Maenad Pole Dancing
Celebrate the wild spirit of the Maenads—the ecstatic followers of Dionysos, the god of wine, fertility, and ritual madness.
Hand-drawn by Mira, this design draws inspiration from ancient Greek pottery from the 4th century BCE. The Maenad dances in ecstatic worship, her head thrown back in divine rapture, her Thyrsus—a Giant Fennel stalk wrapped in Ivy—held like a conduit between earth and sky.
More About the Maenads
Materia Mythica
Maenads & The Ivy
The Maenads (μαϊνάδες) were followers of Dionysos and are depicted in scenes of dancing, drinking, music-making, and ecstasy. Their name literally means “raving ones” and they enter divine trance states via sacred intoxication and movement. They are most often depicted bearing a thyrsus (a Giant Fennel stalk wrapped in Ivy), wearing deer or wildcat skins, crowned with Ivy wreaths or bull helms, and handling or donning serpents. They are usually dancing or depicted with heads thrown back and their bodies in ecstatic states.
