thyrsus
/ˈθɜrsəs/
noun
- A staff or spear tipped with a pinecone, often wrapped with ivy or vine leaves, carried by Dionysus (Bacchus) and his followers in ancient Greek and Roman mythology.
- In ancient art, Dionysus is often depicted holding a thyrsus as a symbol of fertility and revelry.
- A thyrsus was used in rituals to represent the god's power over nature and wine.
- The maenads in the play carried thyrsi during their wild dances.
- In botany, a dense, elongated cluster of flowers, such as a panicle or a compound raceme.
- Botanists classify the inflorescence of the grapevine as a thyrsus.
- The plant's thyrsus was covered in tiny purple flowers that attracted bees.
- The lilac's flower cluster is a type of thyrsus, with many small blossoms arranged along a central stem.