Maenads, most simply, were the female followers of the Greek god of wine, Dionysos. From there, it gets much more complicated. The main problem in researching the maenads is in the distinction between "real" maenads (historical bands of women who held rituals for Dionysos in ancient Greece) and mythological maenads (who accompany satyrs in the god's revels and have supernatural abilities). Many scholars dismiss the accounts of the maenads' less believable activities as merely stories, but I think they may well have represented actual practices, and that the line between mythical and historical maenadism is blurry at best.

In the common myth of Dionysos, the god calls formerly domestic women out of their homes, inspires within them a frenzy that causes them to abandon their homes, their children, and head for the mountains. There they dance and sing in honor of Dionysos, sending themselves further and further into an ecstasy. Then the more extraordinary, and sometimes horrifying, accounts begin. The maenads attack live animals and tear them apart, eating the flesh raw (this is called omophagia). Somewhat paradoxically, they take up baby animals such as young wolves and suckle them at their breasts, even though they might slaughter their own babies. They charm snakes and wear them in their hair. They strike their thyrsoi (ritual staffs) on the ground and produce streams of water, milk, honey and wine. They have supernatural strength, and are impervious to weapons and fire.

"Their wild cries, the wine they drank, the excitement of the music and the dancing, all brought them to a pitch of frenzy which was the very object of the rite. In their ecstasy (loss of self-consciousness, a going outside oneself) and enthusiasm (spiritual possession by the god), they saw visions, performed acts such as the tearing to pieces and eating of raw flesh, and became insensible to heat or cold or pain." - 'Greek and Roman Religion' by Alain Hus

These accounts might seem unbelievable until one begins finding similar examples of such phenomena from cultures world-wide, often with more well-documented events in recent times. Rituals are often performed in India, for instance, where worshippers pierce themselves with large spikes, walk on fire, all without showing any pain. They do this partly by inducing an altered state of consciousness through dance, music, and worship of the gods. I believe this is exactly what was happening for the maenads.

Dancing appears to have been a significant element to the inducement of ecstasy in the maenads. For one thing, it might have helped build up the adrenaline necessary for the increased strength they displayed. Specifically, the action of throwing the head back violently is frequently mentioned, an action that can certainly contribute to an altered state, even for modern heavy-metal headbangers. In Euripides' 'The Bacchae', Cadmus asks, "where shall we tread the dance, tossing our white heads in the dances of the god?" This backward toss of the head may have been for the maenads not only an spiritual communion with their god, but a physiological one as well - especially as some research suggests a possible sexual effect of this action. Another physical trigger was intoxication - Dionysos is the god of wine, after all, and drinking wine was a large part of the maenadic revels. There also may have been other psychoactive substances taken, though specifically what is highly debatable.

One additional aspect of the maenads should be mentioned here - they were also warriors, when the need arose. In Nonnos' 'Dionysiaca', the maenads are the army of Dionysos, slaying hundreds or thousands of men in the god's campaign in India. They are depicted as fierce, vicious, bloodthirsty, and completely capable of battle against strong, trained men. Inspired with the god's power, they use their thyrsoi as spears, they hunt and kill like animals, these women that had previously been mere housewives.

Taken all together, maenadism is an extraordinary physical and spiritual transformation brought about by intense activity, religious communion, and intoxication - and seems to me a clear example of Somafera, and possibly the only one practiced historically exclusively by women.