Bible Dictionary
IVY
Ivy is mentioned in connection with the pagan festival of Dionysus, when Jews under Antiochus Epiphanes were forced to carry it. The plant was sacred to the Greek god of wine.
Definition
Ivy is the plant Hedera helix. In the supplied biblical material it is associated with the worship of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and vine culture, and with a crown used in the Isthmian games.
Biblical Usage
Ivy is mentioned in 2 Maccabees when Jews were compelled to join a procession to Dionysus carrying the plant. The New Testament also refers to the corruptible crown of athletic games, though the supplied material connects such crowns with ivy or pine.
Historical Background
Ivy was sacred to Dionysus. Under Antiochus Epiphanes, Jews were forced to participate in the festival procession, illustrating the religious pressure of the period.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>i'-vi (kissos): The only mention of the word in all the sacred writings is in 2 Macc 6:7 in connection with the oppression of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes: "On the day of the king's birth every month they were brought by bitter constraint to eat of the sacrifices; and when the feast of Bacchus (Dionysus) was kept, the Jews were compelled to go in procession to Dionysus, carrying ivy," this plant (Hedera helix) being sacred to the Greek god of wine and of the culture of the vine (compare Eur. Bacchae, passim). It was of ivy or of pine that the "corruptible crown" of the famous Isthmian games was made (1Co 9:25).</p><p>J. Hutchison</p>