This week we are discussing Iakkhos and Mise, the mysterious chorus leader in the Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries.
Iakkhos and Mise are an extremely intimate deity. They literally lead processions such as the one from Athens to Eleusis. They also played a key role in the afterlife. When initiates died, they were guided through the Underworld to the Blessed afterlife by Iakkhos and Mise.
The Mystery religions often reflect a radical homogenizing of sex and gender. In the Eleusinian tradition, men and women were ritual equals. The Bacchic Mysteries went even further by melding genders during ritual to recapture the image of the primordial universe.
In this ritual environment, genderfluid Iakkhos and Mise were able to provide a ritual role model for initiates to follow.