In Ancient Greece a thyrsus (/ˈθɜːrsəs/) or thyrsos (/ˈθɜːrsɒs/; Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel (Ferula communis) covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, artichoke, fennel, or by a bunch of vine-leaves and grapes or ivy-leaves and berries, carried during Hellenic festivals and religious ceremonies.[1][2] The thyrsus is typically associated with the Greek god Dionysus, and represents a symbol of prosperity, fertility, and hedonism similarly to Dionysus.[3]
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), THYRSUS". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ Olszewski, Edward (2019). "Dionysus's Enigmatic Thyrsus". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 163 (2): 153–173. ISSN 2326-9243. Dionysus's Enigmatic Thyrsus
- ^ Moulton, Carroll (1998). Ancient Greece and Rome: An Encyclopedia for Students. Vol. 2. New York, NY: Gale. pp. 7–9. ISBN 9780684805030.