Maybe one of the least known and most misunderstood of the Greek gods, Dionysus is a god whose influence most of us have first hand experience of and enjoy greatly. As the god of the vine, grapes, wine and all the things that result from its consumption, i thank Dionysus every night when i sit down with a glass of Cab or Shiraz. Somehow that long, bad day at work seems a little less bad, my spirits rise, and the world seems a bit brighter. My neighbors also seem to enjoy the Dionysian things in life and much to my detriment as they stay up late partying and keep me awake.
The loss of control facilitated by alcohol was one of the trademarks of Dionysus and his retinue. The Maenads would often reach a spiritual ecstasy through dancing and loss of control. In this Dionysus is the opposite of Apollo. One way of gaining the religious experience is through structured ritual, prophecy and following the rules (Apollonian), the other way is through a complete dispensation of any type of rule and an embrace of the irrational. Through giving in to unconscious desire and impulse, Dionysus allows the taboo acts which are normally forbidden to be acceptable. St. Patrick's Day or New Years Eve, are perfect examples of times when the usual rules of polite society do not apply. One can get drunk, wear a lampshade and the next day face fellow office workers with little more than a smirk.
If Apollo is the god of civilized society and the conscious and rational mind, then Dionysus is the patron of the wild forest where the unconscious mind is free to play out its own agenda of conflicts. Most fairy tales mirror this convention, placing the realm of unconscious action in the forest which is historically representative of the unknown. Dionysus would have you "know your self" through this avenue rather than Apollo who would have you "know your place".
Because Dionysus is a vegetal god he is also a god who is capable of resurrection and his rites very closely resemble those of Christianity. He was destroyed and resurrected and his followers eat of his flesh and drink his blood in similar rites to attain the mind and mystery of God. If you look back at page 284 in the text you will find a great comparison sheet between the two makes clearly links their stories and worship.
For the coming week we will be looking deeper into tragedy and getting a sense of its importance to myth and life. We will start be revisiting a tragic female figure in "Medea" and then move further into the story of Dionysus in "The Bacchae". Since the theater of Dionysus allowed for the creation of the Greek stage, (different from our modern stage) it was a great vessel for the collective purgation of negative emotion. It seems as though it was a natural creation in the progress of a healthy society.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my favorite of the gods, and we'll see you tomorrow for review of tragedy.
I found it interesting how our reading for today compared Dionysus with Apollo. Fundamentally they are different, but they are both sons of Zeus with different mothers, but both have their father's will to power and his drive. Apollo is known as disciplined while Dionysus is known with spontaneous emotion, but both are known for the phenomenon of ecstasy.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading about both Apollo and Dionysus, It was hard to believe they were alike, but the book really helps to point out how they are similar.
I also found it odd how Zeus made Dionysus' wife immortal when he married her. I don't know If I have been missing something in the reading, but I found this to be uncommon, especially since we read of gods marrying siblings due to a hierarchical system and to marry another being that is immortal and powerful seemed to be important.
I found the comparison of Dionysus and Jesus to be awing. I cant believe how much they mirror one another. Both are sons of God, both born of virgins and both are involved with wine. They also share common deaths and rise from the dead. The commonalities are insane. I wonder if Jesus and the parallel Dionysus were really one in the same? Is it at all possible for Christ to have actually come again a second time? Or that Dionysus was somewhat of a prophet that led the way for Christ? One can only wonder really what the deal is that two heroic beings can have that much in common but are not historically linked?
ReplyDeleteWhilst reading about Dionysus and Apollo, I couldn't help but think about my step sister and I. It seems that to me I would play the part of Apollo as I am the one who is seems to have to always be in complete control of a situation, if not, I feel an extreme paranoia. On the other hand, my stepsister Savannah seems to be the exact epitamy of Dionysus... Always out partying and having a good time, expereincing life to its fullest. To me, I believe that experiencing life and all its lessons and beliefs, you should get the most out of life by gaining an education, and being substantial on your own, without the dpendence on friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI also found it quite interesting to hear more links between the biblical beliefs of Christianity and Greek Mythology.... I never noticed it before.
I found the myth of Dionysus to be interesting. I was thinking about why such a myth would be created. The Greeks so enjoyed wineand it's effects that they created this complex myth to tell the story of wine's creation.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting the many similarites between Jesus and Dionysis, it's almost scary, it makes you question how such similarites came about and why. Are Jesus and Dionysis simply the result of an archetype that has existed for milenna?