#dionysos worship

[winedarkgod]

Διονυσος <3

[hellenicrisis]

"And when the weaving Fates fulfilled the time, the bull-horned god was born of Zeus. In joy he crowned his son, set serpents on his head – wherefrom, in piety, descends to us the Maenad's writhing crown, her chevelure of snakes."

– Euripides, The Bacchae

[thedansemacabres]

A Modern Understanding of Dionysus Hestios

Photo from a vineyard I worked on.

[ID: A close-up image of a Chardonnay white-wine grapevine with three clusters. The clusters are green with some red. Bright green leaves cover the top of the clusters, while below a black irrigation line is visible. The ground below is covered in woodchips, except for a single plant below the clusters].

HESTIOS IS A FUN YET OBSCURE EPITHET OF DIONYSUS.  We can infer some of its context due to Zeus Hestios, that being a protector of the home and hearth. This epithet of Dionysus is a favourite of mine—for my home and hearth, he is a household deity as I am a viticulturist and winemaker. My life and livelihood is partially bound by grapevines as I currently work at an orchard that is establishing a vineyard and my responsibility is to make it happen. 

The context of this epithet is little known beyond a passage in Pausanias’ iconic Description of Greece: 

Pausanias, Description of Greece 1. 2. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) : "From the gate to the Kerameikos [in Athens] there are porticoes . . . containing shrines of gods, and a gymnasium called that of Hermes. In it is the house of Poulytion . . . [which] in my time it was devoted to the worship of Dionysos. This Dionysos they call Melpomenos (Minstrel) [i.e. of Melpomene, the muse of tragedy], on the same principle as they call Apollon Mousegetes (Leader of the Muses) . . . After the precinct of Apollon is a building that contains earthen ware images, Amphiktyon, king of Athens, Dionysos Hestios (Feasting or Of the Hearth) and other gods. Here also is Pegasos of Eleutherai, who introduced the god [Dionysos] to the Athenians. Herein he was helped by the oracle at Delphoi, which called to mind that the god once dwelt in Athens in the days of Ikarios."

Dionysus Hestios is mentioned in Athens, along with his myth of his devotee Pegasos bringing his cult to the city. Other than references to Zeus Hestios, I have not found any more context for this epithet beyond protecting the home/hearth. Therefore, this aspect of him will be a contender for a strong upg basis. 

In my times in wine, I’ve gathered my own gnosis of Dionysus Hestios. He is a protector of the hearth, but in my personal experience, the table wine aspect of Dionysus.

TABLE WINE IN THE MODERN WORLD

Table wine is named exactly for what it is, a wine that sits at your dinner table and a key part of a meal. Italy especially is famous for its cheap table wines, many of which I’ve had at my own tables and dinners. Most commercial wines these days are made to be drinkable on their own—while table wines are uncomfortable and harsh on the tongue. With food, they transform, turning these harsh and bitter wines into something truly enjoyable. It also makes the food taste better. For anyone unknowing, that’s why wine and food pairing is a thing. Unfortunately, the table wine market is slowly beginning to crumble—most modern wine drinkers enjoy more of a good tasting drink instead of a complement of one’s meal. If you have the chance, I recommend buying some and trying it in pairings—it’s a dying market, sadly, and one that has an ancient history behind it. 

While table wines slowly fade, there is always a place for them in our lives. I myself have fond memories of a terribly bitter wine being served at my family’s table, and while I hated the taste, I’ve come to fall in love with them in recent years. Dionysus Hestios as a god of the home is a god of table wine, the happy smiles and festive memories of people having their Chianti with some steak or pasta. It’s the thrill of a good food pairing, a decanter, and the hundred years history of people making wine for the common folk instead of just for the aristocrats and their “noble” grapes. 

Dionysus Hestios, Hearth warmer, master  Of your craft, joy becoming  Protect our heart and wine, Let us dance and joy,  Under your blessings  Of the woody grapevine. 

References

DIONYSUS CULT 1 - Ancient Greek Religion. (n.d.). https://www.theoi.com/Cult/DionysosCult.html

[thewrathfulwitch]

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness. - Aristotle

[sawbeaver]

I am a torn god, so be willing to take me.

[apollons-arrow]

"O Bakkhos! Take me somewhere ruled by the law of desire where we can dance you and dance you and never tire"

The Bakkhai (translated by Anne Carson)

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Lamptêros I

O Dionysos Lamptêros, Who carries the torch in His hands, Raise Your torch above the feast, Turn rivers of dark wine to rivers of inky sky, glistening with stars, Turn our dancing bodies to flowing flames, As we beat our feat and scream to the drums. May madness overtake our minds, And may Your torches burn away the troubles of the year, So that we may be clear-minded into the next.

[alsostheon]

Orphic Hymn to Dionysos

Dionysus I call loud sounding and divine

Fanatic god a two-fold shape is thine

Thy various names and attributes I sing

O first born thrice begotten Bacchic king

Rural, ineffable, two-form'd, obscure,

double-horn'd, with ivy crown'd, euion, pure

Bull-fac'd, and martial, bearer of the vine,

endu'd with counsel Eubouleos and divine:

Triennial, whom the leaves of vines adorn,

of Zeus and Persephone, occultly born

Immortal daimon, hear my suppliant voice,

give me in blameless plenty to rejoice;

And listen gracious to my mystic pray'r,

surrounded with thy choir of nurses fair.

Διονύσου, θυμίαμα, στύρακα

Κικλήσκω Διόνυσον ἐρίβρομον, εὐαστῆρα,

πρωτόγονον, διφυῆ, τρίγονον, Βακχεῖον ἄνακτα,

ἄγριον, ἄρρητον, κρύφιον, δικέρωτα, δίμορφον,

κισσόβρυον, ταυρωπόν, ἀρήϊον, εὔϊον, ἁγνόν,

ὠμάδιον, τριετῆ, βοτρυοτρὸφον, ἐρνεσίπεπλον.

Εὐβουλεῦ, πολύβουλε, Διὸς καὶ Περσεφονείης

ἀρρήτοις λέκτροισι τεκνωθείς, ἄμβροτε δαῖμον·

κλῦθι μάκαρ φωνῆς, ἡδὺς δ’ ἐπίπνευσον ἐνηής,

εὐμενὲς ἦτορ ἔχων, σὺν ἐυζώνοισι τιθήναις.

Dionúsou, thumíama, stúraka

Kiklḗskō Diónuson eríbromon, euastē̃ra,

prōtógonon, diphuē̃, trígonon, Bakkheĩon ánakta,

ágrion, árrhēton, krúphion, dikérōta, dímorphon,

kissóbruon, taurōpón, arḗïon, eúïon, hagnón,

ōmádion, trietē̃, botruotròphon, ernesípeplon.

Eubouleũ, polúboule, Diòs kaì Persephoneíēs

arrhḗtois léktroisi teknōtheís, ámbrote daĩmon;

klũthi mákar phōnē̃s, hēdùs d’ epípneuson enēḗs,

eumenès ē̃tor ékhōn, sùn euzṓnoisi tithḗnais.

[highropoios]

I must ask—do you ever smoke as a devotion ? if so, which of the Theoi enjoys it the most ? 👀

oh man. when I do, it’s Awesome!👍🏻👍🏻 in the past, I smoked with Dionysos (pls understand when I say “with,” I really mean “for”)¹—y’know, because he’s The inebriation god!

I’d start with an invocation & offer the smoke in place of burning incense. :] I’d say he enjoys it, esp if I couple it with More devotional activities😊²

Saturday, though! I dedicated my purchase³ to Hermes! I work as a package handler (Wed. to Sat., 2a.m. to ~7:30a.m.), so Hermes is my Occupational Patron.⁴ It was the end of my work week & I wanted to spoil myself 😝 i was so stoked to find that the dispensary opens at 8a.m., ‘cause i was able to go home, take my Everything Shower, and immediately go to the dispensary instead of having to wait until fucking 10a.m. 😩⁵ AND NOT ONLY THAT! THEY WERE HAVING A BOGO FREE SALE, THANK HERMES...............there was no way I couldn’t smoke with him. He seemed to really appreciate it, and joined me in meditation! it was sick (positive). I got home & I was lying on my stomach in bed. it felt like a body bigger than any man’s was lying right next to me, in a position that mirrored mine. I felt a huge hand on my cheek & its arm on my back. He was So Warm.

I have more stories & experiences like this. :] I think i will post about them!

¹ Trying to make it a habit to remember that sacrifice entails presence. I.e., for an offering to be accepted, the god has to be there to receive it (or their daimon, if you’re a Platonist). This line of thinking evokes a sense of “withness” with the divine that is important to my worship. ² like watching the Bacchae :D (specifically this iteration of it. Please Watch It.) ³ Two tru infusion 1g liquid diamond vapes 😊 I got the banana acai & applenana flavors! both hybrids; don’t even think about buying if you’re not 21!!!! ⁴ Not an official term, I don’t think? Basically means he’s the god that oversees my job, lol. ⁵ For some reason that’s when everything opens...

[apollons-solskinn]

after many years of having wanted to but not having enough space, ive finally managed to find space for a small altar dedicated to Apollo, Aphrodite, and Dionysos! im quite pleased with it so far

[plushclownparty]

Hiiiii question for the HelPol folks! Is it significant when a god becomes your main creative drive (main art inspiration, main reason you keep creating, etc.) and, building off of that, does art make a good offering? should I supplement it with something else?

[winedarkgod]

memes by @dionysiandevotee

[hellenicrisis]

I am the hand above;

I am the pulse of the ground.

I am the harvest that casts the field in gold;

I am the table you gather around.

I am the river and the flood;

Life flows from me and through me.

I am the drumbeat that colours the night;

I am the footsteps that beat the earth in revelry.

I am the thing that shuffles in the dark;

I am the wild and the green.

I wrap your pillars and bind your idols;

I am who is, was, and will be.

[deadcrowmagic]

Dionysos, Liberator from Lies

She watches me suffer

I look for guidance

I know not where my path leads

She learns me

She sees what She can do

She doesn't intervene

She waits for me to find Her

And I do

For her freedom allures me

I want to share in it

We introduce ourselves

She as the Liberator

She as one who is like me

She as the shameless Queen of outcasts

And I as the outcast

I dance around her

Unsure of her

Scared of what I know She can do

Until I fall and She picks me up

Until I fall into Her arms

I leave Her dance floor

I have seen Her power

And I adore it

And I fear it

And I am indifferent to it

My indifference is a lie

She knows it

But it is necessary

For She cannot guard me from all things that attack me

So I must guard myself

I guard myself with lies

I don't trust that anyone will accept my truth

As it has been

As it is

Or as it will be

The truth of myself is ugly

But my deceit keeps it so

As i shed all lies that i have accepted as truth

They transform me

My mind can lie to me

It tells me that I am only and will only be

This ugly truth

They free me from it

My face is a lie - They mar it with truth

My skin is a lie - They cut it with truth

My words are a lie - They rebuke them with truth

Only my hope for truth is true - They fulfill my hope

Only I hold me back

For it hurts to tear off my deceitful skin

It hurts to be rebuked

I must be fearless to be true

No, that is a lie.

I need not be free of fear to seek Their truth

I simply need to push through fear

If I trust Them, my fear will not stop the Truth

What is Truth?

It is freedom from lies

It is when I hide not

It is when my face reflects myself.

He leads me as I fall into madness.

He guides me as I climb out of that ditch

Having held my hand all through it

He sends me off as I shed myself

He welcomes me into my new being

He never left my side

Transform me, Dionysos

Kill me and make me anew

As take off my mask and shed this character that

I've built around myself

To hide

You watch me and you applaud.

You take away my fear

You take away my pain

You give so much more

Adoration for You

Adoration for Myself

I redescend into the ecstasy of devotion.

As my truest self.

You have liberated me from the lies I told myself

The lies I let the world tell me

The lies i told the world.

I have died and been reborn in truth

As the version of myself that is only truth

I accept my chaos and revel in His

[meirimerens]

pathologic fest day 19

"In the Darkness"

where nobody dwells but the earth herself

[sundroplyre]

"I say the god [Dionysus] does not discriminate young dancers from old, that he craves honor from one and all alike, that no one - no one - is excluded from his worship."

- Euripides, "The Bacchae", translated by Herbert Golder