#Dionysus epithets

[hellenicrisis]

Dionysus

– My Favourite Epithets

Areion - 'Warlike'

Boukeros - 'The bull-horned one'

Bromios - 'He who roars'

Choreutes - 'The dancer'

Dikerotes - 'The two-horned one'

Dithyrambos - 'Hymned by the Dithyramb'

Euanthes - 'The fair blossoming one'

Euios - 'The reveler'

Gethosynos - 'The joyful'

Intonsus - 'Unshorn', 'of eternal youth'

Kissokomes - 'The ivy-crowned one'

Kryphios - 'The hidden one'

Lampter - 'Light-bringer'

Lyseus - 'The liberator'

Mainomenos - 'The maddened one'

Manikos - 'The manic one'

Meilichios - 'The gentle one'

Melanaigis - 'He of the black goatskin'

Nyktelios - 'He of the night'

Perikionios - 'He who is entwined around the pillars'

Phleon - 'Giver of plenty'

Psilas - 'Giver of wings'

[screeching-0wl]

🍇A Hymn to Dionysus🍇

Unknown author

The Greek Anthology (ca. 100 BCE), translation by W. R. Paton

A Hymn to Dionysus

Let us chant the king who loves the call of Euhoe,

The King Eiraphiotes,

Tender-haired, rustic, much besung, fair of form, Boeotian, Bromius, reveller, with vine-leaves in his hair, Merry, productive, slayer of giants, the laugher, Son of Zeus, twice-born, son of the Dithyramb,

Dionysus, Euius, with lovely locks, rich in vines, awaker of revels.

Jealous, very wrathful, envious, bestower of envy, Gentle, sweet drinker, sweet-voiced, cozener, Thracian, thyrsus-bearing, boon-companion, lion-hearted,

Slayer of Indians, desirable, twiner of violets, hierophant,

Reveller, horned, ivy-crowned, noisy,

Lydian, lord of the wine-press, dispeller of care,

Healer of sorrow, mystic, frenzied, giver of wine, thousand-shaped,

God of the night, shepherd-god, fawn-like, clothed in fawn-skin,

Spear-thrower, common to all, giver of guests, yellow-haired,

Prone to anger, stout of heart, lover of the mountain shade, wanderer on the mountains,

Deep drinker, wanderer, wearer of many garlands, constant reveller,

Mind-breaker, slender, wrinkled, clad in sheep-skin,

Leaper, satyr, son of Semele,

Jovial, bull-faced, slayer of Tyrrhenians, swift to wrath,

Chaser of sleep, liquid, hymeneal, dweller in the woods,

Mad for wild beasts, terrible, laughter-loving, wanderer,

Golden-horned, graceful, relaxer of the mind, golden-filleted,

Disturber of the soul, liar, bent on noise, tearer of the soul,

Seasonable, eater of raw flesh, nurtured on the mountains, making clamour on the mountains.

Let us chant the King who loves the call of Euhoe, the King Eiraphiotes.

Eiraphiôtês [Ειραφιωτης] - an epithet of Dionysus which could be translated as "Insewn" (from the fact that he was sewn up [erraphthai] in the thigh of Zeus)

Boeotian - an epithet which could be related to the strong cult of Dionysus within the region of Boeotia or the origins of his mother.

Bromius [Βρόμιον] - an epithet of Dionysus meaning "noisy", "roaring", or "boisterous" [from βρέμειν, to roar]. It could also derived from the noise of the Bacchantic processions, whence the verb bromeazesthai [βρομεάζεσθαι], to rage like a Bacchant.

Lydian - from the region of Lydia; Dionysus was rescued and brought by Hermes to the Lydian mountains where he spent some time there during his infancy.

"Slayer of Indians" - reference to a mythical war Dionysus and the maenads were said to have fought against various regions of India.

"Euhoe!" [from εὐοῖ] - an ecstatic cry associated with the worship of Dionysus; the shout of joy which could be heard at the festivals of Bacchus. (The epithet Euius [Έιύϊον] could also be related to this)