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I. LOCATION

i.	Geographical area	Western Asia Minor
ii.	Region	Ionia
iii.	Site	Magnesia on the Maeander

II. NAME

i.	Full name (original language)	ὁ θίασος ὁ Πλατανιστηνῶν (I.Magnesia 215 l. 34)
ii.	Full name (transliterated)	ho thiasos ho Platanistenon

III. DATE

i.

Date(s)

Hell. (?) - f. ii

IV. NAME AND TERMINOLOGY

ii.

Name elements

Topographical:

Πλατανιστηναί, platanistenai, refers to a plane tree, presumably the one in which the image of Dionysos was found (cf. XII.i).

iii.

Descriptive terms

θίασος, thiasos

V. SOURCES

i.	Source(s)	I.Magnesia 215
	Note	Jaccottet 2003 no. 146; Harland 2014 no. 143 (both with a list of earlier editions)
	Online Resources	I.Magnesia 215
i.a.	Source type(s)	Epigraphic source(s)
i.b.	Document(s) typology & language/script	Oracle from Delphi, ostensibly from the Hellenistic period, inscribed as a dedication to Dionysos in the Hadrianic period. Greek.
i.c.	Physical format(s)	Slab of marble and base, in which the stele was inserted.
ii.	Source(s) provenance	Magnesia, near the so-called 'Roman gymnasium'

VII. ORGANIZATION

i.	Founder(s)	Κοσκώ, Kosko, a μαινάς ἐκ Θηβῶν, mainas ek Thebon, "a Maenad from Thebes"
	Gender	Female
iii.	Members	μύσται, mystai

IX. MEMBERSHIP

ii.	Gender	Men Women
	Note	Cf. Jaccottet 2003: I 77-78 on the question of the gender of the members.
iii.	Age	Adults Elders

X. ACTIVITIES

iii.	Worship	The thiasos was obviously a religious association but no specific cultic activities are recorded. The inscription mentions orgia, "rites" and nomima, "(cultic) customs".
	Deities worshipped	Dionysos Bacchos

XI. INTERACTION

i.

Local interaction

The thiasos of the Platanistai is one of three Dionysiac societies in Magnesia introduced in consequence of an oracle (cf. XII.i). See also CAPInv. 1402, CAPInv. 1403.

XII. NOTES

i.	Comments	Notified by the loud sound of the wind, the Magnesians found an image of Dionysos in a plane tree near the city. The Magnesians sent messengers to the oracle of Delphi to ask what the appearance of the god means. The oracle ordered the Magnesians to build a temple for Dionysos and appointed a priest. Furthermore, they should bring three maenads from Thebes to Magnesia who will give them good rites, orgia, and customs, nomima, and will consecrate Bacchic thiasoi in the city. According to the oracle, three maenads were brought from Thebes and each founded her thiasos: Kasko gathered the thiasos "of the plane tree", τῶν Πλατανιστηνῶν, ton Platanistenon, Baubo that "before the city", πρὸ πόλεως, pro poleos, and Thettale that of the Kataibatai, τῶν Καταιβατῶν, ton Kataibaton. See also CAPInv. 1402, CAPInv. 1403 These events and the "old oracle" from Delphi were much later recorded in an inscription as a dedication to Dionysos by an "ancient initiate", ἀρχαῖος μύστης, archaios mystes, in the Roman imperial period.
iii.	Bibliography	Harland, Ph. A. (2014), Greco-Roman Associations: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. Vol. II. North Coast of the Black Sea, Asia Minor. Berlin/Boston Henrichs, A. (1978), 'Greek maenadism from Olympias to Messalina', HSPh 82. 123-137. Jaccottet, A.-F. (2003), Choisir Dionysos. Les associations dionysiaques ou la face cachée du dionyisme. Kilchberg.

XIII. EVALUATION

i.	Private association	Certain
	Note	The terminology (thiasos) and the religious character suggests a private association.

CAPInv. 1401: ho thiasos ho Platanistenon