Dionysus Flashcards
Iconography
Ivy, grapes, figs, leopard skin, phallus, bull horns, chariot drawn by leopards, eastern animals, musical instruments, Thyrsus (staff)
What is he the god of?
Wine and the grape, madness, and theater
Etymology of name?
Zeus (Dios) & Mt. Nysa
Birth of Dionysus
-Mother: Semele // Father: Zeus
-Hera tricked Semele into having Zeus show her his true form; he appears as a lightning bolt and strikes Semele, who becomes a ball of fire; Zeus pulls Dionysus out of her and sews into his thigh
Childhood of Dionysus
-Famous daughters of Cadmus
-Semele: mother of Dionysus
-Ino: mother of Melicertes
- Autonoë: mother of Actaeon
-Agave: mother of Pentheus
-Dionysus was raised by Ino in attempt to hide him from Hera
-When she died, Hermes takes him to Mt. Nysa
-Spends a long time trying to protect his divinity and his mother’s name (Euripides’ Bacchae)
The Minyades (daughters of Minyas)
-Aspects of Dionysus’ character
-Cross-dressing
-Shape-shifting
-Miracles
-Human sacrifice
-Sparagmos: “Tearing apart of flesh”
-Omophagia: “Eating raw meat”
-Punishes those who do not worship/believe in him
Dionysus and the Pirates
-Abducted by pirates who mistake him for a mortal
-Transforms into a lion and many of the pirates jump off in fear
-Saves the helmsman and makes him happy because he believed in Dionysus
-Reminds readers of fundamental elements in the nature of his character and worship: miracles, bestial transformation, violence to enemies, and pity and salvation for those who understand
The nature of Dionysus
-Liber (the free one)
-Intoxication (Ino)
-Loss of awareness (Autonoë)
-Sexual appetite (Semele)
-Madness (agave)
-Ecstasy: “standing outside of oneself”
-Drunkenness, madness, prophetic trance
-Enthusiasm: “possess by the god”
Attendants of Dionysus
-Maenads/Bacchae (female)
-Satyrs (male, part goat) –> chase the Bacchae
-Silenus (old satyr, tutor of Dionysus)
-Silenic tradition for popular wisdom & philosophical critique
The union of Dionysus and Ariadne
-Ariadne –> Mother: Pasphaë // Sister: Phaedra
-Ariadne was left in Naxos by Theseus after helping him slay the Minotaur; Dionysus saw her and was in awe of her beauty so he made her his wife
Divine vengeance as a story pattern
-Zeus vs Lycaon
-Athena vs Tiresias
-Artemis vs Actaeon
-Dionysus vs Myneades/Pirates/Pentheus
Pan
-Part man and part goat
-Full of spirit, impulsive, and amorous
-Parents unclear: mother is some nymph // father is either Hermes or Apollo
-God of shepherds and a musician –> invited the panpipe (syrinx: also the name of a nymph whom he pursued)
-Home is Arcadia but he is especially honored in Athens
Pan, Echo, and Narcissus
-Echo was a nymph who fled from Pan’s advances; in his anger, he spread madness and panic to a group of shepherd to the extent that they ripped her to pieces, leaving only her voice
-(Alt. story to Echo losing everything but her voice)
-Echo was in love with Narcissus, but when she showed herself, he was horrified; her pain led to her body being wasted away, until only her voice remained
Pan, Echo, and Narcissus
-Echo was a nymph who fled from Pan’s advances; in his anger, he spread madness and panic to a group of shepherd to the extent that they ripped her to pieces, leaving only her voice
-(Alt. story to Echo losing everything but her voice)
-Echo was in love with Narcissus, but when she showed herself, he was horrified; her pain led to her body being wasted away, until only her voice remained
