Dionysus

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Dionysus

• God of Wine and Madness

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Birth of Dionysus
Dionysus is the only god to have a human
mother. Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, king
of Thebes. Seduced by Zeus, she inspired Heras
jealousy. Hera tricked her into asking Zeus to
show himself to her in his true form. Exposed to
divine reality, she was burned up. Only the
glowing embryo of Dionysus remained.
Zeus sewed the embryo into his thigh and birthed
it himself.
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Birth of Dionysus
As Athenas birth from Zeuss head signifies her
intellect and purity, Dionysus birth from Zeuss
thigh associates him with physical sensation and
chaotic sexuality. Also a little bit of gender
bending.
Dionysus was raised by various nymphs and other
woodland creatures. Here Hermes brings him to
Silenus, the old, forest-living, wine-loving
satyr often shown in the gods retinue.
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Appearance of Dionysus
Dionysus may be shown as a bearded older man . . .
. . . or as a sensual, even effeminate, beardless
youth. Flexible age image, as with Hermes.
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The Nature of Dionysus
This dual nature, especially the efeminate
aspect, was a little scary.
Greek mythology emphasized the foreign, Eastern
origins of Dionysus, but archeological evidence
suggests he is as old as the other Greek
gods. The East was a symbol of decadence and
extremes.
The wild, effeminate portrayal of Dionysus
emphasizes the threat of ecstatic experience to
what is dignified and proper.
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Dionysus the Pirates
First of all a sweet and fragrant wine flowed
through the black ship, and a divine ambrosial
odor arose . . . immediately a vine spread in all
directions from the top of the sail, with many
clusters hanging down . . . the sailors escaped
an evil fate and leaped into the shining sea and
became dolphins. Homeric Hymn to Dionysus
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The Nature of Dionysus
On the other hand, the Greeks regarded a little
drunken partying as a good thing.
In the Anthesteria, a 3-day Athenian festival,
much of the second day was devoted to wine
tasting and drinking contests, open to all men
above the age of three, slave and free alike.
Dionysus matched Demeters gift of grain, with
wine. He turned the grapes into a flowing drink
and offered it to mortals, so when they fill
themselves with the liquid vine, they put an end
to grief. Euripides, Bacchae
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The Nature of Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of drama, which embodied
aspects of ecstasy (standing outside oneself)
the actors impersonated mythological characters,
and the audience experienced feelings and
emotions incited by the plays.
katharsis, or emotional release, is one of the
things Dionysus offers.
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The Nature of Dionysus
But drama was also a civic, com-munity thing.
Major civic festivals, such as the dramatic
festivals of Lenaia and Dionysia, as well as the
more sober parts of the Anthesteria, emphasized
Dionysus role as a god whose power supported a
well balanced life, both family and civic.
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Dionysus his retinue
Dionysus is thought of as accompanied by
not-quite-human satyrs (half-man, half-goat).
Satyrs are another symbol of the mysterious
powers of nature and the wild. Satyrs are a
little bit crazy, often over-sexed, fond of
wine. Pan is the quintessential satyr.
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Dionysus his retinue
Satyrs and nymphs accompany the god. The satyrs
play musical instruments and the nymphs are shown
dancing with krotala (castanets). Music and dance
are essential to Dionysiac celebration.

• Attributes
• wine cup
• music dance

• nymphs satyrs
• trailing ivy

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Dionysus his retinue

• Maenads are a key feature of Dionysus retinue.
• Attributes
• thyrsus (pinecone or ivy-tipped rod, kinda
  phallic)

• fawn skin or panther skin (dappled, camouflage)

• mastery over connection with wild animals

• wild, ecstatic dancing, head turned up or back

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Maenads (Madwomen)
Maenads reverse the conventions of life for Greek
women staying inside, being family oriented,
domestic pursuits, keeping to themselves. Maenads
go out into nature, abandon their families, rove
in bands, and hunt wild animals. This maenad
participates in the rituals of the Dionysiac
orgy (wild celebration) tearing an animal
apart (sparagmos) and probably, eating its flesh
raw (omophagia). This is the exact opposite of
civilized behavior! Scary . . .
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Maenads (Madwomen)
The Greeks show a fascination with sexual assault
of Maenads.
Sleeping Maenads may expect rude awakenings. . .
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Maenads
On the other hand, Maenads are usually shown
defending themselves pretty effectively. Dionysus
encourages riotous behavior and freedom for
women, but its about ecstacy, not sex.
Chastity depends on character, and in Dionysus
celebration, no decent woman is seduced.
Tiresias, in Euripides, Bacchae
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Maenads
How many real women worshipped Dionysus as
maenads? Evidence shows the practice more in
some parts of the Peloponnese and Asia Minor,
though not all women would have
participated. Pausanias mentions Athenian women
who traveled to Delphi, performing dances at set
points along the way, in the 2nd century CE
could this reflect earlier practices? Feminine
solidarity is reflected in the story of the women
of Amphissa
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Maenads
Maenadism provided women with a temporary
respite from the routine and isolation of their
domestic existence, but it also allowed them,
through their experience of ecstasy, to a modeof
expression which gave free reign to pent-up
emotions and hostilities (Blundell)
The term maenad (mad-woman) signified
possession by a god but at the same time carries
derogotory connotations, implying masculine
disapproval of uncontrolled feminine behavior
(Blundell)
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Maenads
I. M. Lewis, in a study of possession in many
different societies, argues that rituals like
Maenadism allow women (and other disenfranchised
groups) to express their pent-up frustrations at
their subjected social role, but is only
tolerated because the men in power recognize this
outlet as essential for the maintenance of the
status quo. Zeitlin (Blundell) Dionysiac
worship which incorporates rituals of inversion
(such as abandonment of home and children,
demonstrations of aggression, and eating of raw
flesh) would have conformed to the male view of
womens nature as a subversive and less fully
integrated element of society. This supports a
negative ideology of the female as unruly and
disorderly
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Ariadne
Dionysus married Ariadne, the daughter of the
king of Crete, when he found her sleeping on Naxos
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Euripides Bacchae
Euripides wrote the Bacchae at the end of his
life. It is one of his most masterful plays and
shows the tension between the drive to live a
normal, controlled life, and the divine power of
chaos that Dionysus brings.
Major characters Dionsysus The god is disguised
as his own priest. Pentheus The young king of
Thebes. He wants to run his city in a strict,
orderly fashion.
Bacchae the chorus, a group of women who
followed their god from Asia, sleeping in the
woods, dancing, and hunting.
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Euripides Bacchae
Cadmus, the oldking of Thebes (Pentheus
Dionysus grandfather) Tiresias, the old blind
seer two old men who, ridiculous though it is,
have recognized the gods power and are dancing
in celebration of him.
Chorus What is wisdom? What is beauty? Slowly
but surely the divine power moves to annul the
brutally minded man who in his wild delusions
refuses to reverence the gods. . . Euripides,
Bacchae
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Euripides Bacchae
Its a foregone conclusion Pentheus cannot fight
the power of the god brainwashed and driven
insane, he participates in his own sparagmos . .
. The innocent suffer too, as his mother and
grandfather are bereaved, despite accepting the
god.
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• What principles fuel the conflict between
  Pentheus and Dionysus? 
• Are these inevitable conflicts of the human
  soul? 
• What is wisdom, according to the Dionysiac
  perspective?

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• Maenads speech p. 277 ff what is happiness?
  What are the driving forces of their lives?
• How do Tiresias and Cadmus feel about Dionysus?
  What are their reasons for following him despite
  the fact that it makes them ridiculous?
• What views about morality and how to enforce it,
  arise in the conversation of Dionysus and
  Pentheus on p. 281-2?
• What does the end of the play, with the
  destruction of Pentheus, say about the nature of
  Dionysus in specific, and the gods in general?

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So hail to you, Dionysus, rich in grape clusters
grant that we may in our joy go through these
seasons again and again for many years. Homeric
Hymn to Dionysus
Finis
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