Bacchic cult Ancient Rome and wine

wine s use in christian sacrament of eucharist shares similarities pagan rites dedicated bacchus.

the bacchanalia private roman mystery cults of bacchus, greco-roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication , ecstasy. based on greek dionysia , dionysian mysteries, , arrived in rome c. 200 bc greek colonies in southern italy, , etruria, rome s northern neighbour. occasional, women-only affairs, became increasingly popular , frequent, , opened priests , initiates of both genders , classes; may have briefly supplanted existing, public cult liber. cult initiates employed music, dance , copious amounts of wine achieve ecstatic religious possession. roman senate perceived cult threat own authority , roman morality, , suppressed extreme ferocity in 186. of 7 thousand initiates , leaders, put death. thereafter bacchanalia continued in diminished form, under supervision of rome s religious authorities, , absorbed liber s cult. despite ban, illicit bacchanals persisted covertly many years, particularly in southern italy, place of origin.

as rome assimilated more cultures, encountered peoples 2 religions viewed wine in positive terms—judaism , christianity. grapes , wine make frequent literal , allegorical appearances in both hebrew , christian bibles. in torah, grapevines among first crops planted after great flood, , in exploring canaan following exodus egypt, 1 of positive reports land grapevines abundant. jews under roman rule accepted wine part of daily life, regarded negatively excesses associated roman impurities.

many of jewish views on wine adopted new christian sect emerged in 1st century ad. 1 of first miracles performed sect s founder, jesus, have turned water wine. in addition, sacrament of eucharist prominently involved wine. romans drew parallels between bacchus , christ. both figures possessed narratives featuring symbolism of life after death: bacchus in yearly harvest , dormancy of grape; , christ in death , resurrection story. eucharist s act of drinking wine stand-in consuming christ, either metaphysically or metaphorically, echoes rites performed in festivals dedicated bacchus.

the influence , importance of wine in christianity undeniable, , church take mantle ancient rome dominant influence in world of wine centuries leading renaissance.