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Dionysus-Bacchus Cults Mysteriously, the sexual cults of Dionysus-Bacchus, predates Greek civilization and its origination persists of unknown beginnings; dating longer than the Mycenaean culture early development that transpired on the mainland of Greece during 1600-1100 B.C. These cults or festivals, (leading into orgies), were a huge part of Pan’s creation. Fig. 31. Pan and Bacchus/ Dionysus, 1497; freakishly presents Pan as a shy little nobody. An immense amount of statues and images dedicated to Dionysus survive today. As mentioned before, the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian text reference the existence of gods, demons and imagined spirits that took hold of its victims as ‘the seizer.’ Thus, evil spirits existed in their known
While visiting the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, I came across The Indian Triumph of Dionysus. Originating in Rome, it was created by a wealthy follower of Dionysus’s mystery cult in the late second century A.D. This worshiper evidently wanted to construct a sarcophagus in tribute of Dionysus’s accomplishments. Furthermore, Dionysus is surrounded by characters that are within the mystery cult because the creator wants the viewers to know with whom he is associated. With these two things combined, the patron hoped to shed light on a piece of history that they believed to be prominent during his life.
Symposium is set during a festival for Dionysus, the goddess of fertility; this setting emphasizes the sexual expectations of society that Alcibiades must confront. During fertility festivals, "the Athenians would carry phalluses around the city in ribald celebration" (Rudall 5);1 the phallus in Athens was a symbol of both fertility and eroticism. The Athenians, concerned with the potential extinction of the human race, performed rituals during these festivals that celebrated the phallus as the means of the reproduction of human life. Thus, heterosexual relationships were justified by the creation of children, and the focus of the celebration of the phallus was its productive nature. This focus on productivity created a social expectation that sexual relationships should be productive.
Theatre is an evolving art form, due to its prevalent themes, in which the creators ‘…express the complications of life through a shared enterprise’ (Lee Hall, 2008). The modernisation of a text whilst maintaining the history relevant to the play has been reinforced by Brisbane based Physical Theatre Company Zen Zen Zo through their 1996 reinterpretation of Eurpide’s The Bacchae, adapted into ‘The Cult of Dionysus’ (Zen Zen Zo, 2016). ‘The Cult of Dionysus’, entails the story of Dionysus, the Greek God of fertility, wine and pleasure, seeks revenge on the ruler of Thebes’ Pentheus, who has just outlawed the worship of Dionysus. The elements of drama have been manipulated to engage the audience, specifically
The Medieval Crusades: Launched to Spread Worship of Dionysus Although it is a popular notion that the crusades of the Eleventh through Thirteenth Century Europe were launched to spread Christianity, it is a seldom realized fact that they were actually launched to spread the worship of the Greek God Dionysus. While many fundamentalist radicals and even some historians who ought to know better will dispute this,it is,nevertheless,true. During the Middle Ages in Europe,there were a series of ten religious crusades launched over a period of three centuries. It is commonly believed that these were organized and carried out by Christian religious leaders to unite more territory under the red and white flag of their cherished religion.
The Differences between Apollo and Dionysus are not difficult to see. Though both Gods are associated wi...
The experience of evil possession persists as well, and eventually, the boundaries between “divine” and “evil” possession plausibly blends together within societies. Through the centuries, this uncontrollable event of possession increasingly became far-reaching. The spiritual comprehension of what exactly a person happen to be dealing with, whether good or bad, ultimately, became acceptable by acquiring large amounts of alcohol, drugs and various sources of stimulators, (as today). This control of a person by a god or deity could easily manifest itself through Apollo, Dionysus/Bacchus, the mother goddess, Cybele, the Muses, Eros, the nymphs, and others known for their abilities to possess. At the same time, on a somewhat obscure level, evolves
In The Bacchae Dionysus appears in the kingdom of Thebes as a blond shaman driving the women of Thebes into religious frenzy. The king of Thebes, Pentheus, is Dionysus’ cousin, but he does not believe that Dionysus is a real god. Pentheus is concerned about the wild cult of women, the maenads, also known as the Bacchae, especially since his mother is one of the worshippers. However, Dionysus learns that Pentheus is more than just concerned; he has a lustful desire to see the maenads’ ritual. Dionysus preys on Pentheus’ desire and...
In the Ancient Greek world, religion was personal, direct, and present in all areas of life. With formal rituals of animal sacrifices and libations, myths to explain the origins of man kind and to give the gods a face, temples which dominated the landscape, city festivals and national sporting and arts tournaments, religion was never far from the minds of the Ancient Greeks. Whilst every individual had their own mindset on their personal religious beliefs, there were three factors that were fundamental in Greek religion; 1) the gods existed, 2) the could influence human affairs, and 3) the welcomed and responded greatly to acts of piety and worship. The Ancient Greek ritual of animal sacrifice gives a clear view into the everyday lives of Ancient Greeks and reveals both their social and cultural identity.
For many years, cult leaders always had a psychological hold on their followers' minds. Whether it was to kill other people or to kill themselves, they did it without question. Some cult leaders used fear, violence and guilt as a means of a weapon to control the minds of their followers. Other cult leaders used persuasive and spiritual speeches that made their followers believe they were doing good and fulfilling God's plan. Because cult leaders are powerful through psychological offenses, the people that belong to their cults are brainwashed into doing things they wouldn't normally do in their right state of mind.
Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Semele, was the only god with a mortal parent. Zeus was the almighty god, ruler of all gods; however, Semele was a princess of Thebes. Zeus came to Semele in the night, no human could see Zeus, but felt his heavenly presence. Semele was honored to be loved by any god. She did not know which one, but she persuaded Zeus to reveal his form. He had no other choice since he vowed to his promise, soon as Zeus revealed himself, she was instantly burned to a crisp. Zeus saved the fetal, Dionysus, and stitched him in his thigh where he would remain until he was born. By Dionysus being born from Zeus made him immortal. Therefore, being immortal made Dionysus a god that any other considerable god should uphold the same title. For example, Osiris, the Egyptian god, is the god of the Underworld. He possessed human form and lived on Earth (Egyptian Mythology 1997.) He was not considered a god until after he was murdered by the Sets. Dionysus was raised by small
The Olympian Religion of Ancient Greece was a religion that was based on fear, whereas the many mystery religions of Ancient Greece were based primarily on hope. The Olympian Religion was based on fear due to the instability and unpredictability of the gods and goddesses; it was believed that they could change their minds whenever they pleased. This left mortals scared and willing to do anything to avoid the wrath of the gods and goddesses. However, the mystery religions were based on hope and community, offering a sense of belonging due to their classless nature. The mystery religions also offered a belief of a better life after death which was appealing to many Greeks. In addition, there were many secret rites that offered mortals a way of communicating directly to the god of the mystery religion.
Imagine that you are in Athens during the fifth century. Today is the festival called City Dionysia, and you are currently seeing a dithyramb, which is a choral song dedicated to Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine. It is sung by 50 men dressed up in goat skins as satyrs. However, you have seen the same ritual a number of times and start to lose interest in the festival. Then, you hear about a fellow Athenian named Thespis, who has a different way to present this ritual. Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to embark on a journey to visit the beginnings of Greek theater. As I have mentioned before, the origins lie in the goat song known as tragoidia. In 534 BC, Thespis was the first actor, added narration, and acted out dramatic episodes.
Theatre of Dionysus is situated on the south side of the acropolis in Athens, it’s an
"Dionysus was a god known for his lightheartness and always offered his help to anyone in need. He was therefore very popular among gods and mortals and many festivals were being held every year in his honor. Nevertheless, Dionysus was many times misunderstood." (Greekgods.info). Dionysus was known as one of the nicer gods. His strongest trait among all is that he loved others, and many loved him. He was basically that cool guy that everyone wants to be. And for those who misunderstood or opposed him, they felt his power in full strength."Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, parties, festivals, celebrations, madness, chaos, drunkenness and ecstasy. He therefore represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficent influences which led him to be viewed as the promoter of civilization and lover of
Theater was an important part of Ancient Greek Civilization. History of Greek theatre began with religious festivals which aim to honor Dionysus, a god. During the festivals some citizens sing songs and perform improvisation plays and other participants of festivals judges this performances to decide which one of them was the best. These plays form the foundation of the Greek Theatre. Because of the competition between performers to create best performances, plays gained an aesthetic perspective and became a form of art. So, theatre as a part of religious rituals took attention of people and gained an importance in Ancient Greek Society.