#god dionysus

[dionysianivy]

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚

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What is Anthesteria?

Anthesteria, celebrated from the 11th to the 13th of Anthesterion (February–March), was one of the biggest festivals dedicated to Dionysus. Known as the Festival of Flowers, it marked the arrival of spring, the opening of the new wine casks, and the renewal of life. But it wasn’t just about feasting and drinking, it was also a time of purification, fertility, and remembrance, when the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin.

At the heart of the festival was the ritual opening of the wine casks that had been fermenting since the last harvest. This wasn’t just practical; it was symbolic. The wine had been maturing underground, just like Dionysus himself had once been carried in Zeus' thigh before being "born again." Bringing the wine to the surface was more than just a tradition,it was a reflection of Dionysus’ own myth.

But Anthesteria wasn’t all joy and celebration. It was believed that during these days, spirits wandered freely, so while people enjoyed the festivities, they also took precautions to protect themselves. The festival was a strange mix of life and death, revelry and ritual, perfectly embodying the nature of Dionysus, a God of both wild celebration and deep mystery. During Anthesteria, it was also said that the maenads celebrated privately in the mountains and forests. In some legends, Dionysus' marriage to Ariadne was held during Anthesteria.

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Days of Anthesteria

Day 1: Pithoigia (Jar-Opening) 🌸

The first day of Anthesteria, Pithoigia, was centered around the ritual opening of the pithoi, large clay jars that contained the previous year’s wine. These casks had spent months underground, and now, they were unearthed and brought to the sanctuary of Dionysus. A portion of the wine was poured out as an offering, and the rest was shared by all members of the household.

The day was filled with flowers, marking the beginning of the season. Everyone over the age of three was invited to participate in the first taste of the new wine, and the mood was communal and joyous.

Day 2: Choës (Pitchers) 🏺

The second day of the festival, Choës, was a time of popular merrymaking, characterized by wine-drinking contests in which even slaves and children participated. People dressed in their finest clothes, with some even embodying figures from myth connected to Dionysus. There were visits to friends and drinking contests, where participants had to drink an entire chous (about 3 liters) in complete silence. This day was open to everyone, even slaves, highlighting how Dionysus transcended the boundaries of class and status.

For children, Choës marked a special rite of passage. Boys reaching their second year were crowned with flowers and given small drinking vessels, symbolizing their gradual initiation into the community. Meanwhile, the devoted followers of Dionysus, his maenads and priestesses, took part in private, sacred rituals that marked the spiritual union between them and the god.

Day 3: Chytroi (Pots) 💀

The final day, Chytroi, was dedicated to the spirits of the dead. Pots filled with a sacred mix of seeds and grains, called panspermia, were offered to Hermes Chthonios and the wandering souls of the deceased. During this time, it was believed that the spirits of the underworld walked among the living. To protect against any malevolent spirits, people chewed on hawthorn leaves and smeared their doorways with tar. The festival came to a close with the dismissal of the spirits: "Away with you, Keres, it is no longer Anthesteria!"

With these words, the spirits were sent back to the underworld, and life in Athens returned to normal, marking the end of the brief but intense period when the living and the dead had shared the same space.

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Activities To Do:

🍷 Drink wine, or any liquid that you like.

🍷 Place flowers on your altar.

🍷 Honor God Dionysus.

🍷 Go to pottery.

🍷 Make a special mask for Lord Dionysus.

🍷 Do a libation in nature.

🍷 Go to the theater.

🍷 Collect flowers from nature.

🍷 Read and recite the hymns to Dionysus.

🍷 Honor both life and death.

🍷 Take a walk in nature and/or in the mountains.

🍷 Draw Dionysus's symbol or carve His name in stones or wood.

🍷 Make art for Dionysus.

🍷 Make a flower crown.

🍷 Honor your deceased loved ones.

🍷 Leave offerings for spirits.

🍷 Light candles.

🍷 Plant seeds in your garden.

🍷 Plan a feast and celebrate with your loved ones.

🍷 Sing and dance while listening to your favorite songs.

🍷 Do creative activities like art or poetry.

🍷 Go wild and celebrate it as you wish, Kala Anthesteria!

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[wkyarts51243]

🍷Dionysus the god of wine and parties 🍇

Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. Legend has it that because of a trick by Hera, Zeus accidentally killed Semele when he showed himself to her in his true form. He took the fetus Dionysus from his mother's ashes and implanted it inside his leg.

Having been partially generated in a deity, Dionysus was born as a god

Other than that, he is a very happy and party-loving deity, being best friends with Silenus the god of drunkenness.

🙏I hope you enjoy the art, please share 🙏

#greekmithology #greekgods #epicthemusical #art #drawing #olympiangods #godDionysus #dionysus

[legendaryfugitives]

Calypso: Last I checked, goddesses can't die!

Me: Remind me how Athena's first best friend, Pallas, died?

Calypso: Okay, that was a miserable thing that happened. Nymphs' aren't immortal, so they can die despite her father being a God.

Athena cries at a corner.

Me: Right... But how many times did Dionysus die again?

Calypso: At least he was able to come back to life.

Dionysus starts drinking to wash away the pain.

Me: But did Chiron have some crazy death?

Calypso: (sweating) Oh! He gave up his immortality and is now part of the stars as the constellation! Isn't that AMAZING!

Chiron in the stars gives Calypso a death glare.

Me: Did Diomedes prove during the Trojan War that by injuring Aphrodite and Ares, it is possible to kill a God or Goddess? What if humans and defecting Greek Pantheon Gods go to war with the entire Greek Pantheon, and it ends similarly to the French Revolution?

Calypso:

[nocturnalhag]

𝒅𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒚𝒔𝒐𝒔 ; 𝒈𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒆𝒄𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒔𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒓𝒆🍷🎭

[please reblog or like if you saved]

[kore-siciliana]

Libation to Hermes on the 4th of Mounykhion in the Athenian calendar. A stormy night. No better time to honor the Theoi and sit in meditation with them.

[reno-matagot]

Hʏᴍɴ ᴛᴏ Aɴᴛɪɴᴏᴜs, Dɪᴏɴʏsus & Aᴘʜʀᴏᴅɪᴛᴇ

I sing Antinous, the divine boy, the morning star, the King of flowers with sweet limbs. You are one with Osiris, O pretty God! Come in your boat, you who are fire and water, bear and lion, peace and war! Bring with you the fresh scents of perfume and offer joy to our hearts!

Come with Dionysus the noisy, in intoxication and peace, with the panthers and the maenads and let us taste the pure wine of your ecstasy!

Come with the most beautiful, the marine Aphrodite, who subjects gods and men to her power, she who surrounds the sea and rejoices with the nymphs along the shores!

Only then, o pure deities, will my heart be in celebration, a mirror for the sacred colors of spring.

Created this anthem this morning, it could become a nice personal Elaphebolion festival during Dionysia Te Astika: feel free to use it! Glory to the gods!

Fr.March 22

[dilfaeneas]

In the Orphic tradition dionysius was first a child of persephone before being reborn to semele. Dionysius later gifts persephone a flower in exchange for his earth mother to live again. I like to think its truly because she loves her son.

[gospel-of-the-witches]

There are many Gods who are honored in the Ancient Way (Stregheria, Traditional Witchcraft) December 25.

Many, today, honoring the birth of a God - Dionysus. Ancient Spirit that is born, dies and is reborn in the cyclical nature of time. A God that you lose your memory over time, in that same path Shamanic peoples of Europe.

Christmas is a celebration Ancient pagan/polytheist and we are proud to celebrate it. Do not forget it!

We wish you all a happy christmas of light.

Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches - Italian Witchcraft

(La Danse des bacchantes - Painting by Charles Gleyre)

[enchantresscraftshop]

Handcrafted Pendulums made with crystals and Stainless steel ✨

Inspired by Deities with the intention to invoke.

The Crystals used to make these Pendulums are associated with the deity listed.

https://linktr.ee/enchantresscraftshop

[dionysianivy]

the talent omggg

With events like these, men learned that Dionysos was a god, and they began to honour him ♡

Finished and edited my devotional art for Lord Dionysos! ♡

[sh4k3squ33r]

Dionysus' updated Altar

[dionysianivy]

Blessed Anthesteria everyone🍇🍷🌼🐆🌿

May Dionysus bless us all during these three sacred days ahead. May we celebrate freely, with joy and fire in our hearts. We honor God Dionysus and also is a sacred festival of flowers, death, sex, wine, and life. May everyone have a great time and celebrate in whatever way feels right to them.

Hail Lord Dionysus and Kala Anthesteria🌸🍷🕯

[legendaryfugitives]

Working on the early draft of Dionysus for the challenge. Can’t wait to see him party hardy!

[kore-siciliana]

The trio!

So i found some really cool color filters and i blacked out

[hymnoeides]

To the some that asked for Dionysus :3!

[kore-siciliana]

Dyonisos Soterios - Savior from Maddness

Blessed one, I am afraid to name you, least I fall back into you, for the flower of my mind has closed in upon itself, and I search for some identity in the rest you grant me.  But you still whisper in dark recesses.  You found the frayed edges of me and wove yourself into them.  The boundaries of the psyche were found to be penetrable. You dismembered the self and my mind dissolved into countless perfect fractles whose source was you.  In my prayers did I gift myself to you? For you took each piece of me and dispersed them into sublime hands.  Like clusters on a vine I was devoured.  Those deathless and holy ones came, you who knows birth from divine flame, and like raging fire they consumed me.  Savior and two horned, it was you who revealed that I was suffering from your maddness.  For you are both the cause and the cure.  With one mouth we spoke, and with one body we lived.  I knew you, O Bakkhos!  You retreat now, living silently in me, ever watching, waiting for mania.  You birth yourself in the dark, in my fear.  Have you made me a maenad? Raucous and raving, I tore apart my life.  I could find you in the tearing and called it beautiful.  You plunged me deep into furtile earth, Iakkhos, and spoke mysteries so I might live and behold divine sights.  Embraced in holy light I wept with relief.  You assured me that in death I would know you, that I would forever be embraced by you, that I would live again in you, in what you are, transformed and transmuted in the vast omnitude that you arise from.  That my end was the transformation of my holy love in each divine face I sought in life into an eternal embrace.  That I would be boundless like a raindrop returning to cosmic ocean.  But for now I must live.  In life, I know this as true communion.  That part of me where you and I meet, we together consume, and through me you call it divine host.  And when I imbibe in that in which you are potent, like rich wine, I feel a lineage of many who knew you as destructor and savior, Dionysos Soterios.  One of many lessons you give me, that I must find the divinity in humanity.  I was in your grip but now I find your touch is lite.  You are quiet now and I am unsure if I have the courage to find you.  Sometimes I hear your whispers.  They are enticing temptation, but they also tell me to stay away.  That I cannot live in a god.  How I am made will turn me to face you from time to time but life can only sustain itself in ecstasy for brief moments.  But now that I know you, I find you everywhere, and when I look at myself I see you smiling back at me, reassuring me that I am forever yours.  And when they say I am touched, I now know what it means, O thyrsos bearing master of initiates, for you have.