Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In Greek antiquity, a band or company assembled in honor of a divinity; especially, a Dionysiac band or procession in which men and women took part in character, with boisterous mirth and music, and bearing attributes of the god; sometimes a political, commercial, social, or benevolent association or gild (ἔρανος); specifically, the mythological band of nymphs, mænads, satyrs, etc., forming the personal cortège of Dionysus, and often represented in sculpture and painting. See Bacchus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun in Ancient Greece A group of singers and dancers assembled to celebrate the festival of one of the gods

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The religious bond of the thiasus or _sodalicium_ took the place of the natural relationship of the family, the gens or the clan, just as the foreign religion replaced the worship of the domestic hearth.

    The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism Franz Cumont

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  • Group of worshippers gathered to dance in praise of gods. (from Phrontistery)

    May 24, 2008