10: Dionysus and Orpheus Flashcards
Who are Dionysus parents, how is this paradoxical
Zeus and Semele, this is a paradox because he has a human mother but he is still fully divine, shouldn’t make sense but it does bc he is the god of paradox.
what happens to Semele when she gets zeus to swear an oath to appear to her in the same way he appears to hera. What happens to Dionysus whom she is pregnant with
He appears in the form of a lightning bolt and she is incinerated. Hermes saves baby Dionysus and zeus takes him and sews him to his thigh to act like a womb.
why is dionysus considered “twice born”
Because he had two wombs, his mother semele’s actual womb and zeus’ thigh.
what is dionysus the god of
Paradox, and coming (showing up)
Who is dionysus raised by
The nymphs of Nysa
what form is dionysus in when he is raised how is this possible
the form of a goat, he is a shape shifter
what does Enthousiasmos mean
filled with the god (like word enthusiasm powerful excitement)
Ektasis
‘standing outside (one self)’ (like word ecstasy is like your outside your body, unreal)
Sparagmos means?
‘Tearing apart’, ripping apart animal (usually women did this)
Omophagia
Eating raw flesh
What happens when Dionysus is placed under the care of ino (semele’s sister$ and athemus
Hera gets mad that Zeus had a child without her, and that the child survived so she takes it out on kno and athamus. This causes Athamus to shoot one of his sons and Ino to cook another.
What is the pattern that happens when Dionysus shows up asking for worship and someone rejects him.
Those who reject him get mis recognition and their children are hurt.
Explain what Lycurgus (Thracian king) does when Dionysus shows up
He mistakes his own son as an ivy plant and chops him up with an axe.
What happens to the minyads (daughters of minyas) when they don’t go out and worship Dionysus
Dionysus transforms the room they are making their textiles in into lion bull and panther. Nectar and milk flow, loom turns into ivy, everything turns black. They consume one of their own children, and are turned into bats.
What is Dionysus associated with
Wine- he’s god of intoxication madness. Masks, nature: ivy is his sacred plant, Thyrsus, exotic animals, phallus (also fertility god bc when you intoxicated yk), bull, satyrs (horse-men, human but animal at the same time, have horse tail, meant to reflect paradox. Silenus (goat-man)
What is the staff associated with Dionysus
Thrysus -stalk wrapped in ivy has what looks like a pine cone on the end
What were female worshippers of Dionysus called
Maenads
What were devoted worshippers of Dionysus called
Bacchae
What were Dionysus worshippers that worshipped all the time called
Bacchants
Explain the myth of Dionysus home coming (in Thebes)
When he shows up in Thebes he establishes worship in his hometown. There is lots of sound, a big obnoxious entourage. Politicians in towns tried to close this parade out but bad things would happen (children hurt etc)
What are the ways Dionysus is a paradoxical god
Greek and foreign (son of zeus but not born in greece), Family and outsider, violent but he’s still worshipped, male but dresses in a feminine way, divine and human (human mom but fully divine), natural uncivilized and civilized (he’s embodiment of natural impulses but shows up in towns asking for worship and acts civilized, intellect and madness (intoxication, losing your rationality, but also seen as kind of wisdom bc everyone needs to let go sometimes), control and helplessness.
what to look for to identify Maenads in art
Thyrsus, animal skins, holding animal, vines in hair, snake handling.
Describe the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus
He is captured by pirates who fail to recognize him and resist the god. He works miracles on their ship: the mast grows grapes and ivy, and he transforms them and their ship into sea creatures like dolphins.
Explain the myth of King Pentheus (of thebes)
King Pentheus tries to take a rational approach to Dionysus, Pentheus rejects him, but it’s a trap, he tries to trap Dionysus then Dionysus causes Pentheus’ mom agave to tear apart her own son (sparagmos).
Who was Orpheus
Musician and Argonaut (his moms a muse)
who was orpheus’ wife
Eurydice
Explain the myth of Orpheus reclaiming Eurydice
His wife dies and he tries to retrieve her from the underworld. He plays music to try to convince Hades and Persephone to let him take her back. They agree, on one condition: he can’t look behind him on his ascent back up from the underworld. But at one point during the ascent, he can’t hear her and gets scared so he looks and she disappears.
explain what the thracian bacchae did to orpheus
Orpheus swears off girls after his wife and the thracian bacchae want him, but he says no so they kill him and put his head on a lyre.
