1. Euripides, Bacchae, 1-5, 34, 138-139, 278-283, 470, 585, 605, 608-609, 616-632, 794-795, 1255, 1268 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac cult • Dionysiac frenzy • Dionysiac influence, rites • Dionysiac/Dionysian, cult • Dream imagery, Dionysiac • cults, Dionysiac • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac • mystery cult, Dionysiac • mystic initiation, Dionysiac • religion, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 52, 321, 352, 459; Brule (2003), Women of Ancient Greece, 26; Griffiths (1975), The Isis-Book (Metamorphoses, Book XI), 336; Moxon (2017), Peter's Halakhic Nightmare: The 'Animal' Vision of Acts 10:9–16 in Jewish and Graeco-Roman Perspective. 35, 70, 74, 200, 260, 261, 335; Papadodima (2022), Ancient Greek Literature and the Foreign: Athenian Dialogues II, 23; Seaford (2018), Tragedy, Ritual and Money in Ancient Greece: Selected Essays, 205, 335, 340, 372
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1 ἥκω Διὸς παῖς τήνδε Θηβαίων χθόνα'2 Διόνυσος, ὃν τίκτει ποθʼ ἡ Κάδμου κόρη 3 Σεμέλη λοχευθεῖσʼ ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρί· 4 μορφὴν δʼ ἀμείψας ἐκ θεοῦ βροτησίαν 5 πάρειμι Δίρκης νάματʼ Ἰσμηνοῦ θʼ ὕδωρ.
34 σκευήν τʼ ἔχειν ἠνάγκασʼ ὀργίων ἐμῶν,
138 ἔχων ἱερὸν ἐνδυτόν, ἀγρεύων
139 αἷμα τραγοκτόνον, ὠμοφάγον χάριν, ἱέμενος
278 ὃς δʼ ἦλθʼ ἔπειτʼ, ἀντίπαλον ὁ Σεμέλης γόνος 279 βότρυος ὑγρὸν πῶμʼ ηὗρε κεἰσηνέγκατο 280 θνητοῖς, ὃ παύει τοὺς ταλαιπώρους βροτοὺς 28
1 λύπης, ὅταν πλησθῶσιν ἀμπέλου ῥοῆς, 282 ὕπνον τε λήθην τῶν καθʼ ἡμέραν κακῶν 283 δίδωσιν, οὐδʼ ἔστʼ ἄλλο φάρμακον πόνων.
470 ὁρῶν ὁρῶντα, καὶ δίδωσιν ὄργια. Πενθεύς
585 σεῖε πέδον χθονὸς Ἔννοσι πότνια. Χορός
605 πρὸς πέδῳ πεπτώκατʼ; ᾔσθησθʼ, ὡς ἔοικε, Βακχίου
608 ὦ φάος μέγιστον ἡμῖν εὐίου βακχεύματος, 609 ὡς ἐσεῖδον ἀσμένη σε, μονάδʼ ἔχουσʼ ἐρημίαν. Διόνυσος 6
16 ταῦτα καὶ καθύβρισʼ αὐτόν, ὅτι με δεσμεύειν δοκῶν 6
17 οὔτʼ ἔθιγεν οὔθʼ ἥψαθʼ ἡμῶν, ἐλπίσιν δʼ ἐβόσκετο. 6
18 πρὸς φάτναις δὲ ταῦρον εὑρών, οὗ καθεῖρξʼ ἡμᾶς ἄγων, 6
19 τῷδε περὶ βρόχους ἔβαλλε γόνασι καὶ χηλαῖς ποδῶν, 620 θυμὸν ἐκπνέων, ἱδρῶτα σώματος στάζων ἄπο, 62
1 χείλεσιν διδοὺς ὀδόντας· πλησίον δʼ ἐγὼ παρὼν 622 ἥσυχος θάσσων ἔλευσσον. ἐν δὲ τῷδε τῷ χρόνῳ 623 ἀνετίναξʼ ἐλθὼν ὁ Βάκχος δῶμα καὶ μητρὸς τάφῳ 624 πῦρ ἀνῆψʼ· ὃ δʼ ὡς ἐσεῖδε, δώματʼ αἴθεσθαι δοκῶν, 625 ᾖσσʼ ἐκεῖσε κᾆτʼ ἐκεῖσε, δμωσὶν Ἀχελῷον φέρειν 626 ἐννέπων, ἅπας δʼ ἐν ἔργῳ δοῦλος ἦν, μάτην πονῶν. 627 διαμεθεὶς δὲ τόνδε μόχθον, ὡς ἐμοῦ πεφευγότος, 628 ἵεται ξίφος κελαινὸν ἁρπάσας δόμων ἔσω. 629 κᾆθʼ ὁ Βρόμιος, ὡς ἔμοιγε φαίνεται, δόξαν λέγω, 630 φάσμʼ ἐποίησεν κατʼ αὐλήν· ὃ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦθʼ ὡρμημένος 63
1 ᾖσσε κἀκέντει φαεννὸν αἰθέρʼ, ὡς σφάζων ἐμέ. 632 πρὸς δὲ τοῖσδʼ αὐτῷ τάδʼ ἄλλα Βάκχιος λυμαίνεται·
794 θύοιμʼ ἂν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον ἢ θυμούμενος 795 πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζοιμι θνητὸς ὢν θεῷ. Πενθεύς
1255 θηρῶν ὀριγνῷτʼ· ἀλλὰ θεομαχεῖν μόνον
1268 τὸ δὲ πτοηθὲν τόδʼ ἔτι σῇ ψυχῇ πάρα; Ἀγαύη ' None | sup>
1 I, the son of Zeus, have come to this land of the Thebans—Dionysus, whom once Semele, Kadmos’ daughter, bore, delivered by a lightning-bearing flame. And having taken a mortal form instead of a god’s,'2 I, the son of Zeus, have come to this land of the Thebans—Dionysus, whom once Semele, Kadmos’ daughter, bore, delivered by a lightning-bearing flame. And having taken a mortal form instead of a god’s, 5 I am here at the fountains of Dirke and the water of Ismenus. And I see the tomb of my thunder-stricken mother here near the palace, and the remts of her house, smouldering with the still living flame of Zeus’ fire, the everlasting insult of Hera against my mother.
34 a trick of Kadmos’, for which they boasted that Zeus killed her, because she had told a false tale about her marriage. Therefore I have goaded them from the house in frenzy, and they dwell in the mountains, out of their wits; and I have compelled them to wear the outfit of my mysteries.
138 He is sweet in the mountains cf. Dodds, ad loc. , whenever after the running dance he falls on the ground, wearing the sacred garment of fawn skin, hunting the blood of the slain goat, a raw-eaten delight, rushing to the
278 are first among men: the goddess Demeter—she is the earth, but call her whatever name you wish; she nourishes mortals with dry food; but he who came afterwards, the offspring of Semele, discovered a match to it, the liquid drink of the grape, and introduced it 280 to mortals. It releases wretched mortals from grief, whenever they are filled with the stream of the vine, and gives them sleep, a means of forgetting their daily troubles, nor is there another cure for hardships. He who is a god is poured out in offerings to the gods,
470 Seeing me just as I saw him, he gave me sacred rites. Pentheu
585 Shake the world’s plain, lady Earthquake! Choru
605 o stricken with fear? You have, so it seems, felt Bacchus shaking the house of Pentheus. But get up and take courage, putting a stop to your trembling. Chorus Leader
608 Oh greatest light for us in our joyful revelry, how happy I am to see you—I who was alone and desolate before. Dionysu 6
16 In this too I mocked him, for, thinking to bind me, he neither touched nor handled me, but fed on hope. He found a bull by the stable where he took and shut me up, and threw shackles around its knees and hooves, 620 breathing out fury, dripping sweat from his body, gnashing his teeth in his lips. But I, being near, sitting quietly, looked on. Meanwhile, Bacchus came and shook the house and kindled a flame on his mother’s tomb. When Pentheus saw this, thinking that the house was burning, 625 he ran here and there, calling to the slaves to bring water, and every servant was at work, toiling in vain.Then he let this labor drop, as I had escaped, and snatching a dark sword rushed into the house. Then Bromius, so it seems to me—I speak my opinion— 630 created a phantom in the courtyard. Pentheus rushed at it headlong, stabbing at the shining air, as though slaughtering me. Besides this, Bacchus inflicted other damage on him: he knocked his house to the ground, and everything was shattered into pieces, while he saw my bitter chains. From fatigue,
794 I would sacrifice to the god rather 795 than kick against his spurs in anger, a mortal against a god. Pentheu
1255 together with the young men of Thebes . But all he can do is fight with the gods. You must admonish him, father. Who will call him here to my sight, so that he may see how lucky I am? Kadmo
1268 Is your soul still quivering? Agave ' None |
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2. Herodotus, Histories, 4.79 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • burial rituals, Dionysiac • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 148, 352; Graf and Johnston (2007), Ritual texts for the afterlife: Orpheus and the Bacchic Gold Tablets, 163
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4.79 ἐπείτε δὲ ἔδεέ οἱ κακῶς γενέσθαι, ἐγίνετο ἀπὸ προφάσιος τοιῆσδε. ἐπεθύμησε Διονύσῳ Βακχείῳ τελεσθῆναι· μέλλοντι δέ οἱ ἐς χεῖρας ἄγεσθαι τὴν τελετὴν ἐγένετο φάσμα μέγιστον. ἦν οἱ ἐν Βορυσθενεϊτέων τῇ πόλι οἰκίης μεγάλης καὶ πολυτελέος περιβολή, τῆς καὶ ὀλίγῳ τι πρότερον τούτων μνήμην εἶχον, τὴν πέριξ λευκοῦ λίθου σφίγγες τε καὶ γρῦπες ἕστασαν· ἐς ταύτην ὁ θεὸς ἐνέσκηψε βέλος. καὶ ἣ μὲν κατεκάη πᾶσα, Σκύλης δὲ οὐδὲν τούτου εἵνεκα ἧσσον ἐπετέλεσε τὴν τελετήν. Σκύθαι δὲ τοῦ βακχεύειν πέρι Ἕλλησι ὀνειδίζουσι· οὐ γὰρ φασὶ οἰκὸς εἶναι θεὸν ἐξευρίσκειν τοῦτον ὅστις μαίνεσθαι ἐνάγει ἀνθρώπους. ἐπείτε δὲ ἐτελέσθη τῷ Βακχείῳ ὁ Σκύλης, διεπρήστευσε τῶν τις Βορυσθενειτέων πρὸς τοὺς Σκύθας λέγων “ἡμῖν γὰρ καταγελᾶτε, ὦ Σκύθαι, ὅτι βακχεύομεν καὶ ἡμέας ὁ θεὸς λαμβάνει· νῦν οὗτος ὁ δαίμων καὶ τὸν ὑμέτερον βασιλέα λελάβηκε, καὶ βακχεύει τε καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ μαίνεται. εἰ δέ μοι ἀπιστέετε, ἕπεσθε, καὶ ὑμῖν ἐγὼ δέξω.” εἵποντο τῶν Σκύθεων οἱ προεστεῶτες, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἀναγαγὼν ὁ Βορυσθενεΐτης λάθρῃ ἐπὶ πύργον κατεῖσε. ἐπείτε δὲ παρήιε σὺν τῷ θιάσῳ ὁ Σκύλης καὶ εἶδόν μιν βακχεύοντα οἱ Σκύθαι, κάρτα συμφορὴν μεγάλην ἐποιήσαντο, ἐξελθόντες δὲ ἐσήμαινον πάσῃ τῇ στρατιῇ τὰ ἴδοιεν.'' None | sup>
4.79 But when things had to turn out badly for him, they did so for this reason: he conceived a desire to be initiated into the rites of the Bacchic Dionysus; and when he was about to begin the sacred mysteries, he saw the greatest vision. ,He had in the city of the Borysthenites a spacious house, grand and costly (the same house I just mentioned), all surrounded by sphinxes and griffins worked in white marble; this house was struck by a thunderbolt. And though the house burnt to the ground, Scyles none the less performed the rite to the end. ,Now the Scythians reproach the Greeks for this Bacchic revelling, saying that it is not reasonable to set up a god who leads men to madness. ,So when Scyles had been initiated into the Bacchic rite, some one of the Borysthenites scoffed at the Scythians: “You laugh at us, Scythians, because we play the Bacchant and the god possesses us; but now this deity has possessed your own king, so that he plays the Bacchant and is maddened by the god. If you will not believe me, follow me now and I will show him to you.” ,The leading men among the Scythians followed him, and the Borysthenite brought them up secretly onto a tower; from which, when Scyles passed by with his company of worshippers, they saw him playing the Bacchant; thinking it a great misfortune, they left the city and told the whole army what they had seen. '' None |
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3. Sophocles, Antigone, 153-154, 1151 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac/Dionysian • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac • mystery cult, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 8, 48; Papadodima (2022), Ancient Greek Literature and the Foreign: Athenian Dialogues II, 66; Seaford (2018), Tragedy, Ritual and Money in Ancient Greece: Selected Essays, 335
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153 let us make for ourselves forgetfulness after the recent wars, and visit all the temples of the gods with night-long dance and song. And may Bacchus, who shakes the earth of Thebes , rule our dancing!
1151 appear, my king, with your attendant Thyiads, who in night-long frenzy dance and sing you as Iacchus the Giver!'' None |
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4. None, None, nan (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysus, Dionysiac (rites, farce etc.) • phalloi in Dionysiac rites
Found in books: Parker (2005), Polytheism and Society at Athens, 319; Riess (2012), Performing interpersonal violence: court, curse, and comedy in fourth-century BCE Athens, 280
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5. None, None, nan (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysus, Dionysiac (rites, farce etc.) • possession, Dionysiac • religion, Dionysiac
Found in books: Brule (2003), Women of Ancient Greece, 23, 24; Riess (2012), Performing interpersonal violence: court, curse, and comedy in fourth-century BCE Athens, 291
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6. None, None, nan (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysus, Dionysiac (rites, farce etc.) • phalloi in Dionysiac rites
Found in books: Parker (2005), Polytheism and Society at Athens, 319; Riess (2012), Performing interpersonal violence: court, curse, and comedy in fourth-century BCE Athens, 266
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7. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 2.29 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysus, Dionysiac Cult • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 456, 457; Schwartz (2008), 2 Maccabees, 543
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2.29 those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus, and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status."'' None |
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8. Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 2.41 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac Artists, granted exemption from war contributions and military service • Dionysus, Dionysiac Cult
Found in books: Schwartz (2008), 2 Maccabees, 274; Udoh (2006), To Caesar What Is Caesar's: Tribute, Taxes, and Imperial Administration in Early Roman Palestine 63 B.C.E to 70 B.C.E, 81
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2.41 So they made this decision that day: "Let us fight against every man who comes to attack us on the sabbath day; let us not all die as our brethren died in their hiding places."'' None |
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9. Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library, 4.3.3 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
Tagged with subjects: • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac • possession, Dionysiac • religion, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 164; Brule (2003), Women of Ancient Greece, 23
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4.3.3 \xa0Consequently in many Greek cities every other year Bacchic bands of women gather, and it is lawful for the maidens to carry the thyrsus and to join in the frenzied revelry, crying out "Euai!" and honouring the god; while the matrons, forming in groups, offer sacrifices to the god and celebrate his mysteries and, in general, extol with hymns the presence of Dionysus, in this manner acting the part of the Maenads who, as history records, were of old the companions of the god.'' None |
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10. Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, 2.2.2, 3.5.1 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac Mysteries • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 15, 52; Pamias (2017), Apollodoriana: Ancient Myths, New Crossroads, 119
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2.2.2 καὶ γίνεται Ἀκρισίῳ μὲν ἐξ Εὐρυδίκης τῆς Λακεδαίμονος Δανάη, Προίτῳ δὲ ἐκ Σθενεβοίας Λυσίππη καὶ Ἰφινόη καὶ Ἰφιάνασσα. αὗται δὲ ὡς ἐτελειώθησαν, ἐμάνησαν, ὡς μὲν Ἡσίοδός φησιν, ὅτι τὰς Διονύσου τελετὰς οὐ κατεδέχοντο, ὡς δὲ Ἀκουσίλαος λέγει, διότι τὸ τῆς Ἥρας ξόανον ἐξηυτέλισαν. γενόμεναι δὲ ἐμμανεῖς ἐπλανῶντο ἀνὰ τὴν Ἀργείαν ἅπασαν, αὖθις δὲ τὴν Ἀρκαδίαν καὶ τὴν Πελοπόννησον 1 -- διελθοῦσαι μετʼ ἀκοσμίας ἁπάσης διὰ τῆς ἐρημίας ἐτρόχαζον. Μελάμπους δὲ ὁ Ἀμυθάονος καὶ Εἰδομένης τῆς Ἄβαντος, μάντις ὢν καὶ τὴν διὰ φαρμάκων καὶ καθαρμῶν θεραπείαν πρῶτος εὑρηκώς, ὑπισχνεῖται θεραπεύειν τὰς παρθένους, εἰ λάβοι τὸ τρίτον μέρος τῆς δυναστείας. οὐκ ἐπιτρέποντος δὲ Προίτου θεραπεύειν ἐπὶ μισθοῖς τηλικούτοις, ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐμαίνοντο αἱ παρθένοι καὶ προσέτι μετὰ τούτων αἱ λοιπαὶ γυναῖκες· καὶ γὰρ αὗται τὰς οἰκίας ἀπολιποῦσαι τοὺς ἰδίους ἀπώλλυον παῖδας καὶ εἰς τὴν ἐρημίαν ἐφοίτων. προβαινούσης δὲ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῆς συμφορᾶς, τοὺς αἰτηθέντας μισθοὺς ὁ Προῖτος ἐδίδου. ὁ δὲ ὑπέσχετο θεραπεύειν ὅταν ἕτερον τοσοῦτον τῆς γῆς ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ λάβῃ Βίας. Προῖτος δὲ εὐλαβηθεὶς μὴ βραδυνούσης τῆς θεραπείας αἰτηθείη καὶ πλεῖον, θεραπεύειν συνεχώρησεν ἐπὶ τούτοις. Μελάμπους δὲ παραλαβὼν τοὺς δυνατωτάτους τῶν νεανιῶν μετʼ ἀλαλαγμοῦ καί τινος ἐνθέου χορείας ἐκ τῶν ὀρῶν αὐτὰς εἰς Σικυῶνα συνεδίωξε. κατὰ δὲ τὸν διωγμὸν ἡ πρεσβυτάτη τῶν θυγατέρων Ἰφινόη μετήλλαξεν· ταῖς δὲ λοιπαῖς τυχούσαις καθαρμῶν σωφρονῆσαι συνέβη. καὶ ταύτας μὲν ἐξέδοτο Προῖτος Μελάμποδι καὶ Βίαντι, παῖδα δʼ ὕστερον ἐγέννησε Μεγαπένθην.
3.5.1 Διόνυσος δὲ εὑρετὴς ἀμπέλου γενόμενος, Ἥρας μανίαν αὐτῷ ἐμβαλούσης περιπλανᾶται Αἴγυπτόν τε καὶ Συρίαν. καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον Πρωτεὺς αὐτὸν ὑποδέχεται βασιλεὺς Αἰγυπτίων, αὖθις δὲ εἰς Κύβελα τῆς Φρυγίας ἀφικνεῖται, κἀκεῖ καθαρθεὶς ὑπὸ Ῥέας καὶ τὰς τελετὰς ἐκμαθών, καὶ λαβὼν παρʼ ἐκείνης τὴν στολήν, ἐπὶ Ἰνδοὺς 1 -- διὰ τῆς Θράκης ἠπείγετο. Λυκοῦργος δὲ παῖς Δρύαντος, Ἠδωνῶν βασιλεύων, οἳ Στρυμόνα ποταμὸν παροικοῦσι, πρῶτος ὑβρίσας ἐξέβαλεν αὐτόν. καὶ Διόνυσος μὲν εἰς θάλασσαν πρὸς Θέτιν τὴν Νηρέως κατέφυγε, Βάκχαι δὲ ἐγένοντο αἰχμάλωτοι καὶ τὸ συνεπόμενον Σατύρων πλῆθος αὐτῷ. αὖθις δὲ αἱ Βάκχαι ἐλύθησαν ἐξαίφνης, Λυκούργῳ δὲ μανίαν ἐνεποίησε 2 -- Διόνυσος. ὁ δὲ μεμηνὼς Δρύαντα τὸν παῖδα, ἀμπέλου νομίζων κλῆμα κόπτειν, πελέκει πλήξας ἀπέκτεινε, καὶ ἀκρωτηριάσας αὐτὸν ἐσωφρόνησε. 1 -- τῆς δὲ γῆς ἀκάρπου μενούσης, ἔχρησεν ὁ θεὸς καρποφορήσειν αὐτήν, ἂν θανατωθῇ Λυκοῦργος. Ἠδωνοὶ δὲ ἀκούσαντες εἰς τὸ Παγγαῖον αὐτὸν ἀπαγαγόντες ὄρος ἔδησαν, κἀκεῖ κατὰ Διονύσου βούλησιν ὑπὸ ἵππων διαφθαρεὶς ἀπέθανε.'' None | sup>
2.2.2 And Acrisius had a daughter Danae by Eurydice, daughter of Lacedaemon, and Proetus had daughters, Lysippe, Iphinoe, and Iphianassa, by Stheneboea. When these damsels were grown up, they went mad, according to Hesiod, because they would not accept the rites of Dionysus, but according to Acusilaus, because they disparaged the wooden image of Hera. In their madness they roamed over the whole Argive land, and afterwards, passing through Arcadia and the Peloponnese, they ran through the desert in the most disorderly fashion. But Melampus, son of Amythaon by Idomene, daughter of Abas, being a seer and the first to devise the cure by means of drugs and purifications, promised to cure the maidens if he should receive the third part of the sovereignty. When Proetus refused to pay so high a fee for the cure, the maidens raved more than ever, and besides that, the other women raved with them; for they also abandoned their houses, destroyed their own children, and flocked to the desert. Not until the evil had reached a very high pitch did Proetus consent to pay the stipulated fee, and Melampus promised to effect a cure whenever his brother Bias should receive just so much land as himself. Fearing that, if the cure were delayed, yet more would be demanded of him, Proetus agreed to let the physician proceed on these terms. So Melampus, taking with him the most stalwart of the young men, chased the women in a bevy from the mountains to Sicyon with shouts and a sort of frenzied dance. In the pursuit Iphinoe, the eldest of the daughters, expired; but the others were lucky enough to be purified and so to recover their wits. Proetus gave them in marriage to Melampus and Bias, and afterwards begat a son, Megapenthes.' "
3.5.1 Dionysus discovered the vine, and being driven mad by Hera he roamed about Egypt and Syria . At first he was received by Proteus, king of Egypt, but afterwards he arrived at Cybela in Phrygia . And there, after he had been purified by Rhea and learned the rites of initiation, he received from her the costume and hastened through Thrace against the Indians. But Lycurgus, son of Dryas, was king of the Edonians, who dwell beside the river Strymon, and he was the first who insulted and expelled him. Dionysus took refuge in the sea with Thetis, daughter of Nereus, and the Bacchanals were taken prisoners together with the multitude of Satyrs that attended him. But afterwards the Bacchanals were suddenly released, and Dionysus drove Lycurgus mad. And in his madness he struck his son Dryas dead with an axe, imagining that he was lopping a branch of a vine, and when he had cut off his son's extremities, he recovered his senses. But the land remaining barren, the god declared oracularly that it would bear fruit if Lycurgus were put to death. On hearing that, the Edonians led him to Mount Pangaeum and bound him, and there by the will of Dionysus he died, destroyed by horses."' None |
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11. Tacitus, Histories, 5.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysos (Dionysus), Dionysiac • Dionysus, Dionysiac Cult • Impression of Dionysiac Festival
Found in books: Faßbeck and Killebrew (2016), Viewing Ancient Jewish Art and Archaeology: VeHinnei Rachel - Essays in honor of Rachel Hachlili, 176; Schwartz (2008), 2 Maccabees, 378
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5.5 \xa0Whatever their origin, these rites are maintained by their antiquity: the other customs of the Jews are base and abominable, and owe their persistence to their depravity. For the worst rascals among other peoples, renouncing their ancestral religions, always kept sending tribute and contributions to Jerusalem, thereby increasing the wealth of the Jews; again, the Jews are extremely loyal toward one another, and always ready to show compassion, but toward every other people they feel only hate and enmity. They sit apart at meals, and they sleep apart, and although as a race, they are prone to lust, they abstain from intercourse with foreign women; yet among themselves nothing is unlawful. They adopted circumcision to distinguish themselves from other peoples by this difference. Those who are converted to their ways follow the same practice, and the earliest lesson they receive is to despise the gods, to disown their country, and to regard their parents, children, and brothers as of little account. However, they take thought to increase their numbers; for they regard it as a crime to kill any late-born child, and they believe that the souls of those who are killed in battle or by the executioner are immortal: hence comes their passion for begetting children, and their scorn of death. They bury the body rather than burn it, thus following the Egyptians' custom; they likewise bestow the same care on the dead, and hold the same belief about the world below; but their ideas of heavenly things are quite the opposite. The Egyptians worship many animals and monstrous images; the Jews conceive of one god only, and that with the mind alone: they regard as impious those who make from perishable materials representations of gods in man's image; that supreme and eternal being is to them incapable of representation and without end. Therefore they set up no statues in their cities, still less in their temples; this flattery is not paid their kings, nor this honour given to the Caesars. But since their priests used to chant to the accompaniment of pipes and cymbals and to wear garlands of ivy, and because a golden vine was found in their temple, some have thought that they were devotees of Father Liber, the conqueror of the East, in spite of the incongruity of their customs. For Liber established festive rites of a joyous nature, while the ways of the Jews are preposterous and mean."" None |
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12. None, None, nan (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysus/Dionysiac mysteries • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 8; Jeong (2023), Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries: Ritual Messages and the Promise of Initiation. 144
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13. Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.16.5-5.16.7, 8.54.5, 10.4.3 (2nd cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac, Dionysian passim Dionysiades • Dionysus/Dionysiac mysteries • dance, and Dionysiac cult • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 48, 168; Jeong (2023), Pauline Baptism among the Mysteries: Ritual Messages and the Promise of Initiation. 144; Lyons (1997), Gender and Immortality: Heroines in Ancient Greek Myth and Cult, 127, 128
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5.16.5 ἐς δὲ τὰς ἑκκαίδεκα γυναῖκας καὶ ἄλλον τοιόνδε λέγουσιν ἐπὶ τῷ προτέρῳ λόγον. Δαμοφῶντά φασι τυραννοῦντα ἐν Πίσῃ πολλά τε ἐργάσασθαι καὶ χαλεπὰ Ἠλείους· ὡς δὲ ἐτελεύτησεν ὁ Δαμοφῶν—οὐ γὰρ δὴ οἱ Πισαῖοι συνεχώρουν μετέχειν δημοσίᾳ τοῦ τυράννου τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, καί πως ἀρεστὰ καὶ Ἠλείοις ἐγένετο καταλύεσθαι τὰ ἐς αὐτοὺς ἐγκλήματα—, οὕτως ἑκκαίδεκα οἰκουμένων τηνικαῦτα ἔτι ἐν τῇ Ἠλείᾳ πόλεων γυναῖκα ἀφʼ ἑκάστης εἵλοντο διαλύειν τὰ διάφορά σφισιν, ἥτις ἡλικίᾳ τε ἦν πρεσβυτάτη καὶ ἀξιώματι καὶ δόξῃ τῶν γυναικῶν προεῖχεν. 5.16.6 αἱ πόλεις δὲ ἀφʼ ὧν τὰς γυναῖκας εἵλοντο, ἦσαν Ἦλις . ἀπὸ τούτων μὲν αἱ γυναῖκες οὖσαι τῶν πόλεων Πισαίοις διαλλαγὰς πρὸς Ἠλείους ἐποίησαν· ὕστερον δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐπετράπησαν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν θεῖναι τὰ Ἡραῖα καὶ ὑφήνασθαι τῇ Ἥρᾳ τὸν πέπλον. αἱ δὲ ἑκκαίδεκα γυναῖκες καὶ χοροὺς δύο ἱστᾶσι καὶ τὸν μὲν Φυσκόας τῶν χορῶν, τὸν δὲ Ἱπποδαμείας καλοῦσι· τὴν Φυσκόαν δὲ εἶναι ταύτην φασὶν ἐκ τῆς Ἤλιδος τῆς Κοίλης, τῷ δήμῳ δὲ ἔνθα ᾤκησεν ὄνομα μὲν Ὀρθίαν εἶναι. 5.16.7 ταύτῃ τῇ Φυσκόᾳ Διόνυσον συγγενέσθαι λέγουσι, Φυσκόαν δὲ ἐκ Διονύσου τεκεῖν παῖδα Ναρκαῖον· τοῦτον, ὡς ηὐξήθη, πολεμεῖν τοῖς προσοίκοις καὶ δυνάμεως ἐπὶ μέγα ἀρθῆναι, καὶ δὴ καὶ Ἀθηνᾶς ἱερὸν ἐπίκλησιν Ναρκαίας αὐτὸν ἱδρύσασθαι· Διονύσῳ τε τιμὰς λέγουσιν ὑπὸ Ναρκαίου καὶ Φυσκόας δοθῆναι πρώτων. Φυσκόας μὲν δὴ γέρα καὶ ἄλλα καὶ χορὸς ἐπώνυμος παρὰ τῶν ἑκκαίδεκα γυναικῶν, φυλάσσουσι δὲ οὐδὲν ἧσσον Ἠλεῖοι καὶ τἄλλα καταλυθεισῶν ὅμως τῶν πόλεων· νενεμημένοι γὰρ ἐς ὀκτὼ φυλὰς ἀφʼ ἑκάστης αἱροῦνται γυναῖκας δύο.
8.54.5 ἡ δὲ ἐς Ἄργος ἐκ Τεγέας ὀχήματι ἐπιτηδειοτάτη καὶ τὰ μάλιστά ἐστι λεωφόρος. ἔστι δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ πρῶτα μὲν ναὸς καὶ ἄγαλμα Ἀσκληπιοῦ· μετὰ δὲ ἐκτραπεῖσιν ἐς ἀριστερὰ ὅσον στάδιον Ἀπόλλωνος ἐπίκλησιν Πυθίου καταλελυμένον ἐστὶν ἱερὸν καὶ ἐρείπια ἐς ἅπαν. κατὰ δὲ τὴν εὐθεῖαν αἵ τε δρῦς εἰσι πολλαὶ καὶ Δήμητρος ἐν τῷ ἄλσει τῶν δρυῶν ναὸς ἐν Κορυθεῦσι καλουμένης· πλησίον δὲ ἄλλο ἐστὶν ἱερὸν Διονύσου Μύστου.
10.4.3 τὸ ἕτερον δὲ οὐκ ἐδυνήθην συμβαλέσθαι πρότερον, ἐφʼ ὅτῳ καλλίχορον τὸν Πανοπέα εἴρηκε, πρὶν ἢ ἐδιδάχθην ὑπὸ τῶν παρʼ Ἀθηναίοις καλουμένων Θυιάδων. αἱ δὲ Θυιάδες γυναῖκες μέν εἰσιν Ἀττικαί, φοιτῶσαι δὲ ἐς τὸν Παρνασσὸν παρὰ ἔτος αὐταί τε καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες Δελφῶν ἄγουσιν ὄργια Διονύσῳ. ταύταις ταῖς Θυιάσι κατὰ τὴν ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ὁδὸν καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ χοροὺς ἱστάναι καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Πανοπεῦσι καθέστηκε· καὶ ἡ ἐπίκλησις ἡ ἐς τὸν Πανοπέα Ὁμήρου ὑποσημαίνειν τῶν Θυιάδων δοκεῖ τὸν χορόν.'' None | sup>
5.16.5 Besides the account already given they tell another story about the Sixteen Women as follows. Damophon, it is said, when tyrant of Pisa did much grievous harm to the Eleans. But when he died, since the people of Pisa refused to participate as a people in their tyrant's sins, and the Eleans too became quite ready to lay aside their grievances, they chose a woman from each of the sixteen cities of Elis still inhabited at that time to settle their differences, this woman to be the oldest, the most noble, and the most esteemed of all the women." '5.16.6 The cities from which they chose the women were Elis, The women from these cities made peace between Pisa and Elis . Later on they were entrusted with the management of the Heraean games, and with the weaving of the robe for Hera. The Sixteen Women also arrange two choral dances, one called that of Physcoa and the other that of Hippodameia. This Physcoa they say came from Elis in the Hollow, and the name of the parish where she lived was Orthia. 5.16.7 She mated they say with Dionysus, and bore him a son called Narcaeus. When he grew up he made war against the neighboring folk, and rose to great power, setting up moreover a sanctuary of Athena surnamed Narcaea. They say too that Narcaeus and Physcoa were the first to pay worship to Dionysus. So various honors are paid to Physcoa, especially that of the choral dance, named after her and managed by the Sixteen Women. The Eleans still adhere to the other ancient customs, even though some of the cities have been destroyed. For they are now divided into eight tribes, and they choose two women from each.
8.54.5 The road from Tegea to Argos is very well suited for carriages, in fact a first-rate highway. On the road come first a temple and image of Asclepius. Next, turning aside to the left for about a stade, you see a dilapidated sanctuary of Apollo surnamed Pythian which is utterly in ruins. Along the straight road there are many oaks, and in the grove of oaks is a temple of Demeter called “in Corythenses.” Hard by is another sanctuary, that of Mystic Dionysus.
10.4.3 The former passage, in which Homer speaks of the beautiful dancing-floors of Panopeus, I could not understand until I was taught by the women whom the Athenians call Thyiads. The Thyiads are Attic women, who with the Delphian women go to Parnassus every other year and celebrate orgies in honor of Dionysus. It is the custom for these Thyiads to hold dances at places, including Panopeus, along the road from Athens . The epithet Homer applies to Panopeus is thought to refer to the dance of the Thyiads.'" None |
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14. Vergil, Georgics, 2.380-2.396
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac attributes, thyrsus • imagery, Dionysiac
Found in books: Belayche and Massa (2021), Mystery Cults in Visual Representation in Graeco-Roman Antiquity, 185; Gale (2000), Virgil on the Nature of Things: The Georgics, Lucretius and the Didactic Tradition, 74
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2.380 Non aliam ob culpam Baccho caper omnibus aris 2.381 caeditur et veteres ineunt proscaenia ludi 2.382 praemiaque ingeniis pagos et compita circum 2.383 thesidae posuere atque inter pocula laeti 2.384 mollibus in pratis unctos saluere per utres. 2.385 Nec non Ausonii, Troia gens missa, coloni 2.386 versibus incomptis ludunt risuque soluto 2.387 oraque corticibus sumunt horrenda cavatis 2.388 et te, Bacche, vocant per carmina laeta tibique 2.389 oscilla ex alta suspendunt mollia pinu. 2.390 Hinc omnis largo pubescit vinea fetu, 2.391 conplentur vallesque cavae saltusque profundi, 2.392 et quocumque deus circum caput egit honestum. 2.393 Ergo rite suum Baccho dicemus honorem 2.394 carminibus patriis lancesque et liba feremus 2.395 et ductus cornu stabit sacer hircus ad aram 2.396 pinguiaque in veribus torrebimus exta colurnis.'' None | sup>
2.380 Nor midst the vines plant hazel; neither take 2.381 The topmost shoots for cuttings, nor from the top 2.382 of the supporting tree your suckers tear; 2.383 So deep their love of earth; nor wound the plant 2.384 With blunted blade; nor truncheons intersperse 2.385 of the wild olive: for oft from careless swain' "2.386 A spark hath fallen, that, 'neath the unctuous rind" '2.387 Hid thief-like first, now grips the tough tree-bole, 2.388 And mounting to the leaves on high, sends forth 2.389 A roar to heaven, then coursing through the bough 2.390 And airy summits reigns victoriously, 2.391 Wraps all the grove in robes of fire, and gro 2.392 With pitch-black vapour heaves the murky reek 2.393 Skyward, but chiefly if a storm has swooped 2.394 Down on the forest, and a driving wind' "2.395 Rolls up the conflagration. When 'tis so," '2.396 Their root-force fails them, nor, when lopped away,'' None |
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15. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac artists, • Hadrian, letters to Dionysiac technitae
Found in books: Gabrielsen and Paganini (2021), Private Associations in the Ancient Greek World: Regulations and the Creation of Group Identity, 55; Kalinowski (2021), Memory, Family, and Community in Roman Ephesos, 191
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16. None, None, nan
Tagged with subjects: • Dionysiac Mysteries • Eleusinian, Orpheus, Orphic, Samothracian,Bacchic, Dionysiac • mysteries, mystery cults, Bacchic, Dionysiac
Found in books: Bernabe et al. (2013), Redefining Dionysos, 241, 434; Pamias (2017), Apollodoriana: Ancient Myths, New Crossroads, 119; de Jáuregui (2010), Orphism and Christianity in Late Antiquity, 165
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