Bacchantes, those who took part in the festival of Bacchus, confined originally to women, and were called by a number of names, such as Mænads, Thyads, &c.; they wore their hair dishevelled and thrown back, and had loose flowing garments.
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Bacchanalia * Bac`chus