Cult of Dionysus

Dionysus was the central figure in a major cult of the Greek world, a cult that would have a long-term influence in mythology, religion, and literature. Dionysus was a pan-Hellenic god who was widely celebrated throughout the Archaic period and honored at dramatic contests with tragedies and comedies. His was also an orgiastic cult. Dionysus is the god of ecstasy and possession and might be called the patron saint of the drama as well as of various festivals and celebrations.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was a bastard son of Zeus. The mother of Dionysus is variously named depending on the source, and some have said she was Demeter, or Io, and some Dione, and still others Lethe. The most common story has it that Zeus disguised himself as a mortal and had a secret affair with Semele ("moon"), the daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. Zeus's wife, Hera, was jealous. She disguised herself as an old neighbor and advised Semele to ask her lover to do her a favor by not hiding his identity any longer but to reveal himself to her in his true nature and form. Semele followed this advice, and when Zeus refused to comply, she refused him access to her bed. In anger, he appeared in thunder and lighting, and Semele was consumed. Hermes saved her six-month-old unborn child, however, by sewing him up inside Zeus's thigh to mature for another three months, at which time the child was delivered. Dionysus is therefore called "twice-born" (Graves 55-56).

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tening to this warning. Dionysus and his followers escape from prison, and Pentheus chases the maidens into the hills where they have fled. Most of the Theban women had joined them, including Pentheus's mother. All the women rushed Pentheus, in their madness seeing him as a wild beast. They tore him limb from limb, after which Dionysus removed the madness from them so Pentheus's mother could see what she had done (Hamilton 57-59). The variety and contradictions inherent in the worship of Dionysus have been noted by scholars who are puzzled by the way the cult developed: It presents us with the spectacle of annual festivals in the towns or fields in spring--and with biennial festivals on the bare mountaintops in winter; with daylight celebrations and torchlit midnight rovings; it has its joyous and bountiful side and its grim and gruesome side, for the same god is haled as the giver of all good gifts and feared as the eater of raw flesh an the man-tearer. . . (Guthrie 145-146). Worship of Dionysus in one of his incarnations involved the orgy. They usually took place at night. Participation was not confined to women, though they were the most frequent and characteristic worshippers: The greatest gift of Dionysus was t

Category: Philosophy - C