Ecstatic Connection: Similarities between the Bacchanalian Rites and Sufism

This paper focuses on the parallels between Islamic Sufism and the Bacchanalian rites of ancient Greece. Very little has been said about the two subjects together, despite their similarities in ritual practices and forms of worship. Both practices developed in a time when certain individuals or societal groups felt disconnected from a major aspect of antiquity: religion. Despite both societies involving heavy influence from their distinct religious beliefs, influences which had a profound effect on daily life and societal practices, not everyone was able to worship in the same way. From the disparity between social classes which privileged the rich when religious rituals were performed, to the lack of opportunity for women to participate in religious ritual, Sufism and the Bacchanalian rites provided opportunities for disenfranchised members of society. The analysis is by no means exhaustive but touches on the major similarities between these two historic religious phenomena.