thyrsus

In Greek mythology and art, the staff carried by Dionysus and the his followers, the Bacchantes. It is made of reed, entwined with ivy and with a pine cone on top.

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Latin, from Greek thursos, "plant stalk, Bacchic staff."

References

Sources

  • Aken, Dr. A.R.A. van. (1961). Elseviers Mythologische Encyclopedie. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
  • Cooper, J.C., ed. (1997). Brewer's Book of Myth and Legend. Oxford: Helicon Publishing Ltd.