A feast or an orgy in honor of Bacchus.
Hence: A drunken feast; drunken revels; an orgy.
(Latin) three-day wild festival held originally only by women in honor of the god Bacchus; eventually men were also allowed at the festival; the Bacchanalia was banned, except when explicitly allowed, by the Senate in 186 BCE by means of the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus; see Bacchae. Teacher's Companion: Dionysus
an orgiastic festival in ancient Greece in honor of Dionysus (= Bacchus)
a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity
Detail or carving depicting scenes of the ancient Roman festival in honor of Bacchus, the God of Wine. Usually showing riotous, boisterous, or drunken revelry.
also Dionysia) Any of several festivals of Dionysus, the wine god. Suppressed by the Roman senate in 186 BC. Bacchic cults included oaths of loyalty, organized funding, property and membership. In Greece, only women were admitted; in Rome, both were admitted and the festivities were held more often.
The Bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Roman god Bacchus. Introduced into Rome from lower Italy by way of Etruria (c. 200 BC), the bacchanalia were originally held in secret and attended by women only. The festivals occurred on three days of the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill, on March 16 and March 17.