What is an ancient Greek bacchanal? Netizens seek to clarify misunderstanding surrounding The Olympics Last Supper parody 

A performance by the drag queens at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics has made its way into the news, as it has been criticized by many for allegedly showing the enactment of Jesus Christ spending his last supper with his apostles just before his crucifixion.

While the whole act outraged many, one scene where a performer can be seen covered in blue body paint, with fruits around them, has especially gathered a lot of hate and criticism on social media. It is worth noting that “The Last Supper” is associated with Leonardo Da Vinci’s popular painting, which depicts Jesus’ final meal, which he shared with his 12 apostles in Jerusalem.

As several social media users slammed the performers and the Olympic organizers for allegedly mocking Christians and their faith, a few claimed that the performers did not depict the "Last Supper." Instead, they said the performance depicted the ancient Greek Bacchanal, a Roman festival of Bacchus, also referred to as Bacchanalia.

The festival dates back to 200 BC and is based on Greek Dionysia. As per Brewminate, Bachhanal is:

“The Roman festivals of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication and ecstasy. They were based on the Greek Dionysia and the Dionysian mysteries, and probably arrived in Rome c. 200 BC via the Greek colonies in southern Italy, and from Etruria, Rome’s northern neighbour.”

While several people have claimed that the performance was named 'La Cene Sur La Scene Sur La Seine' and was a mockery of Vinci’s popular painting, others claimed that it had nothing to do with The Last Supper.

"The entire Internet can stop clutching their collective pearls. It has nothing to do with the Last Supper and everything to do with GREECE," said one user.

Another person said it was not the Last Supper but a depiction of an ancient Greek Bacchanal because "the Olympics are ancient and Greek."

"Surprise! And if you didn’t know, a Bacchanalia is an uncontrollably promiscuous, extravagant, and loud party. The parties often spanned several days which honored the god of wine, Bacchus (the blue guy covered in grape vine)."

One X user explained that the Olympics didn't mock the Last Supper and that some people are misleading others with "fake religious persecution fantasy."

“That scene depicted a Bacchanal, an ancient Greek festival. No wonder his party continues to attack public education—they want people dumb enough to fall for this crap. Stop misleading people with your fake religious persecution fantasy.”

While the debate on social media still ensues, the art director of the opening ceremony said the performance was not inspired by The Last Supper.

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The Olympics opening ceremony’s artistic director clarifies his stance amidst backlash

After the 2024 Olympics opening, several netizens jumped into the debate of whether the opening act represented The Last Supper. However, the art director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, recently clarified that The Last Supper was not his inspiration.

During the International Olympic Committee's daily briefing at the Olympic Games on Saturday, July 27, 2024, Thomas Jolly said:

“We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that. In France, we have freedom of creation, artistic freedom. We are lucky in France to live in a free country. I didn’t have any specific messages that I wanted to deliver.

“The moment was not meant to be subversive or shock people or mock people. The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus.”

In another statement to BFMTV on Sunday, Jolly said The Last Supper was “not my inspiration.”

“There is Dionysus who arrives on this table. He is there because he is the God of celebration in Greek mythology. The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone,” he said.

On the other hand, the Olympics’ X page released a statement apologizing for hurting the sentiments of a certain group. They also stated how it was an interpretation of the “Greek God Dionysus,” as they shared a few pictures and wrote:

Furthermore, the spokesperson for Paris Olympics stated on Sunday, July 28, 2024:

"Clearly there was never an intention to show disrespect to any religious group. On the contrary, I think with Thomas Jolly, we really did try to celebrate community tolerance. Looking at the result of the polls that we shared, we believe that this ambition was achieved. If people have taken any offense, we are, of course, really, really sorry.”

While the 2024 Olympics organizers and the committee have clarified that the performance by drag queens had nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus, opposing views continue to flood social media.