La spirale de l'interprétation : les Bacchanales

Interpreting the Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia affair (186 B.C.), cited from antiquity to modern times as an example of religious repression, is well known thanks to a long account by Livy corroborated by the epigraphic evidence of the senatus-consultum. The study of the legal aspects of the repression has revealed the significance of the episode in the Roman seizure of Italy. An analysis of the distortions in Livy's account leads to a systematic investigation into the mythical, ritual, and social elements concealed or revealed in the "romance". To appreciate the politico-religious nature of the affair, one must note the persistence of anti-Roman protest in Italy during the Punic wars, assess the role of Etruria, southern Italy (Capua, Taranto), and Egypt, and determine to what extent the "political" and "spiritual" interpretations are contradictory or complementary. Connections are suggested here between the Bacchic cult, the cult of Ceres-Demeter at the turn of the century, and the Orphic-Pythagorean current in Italy (the "Numa's books" episode, 181 B.C.). An underground sanctuary at Bolsena (in Etruria), destroyed during the repression, contains a throne decorated with Bacchic motifs. This site casts new light on an officially recognized Dionysiac cult with Orphic and Pythagorean overtones—a cult that presents surprising analogies with the Roman mundus.Pailler Jean-Marie. La spirale de l'interprétation : les Bacchanales. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 37ᵉ année, N. 5-6, 1982. pp. 929-952