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Dionysus, son of most glorious Semele, made an appearance by the shore of the barren sea on a prominent headland, looking like a young boy at the beginning of adolescence. Beautiful were the locks of hair as they waved in the breeze surrounding him. They were the color of deep blue, and a cloak he wore over his strong shoulders, color of purple.
Then, all of the sudden, men who were pirates came into view as they were sailing over the wine-colored sea. They were at Truskin, and they were being driven along by a destiny that was bad for them. The moment they saw him, they seized him and sat him down inside their ship, happy in their hearts because they thought that he was the son of a line of kings, nurtured by the sky god. And they wanted to tie him up in harsh bondage.
But the ties of the bonds could not hold him, and the cords made of willow fell off him all over the place, falling right off his hands and feet. And he just sat there smiling on with his deep blue eyes.
Meanwhile, the steersman called out to his comrades and said to them, "What kind of superhuman force has possessed you all? What kind of god is this that you have seized and tried to tie up? As powerful as he is, is this Zeus or Apollo or Poseidon?"
Now, a wind came and blew right in the middle of the sail. All the ropes that held it at both ends got stretched to the limit. Then, right away, there appeared to them things that would make anyone marvel. The sailors were seized with amazement at the sight. All of a sudden, next to the top of the sail on both sides, there reached out a vine hanging from it with many clusters of grapes. Around the mast, dark ivy was winding around, teeming with blossoms, a thing of beauty and pleasure. Berries sprang forth from the ivy. The benches for rowing now had garlands all over them.
Meanwhile, Dionysus turned into a lion right there in the ship, looking horrific. At the prow, he roared a mighty roar. Then, the lion leaped up and devoured the leader of the men. While they were trying to get out, rushing away from the bad destiny that was theirs, they all together at the same time leaped out in the gleaming salt sea. As they swam, Dionysus casted his magic, and they became dolphins.
As for the steersman, Dionysus took pity on him and said, "Have courage, you radiant man. You have achieved beauty and pleasure for my heart. I am Dionysus, called Bromos, the one with the great thundering sound. The mother who bore me was Semele, daughter of Cadmus, and great Zeus made love to her. Hail and take pleasure, oh Dionysus, child of Semele, with the beautiful looks. There is no way I could have my mind disconnect from you as I put together the beautiful cosmic order of my song."
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Dionysus, alternatively named Bacchus, or Iacchus, Sabazius, and Liber Pater, as well as dozens of titles in the traditions of Greco-Roman mythology, is a deity representing the natural elements of fertility and plant life, but is most renowned as the god of wine and revelry. The presence of his name on a Linear B tablet dating back to the 13th century BCE provides evidence that his worship was present during the Bronze Age Mycenaean period. Yet, the exact origins of his cult remain unknown. He could be even older than that.
Throughout various legends associated with his cult, Dionysus is consistently portrayed as having exotic beginnings. To even begin to guess how old Dionysus is, you first have to understand that he is older than the invention of the alphabet, so dating him is tricky. Linear B represents a system of writing that utilized syllabic script to transcribe Mycenaean Greek, recognized as the most ancient form of the Greek language on record. This system of writing was in existence several centuries before the emergence of the Phoenician and Greek alphabet. The earliest instances of Mycenaean inscription traced back to approximately 1,500 BCE, but the use of Linear B ceased following the end of the Bronze Age around 1200 BC. Dionysus shows up in this period.
John L. Casey revealed a monumental archaeological find at the sanctuary of St. Irene of Kea, illustrating sustained religious practices tracing back to the 13th century BC. The oldest recorded consecration at this sanctuary acknowledges Dionysus Dios as the venerated god. Another exemplary piece of Linear B inscription unearthed during digs at Agia Atini Square on Cast Hill and Knossos serves as a significant representation of late Minoan devotion: Dwos or Zeus and Dioo Dionysus. This inscription narrates the offering of honey to Zeus and Dionysus and denotes the presence of a sanctuary dedicated to Zeus and Kidonia. Zeus, with his genitive form Dios, has historically been linked with the Dio prefix in ancient Greek for "god," suggesting that the various forms of the name may allude to an original Doos Nisos.
6th Century BC, Pherecydes of Syros had suggested Nysa, an ancient word for "tree," could possibly have ties to Mount Nysa, the mythological birthplace in the Greek lore of the god Dionysus, where he was cared for by nymphs known as the Naiads. And it's possible that it could be related to both "tree" and "Mount Nysa," as Homer describes: "There is a certain Nysa, mountain high, with forests thick of cedar, in Phoenicia, afar, close to Egypt's streams." A vase created by Sophos ascribes names to the Naiads. Some ancient propositions situated Nysa within Boeotia, the dwelling place of Dionysus' mother Semele. Helicon Mountain in the hamlet of Eleutherae were believed to be plausible locations. Thrace was another potential location, possibly due to the early reverence of the god in that region. The Caucasus, another speculated site, situated at the known world's eastern boundary, since Dionysus was presumed to have entered Greece from the east.
In the 5th century BCE, Herodotus of Halicarnassus was aware of a mountain by the name of Nysa located in Ethiopia, possibly referring to Jebel Beral, a place where ancient Nubians offered sacrifices to Ammon. And to Miccus of Calatia, who lived around the same time as Herodotus, seems to have adopted this idea, relocating Nysa to Arabia, possibly correlating it with the Arab deity referred to by the Greeks as Orotal. Diodorus of Sicily cites Antimachus, but he also documents a tradition locating Nysa in Libya. This relocation may be influenced by the worship of Sadria in Phoenician colonies along the Libyan coast. Furthermore, Diodorus chronicles ancient traditions situating the god's birth in various places, including Elis, Aithra, Naxos, or Teos. Regardless of his origins, this means that Dionysus can be dated no sooner than the 13th century BCE, but also possibly even older, possibly even in the Copper Age.
Naxos, Crete, is arguably the oldest city in the world, having archaeological evidence dating back to 7,000 BCE in the Late Stone Age. The island is rich in copper and is one of the leading possible locations for the beginning of the Copper Age, which began around 4,000 to 3500 BCE. The Minoans thrived during this period. Linear B, which Dionysus's name is found in, is generally thought to have evolved from Linear A, the hieroglyphic writing that the Minoans used, one of the oldest forms of writing on Earth. In Minoan Crete, specifically at Knossos, the name "Pantheos," a term from subsequent Dionysian mythology, means "suffering," was commonly bestowed upon men. It was a common name for the common class. Hungarian philologist Károly Kerényi posited that assigning such a name to a child likely implies a substantial spiritual linkage, perhaps as a decryptor for Dionysus himself, who, according to his mythology, is a deity destined to endure and then overcome suffering. In narratives that follow, Pantheus endures agony at the behest of Dionysus' acolytes, hinting at a profound spiritual intertwining. As per Kerényi's analysis, he further hypothesizes that the term "man who suffers" originally pertained to the deity before being attributed to specific persons as the narrative evolved.
Carl AP Ruck points out Pantheus and Dionysus are a mirror of each other. In the famous 6th Century BCE play called *The Bacchae* by Euripides, the story of Pantheus and Dionysus is closely related to that of Jacob and Esau. In both stories, the birthright is stolen by Jacob or Dionysus from the other family members. Jacob and Esau are both sons in the household of Isaac, while Dionysus and Pentheus are both sons in the household of Cadmus. The name Jacob in Hebrew (Yakov) is oddly similar to the alternative name for Dionysus, which is Iacchus.
Now, let's revisit what Homer says: "There is a certain Nysa, mountain high, with forests thick of cedar, in Phoenicia, afar, close to Egypt's streams." Herodotus also claims that only two gods worshipped by the Arabians in the Sinai region are Dionysus and Aphrodite. Throughout the Old Testament, Dionysian imagery is everywhere. The temple built by Solomon is described as having golden vines wrapped in ivy with clusters of golden grapes and golden satyrs. Seraphim goat-men decorated the inner sanctum. Satyrs and vines with ivy and grape clusters is a combination that makes Dionysian imagery impossible to ignore. Dionysus himself is depicted as a satyr with horns, and he leads an army of satyrs into battle, and they wear crowns of ivy. Many Roman and Greek authors also thought that the Jews worshipped some form of Dionysus, and I will revisit this matter when I talk about the Asian Dionysus known as Sabazius.
A passage from the Chaldean Oracles reads: "Dionysus or Bacchus was called by the Chaldean Iao in the Phoenician tongue and is frequently called Sabboth, such as the one who is above the seven spheres, called Demiurge in the Navian Kingdom." The counterpart of Dionysus was the great god named Dushara, or Dusares, "the one of Shara," from the name of the mountain overlooking Petra in Arabia. Dushara was expected to bring justice if called by the correct ritual. Epiphanius of Salamis writes about Dushara as being born of a virgin named Kabu, equated to that of the underworld queen Persephone. This is interesting because the Dionysus of the Black Sea region was born of Kubaba, later known as Cybele, and she was often equated with Persephone as well, and this will come up later in the video. The reason why we know Dushara was associated with Dionysus is because he also had a temple in southern Italy that was used until the first century. He is depicted in his normal robes holding the thyrsus staff that Dionysus holds.
Dionysus is also considered by Herodotus, Diodorus, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Strabo, as well as the Orphic and Homeric Hymns to be an equivalent of the Egyptian god Osiris. More on this later as well.
All of these factors show us the Dionysian religion of the Bronze Age was so widespread that it was arguably practiced in some shape or form worldwide to all cultures that cultivated the vine. Some ancient authors like Nonnus think he was even worshipped as far as lands beyond India to the East. And Padus of Rhodes tells a story about a group of Bacchic women living all the way west on an island in the Atlantic Ocean that lived in a matriarchal society and only worshipped Dionysus. According to Padus, they send virgins to the mainland once a year to get pregnant. If a male is born, they chant "Eva" and tear apart and eat them, as baby Dionysus was torn apart and eaten by Titans. And if it's a female, she is raised as a Bacchante. The evidence clearly shows that the Dionysian cult were known throughout the entire ancient world.
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The other possible origins of Dionysus: his Cissian roots of the Black Sea, Caucasus region. Another ancient kingdom that thrived in the Copper Age is even more interesting and compelling. Current findings indicate that the initial cultivation of vines occurred in the southern Caucasus, now known as Georgia, around 6,000 BCE, and subsequently in the fifth millennium BCE, brought to the Sumerians in what is now Southern Iraq. Additionally, it was the Phoenician traders who transported the initial vines from these regions to their land, present-day Lebanon, facilitating the advancement and production of wine. According to the Bible, Noah was the first wine maker. His ark stranded, as the Bible claims, about 5,000 years ago on Mount Ararat, an area in this exact region where the vine cultivation was discovered. Evidence of a vine god in the form of Sabazius was considered as the most ancient and most revered among Cappadocians and Phrygians, who also venerated the Great Mother Kybele. It is thought that Sabazius and Kybele are husband and wife. There is archaeological evidence of this dating to 6,000 BCE in the form of Kubaba. I will speak more on this later in the video, but the fact that the wine and grape cultivation was discovered in this region gives much plausibility to the possibility that a wine god would also be first venerated here.
According to Cicero, there were at least five different Dionysus traditions. As he states in *On the Nature of the Gods*, written in the 1st Century BCE in Latin: "We have several bearers of the name Dionysus. The first is the son of Jupiter and Prenna. The second, who is said to have slain Nysa, is the son of the Nile. The third is the son of Cabus. He is reported to have been king over Asia, and in his honor the Sabazia were instituted. The fourth is the son of Jupiter and Luna, and it is in connection with him that the Orphic rites are believed to be celebrated. The fifth is the offspring of Nyx and Thonis, and the supposed founder of the Thracians."
The common story about Dionysus is that he is the offspring of Zeus and Semele, who is a daughter of Cadmus and the king of Thebes. Hera, the consort of Zeus, driven by envy, manipulated the expecting Semele to validate the divine nature of her lover by having him reveal his true self. Zeus, adhering to her request, manifested in his true form, but his immense power was too overwhelming for the mortal Semele, leading to her destruction by thunderbolts. However, Zeus managed to rescue his son by enclosing him in his thigh until he could mature, rendering Dionysus as being born twice. Subsequently, Dionysus was entrusted to the care of the Bacchantes, also known as Maenads, a local considered to be fictional, under the guidance of the deity Hermes. However, his "twice-born" title also has more to it than that.
There are other legends of Dionysus that are said to predate this tale. In the mystery cults of ancient Greece, passed down through fragments of Orphic hymns, kept secret, his true origins as Zagreus, the divine child of Persephone and Zeus, who was chosen to be the king of the universe in succession after Kronos and Zeus. Although just after he was born, Zagreus, the baby Dionysus, was torn to pieces, cooked, and eaten by the evil Titans, but his heart was saved by Athena. And he, Dionysus, was resurrected by Zeus through Semele. Zeus struck the Titans with lightning, and they were consumed by fire. From their ashes came the first humans, who thus possessed both the evil nature of the Titans and the divine nature of the Gods.
The central tale of Orphism revolves around Dionysus's torment and demise by the Titans and eventual resurrection. This narrative in Orphic thought highlights the dual essence of humans: a bodily aspect derived from the Titans and a divine essence or soul from Dionysus. For liberation from the material world tied to the Titans, one needed to be inducted into the Dionysian rites and experience *telete*, a ceremonial cleansing that involved re-experiencing the god's anguish and demise. Orphics held the conviction that after passing away, they would eternally coexist with Orpheus and other legendary figures in Elysium, a kingdom in Hades ruled by Saturn. Conversely, they thought those who weren't initiated would face endless cycles of reincarnation. Orpheus was a high priest of Dionysus and has multiple hymns to Dionysus and Sabazius attributed to him. Orpheus was said to have given his adepts secret wisdom that they can bring to Hades upon passing away that will allow them to be saved from the cycles of reincarnation and death.
This is the hymn of memory: "When you are about to die, you will go to the spacious halls of Hades. A spring is on the right, and by it stands the bright cypress tree. There the descending souls of the dead refresh themselves. Do not go near to this spring at all. Further on, you will find from the lake of memory refreshing water flowing forth, but guardians are nearby. They will ask you with sharp minds, 'What do you seek in this misty shadow of Hades?' Say, 'I am the child of Earth and starry Heaven, Gaia and Ouranos, and I am parched with thirst and I perish. But quick, give me refreshing water to drink from the lake of memory.' And then they will speak to the underworld king, Pluto, and then they will give you the drink from the lake of memory, and you, having drunk, will go along the sacred road that the other famed initiates in Bacchic travel." An Orphic initiate who followed these directions would pass into heaven and be saved. The Orphics' focus on piety and salvation from death heavily influences later Pythagorean, Platonist, and Judeo-Christian theologies that came after.
In Thebes, Dionysus was opposed by Pentheus, his cousin, who was torn to pieces by the Bacchantes when he attempted to spy on their activities. Athenians were punished with impotence for dishonoring the god's cult, their husbands' resistance notwithstanding. Women took to the hills wearing fawn skins and crowns of ivy and shouting the ritual cry "Eua," forming holy bands and waving the thyrsus, fennel wands bound with grapevine and tipped with ivy with the pine cone on top. They danced by torchlight to the rhythm of the aulos, the double pipe, and the handheld drum. While they were under the god's inspiration, the Bacchantes were believed to possess cult powers and the ability to charm snakes and suckle animals, as well as supernatural strength that enabled them to tear living victims to pieces before indulging in a ritual feast. The Bacchantes hailed the god by his titles of Bromos, Thunderer, Horned, Boldfaced, in the belief that he incarnated the sacrificial beast.
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Aristophanes wrote *The Frogs* in the 5th century BCE, narrating the story of Dionysus, whom he calls Iacchus, descending in return from Hades to resurrect the dead. The plot unfolds with Dionysus disguised as Heracles, alongside his servant Xanthias, riding a donkey to visit Heracles. Dionysus' attire amusingly surprises Heracles. Dionysus inquires about the route to the underworld to bring back the poet Euripides to Athens and the potential challenges they might face. After receiving guidance from Heracles, the duo embark on their journey. Dionysus is conveyed across the lake by Charon, while Xanthias, being a slave, has to circumvent it. Frogs serenade them during their journey, initially irking but eventually amusing Dionysus, who partakes in their jubilant melodies.
"Bre coax, coax, bre coax!"
Dionysus engages in a mocking debate with the frogs. Dionysus and Xanthias confront the creature Empusa, terrifying Dionysus. Soon, the chorus of initiates sing hymns to Iacchus, Deiter, and Perphone. Upon reaching Pluto's abode, their arrival is met with hostility due to Dionysus' disguise as Heracles. The confusion over their identities and subsequent interactions bring comedic elements into the play.
"Come, arise from sleep, awaking, come, the fiery torches shaking!
Oh Iacchus, oh Iacchus, morning star that shinest nightly, low!
The mead is blazing brightly, aged forest its years in sadness, aged knees curve it for gladness.
Lift thy flashing torches, or us, marshal all thy blameless train, lead, oh lead the way before us, lead the lovely youthful chorus!"
Inside the contention between Aeschylus and Euripides over poetic supremacy unfolds, with Dionysus as the adjudicator. A series of debates and competitions reveal their differing poetic styles and philosophies, with Euripides presenting his work as more modern and relatable, while Aeschylus defends the grandeur and depth of his compositions. Unable to decide, Dionysus resorts to weighing their verses, leading to Aeschylus's victory due to the profound themes in his work. Subsequently, reflections on the political figure Alcibiades are solicited from both poets. Eventually, Aeschylus is declared the ultimate victor, and the group retires for a feast. Aeschylus leaves his esteemed seat to Socrates upon his departure to the mortal realm, ending with accolades to Aeschylus and hopes for his wise counsel to Athens. Dionysus ascends back from Hades and successfully resurrects the dead poet.
This comedy was known by many to be an allegory of the ancient Eleusinian Mysteries. These mysteries were practiced by hierophants who held secret initiation ceremonies. The purpose of initiation was to gain salvation and eternal life from participating in the rites of Dionysus and Demeter, who represent the vine and grain. A holy Eucharist was involved. The wine was the spirit of Dionysus, and the bread was the spirit of Demeter, the goddess who Zeus fell in love with, whose daughter Persephone was abducted by Pluto. In the secret hymns, adherents to Dionysus counted among the entities symbolizing fecundity, including the satyrs and sileni. The phallus held significant prominence in his ceremonies. Dionysus frequently assumed a wild, animalistic form and found association with diverse fauna. His distinctive symbols included a wreath of ivy, the thyrsus, and the kantharos, a sizable goblet with two handles. Early Greek representations depict him as a man with a beard, but subsequent portrayals showed him as young and delicate in appearance. Scenes of Bacchic festivities were a prevalent theme for those who painted on vases.
The Eleusinian Mysteries stood as the most renowned among the Dionysian spiritual practices throughout global history. Every year, initiates gathered for rituals dedicated to Demeter and Persephone at the famed Eleusis sanctuary in ancient Greece. These rites, often described as ancient Greece's most celebrated secret religious practices, rooted in an age-old farming tradition, that are indications that they evolved from ceremonies of the Bronze Age Mycenaean era. The rituals echoed the narrative of Persephone's capture by Hades, the underworld king, and detailed three primary stages: the descent, the pursuit, and the rise, culminating in Persephone's reunion with Demeter. This celebration was a central event in the Hellenistic period and later found its way to Rome. Parallel ceremonies are evident in Near East agricultural communities and Minoan Crete. Throughout history, the specifics of these ceremonies, rites, and doctrines were guarded meticulously, upheld for those who were initiated. Persephone's rebirth symbolized the unending cycle of life passed down across generations, and they held the conviction of receiving blessings in the afterlife. Artistic representations of the Mysteries, such as paintings and pottery, are abundant, given that the Mysteries showcase visions of the afterlife and that their enduring appeal and continuation of practices across 2,000 years are influenced by psychedelic substances. The town's name, Eleusis, appears to have a non-Greek origin and possibly correlates with Elysium and the deity Eleuth. The ceremonies were conducted annually. The Lesser Mysteries were observed during the spring, while those who had undergone prior purification participated in the Greater Mysteries come September. Devotees journeyed the sacred path from Athens to Eleusis, invoking the Kore, the Virgin, and reenacting Demeter's quest for her abducted daughter. Upon arriving at Eleusis, participants paused near the same well where Demeter had once rested, observed a fast, and then consumed a drink made from barley and mint, known as Kykeon. This concoction contained hallucinogenic fungus, ergot, enhancing the overall mystical experience. Post consumption, attendees made their way into the Telesterion, a subterranean chamber, to witness the confidential ceremony. It's widely believed that this rite symbolically reenacted Dionysus' death and subsequent resurrection, with spectators possibly playing a role. The initiates were to symbolically die by drinking the Kykeon, the hallucinogenic drink, and become resurrected through the god taking over their body and making them holy. A Eucharist was involved, followed by the orgiastic revelry. Then, a phallus of Dionysus was brought out. Initiates would then take the phallus from the chest and repeat these words: "I have fasted it, I have drunk the cup, I have received from the box, having done, I put it in the basket and out of the basket into the chest." This would go down until dawn. Following this were baptisms, sacred baths. Initiates would report that they felt transformed at the sight of dawn and no longer had fear of death. The happenings in the Telesterion remain shrouded in mystery, but we do have fragments of testimonies about how powerful the rituals were. Notably, many influential figures and luminaries of the ancient world were initiates in the Mysteries: Plato, Socrates, Olympias, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus, Marcus Reias, just to name a few. Nicholas of Damascus writes about Brahmins from India traveling all the way to Greece just to be initiated. To these accounts may be added that of Nicholas of Damascus. This writer states that in Antioch, near Daphne, he met with ambassadors from the Indians who were sent to Augustus Caesar. It appeared from the letter that several Brahmins were mentioned in it, but three only survived whom he saw. The rest had died chiefly in consequence of the length of the journey. The Brahmins presented the gifts which were brought. The presents were a Hermes statue without arms, perfumes, oils, tigers, large snakes, a serpent 10 cubits in length, a river tortoise of three cubits in length, and a partridge larger than a vulture. They were accompanied by the Brahman Zarmianos. For some reason, after initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries, he wished to die because he wished to make a display for the benefit of Augustus and the Athenians. He was therefore initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus and Demeter, which were held out of season on account, they say, of Augustus, who was also an initiate. And Zarmianos then threw himself alive into the fire and died. His tomb was this inscription: "Zarmianos, an Indian, a native of Barosa, having immortalized himself according to the custom of his country, here lies."
Dionysus possessed the ability to induce inspiration and ecstasy. His worship held profound significance in the realms of art and literature. In Athens, theatrical presentations of tragedy and comedy were integral components of the two Dionysian festivals: the Lenaea and the Great Dionysia. Additionally, Dionysus received tribute through lyric poetry known as the Dithyrambs. However, in Roman narratives, his character is often misconstrued, being reduced to the merry figure of Bacchus, a staple in festive drinking gatherings.
The festivities of Bacchanalia were officially forbidden in Italy in 186 BCE. There was a major event in Roman Republican history: a group of runaway slaves and plebeians led a revelry in the northern wilderness of Rome, led by women. Peculia Annia is believed to have led the mystery rites of Dionysus known as the holy orgia, beginning around 188 BC. Livy portrays the Bacchanalia as a ceremony exclusive to women, conducted during daylight on only three annual occasions. However, Peculia Annia transitioned these ceremonies to nighttime events, increased their occurrence to five times monthly, and made them accessible to all genders and social standings. She also made the consumption of wine, along with the acts of violence and mandatory intimate encounters, a core part of the initiation process. The vulnerable, including the lower socioeconomic classes, slaves, women, gay men, the young, and those perceived as morally feeble, were believed to be the most affected, but even upper-class men were not exempt. Livy reports that the men dressed as women and the women like men, and same-sex relationships were encouraged. A former member and confessor, Hiala Fasina, despite her fears of retribution from the cult, disclosed his activities to a stunned Roman Senate. After thorough scrutiny, the Senate acted to dismantle the cult, believing this action prevented impending divine retribution on Rome. Livy states that around 6,000 individuals faced execution, and among the detained was Minucius Carinus, Peculia's son. The law against or restructuring of the cult is documented in the *Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus*, which acted to outlaw them in 186 BCE, still survives. The ultimate fate of Peculia remains a mystery. Bacchanalian festivals were then banned for the next 20 to 40 years because of this. These Bacchanalian festivals, influenced by the Greek Dionysia, were merged with the ancient festival of Liber and were held privately, like an ancient Burning Man. These usually consisted of heavy drinking, music, satyr plays, and competitions of poetry.
In Greece, they had four annual festivals to Dionysus: Dionysia, Lenaea, and Anthesteria. Two of the four were called Dionysia: the Rural Dionysia and the City Dionysia. Similar to the Bacchanalia, they would take place at different times of the year. The central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies. Paler session was completed. There were contests of dancing and singing, and choruses would perform Dithyrambs. The central event was the Pompa procession, in which the phalli were carried by phallophoroi. The Lenaea took place at Delphi in the spring season as an agrarian festival. It was celebrated at a crucial time for propitiating the awakening of nature, specifically the grape and vine, symbolized by the god himself, his death and reemergence from the underworld. Though this was not the time of the grape harvest, but rather when the vines were pruned. Attendance would cheer "Iacchus, son of Semele! Eua! Iao! Sabba! Eua! Iao! Sabba!" while carrying torches at night. The fourth and last Dionysian festival was the Anthesteria, celebrated at the first full moon of the winter. The three days of the feast were called Pithoigia, Choes, and Chytri. The Anthesteria also had aspects of a festival of the dead. People would mourn for the death of Dionysus.
If we go to the ancient Copper Age Sumer, we find some Dionysian traits between several deities here. Nashida, whose name means "lord of the good tree," has an exact etymology match to what Pherecydes of Syros thinks Dionysus means: "Dio nuso," god of the tree. He was a Mesopotamian deity of vegetation, the underworld, and sometimes war. He was commonly associated with snakes, libations, and wine. Like Dumuzi, he was believed to spend a part of the year in the land of the dead. Dumuzi is also a vegetation god who, like Dionysus, descends into the underworld and returns. Ningal is connected with Dumuzi due to their common traits as deities of vegetation who undergo death. The god Damu seems to be a synchronization of both Nashida and Dumuzi. It is commonly believed that Dumuzi was brought to Lebanon and Syria by the Assyrians in the Iron Age and was called Adon and later Adonis, but his connection to Dionysus would predate that evolution. Both Dionysus and Adonis are ritually mourned over in the rites of the Syrians, Phoenicians, and at Delphi, where the mourning of Dionysus took place at the bottom of the mountain of Delphi, where his tomb was located. Initiates in the Eleusinian Mysteries practiced ritual mourning for Dionysus as well. We also see similar mourning rituals for Osiris, Ashman, and Adonis, all possibly setting the stage for the mourning of Jesus.
Oddly enough, the Sumerians also ritually mourned over the deaths of Dumuzi and Nashida. Dumuzi is mourned over by Inanna, and the "Weeping for Dumuzi" ritual was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible by Ezekiel, illustrating the widespread popularity of this rite. "Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's House, which was toward the north; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz." (Ezekiel 8:14). Ezekiel, a lament titled "In the Desert" by the early Grass, mentions both deities, Nashida and Dumuzi, as subjects of mourning. This connection is further reflected in astrological texts. Some lamentations even equate Nashida and Dumuzi as being identical entities, given their roles as inhabitants of the underworld. There are instances where they are both related to Gilgamesh. In the Middle Babylonian Narrative of A'apa, Ningal is depicted as one of the two guardians of Anu's heavenly abode, sharing this role with Dumuzi. This story seems to suggest that upon their death, these two deities reside in the celestial realms instead of the underworld, or that they took turns descending and ascending. It was traditionally believed that the disappearance of both Nashida and Dumuzi occurred annually between Midsummer and Midwinter.
What is so interesting about this is a similar duality we see with Dionysus and Apollo. Attic calendars from the classical Age of Athens depict Apollo and Dionysus as lords of the two main seasons. They believed that after harvest, Apollo would leave and go north to the lands of the Hyperboreans and perform his music, which caused the winter aurora borealis. During this time, Dionysus ruled from the underworld and brought mirth, revelry to the winter time. Then, during the spring season, Dionysus' death and sacrifice would cause the crops to grow, and Apollo would rule from the heavens, and his light was a blessing for the entire summer until the harvest.
Harvard philologist Carl AP Ruck puts forth that the gods Dionysus and Apollo are actually both two spirits of the same godson character. He points out that they are never depicted in the same midst together, but also since they are both princes of Zeus and mediators between the god and humans, like the dual nature of Mithra, seen as both chthonic and solar, who's also a mediator for Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster. Dionysus is liberation from the soul from within; chthonic. Apollo is justice given down from above; heavenly. What we have in Dionysus is a god of inspiration, freedom, equality, arts, music, music, revelry, moisture, metamorphosis, growth of vegetation, wine, ecstasy, sex, passion, instinct, emotion, death, resurrection, salvation, eternal life. Dionysus is chthonic and dark. In the exact opposite sense, Apollo is a god of light, the sky, order, rationality, piety, justice, hierarchy, composure, sobriety, logic, purity, and most of all, prophecy and unchangeable fate. But like Dionysus, also a god of arts and music, though a different kind. Music with order: Apollo's music, the lyre, is comparable to the classic orchestra. Dionysus' music, the dithyramb, is more abstract and poetic singing that goes along with dancing and revelry. Apollo's music like classical orchestra, while Dionysus is more like gangster rap or dubstep. Apollo is the embodiment of individual responsibility; you are given your lot by above hierarchy. Dionysus is the embodiment of collective responsibility; slaves become free through inspiration, equality. Both gods are sons of Zeus. Dionysus is connected to the underworld and the moisture that grows the crops from below the earth, while Apollo is connected to the heavens and the light that comes down. The Athenian calendars marked half the year with Apollo, lord of the light, light-bringer, the dry, sunny, hottest 6 months, and Dionysus was marked as lord of the harvest, cold, wet, and dark seasons.
Friedrich Nietzsche's *The Birth of Tragedy* does a great comparison of these gods and the symbiotic relationship of the two, like a yin and yang, whose primordial unity between the Dionysian frenzy and Apollonian order can bring the physiological condition that enables the creation of tragedy. "Life itself is a tragedy. In this state, one enriches everything out of one's own fullness. Whatever one sees, whatever one wills, is swelled, taut, strong, overloaded with strength. A man in this state transforms things until they mirror his power, until they are reflections of his perfection. This having to transform into perfection is art." Nietzsche firmly believed the creations of Pindar, Aeschylus, and Sophocles epitomize the pinnacle of artistic expression and the true embodiment of tragedy. Nietzsche disputes too much Socratic rationalism, arguing that introducing ethics and reason displaces the essence of tragedy, specifically the delicate equilibrium between the Dionysian and Apollonian elements. This emphasis on reason was perpetuated by Plato in his dialogues, leading the contemporary world to prioritize reason over the artistic energies inherent in the Apollonian and Dionysian contrast. Nietzsche also believed that Christianity, which he calls "Platonism for the people," was the result of Western culture falling too far from the artistic, tragic world of the Saturn, which had become the symbol of all that is demonic and evil. The devil or Antichrist. The Saturn is the horror or annihilation of the principle of individuality and at the same time someone who delights in its destruction. It is pure liberation and freedom of expression.
We see a similar dichotomy between Osiris and Set. Both sons of Ammon, Set is the god of dry and desert who rules over the summer, and Osiris is the chthonic underworld god of moisture, vegetation, and darkness. When we look at Egypt for Dionysus, speculation is no longer even necessary because both Greeks and Egyptians agreed that Osiris and Dionysus are one and the same. "For no gods are worshipped by all Egyptians in common except Isis and Osiris, who they say is Dionysus. These are worshipped by all alike. Osiris in the Greek language is Dionysus." (Herodotus, Book II). Osiris, when translated, is Dionysus. And of the ancient Greek writers of mythology, some give to Osiris the name Dionysus-Sarapis, or with the slight change in form, Sirius. Umalas in his *Bacchic Hymn* speaks of "our Dionysus shining like a star, Sirius, with fiery eye in every ray," while Orpheus says, "And this is why men call him shining one, Osiris and Dionysus." Osiris, they say, was also interested in agriculture and had also devised the cultivation of these fruits, which was reared in Nysa, a city of Arabia Felix, near Egypt, being a son of Zeus. And the name which he bears among the Greeks is derived both from his father and from birthplace, since he is called Dionysus. And moreover, the Greeks consecrate the ivy to Dionysus, and amongst the Egyptians it's called *kenos*, meaning the plant of Osiris, for Osiris and Dionysus are one and the same. (Plutarch, *On Isis and Osiris*). Herodotus says, "Some say that Osiris is also represented with the cloak of fawn skin about his shoulders, as imitating the sky, spangled with the stars." This fawn-skin wearing god who cultivates fruits and wears ivy is more than enough to see why the ancients thought Dionysus and Osiris were one and the same god.
This brings us to Pluto, or Hades, also known as Dis Pater by the Romans, sometimes called Death. He is commonly associated with Osiris for obvious reasons. Both are rulers of the underworld who judge the dead by weighing the heart. But it also turns out that Pluto and Dionysus were just as closely linked to the mystery cults of the Greeks. In some cases, Persephone and Dionysus were worshipped side by side. When we look at depictions of Pluto and Dionysus side by side from separate vases around the 6th Century BCE, we can see that they are identical, both holding a thyrsus staff, both wearing ivy diadems with vines and grape clusters. Pluto, which means "wealth," also called the divine child, like Zagreus, the baby Dionysus, was the son of Demeter, who was pregnant by Iasion, who laid with her in a thrice-plowed field in the fall and was then struck down and killed by Zeus with his thunderbolt. Iasion was considered another dying and rising fertility and agriculture god, and his son Pluto was closely related to Hades and even thought to be one and the same in some cases.
This story brings us to the heart of the ancient Mysteries itself. The Phrygian Mysteries equate Iasion with Adonis and credit him for finding the Mysteries and being the consort of the Great Mother. The Samothracian Mysteries also credit Iasion for bringing the *gnosis* of the secret Mysteries to the island from Crete. Then, according to the Samothracians, he laid with Cybele rather than Demeter, and they bore Corybos rather than Pluto. Iasion is still killed by Zeus here, rather than him going to Phrygia. His son Corybos, along with Orpheus, who is the son of Apollo and high priest of Dionysus, and Orpheus's son Musaeus, and they three traveled to Phrygia and found the Phrygian Mysteries of the Great Mother and Adonis. Here, Corybos gives his name to the initiates called Corybantes, and this is where we find the Dionysus being called Sabazius, worshipped side by side with Cybele, the Great Mother.
Diodorus in his *Bibliotheca* writes about this: "This wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia was the first, we are told, for which the gods provided the marriage feast. And Demeter, becoming enamored of Iasion, presented him with the fruit of the corn. Hermes gave a lyre, Athena the renowned necklace and robe, and a flute, and Electra the sacred rites of the Great Mother of the Gods. She is called together with the symbols and kettle drums and the instruments of her ritual, and Apollo played upon the lyre, and the Muses upon their flutes, and the rest of the Gods spoke them fair and gave the pair their aid in the celebration of the wedding. After this Cadmus, they say, in accordance with the oracle he had received, founded Thebes in Boeotia, while Iasion married Cybele and begat Corybos. After Iasion had been removed into the circle of the Gods, Cybele and Corybos conveyed to Asia the sacred rites of the Mother of the Gods and removed with them to Phrygia. Thereupon Cybele, joining herself to the first Olympus, begat Attis and called the Goddess Cybele after herself, and Corybos gave the name of Corybantes to all who in celebrating the rites of his mother acted like men possessed by Dionysus, and married Thebe, the daughter of Olenus. In like manner, he is also transferred the flute from Samothrace to Phrygia, and to Lesbos the lyre which Hermes gave, and which at a later time Achilles took for himself when he sacked that city. Many assert that the gods worshipped in Thrace, as well as the Corybantes and Curetes, are the same as the Korybantes and the Idaean Dactyli, as well as the Cabiri. But as to the Cabiri, they are unable to tell who they are." Strabo also says in Book 10: "These Corybantes of Mount Ida are divine demons who are attendants of the Gods by handing down secret rites of Dionysus, and that they are also called Satyrs, Sileni, Bacchus, and Tityi. He says that all of them are inspired by Dionysus and are called Bacchic." These Corybantes are dancers who are in a raging frenzy inspired by the god Dionysus. The Cretans call them Idaean Dactyli and are considered to be the fingers of the right hand of Sabazius, Dionysus, as he can inspire them to move, and they do his will.
Diodorus also tells us Corybos was the father of Ida, the goddess whose holy mountain Ida, named after the mother of Minos, the first king of Crete, who the Minoans descend from. A side note on Mount Ida: Tacitus writes that the Jews were refugees from Crete, named after this mountain. "It is said that the Jews were originally exiles from the island of Crete, who settled in the farthest parts of Libya at the time when Saturn had been deposed and expelled by Jove. An argument in favor of this is derived from the name: there is a famous mountain in Crete called Ida, and hence the inhabitants were called the Ide, which was later lengthened into the barbarous form Judea."
[Music]
Tacitus, the Samothracian and Phrygian Mysteries are considered the oldest by the Greeks, and at the helm of these is Orpheus, the Thracian bard. The Phrygians and Thracians are separated by the Bosporus Strait, which is the border of Europe and Asia, the place where East meets West. The mysteries of both Thracians and Phrygians are very similar, yet the names of the deities may differ. For example, the Great Mother of the Thracians is Zile, hinting to the mother of Dionysus, Semele's divinity. To the Thracians, but the son of Zile is called Zalmoxis. Zalmoxis is clearly the same deity who the Phrygians call Sabazius. Both are depicted riding the horse, wielding thunderbolts. This proves that Zalmoxis and Sabazius are both influenced by Dionysus in their respective regions. Through linguistic analysis and the writings of Herodotus, we can really see this as a fact. Herodotus writes about Zalmoxis in Book IV of his Histories: "The Getae are the bravest of the Thracians and the most holy. They believe that they do not die and that the one who dies joins Zalmoxis, a divine being. Some call this same being Gebelis. Every four years they send a messenger to Zalmoxis, who is chosen by chance. They ask him to tell Zalmoxis what they want. On that occasion, the mission is performed in the following way: men standing there, the purpose hold three spears. Other people take the one who is sent to Zalmoxis by his hands and feet and fling him in the air on the spears. If he dies pierced, they think that the divinity is going to help them. If he does not die, it is he who is accused; they declare that he is a bad person, and after he has been charged, they send another one. The messenger is told the request while he is still alive. The same Getae on other occasions, when it thunders and lightens, shoot up their arrows against the sky and menace the divinity, because they think that there is no god than their own."
Zalmoxis, or Salois as Aristotle calls them, has etymological connections to Dionysus through the name Zile or Semile. "Earth" in Thracian or Dacian, a clear connection to Dionysus. And what's even more interesting, if you notice, Herodotus gives a second name for Zalmoxis, which is Gebelis. This breaks down into two words: Gebel and Elis, "Kybele, Zeus," showing connections to Sabazius and the Phrygian Great Mother Kybele. Once again, Herodotus tells us that Gebelis was also called Sabazius by the Goths of Jordanes, and he equated this god with Kronos and Saturn. Manetho of Paestum identified Zalmoxis with Kronos, which makes this connection even stronger, since both are underworld kings and judges of the dead who give agriculture and equality for the poor and the rich. In fact, Dionysus, although he's the grandson of Saturn, according to Nonnus, has the same spirit.
This brings our journey into the Germanic North. Zalmoxis survives in the Pagan North for centuries. In the 13th century, Zalmoxis is evolved into Ziu, as well as the Earth goddess Zile, now called Zisa. Both are worshipped by Gothic pagans living in the far north, as far as Lithuania. This would be the last surviving trace of the ancient Bronze Age Dionysian religion. Ziu, father Perun, married to his mother Zisa, a deity connected to oak trees, storms, and thunderbolts, like Zeus, which shows that many of these ancient elements are still intact in medieval Europe. The Germanic is related to the Vedic pantheons through linguistics that both trace back to the Proto-Indo-European.
The god Shiva and Dionysus are both depicted as young, beautiful, effeminate, both riding on animals and wearing animal skins and carrying a magic staff or wand. Shiva, like Dionysus, is also known as a chthonic lord who is associated with the arts, intoxication, and revelry.
The Stoic texts of Magones, known as Indica, written during the time of Alexander the Great, mention Shiva as an Indian Dionysus. Alternatively, Ureides calls Dionysus the god of the Orient because of their similar use of the phallus within the Mysteries and intoxication by a sacred drink. Kaian and Som may be made differently, but their purpose was to put the initiates into a state of frenzy so they could receive the inspiration of the god.
What's even more mind-blowing is when we look at the Phrygian Dionysus, known as Sabazius. His name, Sabba Dios, has Proto-Indo-European roots that trace back to Sawa Dewa. This was put forth by France Kumant, a Belgian archaeologist, historian, and a PhD philologist professor in linguistics who studied Mithra and Dionysus. He says that Sabba comes from the Proto-Indo-European *swo, and that the name Shiva also has a common root there. Shiva, these two can possibly be located as Shiva Dewa or Sabba Dios. And we know that the Vedic Aryans lived between the Black and Caucasus region, which is where Cybele is venerated. Once again, this all demonstrates how ancient and widespread the Dionysian religion is.
Mohenjo-Daro, 2350-2000 BCE, archaeology shows a Proto-Shiva as a horned deity described as the master of animals and plants. The oldest form of Dionysus, according to Diodorus of Sicily, is from Asia, and some claim that it could be from this region. He is also horned and called the master of animal husbandry. Diodorus says some writers of myths, however, relate that there was a second Dionysus who was much earlier in time than the one that we have just mentioned, Sabazius. They state also that he excelled in fertility and was the first to attempt the yoking of oxen and by their aid to affect the sowing of the seed. This being the reason why they represent him having horns.
The Vedic religion shows a direct connection to these three medieval Lithuanian gods that evolved from Zalmoxis, Zeus, and Semele through linguistic connections as well as the mythology itself. Indra, Mitra, and Varuna can be connected to these three. The Mitra-Varuna dichotomy is comparable to the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy that I explained earlier. But according to philologist John Devise, Odin, the Norse god, also has a relationship with this duality of opposites.
In my opinion, Odin's connection to the Dionysian is the most obvious, especially when we examine the etymology of his name. His name means frenzy, the inspiration that guided warriors and poets alike. He is associated with magic and intoxication. Additional Germanic equivalents stemming from *wen encompassed Gothic *wunnan (possessed), Old Norse *oðr (mad, frantic, furious), Old English *wōd (insane, frenzied), and Dutch *woed (frantic, wild, crazy), accompanied by the substantive versions like Old Norse *oðr (mind, sense, song, poetry), more Dionysian elements: Old English *wōd (sound, noise, voice, song), or Old High German *wuot (thrill, violent agitation), and Middle Dutch *woet (rage, frenzy), all originating from the same root as the initial adjective. Proto-Germanic *wenan (madness, fury) and *wenan (to rage) are also inferable.
Philologist John D. Fry has posited that the Old Norse gods Odin and Oðr were likely initially linked, as seen in the doublet Ullr-Ullin and Oðr. *Wen being the more ancient form of the fundamental origin of the name Odin. Wánis, he further proposed, that the deity of fury, Oðr, Odin, was juxtaposed against the deity of splendid grandeur, Ullr-Ullin, in a way akin to the Vedic differentiation between Varuna and Mitra. That dualism between Varuna-Mitra, as I compared earlier to Apollo and Dionysus, is relevant to Odin. In fact, I would argue that Odin is almost a perfect synchronization between a Dionysus and Apollo. Like Apollo, Odin is associated with prophecy, fate, justice, and order. Huginn and Muninn are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information and messages to and from the god Odin. In the Greek legends, ravens are messengers of Apollo and are symbols of Apollo's prophecy. Herodotus says that Apollo is most worshipped by the Hyperboreans, Germans. And Odin also has an obvious Dionysian side; he's the frenzy god who gives inspiration, and as I mentioned, the connection with Saturn and Dionysus. Odin has even more Saturnian aspects to his character. Saturn, like Odin, is the All-Father who rules from the underworld, who gave the world the Golden Age before he was sacrificed by Zeus for mankind, and plays a central role in myths about creation and destruction of the world. Saturn's return marks the end of the age and the beginning of a new one. Odin checks every one of those boxes. He is the All-Father, connected with creation, the end of the world, and his death, like Saturn, makes him a judge of the dead.
Julius Caesar writes that they claim descent from Dis Pater, the Roman underworld god, who was actually Taranis. The Dis Pater connection brings us all the way back full circle to Dionysus, Osiris, and Hades. And the Dis Pater of the Celts is also dual-natured with chthonic and sky-god traits, like an Apollonian and Dionysian duality.
Before I bring this back to Dionysus, I have to address Odin's common equivalent with Mercury, which I think is a bad one-to-one equivalence that so many people make. Julius Caesar also wrote, "Among the gods, Mercury is the one they principally worship." When referring to the Germanic tribes east of the Gaul, Tacitus, centuries later, writing his Agricola, refers to the god Odin as Mercury, Thor as Hercules, Tiwaz as Mars, and Isis as Freya. And the old Roman day for Wednesday at the time was Mercury's day. So when the Germanic lands became more Romanized, they converted this day to Wednesday or Woden's day. This is not without any merits, though. Tacitus did have some good reasons for this. Odin is a messenger like Mercury, who also has the role of a psychopomp, who transports the dead to and fro the underworld. We see this with Thoth of the Egyptians. Like Mercury and Thoth, Odin is also the god who gave mankind the runes, or the runic alphabet. And in the Greek and Egyptian myths, it's Hermes, Mercury, or Thoth that gives mankind alphabets and hieroglyphics. You can argue that Odin has traits of Saturn, Mercury, Apollo, and Dionysus, and possibly influenced by all of these. Since Odin comes much later in history, there are some who think Odin's imagery, riding a horse with a spear, flanked by two birds, compares to the ancient depictions of the Dacian and Germanic gods who also have similar depictions, and they use this to argue that Odin must be much older. However, in my opinion, this just brings us right back to Dionysus via the depictions of Thracian Zalmoxis and Phrygian Sabazius. We clearly see that Zalmoxis and Sabazius are also depicted with riders of horses with spears, flanked by birds. To me, it's more obvious that Wánis, or frenzy, is a title that became evolved into a name, coming from Sabazius of the Phrygians and the Thracians. The symbol of Sabazius was the eagle.
But where exactly did Sabazius come from? How old is Sabazius? Even the earliest mentions by Greek sources, back in the fifth and sixth century BCE, Sabazius was referenced as a god of Thracian or Phrygian origin and was recognized as being profoundly ancient even in those times. In Athens, his cult was notably associated with the Orphic and Eleusinian Mysteries, where nocturnal initiation rites were conducted, and initiates underwent purification through mud application and intoxication. Participation involved a sacred beverage, which was a psychedelic wine mixed with ergot, called Kykeon. These are known as entheogens, Greek for *ethnos* and *genesis*, which means "full of the god" or "filled with the god." The adjective *entheos* translates to English as "full of the god, inspired, and possessed," and is the root of the English word "enthusiasm."
The correlation between Sabazius and Dionysus, consistently noted in Hellenistic documents, is irrefutable. In the Orphic Hymns, he is noted as interchangeable with Dionysus. Nonetheless, inscriptions from Phrygia link him to Zeus. And in North Africa, where his worship is documented as early as the 4th century BCE, he might have been perceived as a celestial deity, leading to his eventual association with the Semitic god Yahweh, with both receiving the Greek title *Theos Hypsistos*, God Most High, or El Elyon.
To revisit this Chaldean Oracle, Dionysus or Bacchus was called by the Chaldeans *Yaho* in the Phoenician tongue and is frequently called *Sabaoth*, such as the one who is above the seven spheres, called Demiurge. It should be noted that the three-letter Greek rendering of Yahweh, *Yao*, is exactly how the Old Testament God, the Septuagint, is spelled, and he is frequently mentioned in the Greek Magical Papyri as the highest god. Plutarch, in his Symposia, argues that Yahweh is some Eastern form of Dionysus. While I would admit that a one-to-one comparison is preposterous, I do think that both Greek Dionysus and Hebrew Yahweh have common elements in their ancestry from the Bronze Age.
Here's what Plutarch says: "The time and matter of the greatest and most holy sovereignty of the Jews is exactly agreeable to the holy rites of Bacchus. For that which they call the feast that they celebrate in the midst of vintage, furnishing their tables with all sorts of fruits, while they sit under the tabernacle made of vines and ivy, and the day which immediately goes before this they call the day of Tabernacles. Within a few days after, they celebrate another feast, not darkly but openly dedicated to Bacchus. For they have a feast amongst them called *Koryphoria* from carrying palm trees and *Thoria* when they enter into the temple carrying thyrsus. What they do within I know not, but it is very probable that they perform the rites of Bacchus. The first may be drawn from their high priest, who on holidays enters their temple with his *meter* on a *raed* in skin of hind embroidered with gold, wearing buskins and a coat hanging down to his ankles. Besides, he has a great many little bells hanging at his garment, which make a noise as he walks the streets. This is agreeable to the Eleusinian priest."
If you look into the claims here, Plutarch is actually right. The city of Pompeii was destroyed by a volcano during the eruption of 79 AD, and everything found there is clear archaeological evidence of the culture that predates that eruption. It's like a perfect time capsule found within the digs at Pompeii. It's a painting of an Eleusinian hierophant, who is a high priest of Dionysus and Demeter, and he is portrayed identically as Plutarch says, which is also identical to that of the Levite priest described biblically from Exodus 28. Now, the high priest has a special ephod and coat that goes to one man, but the other Levites are to wear what is described nearly identically to those of the Eleusinian hierophants: white robes, gold and blue and purple coats. "Make them use gold and blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen. Exodus 28: Make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue cloth with an opening for the head and its center. There shall be a woven edge like a collar around this opening so that it will not tear. Make pomegranates of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn around the hem of the robe, with gold bells between them. The gold bells and the pomegranates are to alternate around the hem of the robe. Exodus 28." It is entirely possible that both the Levites and hierophants are passing down a common tradition of standard high priest garments of an ancient tradition that the Bacchic and Judeaic are both related to.
I mentioned earlier that Pompey the Great had a coin made in memorial of his conquering of Judea that read "Bacchus Judaeus." Some think that this is a name of a person that was beaten by Pompey. Tacitus, however, says that Pompey went into the Holy of Holies and found nothing except a golden ivy diadem that Dionysus is known for wearing in his legends.
Some might be wondering then, what about the second book of Maccabees, which says, "Moreover, at the monthly celebration of the king's birthday of the Jews, from bitter necessity had to partake of the sacrifices, and when the festival of Dionysus was celebrated, they were compelled to march in his procession wearing wreaths of ivy." I think the Dionysus of the Greeks is so far removed from any Dionysian elements that we find in Judaism, they are no longer even remotely the same deity. And to me, this is more of a political issue.
When the Romans had their own version of Dionysus, Liber Pater, or Liberator in Latin, and we know that he is present in the Aventine in 496 BCE when Aulus Postumius vowed the sacred games in his name. However, a group of Bacchantes from outside the Roman cult was still outlawed in 186 BCE due to the political and social problems that had caused from the Senate. Same god, opposing priesthoods, that brings problems. In fact, Antiochus Epiphanes, who is the one that second Maccabees says installed the procession of Dionysus in Jerusalem, also seems to find something interesting. Manetho of Patrae wrote that Antiochus Epiphanes raided the temple in 164 BCE and found a golden statue of a man riding a donkey. This imagery would immediately remind anyone in that time of the image of Dionysus, who was frequently depicted as riding a donkey, and in the play *Frogs* by Aristophanes, he rides into Athens on a donkey before he descends into the underworld.
Valerius Maximus Smith wrote about an event that happened in Rome regarding the Jews being kicked out of the city. "Nias Cornelius, his Praetor, Priscus, in the year of the consulate of Marcus Populus, ordered the astrologers by an edict to leave Rome and Italy within ten days, since by a fallacious interpretation of the stars, they protrude fickle and silly minds, thereby making profit out of their lies." The same Praetor who compelled the Jews, who attempted to infect the Roman custom with the cult of Jupiter Sabazius, to return to their homes. Here we see that the Romans were equating Yahweh with Jupiter Sabazius, probably due to its similar customs and rites.
"There is a certain Nysa mountain high with forests thick of cedar in Phoenicia, afar, close to Egypt's streams. It is conjectured that the Romans identify the Jewish Yahweh Sabaoth as or Jo Sabazio." This could be just a mishandling of the linguistics, but it could also mean that Sabazius and Sabaoth were already related in some way.
Sabazius in Thrace and Dacia, as well as the Scythians, had multiple local appellations of Sabazius, including: Ay, Penos, Arellos, Balde, Aenos, Elites, Mitros, or Elenos, and Tastos. All these different gods from different locations in the Scythian world show undeniable links to Sabazius and Dionysus. These are all frenzy gods and vegetation gods, and this shows how widespread Dionysus was in his ancient Bronze Age religion.
I think the evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. Evidence of a great mother figure in Phrygia is found in archaeology dating back to 6,000 BCE. Notice this is a Stone Age depiction of a goddess guarded by two lions. The same image of Cybele shows up in later Greek and Roman eras, also sitting as a queen flanked by two lions. And we even have a transitional form of this goddess in the Bronze Age. She is known to the Hittites as Kubaba, considered by them as the most ancient and holiest. These Hittites also depict her with Sabazius, although his name may have been different at that time, but he is still the frenzy god surrounded by bacchae dancing and holding ivy wreaths, again illustrating how ancient this religion was. The Phrygians kept this image of her, and she is later adopted by the Roman Republic in the same image, flanked by these lions. Considering the fact that the cultivation of grapes was discovered in this region of the world around 6,000 BCE, contemporary with this figure of Kubaba or Cybele, makes it possible and likely to me that a vine god was also born here. It is commonly thought that the cultivation of grapes and winemaking was imported from Anatolia by the Sumerians in the Copper Age. A legendary queen named Kubaba shows up in the Sumerian king's list during its prehistoric mythological era. She also has a grandson listed named Ur-Zababa. We have also discovered that this dynasty worshiped the god Zababa, an ancient Eranian god that predates Nergal, who was replaced by Nergal in the pantheon as the planet Saturn. The names Kubaba and Zababa, one of them, Kubaba, being identical to the Hittite Kubaba, and the other being kind of close to Sabazius. But you might be thinking, well, these are Semitic and Hittites are a branch of the Proto-Indo-European. Well, actually, these two names are some of the rarest cases of Sumerian names that aren't Semitic. Kubaba and Zababa are so ancient that they predate the Semitic Akkadians and are related to Northern languages. In fact, the cuneiform logogram for Zababa matches a Hittite logogram for Sulen Kate, a god that was worshiped in the Bronze Age side by side with Kybele as a king and queen of Hatti, and both stand next to lions. Once again, we see the religious influences of the oldest forms of Anatolian Kybele and Sabazius even on the oldest Sumerian civilization.
In Phrygia, Sabazius was considered to be the consort, or in some cases, the son of the great mother Kybele. Nonnus says, "So Hermes in the eternal shape of the firstborn Phrygian passed over the mountain tract with a quicker step than hers, carrying the horn child Dionysus folded in his arms and gave it to Rhea, Kybele's nurse of lions and father of Zeus." Sabazius, in some cases, is the father of Dionysus, and in other cases, Sabazius is Dionysus. Dionysus also has a son with Aphrodite named Priapus. Dionysus and Aphrodite entwined was called Lucifer, and Priapus is the holy child, once again, another title that we see with Dionysus. Priapus was a vegetable garden protector, who some think that gnomes are related to garden gnomes. His job was to protect gardens. Priapus is shown with a large phallus due to Dionysian phallic being the holy and sacred symbol of the ancient Mysteries and the inner mysteries. In the Orphic Hymns, Priapus is also called Phalles, and Phalles is called holy Prius. The Orphic Hymns tie a thread between the firstborn god Phalles, who comes out of the abyss unborn and has no parents, and he fathers Arinos, Heaven, Saturn, Zeus, and Dionysus, who gives birth to Priapus. The Orphics are tying these gods as one god called the Monad.
The Orphic Hymn to Protogonus, translated by Thomas Taylor from the 3rd century BC, says: "To Protogonus, fumigation from myrrh. O mighty Protogonus, first begotten, hear my prayer. Two-fold egg-born, Lucifer, and wandering through the air, bull-roarer, glory in the golden wings. From the home from whom the race of gods in mortal springs, Ericapaeus, celebrated power, ineffable, ault all shining flower is thine, the dark mist pure, the sight all-spreading splendor, pure and holy light. Hence, Thanis called the glory of the sky, on waving pinions through the world you fly. Priapus, dark-eyed splendor, the I sing, genial, all-prudent, ever blessed king. With joyful aspects on these rites divine and holy consecration, propitious shine." The Orphics were some of the earliest to produce what would be described as monotheistic tendencies, meaning all these gods, gods that came from Phalles down to Priapus, the son of Dionysus, are all one spirit, and they're all within the same bosom.
Which brings me to my last section: Dionysus and Christianity. Clement of Alexandria says, "God in the bosom is a counter-sign of the mysteries of Sabazius to the adepts." Clement reports this is a snake passed through the bosom of the initiates. The Orphic egg with a snake wrapped around it was a symbol of the Orphic god Dionysus giving his inspiration to Orpheus, Phalles, the firstborn, and Dionysus, the last prince who gives birth to Priapus. And what Clement of Alexandria is saying in this context, Clement is comparing Jesus as the Son of God being in the bosom of God the Father, as the Phrygians believe the same about Dionysus and Sabazius being God the Father and Son in the bosom.
Phrygia was a booming region for early Christianity during this time. Sabazius had evolved into a more middle Platonic monotheistic form called *Theos Hypsistos*. The Hypsistarians are the group that lived in Cappadocia and Phrygia who worshiped this god with no images in the temple, and he was represented by an eagle. The eagle as his symbol does have roots to his earliest forms. Gregory of Nazianzus was once a Hypsistarian initiate who converted to Christianity. When he married St. Nonna, and sure enough, he was known as the Trinitarian theologian who contributed major contributions to the idea of the Trinity that became the Christian Godhead. To the Phrygians, Dionysus and Zeus were one, Zeus-Sabazius, with a Saturnian spirit that binded them together. These ideas are heavily influenced by Zoroastrian theology and Plato. The Chaldean Oracles, with some passages attributed to Zoroaster, Pythagoras, others to Plato, and the rest attributed to Neoplatonist theorists that lived in the court of Marcus Aurelius, has the following passage: "All things are governed by the Father in the bosoms of the intelligible Triad. And again, the Father mangled every spirit from this Triad. Porphyry said, 'The summit of intelligibles is the intelligible Triad, containing in itself the cause and essence of all Triads.' Thus, he who knows himself knows all things, as Zoroaster first asserted in his Gathas, and afterwards Plato in the first Alcibiades. All things are the progeny of one fire, one divine nature. The Monad is there first, where the paternal Monad subsists. The Monad is extended, which generates two, the Logos, the Father begotten light. It is the operator, the Giver of life-bearing fire. It fills the vivific bosom of the Angel. Hephaestus, the Angel Love, Eros, who first leaped forth from intellect, clothing fire, bound together with fire. The Father Saturn has hastily withdrawn himself from all connection of matter. The Doad sits with Jupiter and glitters with intellectual sections together with the power of governing all things."
Dionysus or Bacchus was called by the Chaldeans *Yaho* in the Phoenician tongue and is frequently called *Sabaoth*, such as the one who is above the seven spheres, called Demiurge. The Triad, the Demiurge, made the whole world from fire, water, earth, and all-nourishing air. What the Pythagoreans intended to signify by Monad, Duad, and Triad, bound Saturn, infinite Jupiter, and that which is mixed from both, unique, united.
We also have texts from the early Christians in the pre-Church era that cite Pythagoras and use similar concepts for Jesus and God the Father. Now, Pythagoras declared that an unbegotten Monad was the principle of the universe and the parent of the Duad and the other and of all the other numbers. And he says that the Monad is the father of the Duad, and the Duad the mother of all engendered things and a bearer of things begotten. Zarathustra also, the teacher of Pythagoras, calls of the one Father but the two Mothers, for the Duad has come into being from a Monad according to Pythagoras, and the Monad is masculine at first, but the Duad female and second, similar to Adam and Eve. From the Duad again, as Pythagoras says, comes the Triad. Hippolytus, keeping steadfast and present to the Pythagorean doctrine of the beginning, and remembering what others teach, say that he is one without spouse, without female, and in need of not. At the beginning, nothing was begotten, but the Father was alone, unbegotten, having neither place nor time nor counselor nor any other things that by any figure of speech could be understood as essence. But he was alone and solitary, as they say, and resting alone within himself. And when he was filled with fruit, he saw fit to beget and bring forth the most beautiful and perfect thing he had within himself, for he did not love to be alone, for he was all love, and love is not love unless there be something to be loved. Then the Father himself engendered, as he was alone, Mind in truth, that is a Duad, which became the Lady and beginning and mother of all Aeons, reckoned by them as being within the Pleroma. But Nous and Zoe, having been projected by the Father, a fruitful projection from the fruitful, imitating the Father, projected also the Word, Logos, and the Life, Zoe. Valentinus, who lived from 100 to 180, was an extremely popular Christian theologian who was once a follower of Theodas, who was the woman who traveled the world with Paul. He was also a second candidate for the Bishop of Rome after Pope Anicetus died. He lost a narrow vote to the next Pope, Anicetus, being only two students removed from Paul himself. He taught that God the Father, the Logos, and Zoe were a Trinity. This type of theology is certainly present among the Phrygian worshippers of Sabazius. Attis, the Phrygian eunuch who died and rises through the blessings of Kybele and Sabazius, was also equated with Dionysus in several sources. For Cory was carried off by Pluto, that is the sun going down beneath the earth at seed time, but Dionysus begins to sprout according to the conditions of the power which, while young, is hidden beneath the earth, yet produces fine fruits and is an ally of the power in the blossom, symbolized by Attis, and of the cutting of ripening corn, symbolized by Adonis. Poetry. Clement of Alexandria said, "For those two identical Fides, having abstracted this box in which the phallus of Bacchus was deposited, took it to Etruria, dealers and honorable wars. Truly, they lived there as exiles, employing themselves in communicating the precious teaching of their superstition and presenting phallic symbols in the box for the Tyrrhenians to worship." And some will have it, not improbably, that this is the reason Dionysus was called Anysios because he was mutilated.
The unity among these sons of God was very popular by the first century. Jesus is portrayed in the Gospels as a new Dionysus, saying in his parables, "I am the true vine, my Father is the husbandman," dethroning Dionysus as the vine. He also performs miracles, making wine from water, which was a legend that once was told about Dionysus. Pausanias says, "The Andrians to assert that every year at the feast of Dionysus, wine flows of its own accord from the sanctuary." Again, in book six, he relates, "Between the marketplace and the Menos in the city of Elis is an old theater and a shrine of Dionysus. The image is the work of Praxiteles of the Gods. The Eleans worship Dionysus with the greatest reverence, and they assert that the god attends their festival. Theia: three jars are brought into the building by the priests and sent down empty in the presence of the citizens and of the strangers who may chance to be in a country. The doors of the buildings are sealed by the priests themselves and by any others who may be so inclined. On the morrow, they are allowed to examine the seals and on going into the building, they find the pots or jars filled with wine." A miracle at the wedding of Cana, Jesus taking water and turning it into wine, would have immediately caught the attention of anybody of the time period who was aware of the Dionysian.
The ideas of a Trinity or a Triad are completely Platonic and are much older than Christianity. The idea that Saturn, Zeus, and Dionysus are one, flanked by an army of angels, is something that we see in Christianity with Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. It's even Christians themselves in the 2nd century that we see evidence of them doing these comparisons, noticing the similarities between Jesus and Dionysus, or Jesus and Attis. In fact, a 2nd-century Christian called the Gnostic preacher sang a hymn about Jesus that went like this: "Whether blessed child of Kronos, or son of Zeus, Dionysus, or of great Rhea, Hal, Adonis, mourning star of Rhea, Assyrians call thee desired Adonis, all Egypt Osiris, the wisdom of Hos, men's heavenly horn, the Sethians call you Adamas, the Honan Coribos, the Phrygians call you Papa, sometimes and times again, the dead god, or unfruitful, or Apis, or green-reaped wheat ear, or the fruit what Mary Magdalene brought forth, man piper, Jesus Christ." And so the Dionysian elements are so widespread throughout the time that they evolve into new gods and cults throughout the world.
Justin Martyr understood how much these impacted the Jesus story and wrote, "The devil who taught these mysteries to the Greeks in order to mock Jesus. The devils accordingly, when they heard these prophetic words, said that Bacchus was the son of Jupiter, and gave out that he was the discoverer of the vine, and they number wine or the donkey among his mysteries, and they taught that having been torn into pieces, he ascended into heaven." Justin's Apology. See, Justin understood that these symbols are Dionysian, and that's why he's the first apologist, because what he's saying is completely in defense of his own faith, that he has political reasons for Dionysus worship.
Dionysus worship continued in the Eleusinian Mysteries up until the 5th century of the Common Era, from what began in the Bronze Age Neolithic period. The Christians could find no other way to replace them other than to co-opt them somehow. A legend was created about a devotee of the Mysteries named Demetrius, who was visited by Demeter in a dream and told to worship Jesus and convert the Eleusinian Mysteries to a church, which actually happened, and that church is still there today. Orpheus, the high priest of Dionysus, also had many legends written about him by Christians that make him into a saint. And in the oldest Christian catacombs, we can see Orpheus playing his lyre near Jesus and Mary. Orpheus is also present in the Cilene Oracles from the 1st and 2nd century, showing the close proximity of Orphism, Judaism, and Christianity. And for these reasons, Dionysus is the most widespread god in history. You have this attained true nois.