The religious rites of Dionysus were different from those held to honor other Olympian deities. Traditional rites honored the gods and goddesses in temples specially built for that purpose. Dionysus wandered among the people, and his cults celebrated him in the woods. In Dionysian festivals, worshipers became one with the god. They believed that Dionysus participated actively in his rites. This god loved people; he loved dance; and he loved wine. His festivals were like big parties.

Dionysus was usually accompanied on his travels by the Maenads, wild followers whose name means “madwomen.” The Maenads carried a thyrsus, a symbol of Dionysus, and incited people to join Dionysus's cult and participate in his rites. Although everyone was invited, women were the most eager participants in Dionysian festivals.

Dionysus was the god of wine, and his rituals celebrated this drink. It was believed that wine gave people the ability to feel the greatness and power of the gods. Through wine, his worshipers achieved the ecstasy they needed to merge with the god. One of Dionysus's names was Lysios, which meant “the god of letting go.” But the excesses of his festivals often led to frenzy and madness.

Dionysian rites were usually held at night. Women dressed in fawn skins, drank wine, wore wreaths of ivy, and participated in wild dances around an image of Dionysus (believed to be the god himself). Sometimes the women would suckle baby animals such as wolves or deer, and sometimes they would hunt down an animal, tear it to pieces, and devour the raw meat. Occasionally, the crazed women would tear apart a man or a child in their rites.

The wine and tumultuous dancing took worshipers to a state of ecstasy, in which they felt the power of the gods. Religious ecstasy was often heightened by sexual ecstasy. The nights were wild and the followers frenzied — and anything was possible.