CLST 330 – Jan. 21st
Dionysus:
Religion and cult of Dionysus was very relevant to the general system
Cults of Dionysus and Demeter complement each other
Attic Cup 540
He is god connected with wine, nature, vegetation
Not agriculture for food – not controlled and no boundaries
Vines for wine
Able to make things grow in an uncontrolled way – different from usual crops
Wild plants
Just for being on this ship, he covers the ship in vines and grapes and turns it into something living
and specifically tied to him
May be related to a specific mythical story about him
Dionysus riding panther
Not a regular god behaviourwise
Very over the top
Related to or compared to wild and dangerous animals – panthers
Dionysus visiting a mortal
God that can come to you and visit you
Usually people would have to go to gods
Dionysus was the most sociable of gods Attends banquet of mortal in relief
Can visit you through wine consumption
Other gods expect gifts and offerings
Dionysus gives wine to mortals as a gift
Dangerous god – his gift is both a blessing and a danger
Apollodorus, The Library
Back when there were kings in Athens, Dionysus came with Demeter came to Attica
Demeter went to Eleusis
Dionysus was received by a man (Ikarios) and gave him the gift of making wine
Taught him to grow vines and make wine
It was good for posterity but bad for Ikarios
Ikarios gave the wine to shepherds to drink, but they didn’t know what it was
They thought the effects were poison so they killed Ikarios
When they realized what they had done, they began adding water to wine so that it would be good
for humans and gave Ikarios respectful burial
Maenads in sanctuary of Dionysus
Maenads were mythical female followers of Dionysus
Frequently presented in Greek art
These women who leave their civilized lives behind
Leave their homes, families, cities, and so on to follow Dionysus
Turn into dangerous creatures that cannot be stopped
No discipline, no control Can handle wild animals as they wish
Nature is under their total control
Attic cup, Meanad
Holding walking stick that was symbol of Dionysus
Attic cup, Sparagmos
Sacrifice by killing animals with their bare hands and ripping them apart
Reverse of usual sacrificial tradition
Usually domesticated animals are used
These women used animals like deer
Proceedings were different – end result is killing an animal but everything else is different
No weapon to slit throat – civilized vs. non civilized ritual and society
No formal, organized sanctuary space
Just chase and kill animals – violence act
No making animals happy before they die like in cities
Meanads are the opposite of regular women
Out in the woods instead of at home
No semblance of regular life
People wonder if women actually did this in the Greek world or if it was just myth
There are inscriptions about women who call themselves Meanads, but they seem to have just
been Dionysus worshipping cults who adopted the name
No evidence of violent or abnormal actions
King doesn’t allow cult of Dionysus to be performed in a regular way Excess and disorder are bad
If you try to have total control over citizens’ lives, there can be violence
Attic cup, sparagmos of Penteus
King tried to stop the Meanads and Dionysus from their behaviours
He was torn apart in the way that they planned to tear the deer apart
Dionysus should be handled with care
Dionysus could be very good for individuals and cities
He had special connections with other gods and heroes
Herakles is an example
Both born of mortal women and started as heroes
Both did good things for people – Herakles killed monsters and Dionysus gave to people
Dionysus and the afterlife
Afterlife not much of a concern for other gods
Experiences death
Enters the underworld to save his mother Semele
His mysteries give initiates hope for a better afterlife
Following the ruled of Dionysus would give people better afterlives
Dionysus died himself and came back from death
Dionysus was probably the most popular god even after the polis was over
He provided subjects with benefits and makes them happy and was victorious
Procession of Ptolemy II philadelphus imitated certain behaviours Reinforced his power over Egypt by leading this procession and production with Dionysus and his
cult as the main subject
He posed as the new Dionysus
Ptolemy IV gave himself the name of the new Dionysus and reorganized the cult as the royal cult
Directly controlled by him and his officials
Plutarch, Life of Mark Antony
Mark Antony tried to pose himself as the new Dionysus
Cleopatra – new Aphrodite
Demeter:
No upsetting aspects of cult like with Dionysus
Less complicated and dangerous figure, but there are many connections
Cult of Demeter is directly connected to a certain myth
She is responsible for agriculture – crops for food, farming
Her daughter is Persephone, but when she was with her mother, she was called Kore (girl)
One day, Kore was picking flowers when Hades abducted her
Demeter didn’t know what happened and wandered the Earth to find her – looked everywhere for
her
She was in disguise – no mortals knew who she was
She eventually found out the truth and asked Zeus to give her daughter back
Zeus said it wasn’t totally possible because she ate some seeds in the underworld that make her
part of it
As a result, she spent one third of the year in the underworld and two thirds with Demeter
This is ancient account for the seasons – nothing grows when Demeter misses her daughter Thesmophoria
Festival of Demeter
Bearer of the thesmoi – sacred objects, token of relationship between men and goddess and the
sacred ruled that superintend the right functioning of society
The things that make society civilized
Held in Athens and other Greek cities
Between late August and November
The ritual was reserved for women
Demeter had strong connection with women – especially married women (although young women
did still participate their roles were much smaller and less significant)
Day 1 – Anodos – The ascent
Women walked to the sanctuary of Demeter
Often up on a hilltop – separated space
Men were not allowed
Women stayed in tents and huts during this time
Day 2 – Nesteia
City life was suspended – no politics or decisions while women were away
Women had an assembly instead in the sanctuary
Mimicked behaviour and grief of Demeter when she wandered looking for her daughter
Slept on leaves and branches
Didn’t eat
No fire
Day 3 – Kalligeneia Women were able to eat meat from sacrifices and bread
Male butchers were allowed to bring food
During festival, women recovered from underground shrines the remains of piglet previously
sacrificed and cakes, which were later mixed with seeds for sowing the fields, These offerings were
probably the “thesmoi”
Day one is separation – group of people leaving usual role and place in community
Separation stage
Day two is the inbetween when irregular things happen and life is suspended – all that is known
and habit stops
Usually people cook and eat in regular, civilized life
Assembly of men replaced with women
Families are split
Liminal stage
Day three is reinvigoration when everyone is brought back to normal habits and life
People come back changed – experience makes people different and better
Almost a coming of age style to the tradition
Women having this ceremony is the subject of a play by Aristophanes
Corinth, the Thesmophorion
Banquet halls that look like they were meant for men
Women do what they usually shouldn’t for one day
Women holding piglet and terracotta models of trays with cakes and food were also included
All Greeks celebrated this cult in this way
The Eleusinian Cult
The most important cult of antiquity Cult of Demeter Eleusis (which was a town)
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