thyrsus

thyrsus
/therr"seuhs/, n., pl. thyrsi /-suy/.
1. Bot. a thyrse.
2. Gk. Antiq. a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes twined with ivy and vine branches, borne by Dionysus and his votaries.
[1585-95; < L < Gk thýrsos Bacchic staff, stem of plant]

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      in Greek religion, staff carried by Dionysus, the wine god, and his votaries (Bacchae, Maenads). In early Greek art the Bacchae were usually depicted as holding branches of vine or ivy, but after 530 BC the staff to which the name thyrsus properly applied began to be shown as a stalk of giant fennel (narthēx) segmented like bamboo, sometimes with ivy leaves inserted in the hollow end. Bacchae were depicted and described using them as weapons. Scholars differ on the extent to which these staffs can be explained as symbols of fertility.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Thyrsus — Thyr sus, n.; pl. {Thyrsi}. [L., fr. Gr. ?. Cf. {Torso}.] 1. A staff entwined with ivy, and surmounted by a pine cone, or by a bunch of vine or ivy leaves with grapes or berries. It is an attribute of Bacchus, and of the satyrs and others… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Thyrsus — (auch griechisch Thyrsos) steht für: Thyrsus (Blütenstand), ein spezieller Blütenstand Thyrsus González (1624–1705), 13. General der Societas Jesu Thyrsos, in der griechischen Mythologie Attribut des Dionysos und seiner Begleiter Thyrsos… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thyrsus [1] — Thyrsus (Bot.), Strauß …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Thyrsus [2] — Thyrsus, Fluß auf der Westküste der Insel Sardinien; j. Oristano …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Thyrsus — (grch.), der in einen Fichtenzapfen auslaufende, mit Epheu und Weinlaub umwundene Stab (Thyrsusstab) der Mainaden …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Thyrsus — Thyrsus, bei den Griechen der mit Reben und Epheu umwundene, oben mit einem Fichtenzapfen geschmückte Stab, den man bei Bachusfesten trug. – T., in der Botanik, s. Strauß …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Thyrsus — ⇒ Blütenstände …   Deutsch wörterbuch der biologie

  • thyrsus — (n.) 1590s, from Gk. thyrsos, lit. stalk or stem of a plant, a non Greek word of unknown origin. The staff or spear tipped with an ornament like a pine cone, and sometimes wreathed in ivy or vine branches, borne by Dionysus and his votaries …   Etymology dictionary

  • thyrsus — [thʉrsthʉr′səs] n. pl. thyrsi [thʉr′sī΄] [L < Gr thyrsos; ? akin to Hittite tuwarsa , grape vine] 1. a staff tipped with a pine cone and sometimes entwined with ivy or vine leaves, which Dionysus, the satyrs, etc. were represented as carrying… …   English World dictionary

  • Thyrsus — In Greek mythology, a thyrsus (thyrsos) was a staff of giant fennel ( Ferula communis ) covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and always topped with a pine cone. Where these emblems were, there was the spirit of Dionysus …   Wikipedia

  • Thyrsus, SS. (1) — 1SS. Thyrsus, Leucius (Lucius) et Callinicus, M. M. (28. Jan. al. 14. Dec.). Diese hhl. Martyrer haben mit 15 andern Christen zu Apollonia in Phrygien während der Decischen Verfolgung um das J. 250 nach vielen Leiden die Martyrkrone erlangt, und… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

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