The Hidden Secrets of Dionysus

Part 1

Why Explore Dionysus?

One might now be like. Well what is there more to Dionysus then wine and parties? Well. Strap yourselves in for quite the ride. As there is much more to the figure of Dionysus that meets the eye. Especially looking at his ancient origins reveals a lot about this deity, which through the associations he has, at the same time reveals a lot about our own human nature. As such after going through his ancient origins, I will go deeper into Dionysus from a Jungian lens, and also bring up relevant deeper aspects throughout this series that shed more light onto this interesting figure.

When we think about Dionysus, in modern culture we tend to think about him as a party god. We associate him generally with wine-making, vegetation, fertility, parties, madness, ecstasy, and theatre. Where his wine, music, and ecstatic dance are connected to his followers, such as the Bacchantes or Maenads. These maenads were portrayed as inspired by Dionysus into a state of ecstatic frenzy through a combination of dancing and intoxication. Through this they would free themselves from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. In that sense he is often linked to the Bacchanalia. Which was a mystery cult in ancient Rome. Which had strict privacy, and initiates were bound to secrecy. As such not much is known of this cult or it's rites. However Greek playwright Euripides's The Bacchae, shows that it had mystery elements and public elements; religious dramas which were performed in public, and private rites performed by initiates and priests of Dionysus.

Mycenaean Origins

The earliest written records of Dionysus worship come from Mycenaean Greece, dating back to around 1300 BC. In preserved fragments of clay tablets, his name was written as di-wo-nu-su-jo ("Dionysoio" = 'of Dionysus') in Linear B script. Which were associated with offerings of wine. Other Mycenaean records show the worship of a god named Eleuther, who was the son of Zeus, and to whom oxen were sacrificed. The link to both Zeus and oxen, as well as etymological links between the name Eleuther with the Latin name Liber Pater, indicate that this probably was another name for Dionysus. According to the scholar Károly Kerényi, these clues suggest that even in the thirteenth century BC, the core religion of Dionysus was in place, as were his important myths.

Making Dionysus not a foreign deity for Greece, but one already firmly established. This Mycenaean Dionysus being associated with the epithet “Pentheus” meaning "suffering". As Dionysus was a god who must endure suffering before triumphing over it. Where at Knossos in Minoan Crete, men were also given the name "Pentheus", showing a religious connection to Dionysus. Where A Mycenaean variant of Bacchus was thought to have been "a divine child" abandoned by his mother and eventually raised by nymphs and goddesses. Whilst Dionysus as the wine and party god might be his later manifestation. He however has a much earlier form, which is especially visible in the Orphic Dionysus, who shares much with the ancient Mycenaean one. Who was a death and rebirth deity, connected to the ability to enter and leave the underworld. Before I want to go however into this more ancient original Dionysus I want to first go over the ancient myth connected to this version of Dionysus, called Dionysus-Zagreus in part 2 of this exploration.