IL BACCO DEL BELVEDERE

Speranza

From Manual of Mythology, by Alexander S. Murray; Revised Edition, Philadelphia: David McKay, Publisher, 1895; pp. 145-150.

145

DEITIES OF THE HIGHEST ORDER.

_______________________

DIONYSUS, or BACCHUS,

DIONYSUS (BACCHUS).
(Museum of the Capitol, Rome.)

Having more titles than any of the other deities, was styled, to increase their number, “God of many names.” Of these the most familiar were, Bromius, Lycæus, Dithyrambus, and Bacchus. The belief in the existence and powers of this god appears to have been borrowed by the Greeks in its primitive form from oriental mythology, to have been developed by them, and in later times communicated to the Romans. His original signification was that of a divine being whose power might be noticed operating in the sap of vegetation; and, accordingly, spring was a season of gladness and joy for him, and winter a season of sorrow. From this spring his double character of god of the vintage and its gay accompaniments, and god of the ecstatic and mystic ceremonies in which his sufferings during winter were depleted. As time went on he came to be viewed chiefly as the source of happiness and mirth which arise from the enjoyment of the noble fruit of the vine; while afterwards, from the fact that his festivals in spring and summer, with their gaiety and mirth, gave occasion to the first attempts at dramatic performances, he added the function of god of the theater to that of god of the vine.

Fig. 34. — Dionysus and Panther. (Athens.)

He was born, it was commonly believed, at Thebes, and was a son of Zeus and Semele, a daughter of Cadmus, 146 the founder of that town, a son of Agenor and grandson of Poseidon. Of his birth poets relate how Hera, indignant at this rival in her husband’s affections, determined to get rid of her; and to this end, assuming a disguise, went to Thebes, and presented herself to Semele; how she succeeded in winning her confidence, and thereupon took occasion to propose that she should ask Zeus to visit her for once in all the plenitude of his majesty as god of thunder; how Zeus, who, without waiting to listen, had hastily sworn “by the black waters of Styx,” to grant whatever she should ask, was vexed when he heard the foolish request, from granting which no power could absolve him; how one day he appeared before the luckless Semele with a display of thunder and lightning which caused her death. So far the desire of vengeance on the part of Hera was satisfied. But Semele, at the moment of her death, gave birth to a male child, whose life Zeus fortunately restored.

“Semele of the flowing hair,
Who died in Thunder’s crashing flame,
To deified existence came.”

PRIOR.

Fig. 33. — Silenus and Bacchus.
(Vatican, Rome.)

That was the child Bacchus. To prevent its suffering as 147 the hands of Hera, Hermes, the messenger of the gods was secretly despatched with the infant to a place called Nysa, where were certain Nymphs, to whom, along with Silenus, the charge of bringing up the child was entrusted. His title Dithrambus, it is said, means “twice born,” and refers to the incident of his life being restored by Zeus. In after times it was applied to a species of song in honor of the god of wine, of which Arion of Methymna was the reputed originator.

“We follow Bacchus! Bacchus on the wing,
A-conquering!
Bacchus, young Bacchus! good or ill betide,
We dance before him through kingdom wide.” .”

KEATS.

Fig. 34. — Dionysus and Panther. (Athens.)

The childhood of Dionysus was spent in innocence and happiness among the nymphs, satyrs, sileni, herdsmen, and vine-tenders of Nysa. But when he arrived at manhood he set out on a journey through all known countries, even into the remotest parts of India, instructing the people, as he proceeded, how to tend the vine, and how to practise many other arts of 148 peace, besides teaching them the value of just and honorable dealings. He was praised everywhere as the greatest benefactor of mankind. At the same time, it is said, apparently with reference to the fierce and stubborn mood which in some cases follows copious indulgence in wine, that he met occasionally with great resistance on his journey, but always overcame it and most severely punished those who opposed him. As an instance of this, we will take Lycurgus, the king of Thrace, whom, for his resistance, Dionysus drove mad, and caused to kill his son, mistaking him for a vine plant, and afterwards to destroy himself in despair. Or, again, Pentheus, a king of Thebes, whom he caused to be torn to pieces by his own mother and her following of women, because he had dared to look on at their orgiastic rites.

Nowhere was the knowledge of how to utilize the vine appreciated more than in Attica, where the god had communicated it to Icarus, whose first attempt to extend the benefit of it to others brought about his own death, an event which caused much grief. In December a festival, with all manner of rustic enjoyments, was held in honor of Dionysus in the country about Athens. In January, a festival called Lenæa was held in his honor in the town, at which one of the principal features was a nocturnal and orgiastic procession of women. Then followed in February the Anthesteria, the first day of which was called “cask-opening day,” and the second “pouring day.’ Lastly came the great festival of the year, the Great Dionysia, which was held in the town of Athens, and lasted from the ninth to the fifteenth of March, the religious part of the ceremony consisting of a procession in which an ancient wooden image of the god was carried through the streets from one sanctuary to another, accompanied by excited songs. The theatre of Dionysus was daily the scene of splendid dramatic performances, and the whole town was astir and gay.
149
His worship extended to Lemnos, Thasos, and Naxos, where the story was told of his turning the Tyrrhenian pirates into dolphins, and where he found the beautiful Ariadne, when she had been abandoned by Theseus. It spread to Crete, the home of Ariadne, and into Asia Minor. In Phrygia he was worshipped with wild ceremonies, called Sabazia, and in Thrace and Macedonia, called Cottytia. As the god who had advanced through Asia Minor and on to India, accompanied by his wild and clamorous following, he was styled the Indian Dionysus, and in this character was represented as advanced in years.

Fig. 35. — Indian Bacchus. (Vatican, Rome.)

The sufferings which the god was supposed to endure in winter led him to be associated with Demeter in the mysteries of Eleusis, the purpose of which was, as had been said, to celebrate the grief of the goddess in winter, and her prospects of joy in the coming spring.

The vine, ivy, and pomegranate were sacred to this god; his sacrifices consisted of goats and pigs.

In works of art Dionysus was represented under a variety of forms; of these, however, two are to be specially noticed. The one called “Indian Bacchus” represents him as a man of years, with worthy aspect, 150 a long beard, a diadem on his brow, and long drapery sweeping to his feet. In the other figure he is represented as a beautiful youth with an almost feminine appearance ( Fig. 32), beardless, his hair falling in long tresses, and adorned with a wreath of ivy or vine tendrils, sometimes wearing the skin of a stag [nebris] over his shoulders, or with small horns on his brow, and often in a car drawn by panthers or lions, or riding on one of these beasts.

At other times he appears as a child, and that sometimes when he is being handed over by Hermes to the care of Silenus and the Nymphs of Nysa. The youthful Dionysus is frequently represented in the company of Ariadne, while the elder Dionysus is usually accompanied by Sileni and Satyrs, as when he visited Icarus and taught him the use of the vine, a scene which occurs on several ancient reliefs, of which two are in the British museum. On his journey to India he rides on a camel, and on other occasions he is attended by panthers. His staff is a thyrsus — a rod with a pine cone at the top. In his hand is often a drinking-cup. The movement and excitement of the persons who were associated with Dionysus was a great attraction to Praxiteles and the sculptors of his time, and it is probable that the many sculptors of Dionysiac subjects which we now possess came from that school, either as originals or direct imitations.