In Greek and Roman mythology, this staff was carried by the female attendants of the Dionysia or Bacchanalia, known as Maenads (later also Dionysiads) or Bacchantes, and more rarely also by the satyrs (half-human, half-goat hybrid creatures). Anyone who had overindulged in wine could lean on such a staff. It consisted of a stalk of giant fennel, was crowned with a pine cone and entwined with ivy and vines. The staff was also a symbol of fertility. Together with the kantharos (drinking vessel for wine), the thyrsos staff was an attribute of the Greek god of wine Dionysus or his Roman counterpart Bacchus (hence the Bacchus staff), with which these two were often depicted.
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Sigi Hiss
freier Autor und Weinberater (Fine, Vinum u.a.), Bad Krozingen