24th Day: For Trietericus, Amphietus Bacchus, Silenus, Satyrus and the Bacchantes

Today I’m posting a quick post because I have to go out. Tonight we honor Trietericus, Amphietus Bacchus, Silenus, Satyrus and the Bacchantes. I’m going to break down each one so that the reader can understand.
Trietericus was a celebration that was done every three years. It was a time to have fun and play games.
Amphietus Bacchus is one of the titles of the god Bacchus (Dionysus). He’s mentioned in the initiation of Orphus when he’s being initiation into the mysteries. Amphietus means bright.
Silenus
(or Silenus) was the old rustic god of the dance of the wine-press, his name being derived from the words seiô, “to move to and fro,” and lênos, “the wine-trough.” He was also the god of drunkenness who rode in the train of Dionysos seated on the back of a donkey.
The old satyr was the foster-father of the god Dionysos. The divine child was delivered into his care after his birth from the thigh of Zeus, and raised by Seilenos and the Nysiades in a cave on the mythical mountain of Nysa.
Seilenos once got separted from his young protegé as they were travelling through the land of Phrygia. But he was found and treated hospitably by King Midas. As a reward for this act of kindness, Dionysos bestowed the king with a golden touch.
Seilenos was the father or grandfather of the tribes of Seilenoi (Silens), Satyroi (Satyrs) and Nymphs. He was depicted as a jovial old man, hairy and balding with a pot-belly and snub-nose, and the ears and tail of an ass.
There were a number of other divinities in Greek myth and cult who were quite similar to Seilenos, and who were probably closely identified with the god. These include:– Hekateros, grandfather of Satyrs and Oreiades; Nysos and Lamos, foster-fathers of Dionysos; Aristaios, the shepherd’s-god, also a foster-father of Dionysos; Oreios, father of the Hamadryades; Pyrrhikhos, a Kourete of the rustic dance; and Marsyas, a Phrygian flute-playing satyr. Seilenos’ sons Maron, Astraios and Leneus were simply a multiplication of the god, as was the more general band of Seilenoi.

The other ones, Satyrus and the Bacchantes, deal with both the followers of Bacchus and the satyrs. During this time it wasn’t a good idea to be out. As the Bacchantes could kill a man when they were under the gods power. I think that’s why wine was considered bad by the early Christians due to it’s association with Bacchus. This is another reason, I think, that wine was diluted with water, to take away a lot of its power.