs andsarcophagus panels.
A marinethiasos (or seathiasos) is a term for a group like the Dionysian thiasos, except with the chief god replaced byPoseidon or some othersea deity.[9][10] Lattimore while insisting that the chief god must be Poseidon in a strict sense, includes examples where Poseidon is completely absent in the composition, which most frequently figureTritons andNereids as marine retinues.[9]
An original work ofScopas on this theme was taken to Rome and described byPliny, but is now lost.[11][10] Still, the theme is well represented in surviving works of Roman art, from tiny decorative reliefs and largesarcophagus panels to extensive mosaics.
Even in the Skopas example, the main theme was the deliverance of the slainAchilles toElysium, attended by his motherThetis (though Poseidon is present as well),[10] and examples of Thetis's retinue have been described as marinethiasos.[12]
The marinethiasos could otherwise be the retinue forOceanus,[13] or to Venus Marina.[14]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The term 'marine thiasos' might be defined.. most correctly [as] a marine group.. attending the marine god, Poseidon, however.. may not always be depicted.
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help), also quoted by Hutchinson, Valérie J. (1986),Bacchus in Roman Britain: the evidence for his cult, p. 286.