Term 1 - Lecture 8 Flashcards
How is Dionysus twice-born according to Orphic tradition?
Born to Zeus and Persephone. Killed and eaten by the titans - Zeus swallows the heart, and impregnates Semele.
What instruments are Dionysus associated with?
Pipes, tambourines, and PERCUSSIVE instruments
Why was Dionysus raised on Mt. Nysa by nymphs in the Near East as a goat?
To protect him from Hera
What is the heroes reward for risking their life in battle?
- Kleos (glory) 2. Time (honour)
What procession occurs at the City Dionysia?
The Phallophoria—the song of the phallus bearers (Athenaeus)
What is Dionysus’ group of maenads/bacchants and satyrs called?
Thiasos
What is Early Greek Eschatology?
Eschatology means “final things”, as in the final stages of life –> the Underworld.
How is Dionysus healed after persecution by Hera?
By his initiation into the rites of Cybele
How are Demeter and Dionysus similar and different?
They are both gods of fertility. Demeter is a god of agricultural fertility. Dionysus is a god of fast-growing plants, and uncontrollable growth in evergreens, grapes and seeds
What happened to Actaeon? How did he die?
He was a follower of Artemis. He accidentally saw her bathing in the woods. She was so angry, she turned him into a stag and he was killed by sparagmos.
Does Dionysus ever return to Greece?
Yes, to establish his rites in various cities
Who represents an opposing force of Dionysus?
Apollo - they share Delphi
How does communion with the gods occur in Dionysiac tradition?
By eating raw food - Dionysus dissolves all boundaries
Where was Dionysus raised before Athamus and Ino helped to raise him?
On Mt. Nysa, by nymphs who changed him into a goat. He was BORN in Greece (Thebes), but RAISED in the Near East on Mt. Nysa
Who was Ixion?
The first to kill his own kinsman. He promised bride-gifts to Dioa’s father, invited and came to collect them. He prepared a pit of fire and killed Dia’s father. No god could purify him. Zeus performs purification. He is welcomed among the gods. He tries to sleep with Hera, but she turns into a could. The centaurs were born as a result. His punishment is being tied to a wheel which rolls all over the world as a warning to others.
What are the women followers of Dionysus in his Thiasos called?
Maenads/bacchants
What kind of family is Dionysus from?
An autochthonous family - sown from lion’s teeth
How was Dionysus born?
Zeus came to mate with the mortal Semele. He introduced himself as Zeus. Hera intervened visiting as a an old woman, and she planted seeds of doubt in her mind. This led Semele to ask for Zeus to reveal himself in his true form. Zeus had to, he turned into a lightning bolt and killed Semele. Hermes rescues this child, and Zeus plants it in his leg. Dionysus is reborn from the leg of Zeus
Who was Tantalus?
A son of Zeus who dined with the gods and stole his divine food. Tried to feed his son Pelops to the gods, and Demeter took a bite. Tantalus was punished in the underworld by food and water just out of reach.
Who is Cybele?
A Phrygian mother-goddess
What are the men followers oF Dionysus in his Thiasos called?
Satyrs
Who rescued Dionysus from Semele when she died?
Hermes
What does ecstasy mean?
To stand outside of yourself
What is interesting about humans according to Orphic tradition?
They have a divine element, born from the ashes of the Titans.
How did Hera drive Ino insane?
Ino cast herself into the sea, together with her son Melicertes
What is the story of Dionysus and Lycurgus?
Maenads and satyrs were taken prisoner. Dionysus sought refuge with Thetis in the sea as he was persecuted by Lycurgus. Dionysus eventually drove Lycurgus mad, and he struck his own son dead with an axe, thinking it was just a branch of ivy.
Where did Dionysus take refuge when he was being persecuted by Lycurgus?
In the sea with Nereid Thetis
What were the rites of Cybele associated with?
Eastern dressing, pipes and tambourines, thrysus, Thiasos of maenads and bacchants, satyrs, wild animals
Who was Tityus?
A son of Zeus who tried to rape Leto. Apollo and Artemis killed Tityus, and he is in Tartarus, tied to the ground with vultures devouring his liver (seat of passions)
Was Ariadne a mortal or divine?
A mortal who was later deified - Dionysus catasterizes her so she is immortalized
How is Dionysus involved in the House of Cadmus of Thebes?
Ares and Aphrodite had 3 kids: harmonia, panic and fear. Harmonia and Cadmus had 4 children: Ino, Semele, Agave, and Autonoe. Dionysus is the son of Cadmus, and the cousin of Pentheus and Actaeon.
Athenaeus?
He wrote the song of the phallus bearers
What occurs in the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus?
Dionysus is captured by pirates. They try to tie him up, thinking he’s the son of a king, not the son of a god, but the bonds keep breaking. One of the helmsman realizes that he is a god. Grapevines begin to grow up the mast of the ship. Dionysus has an epiphany by turning into a lion, and creating a bear. The sailors jump ship, and Dionysus turns them into dolphins. The one helmsman survives, and Dionysus rewards him for his worship by making him happy.
Where was an important cult centre of Dionysus?
Delphi: he and Apollo are opposing forces –> Dionysus resided there for 3 winter months while Apollo was gone
What 3 cults offer hope of a blessed afterlife?
- Eleusinian mysteries 2. Orphic cult 3. Dionysiac mysteries
People who raised Dionysus
- Nymphs on Mt. Isa 2. Ino and Athamus 3. Nereid Thetis
Who raised Dionysus?
Athamas (uncle) and Ino (aunt). They raised him as a girl
Why is it the mark of a hero to risk their life in battle?
Because life is precious - the underworld is devoid of light, joy, hope, vitality
What are some Dionysiac themes?
Exile, madness, shape-shifting, gender-shifting
What is a thyrsus?
A staff with a pinecone at the top, as a sign of fertility with ivy wrapped around it
What is Dionysus also known as ?
Bacchus or Liber, the TWICE BORN
What are the boundaries that Dionysus dissolved?
-male/female (he was raised as a female) -god/human/animal -salve/free -greek/foreign (he’s both) -life/death
Later than Homer, who is the ferryman for the River Styx and Acheron in the Underworld?
Charon
Who was Sisyphus?
The son of Aeolus (related to Jason), a trickster. He ties up Thanatos (death) so no one can die. Ares releases Thanatos and Sisyphus dies. He tricks hades by not letting his wife perform funeral rites. Hades allows him to return home, and he stays until he reaches an old age. His punishment is to roll a rock repeatedly up a hill.
Is Harmonia a mortal or not?
No, she is the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares
According to Orphic tradition, who saved Dionysus’ heart? Who saved him in regular tradition?
Orphic: Athena Regular: Hermes
What is the story of Dionysus and the Minyads?
Daughters of King Minyas refused to worship Dionysus. Dionysus drove them insane: snakes filled their weaving baskets, milk and wine fell from the ceiling. All of the Minyads were turned into bats.
Who does Dionysus marry?
Ariadne (abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus)
What are typical punishments for people who resist Dionysus?
Madness, dismemberment, loss of children
In Orphic tradition, who is Dionysus the son of? What is the story of this birth?
Zeus and Persephone (the sky and the underworld). Zeus as both the father and grandfather, a child to rule the universe. Titans then tear him to pieces and eat him raw (sparagmos and omphagia). Athena saves his heart, Zeus swallows it, and then impregnates Semele. Zeus incinerates the Titans. Humans are born from the ashes, so they contain a divine element.
How did Hera drive Athamas insane?
Caused him to hunt his elder son Learchus as a deer
