OPHIOLATREIA

OPHIOLATREIA Collection. Inspired by ancient Greek mysteries. Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, was very fond of these orgies, in which the serpent was introduced. Plutarch mentions that rites of this sort were practised by the Edonian women near Mount Hæmus in Thrace, and carried on to a degree of madness. Olympias copied them closely in all their frantic manœuvres. She used to be followed with many attendants, who had each a thyrsus with serpents twined round  it. They had also snakes in their hair, and in the chaplets which they wore, so that  they made a most fearful appearance. Their cries also were very shocking, and the  whole was attended with a continual repetition of the words, Evoe, Saboe, Hues  Attes, Attes Hues, which were titles of the god Dionusus. He was peculiarly named  Hues, and his priests were the Hyades and Hyautes. SΦINX ®