Thiăsus
(
θίασος). The Greek designation of a society which had
selected some god for its patron, and held sacrifices, festal processions, and banquets at
stated times in his honour. Frequently the members of such societies, which took their name
either from their divine patron or else from the days of festal celebration, pursued other
common ends, sometimes of business, sometimes of social life. The name
thiasus was especially applied to the festivals in honour of Dionysus, and, in the
representations of poetry and art, to the mythical retinue of the god, which consisted of
Sileni, Satyrs, Nymphs, and Maenads.