Get ready for a journey back to Ancient Rome in this episode of the 'Time Traveller's Guide to Ancient History'. We're crash landing into the raucous and wild Bacchanalia, parties thrown in honor of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and festivity. Discover how these feasts were not just about letting loose, but were also religious rituals, political events, and networking opportunities. Learn about the festivities that were so epic, they made the government intervene, and the social norm-breaking aspects that blurred lines between rich, poor, free men, and slaves. Let's compare these ancient parties to our modern-day Mardi Gras, Carnival, or Oktoberfest, and see how we are keeping this millennia-old tradition alive. Here's to the Romans, the original party animals, and their mantra of "Carpe Diem!" or "Seize the day!" This podcast was generated with the help of artificial intelligence. Music credit: "Renaissance" by Audionautix.