Order of The Greek Horsemen - Honorary Organizations and Secret Societies

Honorary Organizations and Secret Societies

The university is home to a chapter of the Order of Omega, an honor society which selects the top 3% of Greek students for membership. A group unique to University of Georgia is the men's secret society known as the Order of the Greek Horsemen which annually inducts five fraternity men, all leaders of the Greek system. Its purpose and function remains a closely guarded secret.

The Panhellenic sororities also have secret societies known as Trust of the Pearl, which inducts five accomplished sorority women each spring. Another secret society within the Panhellenic sororities at the university is the Palladia Secret Society. Twelve women are invited to join the Palladia. It has been said that members of the Pearl often wear black g-strings and a single strand of pearls when gather in public. the Mystical Seven Secret Society was founded at UGA in 1846.

The origin of secret societies at the University of Georgia are filled with mystery. The first known reference to secret societies at the University of Georgia was somewhere between 1866 and 1871. It was known that secret societies existed before the Civil War, but it isn't clear if the societies existed previously. Urban legends have it that secret societies at the university stem far before the 1860s. The university was established in 1785. Many point to the university's founder, Abraham Baldwin, for the origin of societies. Baldwin was an alumnus of Yale University, home to one of the most well-recognized secret society in the nation, Skull and Bones.