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Dionysos Article: Dionysian Worship in 5 Easy Steps by Sannion, Exegete of Dionysos Blessing: The blessings of Dionysos are joy and passion, madness and prophecy, ecstacy and freedom. Dionysian freedom is beyond good and evil: it takes precedent over law, custom, inhibition or morality. In the worship of Dionysos, we discover who we really are, beneath all the masks and lies and compromises that society demands of us. Dionysos dissolves all boundaries and destroys every falsehood. In the ecstatic state, we feel ourselves to be whole, to be one with all of the other worshippers, with the earth and the Gods. We utter prophecy, since we are no longer constrained by our small minds. We perform miracles, since the laws of nature no longer apply. We touch the face of God, and he touches us. Epithets: Agrios (The Wild One), Aigobolos (The Goatslayer), Aktaios (He of the Seacoast), Anax Bakcheios (Bacchic Lord), Anax Agreus (Lord Hunter), Antheus (The Blossoming), Anthroporraistes (The Render of Humans), Areion (War-like), Arretos (The Ineffable), Arsenothelys (the Man-Womanly), Auxites (The Grower), Axios Tauros (The Worthy Bull), Bakcheios (The Bacchic One), Bakchos (Raving), Bassareus (The Fox-God), Botryophoros (Bearer of Clusters of Grapes), Boukeros (The Bull-horned One), Bromios (He Who Roars), Bythios (The Deep), Charidotes (The Giver of Grace), Choreutes (The Dancer), Choroplekes (The Danceweaving One), Chthonios (He of the Underworld), Dendrites (The Tree God), Dikerotes (The Two-horned One), Dimeter (He of Two Mothers), Dimorphos (The Two-Formed One), Dissotokos (Doubly Born), Dithyrambos (Hymned by the Dithyramb), Eiraphiotes (The In-Sewn One), Ekstatophoros (The Bringer of Ecstasy), Eleuthereus (The Emancipator), Enorches (the Betesticled), Eriphos (Young Kid), Eribromios (The Loud Roarer), Euanthes (The Fair Blossoming One), Euaster (He Who Shouts Eua), Eubouleus (The Good Counselor), Euios (The Reveler), Gethosynos (The Joyful), Gigantophonos (Giant-Slayer), Gynnis (Womanish), Hagnos (The Pure, Holy One), Iakchos (The Cryer at Eleusis), Iatros (The Healer), Kissobryos (The Ivy-Wrapped One), Kissokomes (The Ivy-Crowned One), Kissos (Ivy), Korymbophoros (The Cluster-laden), Kryphios (The Hidden One), Lampter (Light-bringer), Lenaios (He of the Wine-press), Liknites (He of the Winnowing Fan Cradle), Limnaios (He of the Marsh), Lyaios (Bringer of Freedom), Lyseus (Liberator), Mainomenos (The Maddened One), Makar (Blessed One), Manikos (The Manic One), Mantis (The Diviner), Meilichios (The Gentle One), Melanaigis (He of the Black Goatskin), Morychos (The Dark One), Nebrodes (The Fawn-form One), Nyktelios (He of the Night), Nyktipolos (The Night-Stalker), Nysios (He of Nysa), Oiketor (The Indweller), Omadios (He of the Raw Feast),. Palaios (The Ancient One), Perikionios (He Who is Entwined Around the Pillars), Phanes (The Illuminator), Polygethes (Bringer of Many Joys), Polymorphos (He of the Many Forms), Polyonomos (The Many-Named One), Protogonos (The Firstborn), Skeptouchos (Sceptre-Bearer), Soter (Saviour), Sykites (He of the Fig-Tree), Taurokeros Theos (Bull-horned God), Taurophagos (Devourer of the Bull), Tauropon (The Bull-faced One), Teletarches (Lord of Initiation), Thyonidas (Son of Thyone), Thyrsophoros (The Thyrsos-Bearer), Trieterikos (The Biennial One), Trigonos (The Thriceborn), Zagreus (Great Hunter), Zatheos (The Very Holy), Zoophoros (Life Bringer) Symbols: thyrsos, mask, nebrix, kantharos, phallos Animal(s): panther, goat, snake, bull, fox Sacrifices: musk, civet, frankincense, storax, ivy, grapes, pine, fig, wine, honey, Indian hemp, orchis root, thistle, all wild and domestic trees, black diamond Primary Cult Center(s): Thebes, Delphi, Lesbos, Thrace, Keos, Italy Festivals: Anthesteria: 11-13 Anthesterion (around February) Apaturia: 3 days in Puanepsion (October-November) Bacchanalia: (celebrated on different dates) Greater (or City) Dionysia: 10-17 Elaphebolion (March-April) Halao: 26 Poseidon (December-January) Lenaia: 12-15 Gamelion (around January) Oskhophoria: 7 Puanepsion (October-November) Rural Dionysia: last half of Poseidon (December-January) Liberalia: March 17 Ways to honor: Drink wine. Attend theater. Dance. Sing. Learn a form of divination. Explore madness. Be passionate. Be creative. Enjoy every moment of living - even the harsh and unpleasant ones. For more information: Achilles Tatius' Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon 2.2-3 Aeschylos' Edonoi, Bassarides, Neoniskoi, Lykourgos, Backhai, Pentheus, Xantriai Aeschylos' Eumenides 23 Apollodorus' Library 1.3.2; 1.6.2; 1.9.12; 1.9.16; 2.2.2; and the whole of book 3 Apollodorus' Epitome 1.9; 3.10 Archilochus' Fragments Aristophanes' Acharnenses 263-279 Aristophanes' The Frogs 2 Maccabbees 6.7; 14.33 3 Maccabbees 2:29 Diodorus Siculus' Library of History 3.66.1-2, 5.79.1 Euphorion Fragments 118 Euripides' Antiope 203 Euripides' The Bacchae Euripides' Cretans, The Cyclops Euripides' Hippolytus 339, 555 Heraklitos' Logos 124; 127 Hesiod's Catalogues of Women 18; 86 Hesiod's Theogony 940-942; 945; 947-949 Herodotus' The Histories 1.151; 2.29; 2.42; 2.47-50; 2.123; 3.8; 4.72; 4.78-80; 8.65 Homer's Iliad 6.119-143; 14.323-325 Homer's Odyssey 11.324-325 Homeric Hymn to Dionysos 1, 7, 26 Horace's Carmina 2.19; 3.25 Hyginus' Fabulae 1-4; 7; 43; 129-134; 166-167; 169; 184; 191-92 Hyginus' Poetica Astronomica 2.4-7; 2.21; 2.23 Livy's History of Rome 39.8-19 Lucian's De Dea Syria 16 Moiro's Fragments 2 Nonnos' Dionysiaca Orphic Hymn 1, 13, 18, 27, 29, 30, 37, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45, 46, 48, 56, 87 Ovid's Fasti 3.727 Ovid's Metamorphoses 3.259-315; 3.513-4.41; 4.389-419; 5.329; 7.294-296; 8.176-182; 11.67-84; 11.89-145; 13.650-674 Pausanias's Description of Greece Pindar's Olympian Odes 2.25-27 Pindar's Pythian Odes 11.1 Plato's Laws 672b Plato's The Republic 2.6-7 Plautus' Aulularia 408 Plautus' Casina 979-980 Pliny the Elder's Natural History 2.106: 31.13 Plutarch's Greek Questions 299 Plutarch's In Consolation to his Wife Plutarch's Life of Alexander 2, 9 Plutarch's Table Talk 4.6.8; 7.17 Polyaenus' Strategika 1.1 Properce 3.7 Propertius 3.17 Sappho's Fragments 3.10 Sophocles' Antigone 955-65 Sophocles' Erigone Sophocles' Thyestes 234 Sophocles' Oedipus in Colonnus 670 Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos 209 Links: Thiasos Lusios Wildivine.org - Dionysos The Dionysion Sannion's Sanctuary Dionysus - Wine Dionysos Links The Dionysos Page About Dionysos by El Sharra

Dionysian Worship in 5 Easy Steps

by Sannion, Exegete of Dionysos

Step 1.

Worship Dionysos. There is no better way to deepen your relationship with the god than by approaching him in ritual. It really doesn't matter what you do, just that you do something. When people are first starting off they get intimidated because they don't know all the right steps, any of the right words, very much about who the god is, and they're so afraid of messing up that they end up not doing anything at all. Dionysos is a very approacheable god - he's not going to bite your head off because you flub something. You will, however, miss out on a great deal if you never actually approach him. So start doing something for him, even if it's just pouring a simple libation, spending some time in meditation, reciting a hymn, or having a heart-to-heart with him each night. Whatever you decide on doing, do it regularly, because this helps build up a relationship and gives your actions added power, and don't change what you do every single time. For ritual to be effective it needs to be repeated and regular.

Step 2.

Read about Dionysos. If you want to understand who Dionysos is, it's important to know who he was, specifically how the ancients saw, understood, and interacted with him. There are numerous excellently written books out there dealing with Dionysos. (He seems to be a favorite subject for scholars.) The best of these are Dionysos: Archetype of Indestructable Life by Carl Kerenyi and Dionysus: Myth and Cult by Walter Otto. In addition to all of the scholarly works on him, go back to the ancient sources and immerse yourself in his myths. Many of these can be found online (especially at Theoi.com) if you don't feel like spending a fortune on building up your own private library. Read the websites that have been written about him by modern followers of the god. Speak to the authors of the sites and other followers of the god. You can find many of these people by joining some of the lists devoted to the god, which are on Yahoo and other forums.

Step 3.

Process the information you've acquired. A good way to do this is to get several journals and begin writing down any notes or interesting information you come upon or thoughts you have while reading, map out his epithets, associations, and myths, and try to see which ones go together. Figure out what the myths and historical information means to you, personally, and how it might affect your practice. Keep a record of any rituals you do, dreams that come to you, or strange experiences you have. Don't think that you'll be able to keep all of this information straight in your head. Even some of the most important moments in our lives fade with time and disappear. It's an invaluable resource to be able to look back over this information at a later date.

Step 4.

Try to find ways to deepen your relationship with Dionysos and see his presence in your life at times other than just during ritual. Spend time in wild places, such as mountains, forests, swamps, etc where he was traditionally felt to reside. Start dancing for him. Dancing can lead to a greater awareness of your body, and trigger altered states of consciousness - but more than that, it's fun, and he likes to see his worshippers dance. Even if you only do it in private, in front of your shrine, and never let anyone else see you it can be a powerful and rewarding exercize. You will learn things about him through your body that you never could through intellectual activity alone. You may also choose to take up yoga or a martial art to get in touch with your body. See lots of movies and plays, as drama and comedy were considered sacred to him in antiquity. Challenge yourself. Try to break habbits and personal barriers. Many of these are the result of societal conditioning, which serves to hinder our spirits and stifle our creativity and connection to the vital powers of nature which are Dionysos' preserve. Get in touch with the darker parts of your personality, those parts of yourself which are uncomfortable and socially unacceptable. The more we repress this side of ourselves, the stronger it becomes, until it finally finds a way to burst forth, degraded and deformed. Dionysos can help us express this in a safe and healthy manner before it does that. See what other points of contact exist between yourself and the god.

Step 5.

Explore more traditionally Hellenic methods of worshipping the god. There has to be something to a practice that's over 4000 years old! There are many excellent websites that cover every aspect of Hellenic worship. Read over these, compare them (because there can be great disagreement and some false information out there) and try to figure out what was done and the reasoning behind why it was done. Implement those things that you like into your practice. Set up a shrine for Dionysos if you can, and perform regular worship there. This should be an expression of your personal relationship with the god, and contain images associated with him such as his animals, his colors, his plants, and so forth. (Good information about this can be found on the Neokoroi website here: http://neokoroi.org/dionysos.htm.) Figure out a routine of regular worship which you can keep. This may be daily, weekly, or monthly - but whatever it is, you should stick to it. Research the ancient festivals held in honor of him. There are numerous sites which cover his Athenian festivals and John Wells has provided ample information on many other lesser known ones. Another option is to considering observing modern festivals in honor of him. These can be ones that other people have come up with , something you create to honor a particular aspect of the god or to commemorate an important event in your relationship with him.