An orgy is a
sex party 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) t ...
or
group sex
Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own na ...
.
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 parties" may fare less well with this labelling.
Participation in an "orgy" is a common
sexual fantasy
A sexual fantasy, or erotic fantasy, is an Autoeroticism, autoerotic mental image or pattern of thought that stirs a person's Human sexuality, sexuality and can create or enhance sexual arousal. A sexual Fantasy (psychology), fantasy can be crea ...
, and group sex targeting such consumers is a subgenre in
pornographic film
Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, adult films, blue films, sexually explicit films, or 18+ films, are films that represent Human sexual activity, sexually WIKT:explicit, explicit subject matter in order to sexual arousal, arouse, fasci ...
s.
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
Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...
, ''
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), cel ...
'' (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 () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...
, the
Dionysian Mysteries
The Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual of ancient Greece and Rome which sometimes used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques (like dance and music) to remove inhibitions. It also provided some liberation for people marginalized by Gre ...
, and the cult of
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...
, 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
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...
and fertility were cultic concerns, the primary goal of the ''orgia'' was to achieve an ecstatic union with the divine. The
Adamites
The Adamites, also called Adamians, were adherents of an Early Christian group in North Africa in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries. They wore no clothing during their religious services. There were later reports of similar sects in Central Europ ...
were also accused of participating in orgies.
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 R ...
*
Gang bang
A gang bang is a sexual activity in which one person is the central focus of the sexual activity of several people, usually more than three, sequentially or simultaneously. The term generally refers to a woman being the focus; one man with ...
*
Khlysts
The Khlysts or Khlysty ( rus, Хлысты, p=xlɨˈstɨ, "whips") were an underground Spiritual Christian sect which emerged in Russia in the 17th century.
The sect is traditionally said to have been founded in 1645 by Danilo Filippovich, a ...
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