In The Bacchae, thyrsuses of fennel were used by Dionysus' female followers to fend off huntsmen sent by Pentheus and in the pillaging of two villages, Erythrae and Hysiae. Enchanted with Dionysus' power, the thyrsuses were able to pierce as sharply as a spear. The wands were also able to produce water when tapped against a rock and wine when dug into the ground, and honey flowed continually from their tips.