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In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained
In modern usage, an orgy is a sex party consisting of at least five members where guests freely engage in open and unrestrained sexual activity
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) ...
or group sex.
Swingers' parties do not always conform to this designation, because at many swinger parties the sexual partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis. They may be on intimate terms ...
s may all know each other or at least have some commonality among economic class, educational attainment or other shared attributes. Some swingers contend that an orgy, as opposed to a sex party, requires some anonymity of sexual partners in complete sexual abandon. Other kinds of "sex party" may fare less well with this labeling.
Participation in an "orgy" is a common sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy or erotic fantasy is a mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual fantasy can be created by the person's imagination or memory, and may be triggered auto ...
, and group sex targeting such consumers is a subgenre in pornographic films.
The term is also used metaphorically in expressions, such as an "orgy of colour" or an "orgy of destruction" to indicate excess, overabundance. The term " orgiastic" does not generally connote group sex and is closer to the classical roots and this metaphorical usage.
Ancient ''orgia''
In ancient Greek religion, ''orgia
In ancient Greek religion, an ''orgion'' (ὄργιον, more commonly in the plural ''orgia'') was an ecstatic form of worship characteristic of some mystery cults. The ''orgion'' is in particular a cult ceremony of Dionysos (or Zagreus), cele ...
'' (ὄργια, sing. ὄργιον, ''orgion'') were ecstatic rites characteristic of the Greek and Hellenistic mystery religions. Unlike public religion, or the private religious practices of a household, the mysteries were open only to initiates, and were thus "secret". Some rites were held at night. ''Orgia'' were part of the Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are th ...
, the Dionysian Mysteries, and the cult of Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian language, Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian language, Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother godde ...
, which involved the castration of her priests in a frenzied trance. Because of their secret, nocturnal, and unscripted nature, the ''orgia'' were subject to prurient speculation and regarded with suspicion, particularly by the Romans, who attempted to suppress the Bacchanals in 186 BC. ''Orgia'' are popularly thought to have involved sex, but, while sexuality and fertility were cultic concerns, the primary goal of the ''orgia'' was to achieve an ecstatic union with the divine.
In films
Orgy scenes are featured in various films, including '' Caligula'', ''Bachelor Party
A bachelor party (in the United States and sometimes in Canada), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia), is a party held/arranged by th ...
'', ''Zoolander 2
''Zoolander 2'' (promoted as ''Zoolander No. 2'') is a 2016 American action comedy film directed by Ben Stiller and written by John Hamburg, Justin Theroux, Stiller, and Nicholas Stoller. It is the sequel to the 2001 film ''Zoolander''. It stars ...
'', ''Eyes Wide Shut
''Eyes Wide Shut'' is a 1999 erotic mystery psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Stanley Kubrick. It is based on the 1926 novella '' Traumnovelle'' (''Dream Story'') by Arthur Schnitzler, transferring the story's set ...
'', ''Sausage Party
''Sausage Party'' is a 2016 adult computer-animated comedy film directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan and written by Kyle Hunter, Ariel Shaffir, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg from a story by Rogen, Goldberg, and Jonah Hill. The film follo ...
'', and '' The Wolf of Wall Street''.
See also
*Bacchanalia
The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...
* Gang bang
* Khlysts
The Khlysts or Khlysty ( rus, Хлысты, p=xlɨˈstɨ, "whips") were an underground Spiritual Christian sect, which split from the Russian Orthodox Church and existed from the 1600s until the late 20th century.
The New Israel sect that de ...
References
Notes Bibliography * Adkins, Lesley and Adkins, Roy A. (1998). ''Handbook to Life in Ancient Greece''. . * Alexander, Timothy Jay (2007). ''Hellenismos Today''. . * Alexander, Timothy Jay (2007). ''A Beginner's Guide to Hellenismos''. . * Burnet, John (2005). ''Early Greek Philosophy''. . * Dillon, Matthew (2002). ''Girls and Women in Classical Greek Religion''. . * Maffesoli, Michel (1993). ''The Shadow of Dionysus: A Contribution to the Sociology of the Orgy''. . * Persson, Martin (1970). ''The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion''. . * Wilson, Nigel Guy (2005). ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece''. .External links
* {{Human sexuality Group sex