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The Derveni krater, height: 90.5 cm (35 ½ in.), 4th century BC. The Dionysian Mysteries of mainland Greece and the Roman Empire are thought to have evolved from a more primitive initiatory cult of unknown origin (perhaps Thracian or Phrygian) which had spread throughout the Mediterranean region by the start of the Classical Greek period.
Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus. [1] It is possible that water divination was an important aspect of worship within the cult. [2] The cult of Dionysus traces back to at least Mycenaean Greece, since his name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so).
Dionysus in Greek mythology is a god of foreign origin, and while Mount Nysa is a mythological location, it is invariably set far away to the east or to the south. The Homeric Hymn 1 to Dionysus places it "far from Phoenicia, near to the Egyptian stream". [245]
The nymphs raised him on Nysa until he left for Greece to collect a cult of misfits and those looking for an escape from societal expectations. [6] Lycurgus wished to persecute Dionysus for spreading his cult on Mount Nysa, forcing Dionysus and his followers to jump into the sea and shelter with Thetis. Lycurgus's actions inspired Dionysus and ...
The triumph of Dionysus, depicted on a 2nd-century Roman sarcophagus. Dionysus rides in a chariot drawn by panthers; his procession includes elephants and other exotic animals. The Dionysiaca / ˌ d aɪ. ə. n ɪ ˈ z aɪ. ə. k ə / (Ancient Greek: Διονυσιακά, Dionysiaká) is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus.
The ability to enter the realm of the dead while still alive, and to return, is proof of the classical hero's exceptional status as more than mortal. A deity who returns from the underworld demonstrates eschatological themes such as the cyclical nature of time and existence, or the defeat of death and the possibility of immortality. [2]
In Greek mythology, maenads (/ ˈ m iː n æ d z /; Ancient Greek: μαινάδες) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of his retinue, the thiasus. Their name, which comes from μαίνομαι ( maínomai , “to rave, to be mad; to rage, to be angry”), [ 1 ] literally translates as 'raving ones'.
An "unspoken" sparagmos may have been the central element underlying the very genre of Greek tragedy. [1] [2] Maenads and Pentheus, House of the VettiiSparagmos (Ancient Greek: σπαραγμός, from σπαράσσω sparasso, "tear, rend, pull to pieces") is an act of rending, tearing apart, or mangling, [3] usually in a Dionysian context.