Paculla Annia
Encyclopedia
Paculla Annia was a priestess from the southern Italian region of Campania
. According to Livy
, she largely changed the rules of Bacchanalia
s so that regarding nothing as impious or forbidden became the very sum of Bacchus
' cult
. This article relates the story as told by Livius.
, Paculla is said to have allowed men to participate for the first time, although it is now believed that men had participated before that. The first men to be initiated were her sons, Minius and Herennius Cerrinius. She also ordered the festivities to take place by night instead of by day, and decided that instead of taking place over three days in a year there would be five days of initiation in each month. Participants of the ceremonies were to be of all sorts: men and women, noble and common people, free and slaves—all in a celebration of wine
and sex
. Finally, as a rule, it was decided that no-one older than twenty should be initiated.
In the rites, men were said to have shrieked out prophecies
in an altered state of consciousness
with frenzied bodily convulsions. Women, dressed as Bacchantes, with hair dishevelled, would run down to the Tiber
with burning torch
es, plunge them into the water, and take them out again. Their flames would not diminish as they were made of sulphur mixed with lime
.
The rites gradually turned into sexual orgies
, particularly among the men, and men who refused to take part were sacrificed. It is said these men were fastened to a machine and taken to hidden caves, where it was claimed they were kidnapped by the gods.
The festivities were reported to Postumius
who persuaded the Roman Senate
to authorize a full investigation. In 186 BC
, the Senate passed a strict law (the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus) prohibiting the Bacchanalia except under specific circumstances which required the approval of the Senate. Violators were to be executed.
as described by prosecutors in the Middle Ages
:
Elements of the witch stereotype not yet present were the Christian
Devil
(as this religion had not yet begun), shapeshifting
, and levitation. The last two attributes were associated with the Roman mythological creature known as the strix
; this creature would later be associated with witchcraft in Italy and Eastern Europe. The fusion of these elements into the concept of a large-scale social conspiracy developed only later. Nevertheless, the mysteries
led by women were already being cast as a fast-spreading cult and a serious threat to society
at large.
Campania
Campania is a region in southern Italy. The region has a population of around 5.8 million people, making it the second-most-populous region of Italy; its total area of 13,590 km² makes it the most densely populated region in the country...
. According to Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, she largely changed the rules of Bacchanalia
Bacchanalia
The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
s so that regarding nothing as impious or forbidden became the very sum of Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
' cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
. This article relates the story as told by Livius.
Rites
In 188 BC188 BC
Year 188 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Messalla and Salinator...
, Paculla is said to have allowed men to participate for the first time, although it is now believed that men had participated before that. The first men to be initiated were her sons, Minius and Herennius Cerrinius. She also ordered the festivities to take place by night instead of by day, and decided that instead of taking place over three days in a year there would be five days of initiation in each month. Participants of the ceremonies were to be of all sorts: men and women, noble and common people, free and slaves—all in a celebration of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
and sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
. Finally, as a rule, it was decided that no-one older than twenty should be initiated.
In the rites, men were said to have shrieked out prophecies
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
in an altered state of consciousness
Altered state of consciousness
An altered state of consciousness , also named altered state of mind, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking beta wave state. The expression was used as early as 1966 by Arnold M. Ludwig and brought into common usage from 1969 by Charles Tart: it describes induced...
with frenzied bodily convulsions. Women, dressed as Bacchantes, with hair dishevelled, would run down to the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
with burning torch
Torch
A torch is a fire source, usually a rod-shaped piece of wood with a rag soaked in pitch and/or some other flammable material wrapped around one end. Torches were often supported in sconces by brackets high up on walls, to throw light over corridors in stone structures such as castles or crypts...
es, plunge them into the water, and take them out again. Their flames would not diminish as they were made of sulphur mixed with lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
.
The rites gradually turned into sexual orgies
Orgy
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party where guests engage in promiscuous or multifarious sexual activity or group sex. An orgy is similar to debauchery, which refers to excessive indulgence in sensual pleasures....
, particularly among the men, and men who refused to take part were sacrificed. It is said these men were fastened to a machine and taken to hidden caves, where it was claimed they were kidnapped by the gods.
The festivities were reported to Postumius
Postumius
Postumius can mean:*Three consuls called Lucius Postumius Albinus:**Lucius Postumius Albinus , ambushed by the Celtic Boii in 216 BC**Lucius Postumius Albinus **Lucius Postumius Albinus...
who persuaded the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
to authorize a full investigation. In 186 BC
186 BC
Year 186 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Philippus...
, the Senate passed a strict law (the Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus) prohibiting the Bacchanalia except under specific circumstances which required the approval of the Senate. Violators were to be executed.
Witch-hunt
The charges of evil and subversive practices that were levelled against these devotees in the 2nd century BC reappear in remarkably similar form as major elements of European witchcraftEuropean witchcraft
European Witchcraft is witchcraft and magic that is practised primarily in the locality of Europe.-Antiquity:Instances of persecution of witchcraft are documented from Classical Antiquity, paralleling evidence from the Ancient Near East and the Old Testament.In Ancient Greece, for example, Theoris,...
as described by prosecutors in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
:
- secret nocturnal meetings;
- women leaders;
- children commonly initiated into the cult;
- ecstatic festivities with music, dancing, and cries followed by orgies;
- same-gender sexual practices; and
- allegations of ritual murder and other crimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s.
Elements of the witch stereotype not yet present were the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
(as this religion had not yet begun), shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
, and levitation. The last two attributes were associated with the Roman mythological creature known as the strix
Strix (mythology)
Strix was the Ancient Roman and Greek word for owl. In folklore it was considered a bird of ill omen that fed on human flesh and blood, a product of metamorphosis...
; this creature would later be associated with witchcraft in Italy and Eastern Europe. The fusion of these elements into the concept of a large-scale social conspiracy developed only later. Nevertheless, the mysteries
Mystery religion
Mystery religions, sacred Mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious cults of the Greco-Roman world, participation in which was reserved to initiates....
led by women were already being cast as a fast-spreading cult and a serious threat to society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
at large.