When I first saw Frederick Leighton’s Bacchante (1895) {header painting}, I was hypnotised.
It’s not from the distant past, but it gives us a timeless window into that distant past. The artwork depicts a maenad surrendering herself to ecstasy in dance. Leopard skins drape over her shoulder and we are transported to a time where the maenads danced in the wilds. The fawn watching her curiously puts the scene in a forest, and highlights the connection to nature the maenads were known for.
I saw myself in the bacchante. Not looks, but spirit. I felt connected to her.
This is called A Maenad’s Cellar. The cellar part is very metaphorical these days, I don’t have a wine cellar (yet). But the maenad part… that is a core part of my identity. I am a maenad. I am a modern maenad. Wine and classical studies are manifestations of that core maenadic spirit that was always within me. They are my passions. They are what you’ll find here. But behind them, there is a maenadic spirit. Deeply devoted to Dionysus. Seeking joy in small moments, writing stories about the distant past, and dancing late at night, tipsy on wine.
I’m Molly Thysa. I’m a wine connoisseur pursuing my WSET certification and a classical studies student working toward my BA. I have an affinity for antiquity and an appreciation for fine wine. I am neurodivergent with autism and ADHD, a hellenic polytheist and a storyteller who prefers old fashioned methods for creating stories. I seek joy in the small moments and romanticise my life intentionally.
This blog is a lot of things. It’s where wine meets antiquity. Where scholarship meets spirituality. And where a modern maenad tries to make sense of both the past and the present.
So here I am. A modern maenad with a cellar full of wine, books, and questions.
This blog is my attempt to document that journey. To learn in public. To share what I discover as I discover it.
You’ll find wine education here. You’ll find ancient history. And you’ll find the overlap, the place where wine and ancient history meet: Dionysian worship, how wine was made and drunk thousands of years ago, and what that teaches us about wine today.
I’m not an expert. I’m a student. I’m learning alongside you. I cite my sources. I admit when I don’t know something. I welcome corrections when I get things wrong, because I’d rather be accurate (though I can’t say a correction won’t trigger some RSD feelings). My journey is the content. This is learning in public, and I’m inviting you to learn with me.
I write when I have something worth saying. I don’t believe in content for content’s sake. Every post is researched, every claim is considered, every word is chosen with intention. I take wine and history seriously and want you to trust what you read here.
Beyond the wine and the ancient texts, there’s the question of what it means to live as a maenad in 2026.
I’m a Hellenic polytheist. I honour Dionysus as a maenad of his. I pour libations. I make offerings. Wine, for me, isn’t just beverage or even just history. It’s sacred. It’s ritual. Every glass is a small act of devotion.
I’m also AuDHD, which means I hyper focus intensely on my special interests. But my brain works differently, and sometimes that’s a superpower: I make connections others don’t, I notice patterns across disciplines, I dive deep where others might skim the surface. Sometimes it’s a struggle: executive dysfunction, sensory overwhelm, the gap between what I want to do and what I can make myself do. I’m learning to work with my brain instead of against it, and I share that here too.
This blog is where all of that converges. It’s my journey, as a neurodivergent student pursuing my passions. It’s my journey as a writer creating stories inspired by those who lived thousands of years ago.
There is also a podcast in the works, called Musings of a Maenad, but more on this later!
The cellar holds everything.
Wine for study and wine for ritual. Ancient texts and modern notebooks. Devotion and scholarship. Beauty and chaos. The questions I’m asking and the answers I’m finding and the new questions those answers create.
You’re welcome here. Whether you came for the wine or the ancient history or the mythology or the maenadic spirit or just because you’re curious what all of this looks like when it’s combined. Pour yourself something (responsibly) and stay awhile.
Let’s learn together. Let’s seek the divine in the everyday.
Χαῖρε. Welcome.
— Molly Thysa
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Contact me here
A note on sources: I take historical and wine accuracy seriously. Every claim is researched and, where appropriate, cited. I’m not an expert yet, just a student. If you spot an error, please let me know kindly. I’ll correct it promptly and transparently.