Friday, February 07, 2025
Orgies
E.R. Dodds on Euripides, Bacchae 34:
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σκευήν ... ὀργίων ἐμῶν: 'the livery of my service'. ὄργια, from same root as ἔργον, are properly 'things done' in a religious sense (cf. ἔρδειν, to sacrifice), the actions of a religious ritual: H. Dem. 473 ff. ἡ δέ ... δεῖξε ... δρησμοσύνην θ᾽ ἱερῶν καὶ ἐπέφραδεν ὄργια πᾶσι. Custom restricted the application of the word mainly to the private rites of the mystery cults (see L.S.9 s.v.), more especially those of Dion. (ὄργια τὰ μυστὴρια, κυρίως δὲ τὰ Διονυσιακά, Etym. Magn. 629). The modern sense of 'orgies' derives from the Hellenistic and Roman conception of the nature of Dionysiac religion: it must not be imported into the Bacchae.
