Bacchus

[L., fr. Gr. Ba`kchos.]
(Myth.) The god of wine, son of Jupiter and Semele.

The Roman god of wine and revelry, Bacchus, seems to have been formed from the hellenization of the native Italian god Liber, patron of viticulture, to become a Roman version of Dionysos. Like Dionysos (see Greeks), Bacchus is associated predominantly with female followers (in Greek, these were known as maenads) and is also traditionally accompanied by goat-man satyrs (see chimera) who are in a state of almost perpetual sexual arousal. The secret rites of Bacchus, the Bacchanalia, were introduced to Rome in the third century bc, and were officially banned from Italy in a famous decree of 186 bc, apparently because of fears that the meetings associated with them were being used for political conspiracies; the authority of the leader of a Bacchic cell over those who belonged to it could be seen as threatening the authority of the family and of the patron-client system which linked members of society through vertical ties.

In art, Bacchus is represented as a curly-haired child drinking wine; as a young man, naked apart from a crown of vine leaves and grapes; or heavily drunk, sometimes being put to bed by nymphs and satyrs.

— Helen King

Bacchus, alternative name (probably Lydian in origin) for the Greek god Dionysus, and his usual name in Latin.

[BAK-uhs] 1. A white-wine grape that is a very successful cross of müller-thurgau and a sylvaner-riesling hybrid. Bacchus generally produces wines with good body, character and aroma but low acidity. The best ones show muscatlike attributes. Most Bacchus wines are blended with Müller-Thurgau and go into lower-quality liebfraumilch. 2. The Roman god of wine in classical mythology, Bacchus is often confused with dionysus, the Greek god of wine before the age of Rome.

The Greek and Roman god of wine and revelry. He is also known by the Greek name Dionysus.

n.

A convenient deity invented by the ancients as an excuse for getting drunk.

    Is public worship, then, a sin,
        That for devotions paid to Bacchus
    The lictors dare to run us in,
        And resolutely thump and whack us?
                                                                Jorace

Bacchus may refer to:

• Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and intoxication, known as Bacchus to Romans
• See Saints Sergius and Bacchus for Saint Bacchus, Christian martyr, companion to Saint Sergius
• 2063 Bacchus, asteroid
• Bacchus (grape), white wine grape variety grown in Germany and England
• Bacchus (comics), comics character created by Eddie Campbell
• Bacchus-F, energy drink from South Korea
• Krewe of Bacchus, an organization that parades during the New Orleans Mardi Gras
• "In Praise of Bacchus", song from the album October Rust by the Type O Negative
• Bacchus, Alexandria, a neighborhood in Alexandria, Egypt
• Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, a town in Victoria, Australia
• Bacchus or Eko.Bacchus, also known as Eko.Lsa, a French rapper

In art:

• Bacchus (Leonardo), painting by Leonardo da Vinci of John the Baptist
• Bacchus (Michelangelo), marble sculpture by Michelangelo depicting Bacchus in an inebriated state
• Bacchus (Caravaggio), a painting by Caravaggio held in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence
• Bacchus and Ariadne, an oil painting by Titian
• Bacchus and Ariadne (ballet), a ballet by Albert Roussel
• Young Sick Bacchus, an early self-portrait by Caravaggio in the Galleria Borghese in Rome
• Bacchus (opera)

See also

• Backus (disambiguation)
• Backhaus (disambiguation)

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