The heart of Dionysus is the language of the gods, a form of art. The cult of Dionysus in ancient Greek art

Cult of Dionysus

Dionysus - in ancient Greek mythology, the youngest of the Olympians, the god of vegetation, viticulture, winemaking, the productive forces of nature, inspiration and religious ecstasy.

The cult of wine has undergone the most fantastic transformations in the course of European history. And one of its most striking variations was the cult of Dionysus in Ancient Greece, and its culmination was maenadism, the movement of maenads, the most faithful and frantic fans of Dionysus. In addition to the fact that it was associated with wine, the interesting fact here is that it was a manifestation of female activity.

Maenads (“mad”), they are also fiads (“frantic”), they are chewing bacchans (from the Roman name of Dionysus - Bacchus, or Bacchus) - this is the main army of Dionysus, his most faithful, most fanatical followers.

For almost the entire last millennium BC, the cult of Dionysus was incredibly widespread throughout the Greek world. And it was women who were especially enthusiastic in serving him. Men joined him only at the end, when Dionysia became an official public holiday. In the VI century. BC. they were legalized by the authorities in order to somehow curb this feminine element. Actually, maenads were ordinary women - mothers, wives, daughters, who went off from time to time, and the general female escape greatly worried the entire male population of Ancient Greece.

Several times a year, Greek women gathered in crowds and fled to the forests and mountains. Their main pilgrimage, once every two years, in winter, the maenads made to Mount Parnassus.

Furious fun, dancing, orgies

What did they do there on their campaigns? The main purpose of bacchanalia, of course, is not revelry as such, it is still a religious movement, and the maenads in the forests performed services to their god, prayed, sang and danced in his honor. But to an outsider it looked quite scary.

Half naked, wearing animal skins and wreaths of grape leaves, with thyrsus at the ready (thyrsus is a long rod, an attribute of Dionysus, entwined with vines or ivy, with a pine cone on top) - they rushed around the surrounding area, scaring the herds and the local population. Intoxicated by wine and crazy dancing, in a semi-conscious state, they snatched coals from the fire with their bare hands, played with live snakes, performed rituals of animal sacrifice, and also staged sexual orgies. Sometimes with captured, and sometimes with representatives of the opposite sex who voluntarily joined the bacchanalia. Although the Greeks were sure that it was with satyrs.

Cruel and bloody rituals

Dancing, dancing, wandering through the mountains and sexual games - this, however, did not exhaust the activity of the maenads. The cult demanded the abandonment of all and every prohibition, the awakening of natural, animal principles within oneself. All of them were intoxicated with wine, but in addition, according to historians, they were under the influence of stronger drugs mixed into the wine. And plus the crowd effect. In a fit of mass hysteria, they could tear the bull apart with their bare hands and eat it raw.

The bloodthirstiness of the maddened bacchantes, however, is not some natural quality of the Greek woman; blood was demanded by the cult of Dionysus itself, which dealt with its enemies with the hands of its followers. The Greeks believed that the gods actively intervened in the affairs of mortals, and cruelly took revenge for their lack of recognition. And Dionysus, in general, was feared, perhaps even more than many other gods. This was not only the god of wine and fun, but also the god of obsession and madness. Everyone who was outside the cult, who did not support it, was in danger, including from his frantic fans, the maenads. Their rage towards the enemies of Dionysus is reflected in many myths. For example, the myth about the death of Orpheus - they killed not only bulls.

According to one version, he sang the gods, but missed Dionysus, and the vengeful god sent his maenads to him. According to another version, Orpheus witnessed the secret mysteries of the Maenads. But in any case, they tore him to pieces. Like King Pentheus, who pursued the maenads in the forests to return his mother, drugged by Dionysus. The famous ancient Greek tragedy of Euripides “The Bacchae” is about this monstrous story - how the maenads tore Pentheus to pieces.

Causes of maenadism

Why did they indulge in the cult of Dionysus so passionately? There are several versions.

Psychiatric version Historians explain maenadism, firstly, by analogy with female alcoholism - the female psyche and physiology are more vulnerable to narcotic and psychogenic influence, they more easily become dependent. Maenadism is sometimes even interpreted as a type of hysteria. In hundreds of ancient images found - on red-figured pottery and in sculpture - a dancing maenad resembles a person in a hysterical fit. The body and neck are convulsively bent backward, the head is thrown back strongly.

Socio-psychological version And the second explanation of maenadism is even simpler. The Bacchic cult freed women from everyday worries, removed the shackles of a measured life from them, and broke the shackles that bound them to routine and boredom. It was the women, being quite law-abiding the rest of the year, who abandoned their household duties on the days of bacchanalia, leaving home, husband, and children, to dance until exhaustion and praise their god.

These versions are not enough. These versions of the causes of maenadism do not explain, however, the mystical, religious foundations of the Dionysian cult. To see only madness or only escape in bacchanalia is to see only the external side of the matter. Maenadism was not at all an accidental, episodic phenomenon of such a falling away from civilization by individual “possessed” representatives of Greek society, prone, for example, to debauchery and orgies. And it would be rather superficial to interpret these escapes of women into the forests solely as a desire to resist prohibitions and the established order. There was something of a protest here, but that’s not the main thing.

There must be more religious-mystical version Maenadism Bacchanalia was precisely a religious ritual; it had a very powerful mystical basis.

The ritual itself demanded cruelty

There was no direct connection between the frenzy of the cult of Dionysus and intoxication. People became crazy and tore animals to pieces not at all in a fit of primitive savagery, and not because they were “drunk to madness.” Quite the opposite - the cruelty of bloody actions was specially, consciously built into the cult as the most important ritual performed by the maenads. They tore apart animals - as a symbol of the terrible, cruel death that their god once suffered. It was something like a theatrical dramatization of mythological events. Dionysus was torn apart and eaten by the Titans when he took the form of a bull - and centuries of Greek history were marked by the ritual of sacrificing bulls and eating their raw flesh.

The meaning of the ritual is religious ecstasy

But staging the death of one’s god is not the final goal of the ritual, but only its external side. Its meaning is deeper. They drank wine both as a “gift of God” (“the juice of Dionysus”, “the delight of Bacchus”), and as “the blood of God”. They ate the meat of sacrificial animals - as “the flesh of God.” This is quite reminiscent of the communion rituals in Christianity. And not only in Christianity - in many ancient religious cults similar rituals were performed, with the same goal - to directly connect with one’s god. To connect almost literally, tangibly - through his “blood” and “flesh”. Drinking wine is “drinking God.” The desire is more than understandable - at all times, in all religions, the most powerful experience of a believer is to feel God within himself, to come into contact with God, to hear the “voice of God.” (In Christianity, the miracle of “epiphany.”) Naturally, in an ordinary, normal, rational state of mind it is impossible to achieve such a mystical perception of reality; it was necessary, as they would say now, to practice achieving an “altered state of consciousness.” And for this, in particular, they needed wine - as an intoxicating drink that frees them from the shackles of reason and accepted norms of behavior. But not only wine.

Introduction

2.2 Theater of Dionysus in Athens

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

antique art cult of Dionysus

Ancient art, born in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, served as the ancestor of all subsequent Western art; it is both part of the spiritual experience of all mankind and the basis for the formation of the cultures of many countries, especially European ones. And an important role in the art of antiquity is played by the cult of Dionysus - the god of dying and reborn nature, the patron of winemaking and theater. Since its establishment in Hellas, the Dionysian cult was closely connected with almost all spheres of life of ancient Greek society: economic, political, cultural, spiritual.

The Greeks loved to repeat: “Measure, measure in everything.” But was this frequent reference to “measure” a hint that the Greeks were somehow afraid of themselves? Dionysism showed that, under the cover of common sense and orderly civil religion, a flame was bubbling, ready to burst out at any moment.

Before the discovery of the Mycenaean culture, many researchers believed that Dionysus came to Greece from barbarian lands, since his ecstatic cult with frantic dancing, exciting music and immoderate drunkenness seemed alien to the clear mind and sober temperament of the Hellenes. The Dionysian line in the history of the Greek spirit was very strong and had a deep influence on the entire Hellenic consciousness, and its ecstatic cult was reflected both in the art of antiquity and in the art of subsequent eras.

Chapter 1. Dionysus and his cult in Greece

1.1 Origin and deeds of Dionysus

The son of Zeus, Dionysus, I am among the Thebans.

Here once was Semele, daughter of Cadmus,

She brought me into the world untimely,

Struck by Zeus' fire.

From a god to a human appearance,

I approach the streams of my birthplace rivers...

Euripides. Bacchae. 1--6

Dionysus is the ancient Greek god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture, and winemaking. It is believed that this deity was borrowed by the Greeks in the east - in Thrace (of Thracian and Lydian-Phrygian origin) and spread to Greece relatively late and established itself there with great difficulty. Although the name of Dionysus appears on Cretan Linear tablets as early as the 14th century. BC, the spread and establishment of the cult of Dionysus in Greece dates back to the 8th-7th centuries. BC. and is associated with the growth of city-states (polises) and the development of polis democracy. During this period, the cult of Dionysus began to supplant the cults of local gods and heroes. From the beginning of the 2nd century BC. e. The cult of Dionysus is established in Ancient Rome.

Traditionally it is believed that Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele ("earth"), daughter of Cadmus and Harmony. Having learned that Semele was expecting a child from Zeus, his wife Hera in anger decided to destroy Semele and, taking the form of either a wanderer or Bero, Semele’s nurse, inspired her with the idea of ​​​​seeing her lover in all his divine splendor. When Zeus reappeared with Semele, she asked if he was ready to fulfill any of her wishes. Zeus swore by the waters of the Styx that he would fulfill it, and the gods cannot break such an oath. Semele asked him to hug her in the same way that he hugs Hera. Zeus was forced to fulfill the request, appearing in the flames of lightning, and Semele was instantly engulfed in flames.

Zeus thundered -

The pangs of childbirth have arrived:

Without informing, she vomited

Bromia mother from the womb

And under the lightning strike

Ended her life untimely...

Zeus managed to snatch the premature fetus from her womb, Hermes sewed it into Zeus’ thigh, and he successfully carried it out. Thus, Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zeus. In the painting of Ctesilochus, Zeus, giving birth to Dionysus, was depicted wearing a miter and moaning like a woman, surrounded by goddesses. This is why Dionysus is called "twice-born" or "child of double doors."

But he accepted the ejected

Zeus immediately into his bosom,

And, melting from Hera's son,

He has it at the hip skillfully

He fastened it with a gold buckle.

100 When his time had come,

He gave birth to a cuckolded god,

I made him a wreath out of snakes,

And from then on this wild prey

The maenad wraps around her brow.

There are also alternative versions of the birth of Dionysus.

According to the legend of the inhabitants of Brasia (Laconica), Semele gave birth to a son from Zeus, Cadmus imprisoned her in a barrel along with Dionysus. The barrel was thrown to the ground by Brasius, Semele died, and Dionysus was raised; Ino became his nurse, raising him in a cave. Another of Dionysus’ teachers was Silenus, a regular participant in Bacchic festivities. On ancient monuments of art, Silenus, as a rule, was depicted as an obese, lustful and often drunken old man, with a huge belly, accompanied by satyrs and nymphs and surrounded by cheerful smiling cupids. Satyrs (Roman Fauns) are fantastic humanoid creatures, also included in the retinue of Dionysus. Their cheerful, witty character gave the name to comic poems, which became known as satyrs. Several ancient sculptures are known where Silenus nurses little Dionysus. In the ancient group from the Louvre, which is called "Faun and Child", Silenus is represented as a handsome, caring teacher, in whose arms lies the baby Dionysus.

According to the Achaean story, Dionysus was raised in the city of Mesatis and here he was exposed to dangers from the Titans.

The myths that feature Semele, the second mother of Dionysus, have a continuation about the upbringing of God.

To protect his son from Hera's wrath, Zeus gave Dionysus to be raised by Semele's sister Ino and her husband Athamas, King Orkhomenes, where the young god was raised as a girl so that Hera would not find him. But it did not help. The wife of Zeus sent madness to Athamas, in a fit of which Athamas killed his son, tried to kill Dionysus, and because of which Ino and her second son had to throw themselves into the sea, where the Nereids accepted them.

Lush-haired nymphs nursed the baby, taking

To your breast from the lord-father, and lovingly in the valleys

The nymphs raised him. And by the will of the parent Zeus

He grew up in a fragrant cave, numbered among the host of immortals.

After he grew up in the care of the eternal goddesses,

The many-sung Dionysus rushed into the distance through the forest ravines,

Crowned with hops and laurel, the nymphs hurried after him,

He led them forward. And the whole vast forest thundered.

Zeus then turned Dionysus into a kid, and Hermes took him to the nymphs at Nysa (between Phenicia and the Nile). The nymphs hid him from Hera, covering the cradle with ivy branches. Raised in a cave on Nisa. After the death of the first educators, Dionysus was given to the nymphs of the Nisei Valley to be raised. There, the mentor of the young god Silenus revealed the secrets of nature to Dionysus and taught him how to make wine.

As a reward for raising his son, Zeus transferred the nymphs to the sky, and so, according to myth, the Hyades, a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus next to the star Aldebaran, appeared in the sky.

Many monuments of ancient art have been preserved, embodying the image of Dionysus and the plots of myths about him in plastic (statues and reliefs) and vase painting. Scenes of the procession of Dionysus and his companions and bacchanalia were widespread (especially in vase paintings); These stories are reflected in the reliefs of sarcophagi. Dionysus was depicted among the Olympians (reliefs of the eastern frieze of the Parthenon) and in scenes of gigantomachy, as well as sailing on the sea (kylix Exekia “Dionysus in a boat”, etc.) and fighting with the Tyrrhenians (relief of the monument to Lysicrates in Athens, c. 335 BC .).

During the Renaissance, the theme of Dionysus in art is associated with the affirmation of the joy of being. Artists loved to depict Bacchic celebrations, full of unbridled fun and wild revelry, in which the entire retinue of Dionysus took part. Their depiction began with A. Mantegna. The subject was addressed by A. Dürer, A. Altdorfer, H. Baldung Green, Titian, Giulio Romano, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci, P. P. Rubens, J. Jordaens, N. Poussin. In their paintings, God is presented in all the splendor of youth and beauty, surrounded by his retinue and Olympian gods, with his constant attribute - the grapevine. The same symbolism permeates the subjects “Bacchus, Venus and Ceres” and “Bacchus and Ceres,” especially popular in Baroque painting. Dionysus occupies a special place among other ancient characters in Baroque garden sculpture. The most significant works of the 18th - early 19th centuries are the statues "Bacchus" by I.G. Dannecker and B. Thorvaldsen.

Accompanied by a cheerful company, Dionysus, walking across the earth, passed through all countries, right up to the borders of India, and everywhere he taught people to cultivate grapes. Probably, the eastern campaigns of Dionysus are associated with a statue with his image, which for a long time was known under the name Sardanapalus - due to an inscription made in later times. Art connoisseurs recognized it as an image of Dionysus (a type of Eastern Bacchus) in the image of a handsome, stately bearded old man, draped in long ceremonial robes.

During one of his processions, Dionysus met the beautiful Ariadne, the daughter of the legendary King Minos, whom Theseus, captivated by her beauty, took from the island of Crete. This plot formed the basis of Titian's painting "Bacchus and Ariadne", where the god is presented in rapid motion among the bacchantes and satyrs. Leopards and snakes - creatures sacred to Dionysus - accompany his cortege. The indispensable attributes of Bacchic celebrations are also placed here - tympanums and thyrsus (a thyrsus is a stick densely entwined at one end with ivy). According to legends, at a wedding feast in honor of the marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne, the bride was presented with a radiant crown. (Relief "Wedding procession"). But this union was short-lived: the god of wine and fun soon left his wife during her sleep, having once doubted her fidelity. Dionysus was also awarded the love of the beautiful Aphrodite, who bore him two sons: Hymenaeus, the god of marriage, and Priapus, the deity of the fruitful forces of nature.

Dionysus cruelly punished those who did not recognize his cult. Thus, one of the legends that formed the basis of Euripides’ tragedy “The Bacchae” tells about the sad fate of Theban women, who were struck with madness by the will of Dionysus because they did not recognize his divine origin. And the Theban ruler Pentheus, who prevented the cult of Dionysus in Thebes, was torn to pieces by a crowd of raging bacchantes led by his mother Agave, who mistook her son in a state of ecstasy for a bear.

Wherever Dionysus appears, he establishes his cult; everywhere along his path he teaches people viticulture and winemaking. The procession of Dionysus - (the mosaic "Dionysus on the Panther"), which was of an ecstatic nature, included Bacchantes, satyrs (the painting "Dionysus and Satyrs"), maenads or bassarids (one of the nicknames of Dionysus - Bassarei) with thyrsus (rods) entwined with ivy. Girdled with snakes, they crushed everything in their path, seized by sacred madness. With cries of "Bacchus, Evoe" they praised Dionysus-Bromius ("stormy", "noisy"), beat the tympanums, drinking in the blood of torn wild animals, cutting honey and milk out of the ground with their thyrses, uprooting trees and dragging crowds with them men and women. The first women who took part in the mysteries of Dionysus-Bacchus were called Bacchantes or Maenads. Art made no distinction between them. But Euripides says that there is a difference in mythology: the Bacchae are Greek women, the Maenads are Asian women who came with Bacchus after his campaign in India. Not a single holiday, not a single procession was complete without bacchantes and maenads. In a wild dance, deafening and exciting themselves with the loud music of flutes and tambourines (tympans), they rushed through the fields, forests and mountains until they were completely exhausted. The famous Greek sculptor Scopas in 450 BC. e. sculpted a dancing maenad, which we can judge from a small copy, which, unfortunately, was badly damaged. The Maenad, whose image is full of emotional dynamics, is presented in a frantic dance, straining the entire body of the Maenad, arching her torso, throwing back her head, bordering on madness.

In one of the Thracian villages, according to a Greek folk tale, there lived an old sad homeless goat. However, in the fall, amazing changes happened to him: he began to jump up cheerfully and playfully cling to passers-by. The goat remained in this state for some time, then returned to its despondency. The peasants became interested in the unexpected changes in the goat's mood, and they began to follow him. It turned out that the animal’s mood changed for the better after it walked around the vineyard and ate the remaining grapes after the harvest. As a rule, crushed, dirty grapes remained in the fields. The grape juice fermented and turned into intoxicating wine. It was this that made the goat drunk. People tried this delicacy and felt the effects of alcohol for the first time. The goat was recognized as the inventor of wine and proclaimed a god. Apparently, it was from that moment that Dionysus began to take the form of a goat.

Dionysus the goat is no different from the minor gods - Pans, Satyrs, Selenes, who were closely related to him and were also more or less often depicted in goat guise. Pan, for example, was invariably depicted by Greek sculptors and artists with the face and legs of a goat. Satyrs were depicted with pointed goat ears, and in other cases with protruding horns and a tail. Sometimes these deities were simply called goats, and the actors who acted as these gods dressed in goat skins. Ancient artists depicted Selene in the same attire.

Dionysus was also often depicted as a bull or a man with horns (Dionysus Zagreus). This was the case, for example, in the city of Cyzicus, in Phrygia. There are ancient images of Dionysus in this hypostasis, for example, on one of the figurines that have come down to us, he is represented dressed in a bull’s skin, the head, horns and hooves of which are thrown back. On another he is depicted as a child with a bull's head and a wreath of grapes around his body. Such epithets were applied to God as “born of a cow”, “bull”, “bull-shaped”, “bull-faced”, “bull-faced”, “bull-horned”, “horned”, “two-horned”.

After a little time, the cult of Dionysus and the mysteries that accompanied it spread from Thrace throughout Greece, and then (from the 3rd century BC) throughout the empire of Alexander the Great. Wherever the young god appeared, he was accompanied by explosions of enthusiasm and orgies.

Before the discovery of the Mycenaean culture, it was believed that Dionysus was a foreign god who was revered by the barbarians and one fine day began an attack on civilized Hellas. However, it has now been established that this opinion was not entirely accurate. Achaean inscriptions indicate that the Greeks knew Dionysus even before the Trojan War. Gradually, the cult of Bacchus began to supplant the cults of local gods and heroes. Dionysus, as the deity of the agricultural circle, associated with the elemental forces of the earth, is constantly contrasted with Apollo, as the deity of the tribal aristocracy. He was the antipode of the aristocratic Olympian gods, defending the interests of the communal tribal nobility. For a long time his cult was persecuted due to its orgiastic nature, and only in 536-531 BC. was equated with the official pan-Greek cults, and Dionysus himself was included in the Olympic divine pantheon.

Chapter 2. Holidays in honor of Dionysus

2.1 The emergence of ancient theater

Come with quick footsteps, O lord, to the wine press

Be the leader of our night work;

Above the knees, picking up clothes and a light leg

Having moistened it with foam, revive the dance of your workers.

And directing the talkative moisture into empty vessels,

Accept the cakes as a sacrifice along with the shaggy vine.

Quintus Mecius. The winemakers' prayer to Bacchus.

One of the most important aspects of the cult of Dionysus in Greece were holidays. In Attica (a region in the southeast of Central Greece with its center in Athens), magnificent festivities were held in honor of Dionysus. Several times a year, festivals dedicated to Dionysus took place, at which dithyrambs (songs of praise) were sung. The mummers who made up Dionysus’s retinue also performed at these festivities. Participants smeared their faces with wine grounds and put on masks and goat skins. Along with solemn and sad ones, funny and often obscene songs were sung. The ceremonial part of the holiday gave birth to tragedy, the cheerful and playful part gave birth to comedy.

Tragedy actually means “song of the goats.” Tragedy, according to Aristotle, originates from the singing of dithyrambs, and comedy from the singing of phallic songs. These singers, answering questions from the choir, could talk about any events in the life of God and encourage the choir to sing. Elements of acting were mixed into this story, and the myth seemed to come to life in front of the participants of the holiday. Initially, the praises in honor of Dionysus, sung by the choir, were not distinguished by either complexity, musical variety, or artistry. And therefore it was a big step forward to introduce a character, an actor, into the choir. The actor recited the myth of Dionysus and gave lines to the choir. A conversation began between the actor and the choir - a dialogue that forms the basis of a dramatic performance.

According to the assumptions of many scientists, the ancient Greek theater arose from rituals dedicated to this god.

At first, Dionysus was considered the god of the productive force of nature, and the Greeks depicted him as a goat or bull. However, later, when the population of ancient Greece became acquainted with the cultivation of vineyards, Dionysus became the god of winemaking, and then the god of poetry and theater.

The historian Plutarch wrote that in 534 BC. a man named Thespides showed a performance - a dialogue between the actor playing the role of Dionysus and the choir.

From this legendary year, theatrical performances apparently became an obligatory part of the Dionysus holidays.

When performing sacrifices and the accompanying magical ceremonies, those present were located in the form of an amphitheater on the slopes of a neighboring hill adjacent to the altar. This is the beginning of Greek theater. The principle of the amphitheater was maintained in the future. Greek theaters throughout history remained amphitheaters, located at the foot of hills, in the open air, without a roof or curtain. The Greek theater was a free space that formed a semicircle (amphitheatre). Thus, the democratic principle was already embedded in the very design of the Greek theater. Not bound by an enclosed space, Greek theaters could be very large and accommodate large crowds. For example, the Theater of Dionysus in Athens accommodated up to 30 thousand spectators, but this is far from the largest theater of ancient Greece known to us. Subsequently, in the Hellenistic era, theaters were created that could accommodate 50, 100 and even more thousand spectators. The main part of the theater consisted of: 1) koilone - a room for spectators, 2) an orchestra - a place for the choir, and initially for actors, and 3) a stage - a place where the scenery was hung and later the actors performed.

In the middle of the orchestra was a richly decorated altar of Dionysus.

The back of the stage was decorated with columns and usually depicted a royal palace. The spectator areas (auditorium) were separated from the rest of the city by a wooden or stone wall without a roof.

The sheer size of theaters has led to the need for masks. The audience simply could not see the actor’s facial features. Each mask expressed a certain state (horror, fun, calm, etc.), and in accordance with the plot, the actor changed his own “faces” during the performance. The masks were a kind of close-ups of the characters and at the same time served as resonators - they amplified the sound of voices. The masks were made of wood or linen; in the latter case, the linen was stretched over a frame, covered with plaster and painted. The masks covered not only the face, but the entire head, so that the hairstyle was fixed on the mask, to which, if necessary, a beard was also attached. The tragic mask usually had a protrusion above the forehead, which increased the height of the actor.

The mask changed the proportions of the body, so the performers stood on buskins (sandals with thick soles), and wore thick ones under their clothes. Bustles made the figure taller and the movements more significant. Fabrics brightly colored with natural dyes, from which complex costumes were made, also enlarged and emphasized the figure. The color of clothing was endowed with symbolic meaning. The kings appeared in long purple cloaks, the queens in white, with a purple stripe. The color black meant mourning or misfortune. Messengers were required to wear short clothes. Attributes were also symbolic, such as olive branches in the hands of those asking.

Masks in comedies were caricatures or caricatured portraits of famous people. Costumes usually emphasized an enormous belly and a fat butt. Chorus artists were sometimes dressed as animals, such as frogs and birds in Aristophanes' plays.

In the ancient Greek theater they used the simplest machines: ekkyklema (platform on wheels) and eorema. The latter was a lifting mechanism (something like a system of blocks), with the help of which characters (gods, for example) “fly up into the heavens” or fall to the ground. It was in the Greek theater that the famous expression “God ex machina” was born. Later, this term began to mean an unmotivated denouement, an external resolution of the conflict not prepared by the development of action, both in tragedy and comedy.

Actors in Ancient Greece were considered respected people. Only a free-born man could act in the theater (they also performed female roles). At first, the performances featured a choir and only one actor; Aeschylus introduced a second actor, Sophocles a third. One performer usually played several roles. The actors had to not only recite well, but also sing and have sharp, expressive gestures. In tragedy the chorus consisted of fifteen people, and in comedy it could include twenty-four. Usually the choir did not take part in the action - it summarized and commented on the events.

Ancient Greek drama is based on myths. They were known to every Greek, and the audience was especially interested and important in the interpretation of events by the author of the play and the actors, and the moral assessment of the actions of the heroes. The heyday of the ancient theater dates back to the 5th century. BC.

Various competitions occupied a lot of space in the daily life of the Greeks: chariot drivers and horsemen competed, and sports Olympics were held every four years. Theatrical performances were also organized as competitions for both play authors and actors. Performances were performed three times a year: on the Great Dionysia (in March), the Lesser Dionysia (late December - early January) and Linea (late January - early February). Tragic poets presented three tragedies and one satyr drama to the audience and jury; comic poets performed individual works. Usually the play was staged once, repetitions were rare.

By introducing the theorikon (theater money that was paid to the poorest citizens), Pericles made theater accessible to all Athenian citizens.

Theatrical performances were given only on the holidays of Dionysus and were originally part of the cult. Only gradually did the theater begin to acquire social significance, serving as a political platform, a place of relaxation and entertainment.

The theater ensured a high general cultural level of the Greek city-states. He organized, educated and enlightened the masses. In the Celebrations in honor of Dionysus and the accompanying theatrical performances, a socio-political orientation is visible. Playwrights have always put words into the mouths of mythological heroes that relate to the most pressing problems of our time.

Along with theatrical performances, sports competitions, games, wrestling, musical, literary and many other types of physical and spiritual sports should be noted.

2.2 Theater of Dionysus in Athens

The oldest known theater building is the Theater of Dionysus in Athens, located in the sacred enclosure of Dionysus on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis, which was rebuilt several times in subsequent eras. Its excavations were completed in 1895 by Dörpfeld.

On two minor remains of the wall, Dörnfeld installed a round orchestra - a terrace with a diameter of 27 m. (E. Fichter considers the diameter of this orchestra to be approximately 20 m). It was located on the slope of the Acropolis in such a way that its northern part jutted into the mountain, and its southern part was supported by a wall that rose in the southernmost part 2-3 m above the level of the sacred fence of Dionysus and in the west was in close contact with the old temple.

There were no stone seats in this theater yet: the audience sat on wooden benches, and, perhaps, on the first bunks and just stood. The Byzantine scholar Svida reports that during the 70th Olympiad (i.e., 499-496 BC), the temporary seats collapsed and that after this the Athenians built a theatron, i.e., special seats for spectators.

Skena did not initially designate a palace or temple. However, the later plays of Aeschylus and the dramas of Sophocles already required a palace or temple as a backdrop, and on the tangent of the orchestra they began to build a wooden building, skena, on the facade of which 3 doors soon appeared.

At the same time, stage painting also came into use, and painted boards could be placed between the columns of the proscenium. Under Pericles, the theater underwent reconstruction, which probably ended after his death.

The old orchestra was moved to the north. In this way, somewhat greater space was achieved for the presentation of actors and for the stage adaptations required by the development of the drama of Sophocles and Euripides. The southern border of the terrace was completely rebuilt, and instead of the old curved supporting wall, a long (about 62 m) straight wall was built from large blocks of conglomerate to support the terrace. At a distance of approximately 20.7 m from the western end of the wall, a solid foundation extending approximately 2.7 m towards the Skene is approximately 7.9 m long. It is believed that it served as a support for machines used in the theater. But the skene itself was still made of wood.

Somewhat south of the old temple, a new temple of Dionysus was built, in which a statue of the god made of gold and ivory, sculpted by Alcamenes, was placed. The supporting walls of the spectator seats were in contact with the Odeon, a building for musical competitions, the construction of which was completed by Pericles in 443 BC. e. The seats in this rebuilt theater were still made of wood, with the possible exception of some seats of honor.

There were paraskenias. The skene building for a production that required the depiction of a palace or house was usually two stories high, with the top floor possibly receding somewhat back and leaving space for the actors in front and on the sides.

The temple could have a pointed pediment. The Periclean reconstruction was completed by the construction of the feet, a large hall running along the entire length of the new supporting wall, with an open colonnade on its southern side. The next major reconstruction of the Athenian theater took place in the 2nd half. 4th century BC. (completed c. 330) and was associated with the name of Lycurgus, who was in charge of Athenian finances.

Instead of temporary wooden structures, a permanent stone skene was built. Paraskenii performed approx. 5 m from the façade of the slope. The façade of the skena had 3 doors. Probably on the facade and on its interior. the sides of the parascenium had columns. Some scientists believe that in the stone theater of Lycurgus there was a wooden proskenium, slightly receding from the building and forming a portico

(similar to how it was later in the Hellenistic theater).

The plays were still performed at the orchestra level, in front of the skene, the facade of which was adapted (with the help of movable screens, partitions and other devices) for the presentation of individual plays.

The spectator places, a significant part of which can still be seen in Athens to this day, were built of stone. A double support wall was built to support them. In the lower tier, the space for spectators was divided by radially rising stairs into 13 wedges. In the upper tier the number of stairs doubled. There were a total of 78 rows on the hillside. The orchestra was moved somewhat further to the north. A canal was built around the orchestra to drain rainwater.

Conclusion

Ancient Greece became the cradle of ancient civilization. In Greece, from where bacchanalia came to Rome, the cult of Dionysus had two types - rural holidays (Dionysia, Lenaea, etc.) and orgiastic mysteries, which later gave rise to the development of ancient Greek theater. He gave impetus to the development of theatrical art throughout the world. Modern theaters have undergone changes, but in general the basics remain the same. Also, his cult enriched various types of art: the plots of myths about him are reflected in sculpture, vase painting, literature, painting (especially the Renaissance and Baroque), and even music. Composers of the 19th and 20th centuries turned to the cult of Dionysus - A.S. Dargomyzhsky "The Triumph of Bacchus", the divertimento by C. Debussy "The Triumph of Bacchus" and his opera "Dionysus", J. Masne's opera "Bacchus", etc.

Bacchanalian processions, accompanied by crazy dancing of maenads, replete with wine, orgies and music, inspired and inspire to this day workers of various kinds of art.

Bibliography

Sources

1. Apollodorus. Mythological library. Ed. preparation V.G. Borukhovich. M., 1993.

2. 2. Virgil. Bucolics. Georgics. Aeneid / Trans. S. Shervinsky and S. Osherov. M., 1979.

3. Homeric hymns / Trans. V.V. Veresaeva // Hellenic poets. M., 1999.

4. Euripides. Bacchae / Transl. I. Annensky // Euripides. Tragedies. St. Petersburg, 1999.

5. Columella. About agriculture / Transl. M.E. Sergeenko // Scientists farmers of ancient Italy. M., 1970.

6. Ovid. Fast / Per. S. Shervinsky // Ovid. Elegies and short poems. M., 1973.

7. Pausanias. Description of Hellas / Transl. S.P. Kondratieva. M., 1994. T. 1--2.

8. Pliny the Elder. Natural History XXXV 140

9. Titus Livy. History of Rome from the foundation of the City / Trans. edited by M.L. Gasparova, G.S. Knabe, V.M. Smirina. M., 1993. T. 3.

Literature

10. Annensky I.F. Ancient tragedy // Euripides. Tragedies. St. Petersburg, 1999. pp. 215--252.

11. Bartonek A. Gold-abundant Mycenae. M., 1992.

12. Bodyansky P.N. Roman bacchanalia and their persecution in the 6th century. from the founding of Rome. Kyiv, 1882. P. 59.

13. Vinnichuk L. People, customs and customs of Ancient Greece and Rome. M., 1988.

14. Illustrated history of religions. M., 1993.

15. Losev A.F. Dionysus // Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia. M., 1987. T. 1. P. 380-382.

16. Losev A.F. Ancient mythology in its historical development. M., 1957.

17. Men A. History of religion: in search of the Path, Truth and Life. M., 1992. T. 4. Dionysus, Logos, Destiny.

18. Men A. History of religion: in search of the Path, Truth and Life. M., 1993. T. 6. On the threshold of the New Testament.

19. Nilsson M. Greek folk religion. St. Petersburg, 1998.

20. Torchinov E.A. Religions of the world: Experience of the beyond: Psychotechnics and transpersonal states. St. Petersburg, 1998.

21. Shtaerman E.M. Liber // Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia. M., 1987. T. 2. P. 53.

22. Shtaerman E.M. Latin // Myths of the peoples of the world. Encyclopedia. M., 1987. T. 2. P. 39--40.

23. Shtaerman E.M. Social foundations of religion in Ancient Rome. M., 1987.

Similar documents

Periods of the history of Ancient Greece, its cultural heritage (works of fine art, sculptures, architectural monuments). Features of artistic culture and art of Ancient Rome. Similarities and differences in architectural styles of ancient states.

abstract, added 05/03/2013


The concept of myth, its functions. Mythology of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. The essence of religion and the features of its early forms: fetishism, totemism, animism and magic. Specifics of cults of animals, plants, ancestors, trade. Religion of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome.

abstract, added 10/19/2011


Ancient Greek theater. Ancient Roman theater. The meaning of the art of Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece. Literature and poetry of the ancient Romans. Myth and religion in the cultural life of the Greeks. Greek and Roman culture - similarities and differences.

abstract, added 01/03/2007


Features of ancient Greek religion. Architecture of Ancient Greece. The main features of the Doric style. Fundamentals of Greco-Roman poetry. Literature and art of the Hellenistic era. Hellenistic science and philosophy. Culture of Ancient Rome. The genre of high tragedy.

abstract, added 05/23/2009


Periods of the history of Ancient Greece, their characteristics. Ideology, value system of Roman citizens. The main similarities between the ancient Roman and ancient Greek civilizations. Stages of formation of ancient culture, its significance. The originality of Soviet culture of the 20s.

test, added 02/22/2009


Characteristics and distinctive features of the culture of Ancient Greece, its stages of formation. Gods of the ancient Greeks. Sources of myths and legends, prominent representatives of literature and art. Monuments of architecture and sculpture, the history of their creation.

abstract, added 12/20/2009


Socio-political situation in Ancient Greece in the 5th century. BC. The origins of the comedy genre, the creative heritage of Aristophanes and Menander. The early period of development of ancient Roman literature. The work of satirists of Ancient Rome, its features and themes.

abstract, added 01/23/2014


Art of Ancient Greece. Fundamentals of the Greek worldview. Culture of beauty and beautiful body. Art of Ancient Italy and Ancient Rome. Features of Roman architecture. The art of medieval Europe and the Italian Renaissance. Statement of the realistic method.

report, added 11/21/2011


Holidays of Ancient Greece, as a playful and cultic, as well as spectacular and effective aspect of culture. History of the festivities. Scenario dramaturgy of mass holidays of Ancient Hellas. Cult of Demeter, spring fertility festivals in Ancient Greece, sacrifices.

abstract, added 12/03/2008


The rise and fall of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture, its influence on the formation of the ancient world. Stages of development of the culture of Ancient Greece during the heyday of polis structures. Social ideals and norms of the ancient polis and their embodiment in the art of Ancient Greece.

The image of Dionysus has come a long way in its development. It is no coincidence that there were several myths that told about the struggle with which the cult of Dionysus was introduced and about the resistance that met its appearance in Greece. Dionysus, like the Egyptian Osiris, the Syrian Attis, and the Cretan Zagreus, belongs to the widespread type of “son of God.” In Hellenic legends, partly dating back to Mycenaean or even possibly Minoan times, its parent is the heavenly god Zeus (Tinia) or his underground counterpart Hades. The situation is more complicated with the mother of Dionysus. Some believe that she was Demeter or Io (Diod. Ill 62, 2 - 28). In Cicero, Dionysus has four mothers (Cic. De nat. Deor. III. 58), in Nonnus of Panopolitan - 5. In the “Temple of Antiquity...” besides “Bacchus - Jupiter’s son from Semele...” there were five more: from Jupiter and Proserpine, from the Nile, which killed Nysa, from Jupiter and the Moon, in honor of which holidays called Orphic were made, from Nysus and Fiona."

Lucius Ampelius writes about the existence of five Liberi (Dionysuses): “the first is from Zeus and Proserpina; he is a cultivator of the land and the inventor of wine. The second Liber is from Melon and Flora ... whose name is the river Granik; the third is from Cabirus, who reigns in Asia; the fourth from Saturnius and Semele... they say, the fifth son of Nysus and Fiona." The father of the second Liber is Melon, an ancient vegetation deity associated with Hercules. The mention of the Granik River in connection with Liber gives reason to think that we are talking about a Phrygian river or mountain deity. In the area of ​​Pelasgian Dodona, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Dione (Eur. Antig. fr. 177).

Apparently, the Cretan hypostasis of Dionysus is Zagreus. Greek myth tells of him as the son of Zeus of Crete and Persephone, with whom Zeus married in the form of a serpent even before her uncle Hades carried her off to his underworld. The titans sent by Hero, painted with white plaster, waited until the Cretan Kuretes, guarding the cradle with the baby in a cave on Mount Ida, fell asleep. At midnight they lured Zagreus out with the help of children's toys: a pine cone, a shell, golden apples, a mirror, dough and a tuft of wool. Then they attacked Zagreus. But he frightened them by turning into Zeus in a cape of goat skins, then into Kronus, who makes rain, and finally into a lion, horse, dragon or serpent, tiger, bull.

Zagreus' transformations are explained as follows. In Crete, a boy was sacrificed every year to replace the king - a bull. After reigning for a day, he participated in a dance symbolizing the five seasons - lion, goat, horse, snake and calf, after which he was eaten alive 1. Zagreus became "Zeus in a goatskin cape" because Zeus, or a boy who replaced him, ascended to heaven wearing a cape made from the skin of the goat Amalthea. The transformation into "Crown making rain" indicates that rattles were used to make rain in Dionysian ceremonies.

But Hera, with her ferocious lowing, awakened the titans as activity. They tore Zagreus to pieces in the form of a bull and devoured his raw flesh. Zeus threw them into Tartarus for this, scorched the mother of the titans, the Earth - Gaia, with a terrible fire, and then sent a flood to it (Norm. Dion. VI 155 - 388). A number of myths are associated with the resurrection of Dionysus - Zagreus, whose heart was saved by Athena, the daughter of Zeus (Procl. Hymn. VII 11-15). She put Zagreus's heart into a plaster figure and breathed life into it. Thus Zagreus gained immortality. His bones were collected and buried at Delphi (Diod. V 75, 4; Eur. Cretenses. 472). Other ancient authors say that after the titans tore Zagreus's body into pieces, they boiled him in a cauldron. However, his grandmother Rhea found her grandson, reassembled his body from pieces and brought him back to life. Persephone, whom Zeus now entrusted with looking after the child, handed him over to the king of Orchomenus Athamas and his wife Ino, inspiring her that the child should be raised in the female half of the house, dressed as a girl. However, Hera could not be deceived, and she punished the royal couple by sending madness upon them. In a fit of madness, Athamas killed his son Learchus, mistaking him for a deer (Eur. Bacch. 99 - 102; Paus. VIII 37, 3; Diod. Ill 2).

The myth of the torn apart of Zagreus - Dionysus by the titans, who lured him to themselves with the help of a mirror, is interpreted as a cosmogonic story, and the reflection of Zagreus in the mirror is a symbol of the emergence of the primary “supersensible” soul” in the sensual, material world. The transformations of Zagreus escaping from the titans mean “relocation” souls into different bodies. The torn apart and absorption of the god by the titans is the subordination of the soul to a “sensual”, “passionate” state, the symbol of which is the titans. According to myth, Zagreus’s heart is saved by Athena - also the mystic participating in the Dionysian mysteries was supposed to “save” your heart, i.e., your inner spiritual essence from the disfiguring influence of the material “titanic” world. The Orphics gave Zagreus the Hunter the appearance of a baby and identified him with Dionysus, the son of Semele. “Zagreus is one of the faces of the ancestral Dionysus, monotheistically understood by the Orphics as the god of the underworld . He was one god next to one goddess - the Earth" 1.

The cult of Zagreus had its own specific characteristics. The above version of the myth is a later Greek version. In Crete in the Minoan era there was a cult of the Great Goddess - Mother. Zagreus represented the dying and resurrecting young god - the companion of the Great Goddess. In Crete, mythology and the bloody cult of Zeus turned into mystery through a whole cycle of images associated with the name of Zagreus. Dionysus - Zagreus is definitely associated with Crete, this is evidenced by the places of his cult - Eleuthera and Kydonia, and the images. The Cretans in ancient times worshiped the Great Hunter Zagreus, a chthonic demon or demon of the hunt (catcher of souls). Only later could Zagreus be identified with Dionysus, also a hunter and god of souls, and placed in a filial relationship with Zeus, the god of life, or with Hades, the god of death. We find an image of a similar Hunter on one bronze shield from the Idean cave, where the young god stands with one foot on a bull and tears apart a lion with his hands. Zagreus is purely chthonic; if he is not yet Hades or the son of Hades, then he is the son of Persephone.

Dionysus is a female god in the full sense of the word, the source of sensual and supersensible hopes, the focus of the entire world of women. His cult was discovered by them, spread by them and led to victory. In fact, from his infancy, Dionysus was surrounded by women as nannies. They were also the companions of the maddened god (mainomenos) and the bearers of his madness (mainades) - maenads (Clem. Alex. Propr. 11). In long robes, with heads decorated with ivy, with the points of long sticks (thyrsi) in their hands, with musical instruments emitting a terrible roar, they rushed with Dionysus through the mountains, and woe was to the animals or men who got in their way. The constant female society, the atmosphere of exaltation, also developed the appearance of Dionysus, different from Hercules. A pampered young man, unable to defend himself, but, nevertheless, conquered the whole world and introduced it to his faith, to his madness. But in the images of the archaic period, Dionysus looks like a quite mature man, in a long chiton, with a beard. Before the excavations on Crete and Thera, the companions of Dionysus can only be judged by the evidence of ancient, mainly late, authors. A. Evans's discovery of the frescoes and figurines of the palace at Knossos showed the primacy of the feminine in Cretan religious art. On the basis of this, the discoverer of Crete came to the conclusion that Minoan societies were matriarchal. Women also played a major role in the religious art of Thera, an island destroyed by a volcano. They, as participants in processions and dances, prevail in the religious processions depicted on the walls of the Western House. Before us is clearly a spring holiday, celebrated both on the island and on the ships. All these images from the Mycenaean era allow us to understand the myth of Ariadne and Dionysus. K. Kerenyi has long drawn attention to the exceptional role of women in the cult of the “son of God” 1 . They were the companions of Dionysus, his priestesses, the first martyrs in his service and the main characters in the legends associated with Dionysus.

Above there was already talk about the Cretan Dionysus - Zagreus. But in one myth he appears under his own name - Dionysus. We are talking about the abduction of the Cretan princess Ariadne by Theseus, who was his assistant in overcoming the riddle of the labyrinth (i.e., the underworld). On the island of Naxos, Ariadne fell asleep, but was kidnapped by Dionysus (Apollod. I 9). The question arises: which of Dionysus was it? Abduction in a state of temporary sleep is clearly replaced by eternal sleep. In this case, Theseus’s opponent is not Dionysus, the son of Semele, but Dionysus, the son of Persephone. Thus, revealing the secret of the labyrinth to a stranger, the destroyer of the royal son of the Minotaur, from the point of view of the Cretans, Ariadne looks like a traitor. And punishment befalls her. The myth is a property of the time when Theseus, the hero of the Peloponnesian city of Trezena, was not yet, under the influence of the maritime claims of Athens, rethought as an Athenian hero.

The friend of Dionysus, Ariadne, was revered on Naxos and other islands. Along with the Ores and Charites, she was clearly a Minoan vegetation deity and had nothing to do with the lunar deity, as Graves baselessly claims. The Trinity Dionysus - Theseus - Ariadne undoubtedly received its final form in the era of the tyranny of Lygdamidas and the close relations between Naxos and Athens during the time of Peisistratus. The development of the cult of Dionysus is associated with the role of viticulture, for the wines of Naxos and other Cyclades islands were most valued in antiquity 1 .

However, there is a later version of the reading of this myth. As K. Kerenyi reasonably suggests, Ariadne is in Greek mythology the daughter of Minos, king of Crete. She was kidnapped by Dionysus, who was in love with her, while she was sleeping on the island of Naxos. Dionysus married her on the island of Lemnos (Apollod. I 9). When the gods celebrated the wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne, Ariadne was crowned with a crown given to her by the Oras and Aphrodite 2 . Dionysus used it to seduce Ariadne in Crete. This crown was raised to heaven by Dionysus in the form of a constellation. Ariadne gave birth to Oenopion, Foant and other children from him (Apollod. I 9). Taking into account that a female goddess was especially revered in Crete, it can be assumed that Ariadne is a Cretan princess, or a high priestess of this goddess, or even one of the ancient Minoan fertility deities 1.

The counterpart of Dionysus in the Aegean-Anatolian world was the Thracian-Phrygian god Sabazius, whom the Greeks considered the son of Zeus and Persephone, to whom he penetrated under the guise of a horned serpent. Since the latter was the goddess of the underworld, sacrifices and festivals of Sabazius were performed under the cover of night (Nonn. Dion. VI 155 - 388). Sabazius' sacred animal was the snake. Sabazius in Greece was identified with Dionysus-Zagreus. Sabazius personified plant fertility (Lucr. II 600 - 643). The difference between Sabazius and Dionysus was the presence of horns, a sign of the god - the bull, the spouse of the great mother - the goddess. The great mother of the gods - Cybele - in Greek mythology, a goddess of Phrygian origin, close to Rhea. Cybele was also called the mistress of mountains, forests, animals, regulating their inexhaustible fertility (Lucr. II 600 - 643). It was Cybele, the mistress of forests and animals related to Semele, who cured Dionysus of madness. Diodorus Siculus considered Sabazius to be a more ancient Dionysus, and associated the horns with the fact that the god first harnessed bulls and with their help carried out sowing (Diod. IV 4, 1 - 2).

In Thrace, the symbols of Sabazius - Dionysus were either plants - trees, vines, or animals - a bull, a horse, a goat. The symbol of Sabazius was the phallus, the organ of fertility. In Thrace, the snake was also considered a phallic symbol due to its shape. In Thrace, the most primitive forms of cult were preserved: worshipers of God, most often women, performed collective night devotions by torchlight, to the sounds of flutes and tympanums: dressed in animal skins, sometimes with horns on their heads. They portrayed the retinue of Dionysus, worked themselves into a frenzy in an excited dance, tore into pieces the animal that embodied the god, and devoured it raw, thus “joining” the deity. In this state of God-possession, men became “Bacchantes”, women - “Bacchantes” or “Maenads” (frenzied). Having torn their god to pieces, they then nurtured him like a newly born baby lying in the cradle, shaking the basket with the phallus in it. Among the Thracians, Dionysus was revered under the name Diunsis. And already in the 1st millennium BC. e. it was brought to Greece and stood apart because of its bloody rites.

We do not know exactly how and when the idea of ​​the immortality of the human soul was combined with the cult of Dionysus, although, as Herodotus writes, already the Thracian tribes, in particular the Getae, who carried out the cult of Dionysus, believed in the immortality of the soul. Among these gods was Dionysus, the image of which was transformed. The main content of the myth about Dionysus is the stories about his death and resurrection by Zeus. Thus, the religion of Dionysus (Sabazius) was a religion that directly connected man with God.

The cult of Sabazius was widespread in the territories of Thrace, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul, Germany, Macedonia, Illyria, Pannonia, Dacia, Moesia, and Tauric Chersonese 1 . In Thrace and Phrygia, the mysteries in honor of Dionysus - Bacchus - Sabazius offered salvation in this world through union with God in riotous dance, sacrifice, drinking wine or sexual ecstasy.

The cult of the Phrygian-Thracian Dionysus - Sabazius corresponded to the most diverse moods and demands of the population. The god of intoxication, ecstasy, the deity of fertility was revered as a deity who stood, as it were, outside and above civil and communal ties. He was worshiped by people of different social status, citizens of different cities, often united in religious unions or partnerships. And for everyone, without exception, this cult was close, with its promise of salvation in the afterlife.

The popularity of Dionysus in the Balkans should obviously be associated with his patronage of winemaking, which came to Greece from the East. In addition, Dionysus - Sabazius was a god who bestows oblivion from the worldly vanity on earth, and completely frees man from all kinds of conventions. However, thanks to the cult of Dionysus in Thebes and the widespread use of dithyrambic poetry and tragedy in the Greek world, the Theban version of the myth of Dionysus as the son of Zeus and Semele became classic. It was the Theban version of the myth that became the most popular in Attica.

So, according to the main myth, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele (Zemela), the daughter of the Theban king Cadmus (Semela is the Phrygian goddess of the earth). This word is also present in Slavic languages ​​in the same meaning “land”, “countryman”, “land”, in Etruscan - semla, and in Lithuanian - zemnina) 1. Zeus, who fell in love with Semele, descended to her from Olympus every night in the guise of a mortal. Overwhelmed by jealousy, Hera took on the image of a nanny and advised Semele, who was already six months pregnant, to set a condition for her mysterious lover: let him stop deceiving her and appear in his true guise (Apollod. Ill 4, 3; Ovid. Met. Ill 253 ). Semele listened to this advice and, when Zeus refused her request, did not allow him to share her bed anymore. Then, in a rage, he appeared to her in a flash of lightning, and incinerated the mortal Semele and her father’s palace with fire. O. Gruppe believes that this myth has much in common with the birth of Asclepius and speaks of belonging to the Thracian tribal sphere 2. Zeus snatched Semele's premature six-month-old child from the flames and sewed it into his thigh (Hes. Theog. 940 - 942; Eur. Bacch. 1 - 9, 88 - 98, 286 - 297). According to another version, the child was picked up by Hermes. The boy born three months later was the god Dionysus.

The rebirth of Dionysus from the thigh of Zeus, like the rebirth of the Hittite wind god from the thigh of Kumarbi, expresses a rejection of the original matriarchal ideas. Ritual rebirth from a man is a well-known Hebrew adoption ceremony derived from the Hittites. That is why Dionysus is called “twice-born” or “child of double doors” (Apollod. Ill 4, 3; Apoll. Rod. IV 1133 - 1138). As mentioned above, Dionysus was born on Mount Nysa. The nurse of Dionysus also bore the name Nisa. Other nurses are also named, among them Ino or Fiona, i.e. Semele under a different name. In one of the images on the vessel, Dionysus is surrounded by three nymphs with the names "nysai" - three is the usual number of nurses of Dionysus. Having reached maturity, Dionysus found his mother in the underworld, after which Semele was transferred to heaven (Pind. O. II 25 - 28; Paus. II 37, 5). Semele's envious sisters interpreted her death as a punishment sent by Zeus for giving herself to a mortal. Subsequently, according to myth, Zeus took revenge on Semele's sisters by sending all kinds of disasters on their sons.

Zeus gave his son to be raised by the Nisean nymphs (Eur. Bacch. 556 - 559), according to another version, Semele's sister Ino (Apollod. Ill 4, 3). Having grown up among the games of beautiful nymphs, the young god himself acquired a feminine appearance. He never subsequently showed any interest in exercise or war. From his mother, Dionysus retained his love for everything that was born of the earth. Therefore, having found a grapevine and squeezed out the juice of ripe grapes, he decided to dedicate all people to the secret of preparing this wonderful drink.

In Lakonica, there was a special version of the myth, according to which, after Semele gave birth to Dionysus in Thebes, Zeus, suspecting her of treason, imprisoned her and her child in a barrel and sent her into the sea (Paus. Ill 24, 3). According to another version, Semele, along with the newborn Dionysus, was put in a barrel by her father, Cadmus, who could not bear the shame of learning that his daughter had given birth to an illegitimate child (Paus. Ill 24, 3). The waves threw the barrel with the dead mother and baby to a place that became known as Brasami (from the Greek “ekbraso” - “throw away”), where Semele was buried, and Dionysus was raised by Ino and her husband (Paus. Ill 24, 3). And in the city of Brisei there is a statue of Dionysus, which only women are allowed to see (Paus. Ill 20, 3).

Was Dionysus in the Minoan and Mycenaean eras the same god as we know him from Greek texts of the 8th - 6th centuries? BC e., the bull god, the wine god and the god of women? Was he already surrounded by a retinue - sileni, satyrs, maenads? These questions could arise only after deciphering the text of Linear A.

Type and attributes of the god Dionysus (Bacchus). - Eastern Bacchus and Theban Bacchus. - Grapevine, ivy and thyrsus. - God Dionysus and god Apollo. - God Dionysus as the founder of the theater. - Bacchic masks. - Mystical bowl. - Bacchanalia - holidays in honor of the god Dionysus.

Type and attributes of the god Dionysus (Bacchus)

Dionysus(or Bacchus; Latinized form of the last name - Bacchus), the god of grapes, personified wine. The cult of the god Dionysus was established much later than the cult of the other Greek gods. It gained meaning and began to spread in ancient Greece as the grapevine culture spread. Dionysus was very often united with the goddess Demeter (Ceres) and common holidays were organized for these two representatives of agriculture.

In ancient Greece, primitive art was limited to only the image of one head of the god Dionysus (Bacchus) or his mask. But these images were soon replaced by a beautiful and majestic image of the old god Bacchus in a luxurious, almost feminine dress, with an open and intelligent face, holding a horn and a vine branch in his hands.

Only since the time of the ancient Greek sculptor Praxiteles, who was the first to depict the god Dionysus as a young man, has this type of young man with soft, almost muscular forms, something between a male and female figure, appeared in ancient art. The expression on the face of such a god Dionysus represents some kind of mixture of bacchanalian ecstasy and tender reverie, long, thick hair is flowing over the shoulders in fanciful curls, the body is devoid of any clothing, and only a goat skin is carelessly thrown on, the feet are shod in luxurious buskins (ancient shoes), in his hands is a light stick entwined with grape branches, resembling a scepter.

In later times, the god Dionysus (Bacchus) appears quite often on monuments of art dressed in luxurious women's clothing. In group and individual sculptural images, Dionysus is usually presented in a comfortable reclining position or sitting on a throne. Only on cameos and engraved stones is the god Dionysus depicted walking with the unsteady gait of a drunken man or riding some favorite animal.

Bacchus the East and Bacchus the Theban

The most beautiful image of the god Bacchus with a beard is a statue that for a long time was known under the name "Sardanapalus", thanks to a later inscription, but which all experts in the history of art recognized as a statue of Dionysus. This statue is a true type of Eastern Bacchus.

In art, the most common image is of Dionysus, known as the Theban Bacchus, a beardless and slender youth.

The Greek painter Aristides painted the beautiful Bacchus. This painting was taken to Rome after the conquest of Corinth. The Roman writer Pliny the Elder says that the consul Mummius was the first to introduce the Romans to foreign works of art. During the division of war spoils, Attalus, king of Pergamon, offered to pay six hundred thousand denarii for Bacchus, painted by Aristides. Amazed by this figure, the consul, suspecting that the painting had some miraculous power unknown to him, withdrew the painting from sale, despite the requests and complaints of the king, and placed it in the temple of Demeter (Ceres). It was the first foreign painting to be publicly exhibited in Rome.

On all statues of the Theban type, the god Bacchus is depicted as a beardless youth in all the splendor of youth and beauty. The expression on the face of the god Dionysus is dreamy and languid, his body is covered with the skin of a young deer. The god Dionysus is also very often depicted riding on a panther or on a chariot drawn by two tigers. Vine, ivy, thyrsus (rod), cups and Bacchic masks are common attributes of Dionysus-Bacchus.

Grapevine, ivy and thyrsus

The vine, ivy and thyrsus are emblems of the production of wine and the effect it produces. In antiquity, it was believed that ivy had the property of preventing intoxication. That is why feasters often decorated their heads with ivy. Ivy, like the grapevine, entwines itself on many statues of Dionysus. thyrsus, at the end of which was a pine cone. In many areas of ancient Greece, pine cones were used to make wine, which must have been very different from modern wine. Judging by how easily Odysseus managed to put the Cyclops to sleep by giving him some wine, we can probably say that the wine in those days was much stronger than today. The ancient Greeks mixed honey or water into wine, and only as a very rare exception did they drink pure wine.

Many ancient coins and medals stamped in honor of the god Dionysus depict sista, or a mythical basket in which objects used during ceremonial services were stored, and also depicts a snake dedicated to the god Asclepius, as if hinting at the healing properties that the ancient Greeks attributed to wine.

The tiger, panther and lynx are the usual companions of the god Dionysus in all monuments of ancient art depicting his triumph. They point to the Eastern origin of the entire myth of Dionysus.

The presence of the donkey Silenus is explained by the fact that Silenus was the adoptive father or tutor of the god Dionysus. The donkey Silena became famous, in addition, for his participation in the battle of the gods with the Giants (gigantomachy). At the sight of the Giants lined up in battle formation, Silena’s donkey began to scream so much that the Giants, frightened by this cry, fled.

The appearance of the hare in some Bacchic groups is explained by the fact that this animal was considered a symbol of fertility by the ancient Greeks and Romans.

In addition, on antique cameos, engraved stones and bas-reliefs depicting solemn processions in honor of the god Dionysus, the following animals are also found: a ram, a goat and a bull - a symbol of agriculture. Therefore, Dionysus is sometimes depicted as a bull, then personifying the fertility of the earth.

God Dionysus and god Apollo

Light intoxication, having a stimulating effect on the human mind, causes inspiration, and therefore the god Dionysus is credited with some of the qualities of Apollo, this god of inspiration par excellence.

God Dionysus as the founder of the theater

Sometimes the god Dionysus is depicted accompanied by Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, because Dionysus was considered the inventor of the theater, that is, theatrical spectacle. At festivals in honor of the god Dionysus, plays began to be performed for the first time. Holidays in honor of Dionysus were held during the grape harvest. The grape pickers, sitting on carts and staining their faces with grape juice, uttered funny and witty monologues or dialogues. Little by little, the carts were replaced by a theater building, and the grape pickers by actors.

Bacchic masks

Numerous masks, which often decorated ancient tombstones (sarcophagi), were necessary accessories for mysteries in honor of the god Dionysus as the inventor of tragedy and comedy.

On the sarcophagi, the Bacchic masks indicated that human life, like theatrical plays, is a mixture of pleasures and sorrows, and that every mortal is only a performer of some role in life. Thus, the god Dionysus, who at first personified only wine, became a symbol of human life.

Mystical bowl

The cup is also one of the attributes of the god Dionysus and had a mystical meaning. “The soul,” explains the learned researcher of ancient myths Kreutzer, “drinking this cup, gets drunk, it forgets its high, divine origin, wants only to incarnate into a body through birth and follow the path that will lead it to an earthly home, but there, to Fortunately, she finds the second cup, the cup of reason; Having drunk it, the soul can be cured or sobered up from the first intoxication, and then the memory of its divine origin returns to it, and with it the desire to return to the heavenly abode.”

Bacchanalia - holidays in honor of the god Dionysus

Many bas-reliefs have been preserved, as well as picturesque images of holidays in honor of the god Bacchus-Dionysus - Bacchanalia. The rituals performed at Bacchanalia were very diverse.

So, for example, in some areas, children, crowned with ivy and vine branches, surrounded in a noisy crowd the chariot of the god Dionysus, decorated with thyrsus and comic masks, bowls, wreaths, drums, tambourines and tambourines.

Following the chariot of Dionysus were writers, poets, singers, musicians, dancers - in a word, representatives of those professions that required inspiration, since the ancient Greeks and Romans believed that wine was the source of all inspiration. As soon as the solemn procession ended, theatrical performances and musical and literary competitions began, which lasted for several days in a row.

In Rome, Bacchanalia gave rise to such scenes of debauchery and immorality, even leading to crimes, that the Roman Senate was forced to ban Bacchanalia.

In Greece, at the beginning of the establishment of the cult of the god Dionysus, his holiday had the character of a modest, purely rural holiday, and only later did it turn into a luxurious orgy.

The processions in honor of the god Dionysus in Alexandria were especially luxurious and magnificent. To give at least a faint idea of ​​this procession, it is enough to mention that in addition to richly dressed representatives of all nationalities of Greece and the Roman Empire, representatives of foreign countries took part in it and, in addition to a whole crowd of disguised satyrs and silenei riding donkeys, hundreds of elephants took part in the procession , bulls, rams, many bears, leopards, giraffes, lynxes and even hippos.

Several hundred people carried cages filled with all sorts of birds.

Richly decorated chariots with all the attributes of the god Bacchus alternated with chariots depicting the entire culture of grapes and wine production - up to and including a huge press filled with wine.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from Latin and ancient Greek; all rights reserved.

Dionysus is the god of the harvest, winemaking and wine, ritual madness and fertility, theater and religious ecstasy.

Wine occupied an important part in Greek culture, so Dionysus was the favorite god of the inhabitants.

The origins of the cult of Dionysus have not yet been determined. Some historians are inclined to think that the cult of God arrived from the east, others say that the origins of the cult come from the south, from Ethiopia.

Dionysus was one of the twelve Olympian gods; he was born from a mere mortal. Large-scale holidays (mysteries) dedicated to Dionysus, with songs, dances and wine, are considered the ancestors of the theater.

In the earliest Greek artifacts, Dionysus is depicted as a mature man with a beard and clothing. He usually had a staff with him. A little later, images began to appear with a naked, young Dionysus, combining the functions of the masculine and feminine principles (hermaphrodite).

Usually the god is accompanied by maenads and satyrs with erect penises, the whole procession has fun, dances and performs some kind of music. God himself often sits in a chariot drawn by tigers and lions.

Dionysus is associated with the protector of all those who were expelled or not recognized by society, so God is associated with a certain chaotic and dangerous force, the use of which can lead to unexpected consequences (it is quite possible that this was associated with the effect of wine).

He is also known as Bacchus (Bacchus) in the Roman tradition, and the mysteries dedicated to the god were called bacchanalia.

According to legend, wine, music and dancing free a person from everyday worries, fear and sadness, and also give strength.

The cult of Dionysus is also associated with the underworld: his maenads feed the dead with special offerings, and the god himself acts as a mediator between the living and the dead.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was conceived by a mortal woman, Semele. Hera, the wife of Zeus, was angry when she learned that the supreme god was again inflamed with passion for an ordinary woman.

Having reincarnated as an ordinary mortal, Hera convinced the pregnant Semele that she was carrying the son of Zeus the Thunderer himself. The woman, succumbing to doubts, once asked Zeus to prove his greatness to her. The Supreme God refused the woman because he knew that mortals would not be able to endure the manifestation of his higher power.

However, Semele was persistent, and Zeus proved his divine nature by unleashing thunderous lightning, shaking the earth around him. Semele could not stand this action and died on the spot.

Frustrated, Zeus saved his unborn son by sewing him into his thigh. A few months later, Dionysus was born on Mount Pramnos on the island of Ikaria, where Zeus hid the child from the all-seeing Hera.

In the Cretan version of the story of the birth of Dionysus, which belongs to the pen of Diodorus Siculus, the god is the son of Zeus and Persephone.

The name of Hera also appears here: according to legend, she sends the titans to the baby Dionysus so that they tear him into pieces. However, almighty Zeus saves the boy.

Childhood and youth of Dionysus

According to myth, Dionysus was cared for by Hermes during his infancy. According to another version, Hermes gave the boy to be raised by King Atamas and his wife Ino, Dionysus’s aunt. Hermes wanted the couple to hide Dionysus from Hera's wrath. There is another story: as if Dionysus was raised by nymphs.

When Dionysus grew up, he discovered that a wonderful juice could be extracted from the grapevine, which had amazing properties.

She doomed the young god to madness, and he had to wander all over the world. However, he found like-minded people and taught them how to make wine.

Dionysus was in, Spain, Ethiopia,. From these wanderings a legend was born that this is how wine literally conquered the whole world.

Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. One of Homer's hymns tells how, disguised as a mortal, sitting on the coast, several sailors noticed him, and assumed that he was a prince.

The fishermen wanted to steal him and sail away, asking for a large ransom for God. However, Dionysus turned into a lion and killed everyone on the ship.

Dionysus in mythology

The name of Dionysus is also associated with the myth of King Midas. Once, having discovered that his mentor, the wise Silenus, had disappeared, the god unexpectedly found him visiting King Midas. For the return of his beloved teacher, Dionysus offered the king to fulfill any of his wishes.

The greedy king wanted everything he touched to turn into gold. Dionysus fulfilled his request.

However, the king soon realized that food, water, and the people he touched became gold. The king begged Dionysus to return everything to normal; he was ready to give up his desire.

God had mercy: Midas plunged into the Pactolus River, and the spell was lifted. Dionysus is also mentioned in the myths of Pentheus, Lycurgus, Ampelus and others.