If you think about Ancient Hellas, then most of all we are familiar with its gods and heroes. However, it should be emphasized that they did not arise suddenly, not simultaneously. And the opinion that the gods lived on the low Mount Olympus is a very ancient idea, which the Greeks rather quickly overcame and settled their gods in transcendental heights.
One of the oldest gods was Dionysus. His cult correlates with the cult of the gloomy and mysterious Hecate. The Greek religion, like all archaic religions, began with shamanic initiations, in which women participated, holding the rod of Dionysus in their hands. These were the prayers of the gods for fertility and good luck.
These were orgiastic cults - rural holidays of Dionysus. The ancients were fascinated by the unpredictable nature of man. They adorned themselves with wreaths of vine leaves, and the rod of Dionysus helped, leaning on it, to quickly move through the mountains and hills and plains.
The Appearance of Dionysus
Tragically, his appearance to the world: he was born three times. He was conceived by Zeus from the beautiful mortal woman Semele, daughter of the Theban king Cadmus. Zeus swore to Semelean unbreakable oath to fulfill her every request. And the cunning jealous Hera, wanting to destroy Semele and her child, said: "If Zeus loves you the way he assures you, then let him come to you in all his greatness." Zeus could not refuse and appeared in all his splendor. Lightning strikes shook the palace, a fire broke out from a bright lightning in the hands of Zeus. Semele was dying, but gave birth to a weak boy. He was supposed to die in the fire. But instantly thickets of thick green ivy grew around the child, covered him from the fire and saved him from death.
Zeus sewed the boy into his thigh, in which he grew up and was born a second time. Zeus gave him to be raised by his sister Semele and her husband Atamant. Hera sent madness on Atamant, and he killed his son and already wanted to kill Dionysus. But Zeus did not allow this. Hermes transferred Dionysus to the upbringing of the nymphs.
So Dionysus escaped death three times. And he grew up as a beautiful god, always handsome and young, who taught people to grow grapes and make wine from it. He gave people strength, joy and fertility. The rod of Dionysus became his symbol. And all the women who participated in the Dionysias had in their hands the rod of Dionysus covered with ivy.
Dionysian mysteries
During the cold season - in late autumn, and even in winter, obedient Greek women abandoned their homes and families. They began to gather in the streets and squares, drinking undiluted wine, dancing to rhythmic music, swaying slowly at first, and then faster and faster. Each was holding a rod of Dionysus. At this time, men did not dare to approach them: it was a special magic of worshiping Dionysus, for a bountiful harvest, forprotection from hunger, disease and death. To begin with, dancing and laughing wildly, they feasted and violated all conceivable and unimaginable prohibitions: they drank strong undiluted wine (it was supposed to reveal the truth to them, give them a way to other worlds), scattered food at random. They likened themselves to gods, to whom no laws are written, and they can do anything.
Where the mysteries took place
They were held in gloomy tracts, on the hills by the sea. Dionysus was a dark god, in contrast to the clear harmonious Phoebus, in whom everything is clear, sunny, verified, calculated. And initially the cult of Dionysus dominated as the god of wine, winemaking, fun, ecstatic dances and mystical delight.
There was a collective rapture and very powerful hallucinations. There is a terrible legend about this. King Pentetheus does not recognize Dionysus as a god. But he comes to the king under the guise of a wanderer and very cruelly jokes with the king: Dionysus drags the king to an orgy, where men should not appear at all. The Bacchantes, under the influence of hallucinations, mistake Pentytheus for a lion. They tear him apart, and his own mother raises her son's head on a rod and solemnly carries him to the palace. And then the mother begins to see clearly.
Retinue of Dionysus
Across all of Greece, all over its islands and settlements, young Dionysus walks in a wreath of grapes. Maenads and Bacchantes revolve around him in a dance with singing and shouts of delight, drunken satyrs with goat legs jump. Behind everyone, they carry a very tipsy Silenus on a donkey - he himself can no longer move. Next to him is a waterskin withwine. God walks merrily on the earth. He walks to the sound of music through green valleys and lawns, over mountains and copses in olive groves filled with fruits. All the joy of a full-blooded life is in his power.
The rod of Dionysus, entwined with ivy and vine leaves, recalls how he was saved from the flames and how he taught people how to make wine.
