lecture 13 & ch. 10, 11,12 Flashcards

main points: dionysus, the afterlife (orpheus, villains, heroes)

1
Q

What is for sure known about the Eleusinian mystery cult?

A

The prominence of rebirth!
- the initiation acts as a reenactment of the cycle of life and death

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2
Q

Why is Demeter the prominent figure for the Eleusinian mystery cult?

A

She represents the orderly process of:
- growth,
- life,
- and death.

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3
Q

Who is Triptolemus? How can he be identified in art?

A
  1. He was an Athenian king who Demeter taught her rites to as well as the cultivation of cereals.
    - In myth, he would travel around the Greek world teaching other Greek communities how to farm.
  2. DRAGON WAGON; he is depicted in a chariot being pulled by serpents/”dragons.”
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4
Q

What is Dionysus considered to be the god of? What else is he associated with?

A
  1. Wine - drunkenness
  2. Masks - acting/pretending to be someone else
  3. Exotic animals - he grew up in the east
  4. ## Phallus - fertility; reproduction in its wet form
  5. Ivy - sacred plant
  6. Bull - sacred animal
  7. Thyrsus - his special staff
  8. Satyrs - horse men
  9. Silenus - goat men
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5
Q

What were the worshippers of Dionysus called?

A
  1. Maenads - female worshippers
  2. Bacchants/ Bacchae - super intense, committed worshippers
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6
Q

What is the difference between silenus and satyrs?

A

Satyrs - “horse men,” in a state of constant arousal, NOT CENTAURS OR GOATS
Silenus - “goat men,” Silenus is the name of the leader of the “goat men.”

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7
Q

Why is Dionysus a paradoxical god?

A
  • born to a mortal mother
  • raised in the east but is a Greek god
  • he was born twice
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8
Q

What is the story of Zeus and Semele?

A
  1. Zeus, disguised, impregnates her
  2. Semele is hanging out, Hera, disguised, appears to her and tells her that she needs to ask Zeus to appear to her the same way he appears to Hera.
  3. Semele goes to Zeus and asks him to grant her a request, he agrees before hearing it. She asks for what disguised Hera suggested.
  4. Bound by his oath to her, he appears as a lightning bolt, incinerating her instantly.
  5. Dionysus doesn’t die; Hermes takes Dionysus to Zeus and Zeus sews the fetus into his thigh until it comes to term
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9
Q

After Dionysus is birthed by Zeus, where is he raised? Why?

A

He is raised on Nysa by nymphs
- Hera is mad that Dionysus is Zeus’ son from an affair so Zeus takes him to be raised in the east instead, away from Hera.

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10
Q

Throughout the Homeric hymn to Dionysus, he is emphasized as being a paradoxical god. In what ways does this manifest?

A
  1. He represents “wet” fertility yet violence follows him everywhere.
    - violence in the form of destruction of differences and identity (causes misrecognition)
  2. He is Greek AND foreign
  3. Appears as male and female
  4. A god AND the son of a mortal woman
  5. Demands to be worshipped within the city but is also
    a nature god (civilized & wild)
  6. Intellect and madness
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11
Q

What are examples of “wet” fertility?

A
  • semen
  • blood
  • wine
  • water
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12
Q

In art, how can you recognize Dionysus?

A
  1. Presence of music
    - aulos, tambourine; worship is NOISY
  2. Thyrsus - staff tipped with a pinecone
  3. Panther - exotic animals
  4. Depicted in women’s clothing
  5. Crowned with ivy
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13
Q

What do the myths of Dionysus usually include?

A

Usually terrible things happen to children, oftentimes at the hands of their own parents.

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14
Q

What are three reoccurring motifs seen within the mythological accounts of Dionysus?

A
  1. rejection
  2. misrecognition
  3. children
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15
Q

What is the relevance of Ino and Athamas?

A
  • After being raised by the nymphs, Dionysus ends up being hosted by Ino and Athamas who have two other children as well.
  • Hera is pissed and jealous that they are caring for Dionysus and through other means, caused them both to go crazy.
  • Athamas shoots one son; Ino cooks the other and then dives into the sea with the pot, they are transformed once they enter the sea.
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16
Q

What are three examples of Dionysus being disrespected within myth?

A
  1. Lycurgus, a Thracian king, rejects Dionysus.
    - he is driven mad and mistakes his son for an ivy shoot and kills him with an axe.
  2. Minyads, daughters of Minyas, refuse to participate in the festival in honor of Dionysus in favor of housework. Dionysus appears to them, disguised, attempting to persuade them to attend but they refuse, so he causes them to hallucinate but they still refuse. They “suddenly” develop a taste for human flesh and eat their children, in the end they are transformed into bats.
  3. Proteids, daughters of King Proteus, reject Dionysus and he punishes them by cursing them with a disease that causes them to go mad. They then kill their children and infect other women.
17
Q

What is the sequence of events of the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus? The ability shown by Dionysus is indicative of what aspect of his character?

A
  1. Dionysus is on the beach when pirates sail by.
  2. The pirates decide to capture him so they could sell him for ransom, but they discover that Dionysus cannot be restrained.
  3. The boat is transformed into a garden and the pirates are transformed into dolphins.
    - This hymn shows that Dionysus is not always violent but sometimes his punishments are a show of his miraculous abilities
18
Q

What is the story seen in Euripides’ “Bacchae?”

A

The story of Dionysus returning to Thebes.
1. King Pentheus doesn’t believe the Dionysus is a god and forbids his worship.
2. In response, the women are driven mad and run to the wild to worship Dionysus.
3. Dionysus tricks the king; he lures him with the knowledge of how and why the women are worshipping. The king agrees to be shown, Dionysus redresses the king and takes him into the wilderness.
4. Once they arrived to the site, the king cannot see how they are worshipping and asks if he can climb a tree to see the worship, Dionysus tells him this is a great idea.
5. Upon climbing the tree, the maenad see the king but believe him to be a spy. They ripped the tree out of the ground and his own mother rips the king apart.

19
Q

In the most basic words, what sentiment best describes Dionysus?

A

Fuck around and find out.

20
Q

Who is Orpheus?

A

He is a famous musician and argonaut.

21
Q

What is the story of Orpheus and the underworld?

A
  1. Orpheus was engaged to Eurydice but on their wedding day she was bitten and killed by a snake.
  2. Depressed and yearning, Orpheus sings and charms his way to the underworld to reclaim her.
  3. Persephone and Hades agree to his request with one condition, he cannot look back.
  4. shocker, as they have almost ascended, he looks back and sees Eurydice slip into the darkness.
  5. Orpheus is at an all time low; just wanders around.
  6. He ends up in Thrace where bacchae meet him and like him. They offer an spicy kind of proposition but he rejects.
  7. The bacchae rip him apart (sparagmos)
22
Q

Who was Leucothea, the “white goddess” before becoming a sea deity?

A

Ino from the early years of Dionysus

23
Q

Where did the best known resistance to his cult take place?

A

THEBES - King Pentheus

24
Q

Dionysus ventured into the underworld, why? What came of this endeavor?

A

Dionysus desired to ascend to Olympus but he did not want to leave his mother, Semele, in the underworld. He decided to bring her
back.
- He successfully persuaded Hades to restore his mother, When they arrived in Olympus Dionysus changed his mother’s name to Thyone and she became a goddess.

25
Q

What is the story of uniqueness surrounding Tiresias?

A

He was the most famous seer in Greek myth; he saw a pair of serpents consummating and killed the female. As punishment he was turned into a woman, but after
seven years he, again, saw a pair of serpents consummating. This time he killed the male and was turned back into a
man.

26
Q

In relation to Tiresias, what is the myth concerning Zeus and Hera?

A
  1. Zeus and Hera were arguing over who knew greater pleasure during sex, men or women.
  2. They went to Tiresias and asked him the question, as he had lived as both. He replied that women received
    more.
  3. Furious, Hera blinded him but Zeus compensated him with the gift of prophecy and a lifetime extending
    through seven generations of men.