The Baptes (Greek βάπτης[1]) were priests of the Greek goddess Kotys. The word comes from the Greek verb βάπτω (baptō), meaning "to dip in water".[2] The Baptes practised nocturnal ceremonies, which were associated with rampant obscenity and insobriety.[3]
This article incorporates text from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable by E. Cobham Brewer (1894), a publication now in the public domain.