Dionysus was one of the most popular deities of antiquity. Dionysus was a god of many roles; he was the god of wine, drugs, revelry, sex, completeness, theater, and lord of the dance of life.(Hamilton-1) He also represented the creative and destructive principals of life and in general, life itself. (Kristi-1) He was compared to and seen as somewhat of an equal to Zeus, who was the most prevalent and powerful of all the gods of antiquity. Although the time had long passed since Dionysus has been a major player in Western culture, he is still a huge part of our history. After all. only by looking at the societies and beliefs systems of our past, can we rightfully interpret certain areas of our present. (Gross and Grote-1)By looking at the deity Dionysus we can see that everything that he represented does not only belong to some random pagan culture of long ago, but does have relevance in Western society today. Dionysus, like Jim Morrison wanted us all to "break on through to the other side. That is, not to remain constrained by the constructs that society has put upon us.
Dionysus wandered the world actively encouraging his cult. He was accompanied by the Maenads, wild women, flush with wine, shoulders draped with a fawn skin, carrying rods tipped with pine cones. (Kravits-1) While other gods had temples, the followers of Dionysus worshipped him in the woods. Here, they might go into mad states where they would rip apart and eat raw any animal they came upon. Dionysus was also one of the very few that was able to bring a dead person out of the underworld. (Kravits-2) Even though he had never seen Semele, he was concerned for her. Eventually he journeyed into the underworld to find her. He faced down Thanatos (Death) and brought h...
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...ghter of Cadmus and Harmonia. Zeus fell in love with Semele and consorted with her. But Hera was jealous, and in order to delude Semele, Hera took the shape of Beroe, Semele's nurse, and told Semele to ask Zeus to come to her as he comes to Hera, so that she would know what pleasure it is to sleep with a god. (Hamilton-2) At her suggestion Semele made this request to Zeus and was smitten by a thunderbolt. (Hamilton-3)
Dionysus was a very driven god who in the years of countless eras, have seen him as a roaming god of differing tastes. One with immense power and influence over men and the alike. “Raised from mortal babe, to God amongst men.” (Gross and Grote-4) He is, or was, a major influence on cultured society around the world and a symbol with differing status to different people. His role in Greek and Roman mythology is astounding in it's abundance and virility.
One day, Zeus made Hera a bit jealous (as brothers and sisters in Kentucky can be) when Zeus was sleeping around with this and that female as various wild animals. Well, Hera was enraged so much, that she spontaneously conceived a child. I would LOVE to see something like that. She conceived and when Zeus noticed that Hera was pregnant, he was very angry himself. Moments later, she gave birth to Hephaistos. However, he was so very ugly and had a bad leg, that Hera tossed him to earth and disavowed his birth.
...ty since "things could happen in the real life of Athens which were virtually unthinkable in tragedy, and vice versa." Perhaps the safest assessment of Dionysus is that while not a direct opponent of the traditional ways, his presence, and especially his effect on other characters, serves to highlight many social norms. According to Bernad Knox, "From start to finish, Euripides was 'attempting to show citizens bred in the traditional views...that such conceptions of the gods should offend them.'" Perhaps we as readers will never fully understand the Dionysus that appears in this play, but a closing look at a remark of the Chorus may bring us a step closer to this understanding:
3 & 4. 27 B.C – A.D 68 by unknown artist, but restored by Pacetti Vincenzo
Although, he is the god of wine who gives festivities and tranquil state of mind. He causes people lose control of their sanity which leads to negative consequences. These actions contradict the norms of society, specifically targeting the role of women who are supposed to be civil. Instead, they dance and worship Dionysus out of their own will. He has a wicked way of punishing those who denied his existence as a god by driving them crazy. His powers lead from being peaceful to destructive. If Dionysus was concerned with morality he will not lead others to lose their sanity or control them against their own will. His actions of seeking revenge are viewed as cruel for murdering those who claim he is not a god. The way he sought revenge to punish those who believed he was not a god shows that he is not concerned with
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
According to Diodorus, Dionysius came to power by discrediting the military leaders` in order to have him appointed general with supreme power by the assembly (Diodorus 13.91-2, 95). Dionysius was now able to do whatever was necessary to win the war giving him virtually limitless power over the state. He also convinced the assembly to recall Syracusan who were in exile to help aid in the war, providing Dionysius with plenty of new supporters among the returning people (Diodorus 13.92). He then gained a bodyguard o...
Dionysus, son of Zues and Semele and Apollo, son of Zues and Leto, both were born under strange conditions. Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zues after being fully grown, and Apollo's mother, Leto, was in labor for nine days with him because Hera did not want him to be born and would not give Leto a safe place for the child to be delivered. Both these Gods have the need for power and a very creative drive. They spent their youth recruiting new worshipers for their respective cults in which they started, each cult showing their divinity. They are both associated with the phenomenon of ecstasy, meaning to stand outside oneself. In one such case, Apollo's priestess Pythia was overcome by his spirit and began speaking in tongues. Also when possessed by Dionysus, his followers similarly changed there normal actions, breaking into wild dances and "experienced a rapturous sense of union with their God." This shows how they made contact with humans, but in very different ways.
When we look at Greek Mythology we often run into the gods of that era. Sometimes they are merely backdrops to the human element of the story but in stories such as The Odyssey the gods play a prominent if not vital role to the central themes of the story.
Nietzsche introduces the Apollonian and the Dionysian as being part of the “Greek Life.” The Apollonian was based off of the Greek god Apollo. It represented culture, order, and art. The Dionysian was based off of the Greek god Dionysus. It represented nature, chaos, and feeling. Both the Apollonian and the Dionysian were combined with the creation of tragedy and became the core o...
ordinary reality and into a higher world. The myth of Dionysus and the rise and fall of his cult, offer the
Dionysus was the God of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, ritual madness, fertility, theater, and religious ecstasy. Dionysus was the son of Zeus, God of all Gods, and Semele, the daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. When Hera, Zeus’s wife, wanted to know who the father was, she disguised herself to try and convince Semele to tell her who it was. When Hera found out that it was Zeus, she was extremely jealous. She persuaded Semele to try and convince Zeus show his true form. Zeus said yes and Semele died as a result due to Zeus’ power being too powerful. But before she died, Zeus was able to take Dionysus out of the womb and stitch him in his thigh. A few months after Dionysus being born, he was raised by Ino, Semele’s sister, who dressed
He isn’t a god, but he is certainly a step above average mortals. The crew and other mortals in the story are mostly seen as bold, and this is why we focus on the epic hero and his journey. Odysseus’s courage allows him to survive while the bold do not. The Odyssey solidifies this by killing off bold characters like the crew, and even Penelope’s suitors. In Ancient Greek culture, epic poems gave the Greeks role models. The Greeks looked up to Odysseus, and yearned to be like him: a courageous hero. By examining Odysseus, it is easy to see how his success and failure exceeds everyone else’s which is attributed to his
The sexual cult of Dionysus/ Bacchus created festivals for the people; supplying an unending rivalry for the underlying evil spiritual forces to use; these cults or festivals, (leading into orgies), evolved as an immense part of Pan’s creation. Mysteriously, this cult 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.
Zeus, his name is synonymous with Greek mythology and religion. God of the weather and sky he used his powers of wind, lightning, and thunder to uphold the law and keep order. He ruled Mount Olympus as well as the pantheon of gods who lived there. Watching over mankind he would punish those who defied him and help those who were wronged. However, Zeus did have his flaws. His quick tempered nature combined with his lust for women made him relatable to the common man. From his coming to power until the beginning of Christianity, this complex god would have no equal.