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39-632: The Dionysian Mysteries of mainland Greece and the Roman Empire are thought to have evolved from a more primitive initiatory cult of unknown origin (perhaps Thracian or Phrygian ) which had spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the start of the Classical Greek period . Its spread was associated with the dissemination of wine , a sacrament or entheogen , with which it appears always to have been closely associated (though mead may have been

78-503: A randomized controlled trial found PEG (MiraLax or GlycoLax) 17 grams once per day to be superior to tegaserod at 6 mg twice per day. A randomized controlled trial found greater improvement from two sachets (26 g) of PEG versus two sachets (20 g) of lactulose. 17 g per day of PEG has been effective and safe in a randomized, controlled trial for six months. Another randomized, controlled trial found no difference between sorbitol and lactulose. For children, PEG

117-655: A bull, occurs as a surname of Dionysus. (Eurip. Bacch. 918 ; Athen. xi. p. 476; Plut. Quaest. Graec. 36 ; Lycoph. Cass. 209.) An ancient Roman inscription written in Ancient Greek dated to 253–255 AD was discovered in the Great Basilica at the Plovdiv (ancient Philippopolis ). The inscription refers to the Dionysian Mysteries and also mentions Roman Emperors Valerian and Gallienus . It has been found on

156-532: A different flavour in different regions; reflecting their mythical and cultural soil, he appeared under different names and appearances in different regions. Musk , civet , frankincense , storax , ivy , grapes , pine , fig , wine , honey , apples , Indian hemp , orchis root, thistle , all wild and domestic trees. Dionysus has numerous sacred animals, such as the leopard or bull . Other sacred animals include: lions and other big cats, goats, donkeys, and serpents. The bull and goat and their "enemies",

195-558: A large stele that was used as construction material during the building of the Great Basilica. Cult (religious practice) Cult is the care ( Latin : cultus ) owed to deities and temples, shrines, or churches. Cult is embodied in ritual and ceremony . Its presence or former presence is made concrete in temples , shrines and churches , and cult images , including votive offerings at votive sites . Cicero defined religio as cultus deorum , "the cultivation of

234-633: A political center had become fully urbanized. Cultus is often translated as "cult" without the negative connotations the word may have in English, or with the Old English word " worship ", but it implies the necessity of active maintenance beyond passive adoration. Cultus was expected to matter to the gods as a demonstration of respect, honor, and reverence; it was an aspect of the contractual nature of Roman religion (see do ut des ). Augustine of Hippo echoes Cicero's formulation when he declares, " religion

273-495: A process designed to prepare the bowel for surgery or colonoscopy and to treat certain types of poisoning . Brand names for these solutions include GoLytely, GlycoLax, Cosmocol, CoLyte, Miralax, Movicol, NuLytely, Suprep, and Fortrans. Solutions of sorbitol (SoftLax) have similar effects. Saline laxatives are nonabsorbable, osmotically active substances that attract and retain water in the intestinal lumen, increasing intraluminal pressure that mechanically stimulates evacuation of

312-598: Is a current drug approved for use in the EU since October 15, 2009, in Canada (brand name Resotran) since December 7, 2011, and in the United States since December 2018. Lubiprostone is used in the management of chronic idiopathic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome. It causes the intestines to produce a chloride-rich fluid secretion that softens the stool, increases motility, and promotes spontaneous bowel movements. For adults,

351-452: Is associated with a wine cult (not unlike the entheogenic cults of ancient Central America ), concerned with the grapevine 's cultivation and an understanding of its life cycle (believed to have embodied the living god) and the fermentation of wine from its dismembered body (associated with the god's essence in the underworld ). Most importantly, however, the intoxicating and disinhibiting effects of wine were regarded as due to possession by

390-782: Is demonstrated in Greek culture by the Bacchanals of the Maenads , Thyiades , and Bacchoi ; many Greek rulers considered the cult a threat to civilized society and wished to control it (if not suppress it altogether). The latter failed; the former would succeed in the foundation of a domesticated Dionysianism as a state religion in Athens. This was but one form of Dionysianism—a cult which assumed different forms in different localities (often absorbing indigenous divinities and their rites, as did Dionysus himself). The Greek Bacchoi claimed that, like wine, Dionysus had

429-643: Is key to understanding the cult which emerged from it, assuming a significance other than winemaking that would encompass life, death, and rebirth and providing insight into human psychology. The rites were based on a seasonal death-rebirth theme, common among agricultural cults such as the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Osirian Mysteries paralleled the Dionysian, according to contemporary Greek and Egyptian observers. Spirit possession involved liberation from civilization's rules and constraints. It celebrated that which

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468-531: Is necessary for a cult to be enacted, to be practiced. In the Catholic Church , outward religious practice in cultus is the technical term for Roman Catholic devotions or veneration extended to a particular saint , not to the worship of God. Catholicism and the Eastern Orthodox Church make a major distinction between latria , the worship that is offered to God alone, and dulia , which

507-603: Is nothing other than the cultus of God ." The term "cult" first appeared in English in 1617, derived from the French culte , meaning " worship " which in turn originated from the Latin word cultus meaning "care, cultivation, worship". The meaning "devotion to a person or thing" is from 1829. Starting about 1920, "cult" acquired an additional six or more positive and negative definitions. In French, for example, sections in newspapers giving

546-601: Is the most common acid-base imbalance observed. Other significant adverse effects include rhabdomyolysis , steatorrhoea , inflammation and ulceration of colonic mucosa, pancreatitis , kidney failure , factitious diarrhea and other problems. The colon will need more quantities of laxatives to keep functioning, this will result in a lazy colon, infections, irritable bowel syndrome, and potential liver damage. Although some patients with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa abuse laxatives in an attempt to lose weight, laxatives act to speed up

585-615: Is today explained by patterns of social exclusion and the cult's marginality, rather than chronology. Whether the cult originated on Minoan Crete (as an aspect of an ancient Zagreus ) or Africa—or in Thrace or Asia, as a proto- Sabazius —is unanswerable, due to lack of evidence. Some scholars believe it was an adopted cult not native to any of these places and may have been an eclectic cult in its earliest history, although it almost certainly obtained many familiar features from Minoan culture. The original rite of Dionysus (as introduced into Greece)

624-462: Is veneration offered to the saints, including the veneration of Mary , whose veneration is often referred to as hyperdulia . Laxative Laxatives , purgatives , or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements . They are used to treat and prevent constipation . Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant , lubricant , and saline laxatives are used to evacuate

663-495: The colon for rectal and bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under certain circumstances. Sufficiently high doses of laxatives may cause diarrhea . Some laxatives combine more than one active ingredient, and may be administered orally or rectally . Bulk-forming laxatives, also known as roughage , are substances, such as fiber in food and hydrophilic agents in over-the-counter drugs , that add bulk and water to stools so they can pass more easily through

702-496: The enteric nervous system in the gastrointestinal tract . However, some have been discontinued or restricted due to potentially harmful cardiovascular side effects. Tegaserod (brand name Zelnorm ) was removed from the general U.S. and Canadian markets in 2007, due to reports of increased risks of heart attack or stroke. It is still available to physicians for patients in emergency situations that are life-threatening or require hospitalization. Prucalopride (brand name Resolor)

741-494: The intestines (lower part of the digestive tract ). Properties Bulk-forming agents generally have the gentlest of effects among laxatives, making them ideal for long-term maintenance of regular bowel movements. Foods that help with laxation include fiber-rich foods. Dietary fiber includes insoluble fiber and soluble fiber , such as: Emollient laxatives, also known as stool softeners, are anionic surfactants that enable additional water and fats to be incorporated in

780-581: The osmotic effect, which retains water in the colon; lowering the pH through bacterial fermentation to lactic, formic, and acetic acids; and increasing colonic peristalsis . Lactulose is also indicated in portal-systemic encephalopathy . Glycerin suppositories work mostly by hyperosmotic action, but the sodium stearate in the preparation also causes local irritation to the colon. Solutions of polyethylene glycol and electrolytes ( sodium chloride , sodium bicarbonate , potassium chloride , and sometimes sodium sulfate ) are used for whole bowel irrigation ,

819-529: The panther (or any big cat—after the Greeks colonized part of India, Shiva 's tiger sometimes replaced the traditional panther or leopard) and the serpent (probably derived from Sabazius , but also found in North African cults); in addition, the dolphin , the lion , and the bee . Bulls Dionysus's association with bulls is found in multiple epithets. In The Bacchae , Pentheus , who opposed his worship in

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858-461: The Greeks with Dionysus. Mead and beer (with its cereal base) were incorporated into the domain of Dionysus, perhaps through his identification with the Thracian corn deity Sabazius. Other plants believed to be viniculturally significant were also included in wine lore such as ivy (thought to counteract drunkenness—thus the opposite of the grapevine—and seen as blooming in winter instead of summer);

897-574: The backward head flick found in all trance-inducing cults found today in Afro-American Vodou and its counterparts). As in Vodou rites, certain rhythms were associated with the trance. Rhythms are also found preserved in Greek prose referring to the Dionysian rites (such as Euripides ' The Bacchae ). This collection of classical quotes describes rites in the Greek countryside in the mountains, to which processions were made on feast days: This practice

936-546: The bowel. Magnesium-containing agents also cause the release of cholecystokinin , which increases intestinal motility and fluid secretion. Saline laxatives may alter a patient's fluid and electrolyte balance. Properties Stimulant laxatives are substances that act on the intestinal mucosa or nerve plexus , altering water and electrolyte secretion. They also stimulate peristaltic action and can be dangerous under certain circumstances. Properties Prolonged use of stimulant laxatives can create drug dependence by damaging

975-625: The colon's haustral folds , making users less able to move feces through their colon on their own. A study of patients with chronic constipation found that 28% of chronic stimulant laxative users lost haustral folds over the course of one year, while none of the control group did. Castor oil is a glyceride that is hydrolyzed by pancreatic lipase to ricinoleic acid , which produces laxative action by an unknown mechanism. Properties Long-term use of castor oil may result in loss of fluid, electrolytes, and nutrients. These are motility stimulants that work through activation of 5-HT 4 receptors of

1014-436: The fig (a purgative of toxins) and the pine (a wine preservative). The bull (from whose horn wine was drunk) and goat (whose flesh provided wineskins, and whose browsing pruned the vines) were also part of the cult, eventually seen as manifestations of Dionysus. Some of these associations had been linked with fertility deities (like Dionysus) and became part of his new role. An understanding of vinicultural lore and its symbolism

1053-576: The god's origin city of Thebes, saw horns upon Dionysus's head as he started to go mad. Dionysus's epithets connected to bulls are as follows: Taurokephalos/Taurokranos/Taurometôpos Greek: Ταυροφαγος; a surname of Dionysus in the Orphic mysteries. (Orph. Hymn. 51. 2.) It also occurs as a surname of rivers and the ocean, which were symbolically represented as bulls, to indicate their fertilising effect upon countries. (Eurip. Iphig. Aul. 275, Orest. 1378 ; Aelian, V. H. ii. 33; Horat. Carm. iv. 14, 25.) Tauros;

1092-592: The god's spirit (and, later, as causing this possession). Wine was also poured on the earth and its growing vine, completing the cycle. The cult was not solely concerned with the vine itself, but also with the other components of wine. Wine includes other ingredients (herbal, floral, and resinous) adding to its quality, flavour, and medicinal properties. Scholars have suggested that, given the low alcoholic content of early wine, its effects may have been due to an additional psychoactive ingredient in its sacramental form, supported by iconography showing herbs being mixed with

1131-501: The gods". The "cultivation" necessary to maintain a specific deity was that god's cultus , "cult", and required "the knowledge of giving the gods their due" (scientia colendorum deorum) . The noun cultus originates from the past participle of the verb colo, colere, colui, cultus , "to tend, take care of, cultivate", originally meaning "to dwell in, inhabit" and thus "to tend, cultivate land (ager) ; to practice agriculture", an activity fundamental to Roman identity even when Rome as

1170-551: The margins of society: women, slaves, outlaws, and "foreigners" (non-citizens, in Greek democracy). All were equal in a cult that inverted their roles, similar to the Roman Saturnalia . The trance induction central to the cult involved not only chemognosis (an altered state caused by drug use), but an "invocation of spirit" with the bullroarer and communal dancing to drum and pipe. The trances are described in familiar anthropological terms, with characteristic movements (such as

1209-481: The only nonprescription lubricant laxative available, but due to the risk of lipid pneumonia resulting from accidental aspiration, mineral oil is not recommended, especially in children and infants. Mineral oil may decrease the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and some minerals. Hyperosmotic laxatives cause the intestines to hold more water, creating an osmotic gradient , which adds more pressure and stimulates bowel movement. Properties Lactulose works by

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1248-564: The original sacrament). Beginning as a simple rite, it evolved quickly within Greek culture into a popular mystery religion , which absorbed a variety of similar cults (and their gods) in a typically Greek synthesis across its territories; one late form was the Orphic Mysteries . However, all stages of this developmental spectrum appear to have continued in parallel throughout the eastern Mediterranean until late in Greek history and forcible Christianization . The ecstatic cult of Dionysus

1287-672: The schedule of worship for Catholic services are headed Culte Catholique , while the section giving the schedule of Protestant services is headed culte réformé . In the specific context of the Greek hero cult , Carla Antonaccio wrote: The term cult identifies a pattern of ritual behavior in connection with specific objects, within a framework of spatial and temporal coordinates. Rituals would include (but not necessarily be limited to) prayer, sacrifice, votive offerings, competitions, processions and construction of monuments. Some degree of recurrence in place and repetition over time of ritual action

1326-493: The stool, making movement through the bowels easier. Properties Emollient agents prevent constipation rather than treating long-term constipation. Lubricant laxatives are substances that coat the stool with slippery lipids and decrease colonic absorption of water so the stool slides through the colon more easily. Lubricant laxatives also increase the weight of stool and decrease intestinal transit time. Properties Mineral oils , such as liquid paraffin , are generally

1365-407: The transit of feces through the large intestine, which occurs after the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine is already complete. Thus, studies of laxative abuse have found that effects on body weight reflect primarily temporary losses of body water rather than energy (calorie) loss. Physicians warn against the chronic use of stimulant laxatives due to concern that chronic use could cause

1404-427: The wine in the kraters , especially preceding ecstatic behavior. Poppy , from which opium is extracted, is a likely candidate, being sometimes worn as a wreath by the god in art. Also, honey and beeswax were often added to wine, introducing an even older drink ( mead ). Károly Kerényi postulated that this wine lore superseded (and partly absorbed) earlier Neolithic mead lore involving bee swarms associated by

1443-519: Was found to be more effective than lactulose. Some of the less significant adverse effects of laxative abuse include dehydration (which causes tremors, weakness, fainting, blurred vision, kidney damage), low blood pressure , fast heart rate , postural dizziness and fainting ; however, laxative abuse can lead to potentially fatal acid-base , and electrolyte imbalances . For example, severe hypokalaemia has been associated with distal renal tubular acidosis from laxative abuse. Metabolic alkalosis

1482-510: Was originally thought to be a late arrival in Greece from Thrace or Asia Minor , due to its popularity in both locations and Dionysus' non-integration into the Olympian Pantheon . After the deity's name was discovered on Mycenean Linear B tablets, however, this theory was abandoned and the cult is considered indigenous, predating Greek civilization. The absence of an early Olympian Dionysus

1521-474: Was outside civilized society and a return to primordial nature—which would later assume mystical overtones. It also involved escape from the socialized personality and ego into an ecstatic, deified state or the primal herd (sometimes both). In this sense Dionysus was the beast-god within, or the unconscious mind of modern psychology. Such activity has been interpreted as fertilizing, invigorating, cathartic, liberating, and transformative, and so appealed to those on

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