Thiasus

In Greek mythology, the Thiasus (Greek thiasos), was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revelers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival; the grandest such vision was his "triumphant return from India, represented in many Roman bas-reliefs and sarcophagus panels and celebrated in Nonnus' Dionysiaca.

The most significant members of the Thiasus were the Maenads, which little by little replaced Nymphs. Also included in the retinue were various half-animals, including the Sileni, Pans, and Centaurs.

Heracles followed the Thiasus for a short while following his loss of a drinking contest to Dionysus.

More generally, thiasoi were any of the numerous worship cults of Ancient Greece whose existences were protected by law.

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