Editing Dionysus (section)

===Bacchic Mysteries===
{{main|Dionysian Mysteries|Orphism (religion)}}
[[File:Bacchic_procession,_Colosseum.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Marble relief of a Maenad and two satyrs in a Bacchic procession. AD 100, [[British Museum]], [[London]].]]
The central religious cult of Dionysus is known as the Bacchic or [[Dionysian Mysteries]]. The exact origin of this religion is unknown, though [[Orpheus]] was said to have invented the mysteries of Dionysus.<ref name="Apollodorus1.3.2">Pseudo-[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+1.3.2 ''Library and Epitome'', 1.3.2]. "Orpheus also invented the mysteries of Dionysus, and having been torn in pieces by the Maenads he is buried in Pieria."</ref> Evidence suggests that many sources and rituals typically considered to be part of the similar [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic Mysteries]] actually belong to Dionysian mysteries.<ref name=iconography/> Some scholars have suggested that, additionally, there is no difference between the Dionysian mysteries and the mysteries of [[Persephone]], but that these were all facets of the same mystery religion, and that Dionysus and Persephone both had important roles in it.<ref name=iconography/><ref>Dickie, M.W. 1995. The Dionysiac Mysteries. In Pella, ZPE 109, 81–86.</ref> Previously considered to have been a primarily rural and fringe part of Greek religion, the major urban center of [[Athens]] played a major role in the development and spread of the Bacchic mysteries.<ref name=iconography/>

The Bacchic mysteries served an important role in creating ritual traditions for transitions in people's lives; originally primarily for men and male sexuality, but later also created space for ritualizing women's changing roles and celebrating changes of status in a woman's life. This was often symbolized by a meeting with the gods who rule over death and change, such as [[Hades]] and Persephone, but also with Dionysus' mother Semele, who probably served a role related to initiation into the mysteries.<ref name=iconography/>

The religion of Dionysus often included rituals involving the sacrifice of goats or bulls, and at least some participants and dancers wore wooden masks associated with the god. In some instances, records show the god participating in the ritual via a masked and clothed pillar, pole, or tree, while his worshipers eat bread and drink wine. The significance of masks and goats to the worship of Dionysus seems to date back to the earliest days of his worship, and these symbols have been found together at a [[Minoan]] tomb near [[Phaistos]] in Crete.<ref name=Kerenyi/>