The numerical importance and the wide geographical and temporal distribution of Dionysiac associations allow cross-analyzes between associative form and type of worship. Each Dionysian association responds directly to the needs of those who meet and is a tailor-made creation, whether in the chosen form, the number of members and the distribution of men and women, the rhythm of the meetings, the references of all kinds which are summoned. The catalog of functions is composed in each individual case on the basis of various sources of inspiration (imaginary, Bacchic ritual reference, processional model, associative hierarchy, Eleusinian model). The cults rendered in these associations are as plural as the forms taken by each group. Even the mysteries take on multiple forms and expressions in the Dionysian associations. The practice of mysteries within the associative framework also requires a resumption of the notion of initiation compared to that of mysteries, in particular in groups of mysteries which meet very regularly, involving always the same members. The flexibility of the associative framework joined to the multiplicity, very naturally ‘polytheistic’ of the religious manifestations explains the fruitful adequacy during more than 6 centuries between Dionysiac cults and associative forms as well as the smooth evolution on a human scale of the Dionysian religious manifestations through the centuries. The associations allow us access to an unknown part of a religious and social life which is declined on a daily basis. They represent an expression as well as a laboratory of what we call polytheism.
