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mask131 · 9 months

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The myth of Dionysos (2)

If you haven't checked the first post, this is a vague translation of an article originally written in French by Alain Moreau for the Dictionary of Literary Myths. Its subject is the identity and depiction of Dionysos/Dionysus in Antiquity.

III) The shapeshifting god

A god with such elusive origins, and such an ability to easily cross the limit between life and death, will of course be difficult to depict visually. Ancient sculptors had selected three main appearances for Dionysos: as a child, held within the arms of Hermes or of a satyr ; as a large, imposing bearded man (this was his usual depiction during the Archaic era), or as an effeminate teenager with shoulder-length curly hair and graceful, sensual gestures (this appearance became the dominant one from the 4th century onward). When it comes to prayers and hymns to Dionysos, he receives many names: Bakchos, Bakcheus, Iakchos, Sabazios, Bromios, Zagreus… G. Wentzel collected more than a hundred and thirty name variants for the god.

But how can one describe a god who spends his days transformed or under a disguise? Before the giant Rhetos, he is a lion (Horace, Odes, II, 19) ; when he flees from Typhon he is a male goat (Antoninus Liberalius, Metamorphoses, 28 ; Ovid, Metamorphoses, V) ; at Nysa he is a baby goat (Apollodorus, III) ; before the terrified Tyrrhenian pirates of the Homeric hymn he becomes a lion and a bear ; for Pentheus he was a bull and a ghost ; for the Minyades he was a bull, a panther and a lion (Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses, 10). Dionysos keeps shapeshifting, becoming a ghost, becoming a reflection or creating doubles of himself – and in this sense, the mirror that the Titans offered to the child they were about to kill becomes a very important symbol. In the “Bacchants”, the audience slowly sees Pentheus transformed into a tragic double of Dionysos: both are young, beardless and with beautiful blond hair. However in the beginning of the play, those similarities only highlight the differences. Dionysos is effeminate and his long curls flow over his shoulders, while Pentheus’ hair is braided and wrapped around his head – as Jeanne Roux notes, it was the typical hairdo of aristocrats that regularly practiced sports and wrestling. The virile king of Thebes disdains the foreigner because he has perfume in his hair, Aphrodite’s charm in his eyes, and something feminine in his appearance. But to better destroy Pentheus, Dionysos will turn him into a copy of himself. To spy on the Bacchants, Pentheus will put on a woman’s dress, unbraid his hair, cover himself with a fawn’s skin and hold a thyrsus. (Here the author notes that the translator of the Belles Lettres edition of the play made a mistake by writing that Pentheus put on a “wig” as part of his disguise – no, he actually simply unbraids his hair). With this new appearance, and soon succumbing to the delirium, Pentheus imagines himself cradled within the arms of his mother, just like young Dionysos disguised as a girl was cradled by his foster mother Ino. But by identifying with the god, Pentheus marks his own destruction: the “agreus” of the verse 1192 reminds us of “Zagreus”. Pentheus will live the fate of Dionysos-Zagreus: killed and dismembered, but without the resurrection. Supreme though futile identification: Agave holding the head of her son believes she is brandishing the corpse of a lion… the lion being one of Dionysos’ favorite transformations. When playing double, Dionysos always win.

IV) A complex personality

In his childhood, Dionysos is presented as a frail and defenseless being. He flees in terror the hatred of Hera and Lycurgus ; he naively falls into the trap of the Titans. However, once he is an adult, it is him who entraps those that refuse to recognize his divine power, and he takes his revenge with an horrifying cruelty. The Minyades are plunged into a sacred madness and rip to pieces Hippasos, one of their sons, while believing him to be a young fawn. Pentheus falls from the top of a pine-tree and is ripped apart by the Bacchantes, among which are his aunts, and his own mother Agave. As for Lycurgus, poets and mythologists are constant rivals in the game of who will describe the most atrocious torment. In Eschilus’ Lycurgy, Dionysos turns him mad and he kills his son Dryas with an axe, believing him to be a vine. According to Hyginus, Lycurgus also kills his wife and tries to rape his mother, before Dionysos abandons him at the top of a mountain where he is mauled by panthers. According to Homer, Zeus makes the king blind, while in Apollodorus’ tale he is tied up to the mount Pangaion and devoured by horses. And for Diodorus of Sicily, he had his eyes pierced by Dionysos, before a long series of tortures culminating with a crucifixion.

However this bloodthirsty god of tragedies can easily become a god of comical fables, or of fairytales. It is Dionysos that brought back Hephaistos to Olympus so he could deliver Hera from the magical throne he had trapped her in – to do so, Dionysos made the smith-god drunk, placed him on the back of a donkey and dragged him in such a parade to the realm of the gods (this was a frequent motif of Ancient Greek art). The donkey is strongly associated with the parades of Dionysos: either it is the ride of the god himself, either it is the ride of big-bellied Silenus, so heavy the beast clearly has troubles carrying him. The donkey is an ithyphallic animal: sometimes, baskets are depicted hanging from his phallus, or Silenus is depicted trying to rape it. This is all within the context of grotesque pranks and caricatural jokes – a carnival. This carnival-nature of Dionysos explains why he appears, with frequent mentions of his donkeys, within Aristophanes’ comedy “The Frogs”, where he is depicted as a farting and cowardly buffoon.

But the jester can become a lover. Dionysos is the lover of Ariadne. According to the most ancient versions, they were united by a “hieros gamos”, a sacred wedding – Ariadne being an ancient goddess of vegetation. In more recent tales, the hero Theseus becomes the third part of a love triangle – and Dionysos either recomforts Ariadne at Naxos after she was abandoned by Theseus (Catullus wrote a beautiful poem on this subject), either is neglected by Ariadne and out of jealousy uses the arrows of Artemis to kill his unfaithful companion (Odyssey, XI).

But even in his loves, Dionysos stays elusive. A curious tale, most developed by Clement of Alexandria in his Protrepticus (II), transforms the heterosexual lover of Ariadne into the homosexual lover of Prosumnos. And this is the result of a bargain: if Prosumnos gives Dionysos the means to go into the Underworld, the young god promises to become his “eromenos” (teenage lover) – but when Dionysos comes back from the Hades, Prosumnos is dead. So, going to his grave, he cuts a fig-tree branch, sculpts it in the shape of a phallus, and uses it to “fulfill his promise to the dead”. And according to Clement of Alexandria, it is in honor of this legendary episode that in some cities there are parades of phalluses organized in honor of Dionysos.

Naïve child and manipulative adult, a god as cruel as buffoonish, heterosexual and homosexual, Dionysos’ personality is just as multi-faceted and impossible to simplify as his physical appearance.

#dionysos #dionysus #greek gods #greek mythology #pentheus #ariadne

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mythodico · 3 years

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Hippasos

parents: Admète et Alceste

frère et soeur: Eumelos, Périmélé

#Hippasos #mythologie grecque

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paullaski · 4 years

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Spis Filozofow

Filozofia przedsokratejska (600-400r . p. n .e) SZKOŁA MILEZYJSKA

624–546 Tales z Miletu 610-546 Anaksymander 585-525 Anaksymenes 499-428 Diogenes z Apollonii

PITAGOREJCZYCY

580-500 Pitagoras z Samos 500 Alkmeon z Krotonu 500 Hippasos z Metapontu 480-400 Poliklet Starszy 470-399 Filolaos z Krotonu 428-347 Archytas z Tarentu 400-355 Hikates z Syrakuz

ELEACI

570-470 Ksenofanes 515-445 Parmenides 490-430 …

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wilfriedbergerblog · 5 years

Video

youtube

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Thema heute: #Antike:#Beschreibung des #Goldenen #Schnittes, #zweites #Buch der #Elemente, #Euklid ca. 300 v. Chr., #Untersuchungen des, #platonischen #Körpers, #Fünfeck, #Pentagramm, spätere #Übernahme vom #Teilungsverhältnis, ins #Lateinische, #proportio #habens #medium #et #duo #extrema, #Bezeichnung #heute, #Teilung im #inneren und #äußeren #Verhältnis, #Urgünder, #Entdeckung #Hippasos von #Metapont, #spätes 6. #Jahrhundert v. Chr., #Eudoxos von #Knidos, ca.370 v. Chr..

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Link zur Berufsbörse vom BauFachForum:https://www.baufachforum.de/index.php?Lehrlingsb%C3%B6rse,-Jobb%C3%B6rse,-Baden-W%C3%BCrttemberg,-Pfullendorf,-Sigmaringen,-Hegau--

Suchbegriffe: #Zentralverbände, #Bundesverbände:#BauFachForum, #Baulexikon #Wilfried #Berger, #Schreiner #suchen, #Handwerker #suchen, Lehrstellenbörse:#BW Baden #Württemberg, #BY #Bayern, #BE #Berlin, #BB #Brandenburg, #HB #Bremen, #HH #Hamburg, #HE #Hessen, #MV # Mecklenburg #Vorpommern, #NI #Niedersachsen, #NW #Nordrhein #Westfalen, #RP #Rheinland #Pfalz, #SL #Saarland, #SN #Sachsen, #ST #Sachsen #Anhalt, #SH #Schleswig #Holstein, #TH #Thüringen: #BIV Bau, #BIV #Bauwerksabdichtungen, #Seepark #Pfullendorf.

#Zentralverbände Bundesverbände:BauFachForum Baulexikon Wilfried Berger Schreiner suchen Handwerker suchen Lehrstellenbörse:BW Baden Württemb

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hippasos · 9 years

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Math explains universe

"All things are numbers" (Pythagoras)

Pythagoras one of the most popular mathematicians of the ancient Greece, said that "all things are numbers". Although he was referring to the connection between music and arithmetic, people who are not familiar with mathematics often ask me, if mathematics will describe the whole world in some point in future.

I don't think so. But mathematics gives us a powerful tool to describe parts of our universe and our earth. In the following posts I will explain some theorems which mostly come from Algebraic Topology and their interesting application to our world and our universe.

Beside this subject: Pythagoras quote shows one central philosophy of his work as a mathematician. The Pythagoreans believed that all things are explainable as integer proportions. Hippasos of Metapontum, a desciple of Pythagoras, discovered the existence of irrational numbers (i.e. in particular numbers which can’t be described as a quotient of integers). He published his discovery. This induced the first foundational crisis in mathematics! The pythagoreans were very outraged, in particular because Hippasos showed the existence of irrational numbers by using the pythagorean sign, the pentagram, a star with 5 edges. So they threw Hippasos into the sea, where he died.*

Remark: The circumstances of Hippasos death are not really clear!

*Source: Beutelspacher, A.: Albrecht Beutelspachers Kleines Mathematikum: Die 101 wichtigsten Fragen und Antworten zur Mathematik. Verlag C. H. Beck oHG, München 2010, p. 55-57.

Source of the pictures:

1.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universe#/media/File:Ilc_9yr_moll4096.png

2.) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Golden_ratio_-_Pentagram.svg

#hippasos #pythagoras #universe #world #mathematics

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mediocrityandmarmalade · 11 years

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Dionysus is my favourite god because he doesn't take shit from anyone.

#the minyides #pentheus #hippasos #lycourgos #dryas #and more

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mythodico · 3 years

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Personnages de la mythologie grecque par ordre alphabétique

Abarbarée - Abaris - Abas - Abdéros - Abia - Abrota - Absyrtos - Acacallis - Acacos - Académos ou Décélos - Acalanthis - Acamas - Acantha - Acanthis ou Acanthyllis - Acanthos - Acarnan - Acaste - Acéso - Achaïos ou Achaeos - Achate - (les) Achéens - Achélaos - Achélois - Achéloos - Achéménide - Achéron - Achille - Acis - Acmon - Acontios - Acrisios - Actée - Actéon - Actor -Admète - Admèté - Adonis - Adraste - Adrestia - Aédon - Aeétes - Aegaeon Aegialé - Aegialée - Aegimios - Aello - Aegyptos - Aepytos - Aeropé - Aesacos - Aeson - Aesyetes - Aethalidès - Aether - Aethilla - Aethra - Aethusa - Agamède - Agamédé - Agamemnon - Aganippé - Aganos - Agapénor - Agasthène - Agathon - Agathyrsos - Agavé - Agénor - Agdistis/Adestis - Aglaé - Aglaopé - Aglaophème - Aglaure - Agrios - Agron - Aichmagoras - Aigaion - Ajax - Alalcoménée - Alcathoe - Alcathoos - Alceste - Alcée - Alcidice - Alcimède - Alcimos - Alcinoé - Alcinoos - Alcippé - Alcmène - Alcméon - Alcyonée - Aléos - (les) Aloades - Alphée - Alpos - Althée - Amalthée - (les) Amazones - Amphiaraos - Amphidamas - Amphilochos ou Amphiloque - Amphion - Amphitéa - Amphitrite - Amphitryon - Amymoné - Anaxarète - Anaxo - Anchise - Androgée - Andromaque - Andromède - (les) Animaux - Antée - Anténor - Antiadès - Antigone - Antiloque - Antiope - Antiphatès - Aphrodite - Apollon - Arachné - Arès - Arestor - Aréthuse - Argès - Argillos - (les) Argonautes - Argos - Argos panoptès - Argyre - Ariane - Aristée - Arsinoé - Artémis - Asclépios - Asopos - Astéria - Astraéos - Astyaniax - Astydamie - Atalante - Até - Athéna - Atlas - Atrée - Attis - Augé - Aura - Autolycos

Balios - Baucis - Bellérophon - Bia - Bolina - (les) Boréades - Borée - Briarée - Briséis ou Hippodamie - Brisès - Brontès - Busiris - Byblis

Cadmos - Caerus - Calaïs - Calchas - Calista - Calliope - Callirhoé - Callisto - Calypso - Carmanor - Carmé - Cassandre - Castor - Catrée - Caunos - Cécrops - (les) Centaures - Céos - Céphale - Céphée - Cerbère - Cercopes - Cérès - Céto - Céyx - Chaos - Charites - Charon - Charybde - Chéloné - Chimère - Chioné - Chronos - Chrysippe - Chrysothémis - Circé - Clymene - Clio - Clytemnestre - Coalémos - Coéos - Comaetho - Coré - Coronis - Corus - Corybantes - Cottos - Créon - Créüse - Crios - Cronos - Ctésylla - Cupidon - Cyamites - Cybèle - (les) Cyclopes - Cydippé - Cydoimos - Cyrène - Cyrnos - Charites

Dactyles - Damasène - Damysos - Danaé - Danaïdes - Daphné - Daphnis - Dardanos - Décélos ou Académos - Dédale - Déimos - Déiphyle - Déjanire - Déméter - Despina - Deucalion - (les) Devins - Diane - Dicaeosyne - Dicé - Didon - Dieu-fleuve - Diomède - Dioné - Dionysos - (les) Dioscures - Dolos - Doris - Dryopé - Dysnomie - Dyssébéia

Eaque - EAUX - Écéchéirie - Echidna - Echo - Edos - Egée - Egine - Egisthe - Eiréné - Elatréus - Électre - Électre (Atlas) - Eléos - Elpis - Empuse - Encelade - Endymion - Enée - ENFERS - Eole - Eos - EPIGONES - Epiméthée - Ephialtès - Erato - Erechthée - Erginos - Erinyes - Eris - Eros - Etéocle - Esculape - Eumée - Eumelos - Euménides - Euriale - Europe - Euros - Erydice - Euryalos - Eurynome - Eurypyle - Eurysthée - Eurytos - Euterpe - Evandre - Evénos

Gaïa - Ganymède - (les) Gègenées - Géryon

Hadès - Halimédès - Héphaïtos - Hémithée - Héra - Héraclès - Hermès - Hermocharès - Hestia - Hippasos - Hippodamie ou Briséis - Hypérion

Idothée - Ino

Japet - Jason

Leucothée - Lycurgue - Lysippé

Marpessa - Melpomène - (les) Ménéades - Milétos - Minotaure - Mnémosyne - Mynès

Nana - (les) Nymphes

Océan - Oenomaos - Orion - Otos

Parthénos - Patrocle - Pélops - Penthésilée - Périmélé - Persée - Phébé - Phylacos - Pollux - Polybe - Polyphème - Porphyrion - Poséidon - Proétos

Rhéa

Salmonée - (les) Sirènes - Stéropé - Steropès - Sthénélos

Talos - Tanaïs - Télesphore - Terpsichore - Téthys - Théia - Thémis - Thespios - Tityos - Trachios - Typhon - Tyro

Xanthos

(les) Vents

Zeus

#personnages #mythologies #mythodico

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