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