What Were the Phallophoria in Ancient Greece and Where Were They Celebrated?

The Phallophoria were festive processions held as part of the Dionysian celebrations in Ancient Greece, specifically during the month of Poseidon. These processions were centered around the symbol of fertility and growth—the phallus—paraded through the streets. The procession, known also by the name "Phallagoria," involved participants who were disguised as Sileni, Satyrs, and Bacchae, carrying thyrsus sticks, phalli, and wine-filled kraters, while singing phallic songs and dancing.

The celebration was not only a social event but also a spiritual one. The worshippers would call upon Phallos, the personification of the phallus and a follower of Dionysus, to join them in their revelry. The festival also involved dances in the Theater of Athens, performed by men and a few women disguised as Bacchae, Nymphs, and Horae—minor deities representing the natural forces that protected the growth and blooming of spring and the fruitfulness of summer.

These disguises were intended to invoke nature’s regenerative powers during the winter, to ward off harmful forces, and to set the tone for the ecstatic abandon characteristic of the Bacchic revels. The Dionysian festivals, rooted in agricultural traditions, were primarily centered around a procession, the central symbol being the phallus.

The lead of the procession would carry a wine amphora and a vine branch, followed by a person pulling a goat, a symbol of fertility that would later be sacrificed to Dionysus. Behind them, another person would carry a basket filled with dried figs, and finally, the individual who paraded the phallus on a pole, the central symbol of fertility. Plutarch in his work On the Love of Wealth (527d) describes the procession in both its simple and later luxurious forms:

“…Look not at the procession and celebration as mere life but rather as an embodiment of ancient Dionysian customs. In the past, these festivals were celebrated publicly and cheerfully: an amphora of wine, a vine branch, a goat pulled along, and a phallus held aloft on a staff. But now these simple forms have been replaced by gilded decorations, luxurious garments, and chariots; thus, the essentials of wealth and the practical have been mixed with the superfluous.”

The phallic procession symbolized the transmission of fertility, embodied by the phallus, to the earth, awakening its productive powers for a prosperous harvest. This honorific procession to Dionysus, with the phallus prominently displayed, was known as the Phallophoria or Phallagoria.

Participants in the festival were often disguised, painting their faces or wearing masks, crowned with ivy wreaths, and carrying phalli around their necks and waists. They celebrated by drinking the year’s new wine, singing bawdy and mocking phallic songs, and dancing comedic dances. These festive elements were integral to the development of comedy in Greek theater. Aristotle, in his Poetics, notes that comedy emerged from those who led the phallic songs, creating an improvisational form that gradually evolved into the genre we recognize today.

The smaller Dionysian festivals also included folk games, such as askoliasmos—a game where participants jumped onto an inflated goat skin, greased with oil, trying to maintain their balance. Those who fell were met with the laughter of onlookers.

In 2014, the Dionysus Eleutherius Theater Company and the Labrys Worship Community organized the first modern celebration of the Phallophoria in Athens, on March 1st. Ioannis Bousiou, the driving force behind this revival, gave an excellent interview to the Phenomena of the Eleftherotypia discussing the past and present of the Phallophoria.

What Exactly Were the Phallophoria in Ancient Greece and Where Were They Celebrated?

The Phallophoria were celebrated as part of the rural Dionysian festivals in Attica, but these phallic rituals were closely tied to the worship of Dionysus. Wherever Dionysian rites were held, Phallophoria also took place, as they were an integral part of these celebrations.

Given that Dionysian rituals were widespread across the Greek world, we understand the extensive reach and significance of the Phallophoria. The central part of the festival was the procession of the phallus, which is why another popular name for the event was Phallagoria.

During the procession, men disguised as Sileni, Satyrs, and Bacchae, carrying thyrsus sticks and wooden staffs topped with leather phalli, would dance around the statue of Dionysus, always preceded by the phallus-bearing chariot. As they moved along, participants drank wine from leather wineskins, teased passersby, and sang phallic songs inviting Dionysus-Phallus (the personification of the phallus) to join them in celebration. When the statue reached its destination, the revelers would continue dancing and singing, followed by a communal feast where everyone drank from the vessels containing the wine blessed by Dionysus. There was even a special ritual vessel, a rhyton, which, beyond its household worship use, was likely employed during the wine-drinking rituals of the Phallophoria.

What Did These Celebrations Symbolize? Is There a Connection to Natural Processes?

The worship, and specifically the procession of the phallus as a symbol of fertility, was a core part of fertility rituals intended to ensure the health of the land and people. These celebrations represented a ritual of renewal, symbolizing the death of the old (through the harshness of winter) and the rebirth of the new, which brings liberation and life’s renewal. These rituals typically took place at the threshold between the end of winter and the beginning of the anticipated spring.