January 1, 2025

The Uffizi Gallery
11. Bacchus
   A late 16th-century work by Caravaggio.

Bacchus is depicted with a flushed face from intoxication, holding a wine glass.

In Greek mythology, Bacchus is the god of wine, intoxication, fertility, and theater.

His true name is Dionysus, meaning "young Zeus," but he was also known as Bakkhos.

In Roman mythology, he is called Bacchus, and this name became the widely recognized English pronunciation.

Globally, including in Japan, the name Bacchus is more familiar than Dionysus, with many restaurants and bars named after him.

Zeus had an affair with Semele, a princess of Thebes, resulting in her pregnancy.

However, due to a scheme by Zeus’s wife Hera, Zeus inadvertently killed Semele with the heat of his lightning.

Mourning her death, Zeus retrieved the fetus from her charred body and implanted it in his thigh.

Four months later, he delivered the child and named him Dionysus (Bacchus).

As he grew, Dionysus became the god of wine, teaching grape cultivation and winemaking.

He was surrounded by fervent female followers known as "Bacchae" (followers of Bacchus).

These women, intoxicated during the day and entranced by Dionysus's mystique, would enter a frenzied state, engaging in wild dances, orgies, dismembering animals, and consuming raw flesh during chaotic feasts.

This frenzied ritual, called the "Mysteries of Dionysus" (Bacchanalia), later evolved into Greek tragedies.

Hence, Bacchus is also regarded as the god of theater.

The frenzied female followers wore ivy crowns, waved staffs entwined with ivy, and danced wildly while shouting.

They were violent, obscene, and devoid of reason.

These women were referred to as “mainas” (meaning "madwoman"), with the plural form “maenads.”

The term “mainas” is the root of the word "mania" (referring to frenzy or obsession).

Although the pronunciation of "mainas" might remind of "minus" (as in "plus and minus"), it has no connection to the notion of "minus."

The collective intoxicated rituals of the "Mysteries of Dionysus" (Bacchanalia) vividly resemble the debauched behavior of alcoholics in a drunken frenzy.

The wild “mainas” evoke an impression of foolishness (“baka” in Japanese) and negativity, full of "minus" connotations.

By the way, the word “alcohol” originates from the Arabic term “al-kuhl.”

Here, “al” is a definite article (equivalent to "the" in English), and “kuhl” refers to "kohl," a fine black powder used as a cosmetic.

Thus, “alcohol” essentially means "kohl.”

In ancient Arab traditions, both men and women applied kohl to their eyelids and eyebrows to prevent eye diseases common to the region.

As the powder needed to be finely processed for facial application, it was prepared through sublimation using heat.

Meanwhile, the practice of distilling wine to create strong liquor (such as brandy) gained popularity.

Both sublimation and distillation involve purification by heating, making them conceptually similar.

So, in the 15th–16th century, physician and chemist Paracelsus referred to alcohol distilled from wine as “alcohol vini” (kohl from wine).

Eventually, “alcohol vini” became known as brandy.

Over time, the term "alcohol" came to primarily refer to ethyl alcohol, becoming synonymous with spirits and liquor.