the god of wine, with whose fabulous characteristics and adventures every school-boy is acquainted. This divinity is seldom named in modern times, except as the supposititious patron of sensuality and excess; but he was regarded in a more respectable light by the ancients, who worshipped him in different countries under various appellations. It is natural to suppose that the Greeks and Romans ascribed to the Bacchus whom they worshipped the several actions and attributes of the many divinities known by that and by other equivalent appellations in different countries. It is evident, however, that antiquity distinguished two divinities by the title of Bacchus, namely, him of Egypt, the son of Ammon, commonly known by the name of Osiris; and the Bacchus of Thebes in Boeotia, the son of Jupiter and Semele.

With regard to the dithyrambics which gave birth to dramatic representations, Dr Burney is of opinion that they are as ancient as the worship of Bacchus in Greece; and there is little doubt that the ceremonies observed at the celebration of his mysteries gave rise to scenic or theatrical representations in that country. Many of the most splendid exhibitions on the stage, both at Athens and at Rome, were performed at the festivals of this divinity; and hence all those who were employed in them, whether in singing, dancing, or reciting, were called servants of Bacchus.