\b0 The retinue of women crowned with vine leaves who followed the chariot of \b \cf4 \ATXht10 Dionysus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 (Bacchus) during his wanderings in the East. Later, the name was used for the priestesses (also known as Bacchae) who celebrated rituals in his honor. They carried the thyrsus, a staff tipped with a pine cone and twined with ivy and vine leaves.