Agrionia
（
Ἀγριώνια). A festival celebrated chiefly at Orchomenus,
in Boeotia, in honour of Dionysus, surnamed
Ἀγριώνιος, i.
e. the wild. This festival was solemnized only by women and priests of Dionysus. It consisted
of a kind of game, in which the women for a long time acted as if seeking Dionysus, and at
last called out to one another that he had escaped to the Muses, and had concealed himself
with them. After this they prepared a repast, and, having enjoyed it, amused themselves with
solving riddles. This festival was remarkable for a feature which proves its great antiquity.
Some virgins, who were descended from the Minyans, and who probably used to assemble around
the temple on the occasion, fled, and were followed by the priest armed with a sword, who was
allowed to kill the one whom he first caught. This sacrifice of a human being, though
originally it must have formed a regular part of the festival, seems to have been avoided in
later times. One instance, however, occurred in the days of Plutarch (
Quaest.
Graec. 38). See Müller,
Die Minyer, p. 166.
