thiasus
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- noun In Greek antiquity, a band or company assembled in honor of a divinity; especially, a Dionysiac band or procession in which men and women took part in character, with boisterous mirth and music, and bearing attributes of the god; sometimes a political, commercial, social, or benevolent association or guild; specifically, the mythological band of nymphs, maenads, satyrs, etc., forming the personal cortège of Dionysus, and often represented in sculpture and painting.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- noun A group of singers and dancers assembled to celebrate the festival of one of the gods
Examples
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The religious bond of the thiasus or _sodalicium_ took the place of the natural relationship of the family, the gens or the clan, just as the foreign religion replaced the worship of the domestic hearth.
Note
The word 'thiasus' comes from a Greek word meaning 'revel' or 'feast'.
