The heart of Dionysus is the language of the gods. The cult of Dionysus in ancient Greek art. God Dionysus and god Apollo

The image of Dionysus has come a long way in its development. It is no coincidence that there were several myths that told about the struggle with which the cult of Dionysus was introduced and about the resistance that met its appearance in Greece. Dionysus, like the Egyptian Osiris, the Syrian Attis, and the Cretan Zagreus, belongs to the widespread type of “son of God.” In Hellenic legends, partly dating back to Mycenaean or even possibly Minoan times, its parent is the heavenly god Zeus (Tinia) or his underground counterpart Hades. The situation is more complicated with the mother of Dionysus. Some believe that she was Demeter or Io (Diod. Ill 62, 2 - 28). In Cicero, Dionysus has four mothers (Cic. De nat. Deor. III. 58), in Nonnus of Panopolitan - 5. In the “Temple of Antiquity...” besides “Bacchus - Jupiter’s son from Semele...” there were five more: from Jupiter and Proserpine, from the Nile, which killed Nysa, from Jupiter and the Moon, in honor of which holidays called Orphic were made, from Nysus and Fiona."

Lucius Ampelius writes about the existence of five Liberi (Dionysuses): “the first is from Zeus and Proserpina; he is a cultivator of the land and the inventor of wine. The second Liber is from Melon and Flora ... whose name is the river Granik; the third is from Cabirus, who reigns in Asia; the fourth from Saturnius and Semele... they say, the fifth son of Nysus and Fiona." The father of the second Liber is Melon, an ancient vegetation deity associated with Hercules. The mention of the Granik River in connection with Liber gives reason to think that we are talking about a Phrygian river or mountain deity. In the area of Pelasgian Dodona, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Dione (Eur. Antig. fr. 177).

Apparently, the Cretan hypostasis of Dionysus is Zagreus. Greek myth tells of him as the son of Zeus of Crete and Persephone, with whom Zeus married in the form of a serpent even before her uncle Hades carried her off to his underworld. The titans sent by Hero, painted with white plaster, waited until the Cretan Kuretes, guarding the cradle with the baby in a cave on Mount Ida, fell asleep. At midnight they lured Zagreus out with the help of children's toys: a pine cone, a shell, golden apples, a mirror, dough and a tuft of wool. Then they attacked Zagreus. But he frightened them by turning into Zeus in a cape of goat skins, then into Kronus, who makes rain, and finally into a lion, horse, dragon or serpent, tiger, bull.

Zagreus' transformations are explained as follows. In Crete, a boy was sacrificed every year to replace the king - a bull. After reigning for a day, he participated in a dance symbolizing the five seasons - lion, goat, horse, snake and calf, after which he was eaten alive 1. Zagreus became "Zeus in a goatskin cape" because Zeus, or a boy who replaced him, ascended to heaven wearing a cape made from the skin of the goat Amalthea. The transformation into "Crown making rain" indicates that rattles were used to make rain in Dionysian ceremonies.

But Hera, with her ferocious lowing, awakened the titans as activity. They tore Zagreus to pieces in the form of a bull and devoured his raw flesh. Zeus threw them into Tartarus for this, scorched the mother of the titans, the Earth - Gaia, with a terrible fire, and then sent a flood to it (Norm. Dion. VI 155 - 388). A number of myths are associated with the resurrection of Dionysus - Zagreus, whose heart was saved by Athena, the daughter of Zeus (Procl. Hymn. VII 11-15). She put Zagreus's heart into a plaster figure and breathed life into it. Thus Zagreus gained immortality. His bones were collected and buried at Delphi (Diod. V 75, 4; Eur. Cretenses. 472). Other ancient authors say that after the titans tore Zagreus's body into pieces, they boiled him in a cauldron. However, his grandmother Rhea found her grandson, reassembled his body from pieces and brought him back to life. Persephone, whom Zeus now entrusted with looking after the child, handed him over to the king of Orchomenus Athamas and his wife Ino, inspiring her that the child should be raised in the female half of the house, dressed as a girl. However, Hera could not be deceived, and she punished the royal couple by sending madness upon them. In a fit of madness, Athamas killed his son Learchus, mistaking him for a deer (Eur. Bacch. 99 - 102; Paus. VIII 37, 3; Diod. Ill 2).

The myth of the torn apart of Zagreus - Dionysus by the titans, who lured him to themselves with the help of a mirror, is interpreted as a cosmogonic story, and the reflection of Zagreus in the mirror is a symbol of the emergence of the primary “supersensible” soul” in the sensual, material world. The transformations of Zagreus escaping from the titans mean “relocation” souls into different bodies. The torn apart and absorption of the god by the titans is the subordination of the soul to a “sensual”, “passionate” state, the symbol of which is the titans. According to myth, Zagreus’s heart is saved by Athena - also the mystic participating in the Dionysian mysteries was supposed to “save” your heart, i.e., your inner spiritual essence from the disfiguring influence of the material “titanic” world. The Orphics gave Zagreus the Hunter the appearance of a baby and identified him with Dionysus, the son of Semele. “Zagreus is one of the faces of the ancestral Dionysus, monotheistically understood by the Orphics as the god of the underworld . He was one god next to one goddess - the Earth" 1.

The cult of Zagreus had its own specific characteristics. The above version of the myth is a later Greek version. In Crete in the Minoan era there was a cult of the Great Goddess - Mother. Zagreus represented the dying and resurrecting young god - the companion of the Great Goddess. In Crete, mythology and the bloody cult of Zeus turned into mystery through a whole cycle of images associated with the name of Zagreus. Dionysus - Zagreus is definitely associated with Crete, this is evidenced by the places of his cult - Eleuthera and Kydonia, and the images. The Cretans in ancient times worshiped the Great Hunter Zagreus, a chthonic demon or demon of the hunt (catcher of souls). Only later could Zagreus be identified with Dionysus, also a hunter and god of souls, and placed in a filial relationship with Zeus, the god of life, or with Hades, the god of death. We find an image of a similar Hunter on one bronze shield from the Idean cave, where the young god stands with one foot on a bull and tears apart a lion with his hands. Zagreus is purely chthonic; if he is not yet Hades or the son of Hades, then he is the son of Persephone.

Dionysus is a female god in the full sense of the word, the source of sensual and supersensible hopes, the focus of the entire world of women. His cult was discovered by them, spread by them and led to victory. In fact, from his infancy, Dionysus was surrounded by women as nannies. They were also the companions of the maddened god (mainomenos) and the bearers of his madness (mainades) - maenads (Clem. Alex. Propr. 11). In long robes, with heads decorated with ivy, with the points of long sticks (thyrsi) in their hands, with musical instruments emitting a terrible roar, they rushed with Dionysus through the mountains, and woe was to the animals or men who got in their way. The constant female society, the atmosphere of exaltation, also developed the appearance of Dionysus, different from Hercules. A pampered young man, unable to defend himself, but, nevertheless, conquered the whole world and introduced it to his faith, to his madness. But in the images of the archaic period, Dionysus looks like a quite mature man, in a long chiton, with a beard. Before the excavations on Crete and Thera, the companions of Dionysus can only be judged by the evidence of ancient, mainly late, authors. A. Evans's discovery of the frescoes and figurines of the palace at Knossos showed the primacy of the feminine in Cretan religious art. On the basis of this, the discoverer of Crete came to the conclusion that Minoan societies were matriarchal. Women also played a major role in the religious art of Thera, an island destroyed by a volcano. They, as participants in processions and dances, prevail in the religious processions depicted on the walls of the Western House. Before us is clearly a spring holiday, celebrated both on the island and on the ships. All these images from the Mycenaean era allow us to understand the myth of Ariadne and Dionysus. K. Kerenyi has long drawn attention to the exceptional role of women in the cult of the “son of God” 1 . They were the companions of Dionysus, his priestesses, the first martyrs in his service and the main characters in the legends associated with Dionysus.

Above there was already talk about the Cretan Dionysus - Zagreus. But in one myth he appears under his own name - Dionysus. We are talking about the abduction of the Cretan princess Ariadne by Theseus, who was his assistant in overcoming the riddle of the labyrinth (i.e., the underworld). On the island of Naxos, Ariadne fell asleep, but was kidnapped by Dionysus (Apollod. I 9). The question arises: which of Dionysus was it? Abduction in a state of temporary sleep is clearly replaced by eternal sleep. In this case, Theseus’s opponent is not Dionysus, the son of Semele, but Dionysus, the son of Persephone. Thus, revealing the secret of the labyrinth to a stranger, the destroyer of the royal son of the Minotaur, from the point of view of the Cretans, Ariadne looks like a traitor. And punishment befalls her. The myth is a property of the time when Theseus, the hero of the Peloponnesian city of Trezena, was not yet, under the influence of the maritime claims of Athens, rethought as an Athenian hero.

The friend of Dionysus, Ariadne, was revered on Naxos and other islands. Along with the Ores and Charites, she was clearly a Minoan vegetation deity and had nothing to do with the lunar deity, as Graves baselessly claims. The Trinity Dionysus - Theseus - Ariadne undoubtedly received its final form in the era of the tyranny of Lygdamidas and the close relations between Naxos and Athens during the time of Peisistratus. The development of the cult of Dionysus is associated with the role of viticulture, for the wines of Naxos and other Cyclades islands were most valued in antiquity 1 .

However, there is a later version of the reading of this myth. As K. Kerenyi reasonably suggests, Ariadne is in Greek mythology the daughter of Minos, king of Crete. She was kidnapped by Dionysus, who was in love with her, while she was sleeping on the island of Naxos. Dionysus married her on the island of Lemnos (Apollod. I 9). When the gods celebrated the wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne, Ariadne was crowned with a crown given to her by the Oras and Aphrodite 2 . Dionysus used it to seduce Ariadne in Crete. This crown was raised to heaven by Dionysus in the form of a constellation. Ariadne gave birth to Oenopion, Foant and other children from him (Apollod. I 9). Taking into account that a female goddess was especially revered in Crete, it can be assumed that Ariadne is a Cretan princess, or a high priestess of this goddess, or even one of the ancient Minoan fertility deities 1.

The counterpart of Dionysus in the Aegean-Anatolian world was the Thracian-Phrygian god Sabazius, whom the Greeks considered the son of Zeus and Persephone, to whom he penetrated under the guise of a horned serpent. Since the latter was the goddess of the underworld, sacrifices and festivals of Sabazius were performed under the cover of night (Nonn. Dion. VI 155 - 388). Sabazius' sacred animal was the snake. Sabazius in Greece was identified with Dionysus-Zagreus. Sabazius personified plant fertility (Lucr. II 600 - 643). The difference between Sabazius and Dionysus was the presence of horns, a sign of the god - the bull, the spouse of the great mother - the goddess. The great mother of the gods - Cybele - in Greek mythology, a goddess of Phrygian origin, close to Rhea. Cybele was also called the mistress of mountains, forests, animals, regulating their inexhaustible fertility (Lucr. II 600 - 643). It was Cybele, the mistress of forests and animals related to Semele, who cured Dionysus of madness. Diodorus Siculus considered Sabazius to be a more ancient Dionysus, and associated the horns with the fact that the god first harnessed bulls and with their help carried out sowing (Diod. IV 4, 1 - 2).

In Thrace, the symbols of Sabazius - Dionysus were either plants - trees, vines, or animals - a bull, a horse, a goat. The symbol of Sabazius was the phallus, the organ of fertility. In Thrace, the snake was also considered a phallic symbol due to its shape. In Thrace, the most primitive forms of cult were preserved: worshipers of God, most often women, performed collective night devotions by torchlight, to the sounds of flutes and tympanums: dressed in animal skins, sometimes with horns on their heads. They portrayed the retinue of Dionysus, worked themselves into a frenzy in an excited dance, tore into pieces the animal that embodied the god, and devoured it raw, thus “joining” the deity. In this state of God-possession, men became “Bacchantes”, women - “Bacchantes” or “Maenads” (frenzied). Having torn their god to pieces, they then nurtured him like a newly born baby lying in the cradle, shaking the basket with the phallus in it. Among the Thracians, Dionysus was revered under the name Diunsis. And already in the 1st millennium BC. e. it was brought to Greece and stood apart because of its bloody rites.

We do not know exactly how and when the idea of the immortality of the human soul was combined with the cult of Dionysus, although, as Herodotus writes, already the Thracian tribes, in particular the Getae, who carried out the cult of Dionysus, believed in the immortality of the soul. Among these gods was Dionysus, the image of which was transformed. The main content of the myth about Dionysus is the stories about his death and resurrection by Zeus. Thus, the religion of Dionysus (Sabazius) was a religion that directly connected man with God.

The cult of Sabazius was widespread in the territories of Thrace, Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Spain, Gaul, Germany, Macedonia, Illyria, Pannonia, Dacia, Moesia, and Tauric Chersonese 1 . In Thrace and Phrygia, the mysteries in honor of Dionysus - Bacchus - Sabazius offered salvation in this world through union with God in riotous dance, sacrifice, drinking wine or sexual ecstasy.

The cult of the Phrygian-Thracian Dionysus - Sabazius corresponded to the most diverse moods and demands of the population. The god of intoxication, ecstasy, the deity of fertility was revered as a deity who stood, as it were, outside and above civil and communal ties. He was worshiped by people of different social status, citizens of different cities, often united in religious unions or partnerships. And for everyone, without exception, this cult was close, with its promise of salvation in the afterlife.

The popularity of Dionysus in the Balkans should obviously be associated with his patronage of winemaking, which came to Greece from the East. In addition, Dionysus - Sabazius was a god who bestows oblivion from the worldly vanity on earth, and completely frees man from all kinds of conventions. However, thanks to the cult of Dionysus in Thebes and the widespread use of dithyrambic poetry and tragedy in the Greek world, the Theban version of the myth of Dionysus as the son of Zeus and Semele became classic. It was the Theban version of the myth that became the most popular in Attica.

So, according to the main myth, Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele (Zemela), the daughter of the Theban king Cadmus (Semela is the Phrygian goddess of the earth). This word is also present in Slavic languages in the same meaning “land”, “countryman”, “land”, in Etruscan - semla, and in Lithuanian - zemnina) 1. Zeus, who fell in love with Semele, descended to her from Olympus every night in the guise of a mortal. Overwhelmed by jealousy, Hera took on the image of a nanny and advised Semele, who was already six months pregnant, to set a condition for her mysterious lover: let him stop deceiving her and appear in his true guise (Apollod. Ill 4, 3; Ovid. Met. Ill 253 ). Semele listened to this advice and, when Zeus refused her request, did not allow him to share her bed anymore. Then, in a rage, he appeared to her in a flash of lightning, and incinerated the mortal Semele and her father’s palace with fire. O. Gruppe believes that this myth has much in common with the birth of Asclepius and speaks of belonging to the Thracian tribal sphere 2. Zeus snatched Semele's premature six-month-old child from the flames and sewed it into his thigh (Hes. Theog. 940 - 942; Eur. Bacch. 1 - 9, 88 - 98, 286 - 297). According to another version, the child was picked up by Hermes. The boy born three months later was the god Dionysus.

The rebirth of Dionysus from the thigh of Zeus, like the rebirth of the Hittite wind god from the thigh of Kumarbi, expresses a rejection of the original matriarchal ideas. Ritual rebirth from a man is a well-known Hebrew adoption ceremony derived from the Hittites. That is why Dionysus is called “twice-born” or “child of double doors” (Apollod. Ill 4, 3; Apoll. Rod. IV 1133 - 1138). As mentioned above, Dionysus was born on Mount Nysa. The nurse of Dionysus also bore the name Nisa. Other nurses are also named, among them Ino or Fiona, i.e. Semele under a different name. In one of the images on the vessel, Dionysus is surrounded by three nymphs with the names "nysai" - three is the usual number of nurses of Dionysus. Having reached maturity, Dionysus found his mother in the underworld, after which Semele was transferred to heaven (Pind. O. II 25 - 28; Paus. II 37, 5). Semele's envious sisters interpreted her death as a punishment sent by Zeus for giving herself to a mortal. Subsequently, according to myth, Zeus took revenge on Semele's sisters by sending all kinds of disasters on their sons.

Zeus gave his son to be raised by the Nisean nymphs (Eur. Bacch. 556 - 559), according to another version, Semele’s sister Ino (Apollod. Ill 4, 3). Having grown up among the games of beautiful nymphs, the young god himself acquired a feminine appearance. He never subsequently showed any interest in exercise or war. From his mother, Dionysus retained his love for everything that was born of the earth. Therefore, having found a grapevine and squeezed out the juice of ripe grapes, he decided to dedicate all people to the secret of preparing this wonderful drink.

In Lakonica, there was a special version of the myth, according to which, after Semele gave birth to Dionysus in Thebes, Zeus, suspecting her of treason, imprisoned her and her child in a barrel and sent her into the sea (Paus. Ill 24, 3). According to another version, Semele, along with the newborn Dionysus, was put in a barrel by her father, Cadmus, who could not bear the shame of learning that his daughter had given birth to an illegitimate child (Paus. Ill 24, 3). The waves threw the barrel with the dead mother and baby to a place that became known as Brasami (from the Greek “ekbraso” - “throw away”), where Semele was buried, and Dionysus was raised by Ino and her husband (Paus. Ill 24, 3). And in the city of Brisei there is a statue of Dionysus, which only women are allowed to see (Paus. Ill 20, 3).

Was Dionysus in the Minoan and Mycenaean eras the same god as we know him from Greek texts of the 8th - 6th centuries? BC e., the bull god, the wine god and the god of women? Was he already surrounded by a retinue - sileni, satyrs, maenads? These questions could arise only after deciphering the text of Linear A.

Introduction

2.2 Theater of Dionysus in Athens

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

antique art cult of Dionysus

Ancient art, born in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, served as the ancestor of all subsequent Western art; it is both part of the spiritual experience of all mankind and the basis for the formation of the cultures of many countries, especially European ones. And an important role in the art of antiquity is played by the cult of Dionysus - the god of dying and reborn nature, the patron of winemaking and theater. Since its establishment in Hellas, the Dionysian cult was closely connected with almost all spheres of life of ancient Greek society: economic, political, cultural, spiritual.

The Greeks loved to repeat: “Measure, measure in everything.” But was this frequent reference to “measure” a hint that the Greeks were somehow afraid of themselves? Dionysism showed that, under the cover of common sense and orderly civil religion, a flame was bubbling, ready to burst out at any moment.

Before the discovery of the Mycenaean culture, many researchers believed that Dionysus came to Greece from barbarian lands, since his ecstatic cult with frantic dancing, exciting music and immoderate drunkenness seemed alien to the clear mind and sober temperament of the Hellenes. The Dionysian line in the history of the Greek spirit was very strong and had a deep influence on the entire Hellenic consciousness, and his ecstatic cult was reflected both in the art of antiquity and in the art of subsequent eras.

Chapter 1. Dionysus and his cult in Greece

1.1 Origin and deeds of Dionysus

The son of Zeus, Dionysus, I am among the Thebans.

Here once was Semele, daughter of Cadmus,

She brought me into the world untimely,

Struck by Zeus' fire.

From a god to a human appearance,

I approach the streams of my birthplace rivers...

Euripides. Bacchae. 1--6

Dionysus is the ancient Greek god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture, and winemaking. It is believed that this deity was borrowed by the Greeks in the east - in Thrace (of Thracian and Lydian-Phrygian origin) and spread to Greece relatively late and established itself there with great difficulty. Although the name of Dionysus appears on Cretan Linear tablets as early as the 14th century. BC, the spread and establishment of the cult of Dionysus in Greece dates back to the 8th-7th centuries. BC. and is associated with the growth of city-states (polises) and the development of polis democracy. During this period, the cult of Dionysus began to supplant the cults of local gods and heroes. From the beginning of the 2nd century BC. e. The cult of Dionysus is established in Ancient Rome.

Traditionally it is believed that Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele ("earth"), daughter of Cadmus and Harmony. Having learned that Semele was expecting a child from Zeus, his wife Hera in anger decided to destroy Semele and, taking the form of either a wanderer or Bero, Semele’s nurse, inspired her with the idea of seeing her lover in all his divine splendor. When Zeus reappeared with Semele, she asked if he was ready to fulfill any of her wishes. Zeus swore by the waters of the Styx that he would fulfill it, and the gods cannot break such an oath. Semele asked him to hug her in the same way that he hugs Hera. Zeus was forced to fulfill the request, appearing in the flames of lightning, and Semele was instantly engulfed in flames.

Zeus thundered -

The pangs of childbirth have arrived:

Without informing, she vomited

Bromia mother from the womb

And under the lightning strike

Ended her life untimely...

Zeus managed to snatch the premature fetus from her womb, Hermes sewed it into Zeus’ thigh, and he successfully carried it out. Thus, Dionysus was born from the thigh of Zeus. In the painting of Ctesilochus, Zeus, giving birth to Dionysus, was depicted wearing a miter and moaning like a woman, surrounded by goddesses. This is why Dionysus is called "twice-born" or "child of double doors."

But he accepted the ejected

Zeus immediately into his bosom,

And, melting from Hera's son,

He has it at the hip skillfully

He fastened it with a gold buckle.

100 When his time had come,

He gave birth to a cuckolded god,

I made him a wreath out of snakes,

And from then on this wild prey

The maenad wraps around her brow.

There are also alternative versions of the birth of Dionysus.

According to the legend of the inhabitants of Brasia (Laconica), Semele gave birth to a son from Zeus, Cadmus imprisoned her in a barrel along with Dionysus. The barrel was thrown to the ground by Brasius, Semele died, and Dionysus was raised; Ino became his nurse, raising him in a cave. Another of Dionysus’ teachers was Silenus, a regular participant in Bacchic festivities. On ancient monuments of art, Silenus, as a rule, was depicted as an obese, lustful and often drunken old man, with a huge belly, accompanied by satyrs and nymphs and surrounded by cheerful smiling cupids. Satyrs (Roman Fauns) are fantastic humanoid creatures, also included in the retinue of Dionysus. Their cheerful, witty character gave the name to comic poems, which became known as satyrs. Several ancient sculptures are known where Silenus nurses little Dionysus. In the ancient group from the Louvre, which is called "Faun and Child", Silenus is represented as a handsome, caring teacher, in whose arms lies the baby Dionysus.

According to the Achaean story, Dionysus was raised in the city of Mesatis and here he was exposed to dangers from the Titans.

The myths that feature Semele, the second mother of Dionysus, have a continuation about the upbringing of God.

To protect his son from Hera's wrath, Zeus gave Dionysus to be raised by Semele's sister Ino and her husband Athamas, King Orkhomenes, where the young god was raised as a girl so that Hera would not find him. But it did not help. The wife of Zeus sent madness to Athamas, in a fit of which Athamas killed his son, tried to kill Dionysus, and because of which Ino and her second son had to throw themselves into the sea, where the Nereids accepted them.

Lush-haired nymphs nursed the baby, taking

To your breast from the lord-father, and lovingly in the valleys

The nymphs raised him. And by the will of the parent Zeus

He grew up in a fragrant cave, numbered among the host of immortals.

After he grew up in the care of the eternal goddesses,

The many-sung Dionysus rushed into the distance through the forest ravines,

Crowned with hops and laurel, the nymphs hurried after him,

He led them forward. And the whole vast forest thundered.

Zeus then turned Dionysus into a kid, and Hermes took him to the nymphs at Nysa (between Phenicia and the Nile). The nymphs hid him from Hera, covering the cradle with ivy branches. Raised in a cave on Nisa. After the death of the first educators, Dionysus was given to the nymphs of the Nisei Valley to be raised. There, the mentor of the young god Silenus revealed the secrets of nature to Dionysus and taught him how to make wine.

As a reward for raising his son, Zeus transferred the nymphs to the sky, and so, according to myth, the Hyades, a cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus next to the star Aldebaran, appeared in the sky.

Many monuments of ancient art have been preserved, embodying the image of Dionysus and the plots of myths about him in plastic (statues and reliefs) and vase painting. Scenes of the procession of Dionysus and his companions and bacchanalia were widespread (especially in vase paintings); These stories are reflected in the reliefs of sarcophagi. Dionysus was depicted among the Olympians (reliefs of the eastern frieze of the Parthenon) and in scenes of gigantomachy, as well as sailing on the sea (kylix Exekia “Dionysus in a boat”, etc.) and fighting with the Tyrrhenians (relief of the monument to Lysicrates in Athens, c. 335 BC .).

During the Renaissance, the theme of Dionysus in art is associated with the affirmation of the joy of being. Artists loved to depict Bacchic celebrations, full of unbridled fun and wild revelry, in which the entire retinue of Dionysus took part. Their depiction began with A. Mantegna. The subject was addressed by A. Dürer, A. Altdorfer, H. Baldung Green, Titian, Giulio Romano, Pietro da Cortona, Annibale Carracci, P. P. Rubens, J. Jordaens, N. Poussin. In their paintings, God is presented in all the splendor of youth and beauty, surrounded by his retinue and Olympian gods, with his constant attribute - the grapevine. The same symbolism permeates the subjects “Bacchus, Venus and Ceres” and “Bacchus and Ceres,” especially popular in Baroque painting. Dionysus occupies a special place among other ancient characters in Baroque garden sculpture. The most significant works of the 18th - early 19th centuries are the statues "Bacchus" by I.G. Danneker and B. Thorvaldsen.

Accompanied by a cheerful company, Dionysus, walking across the earth, passed through all countries, right up to the borders of India, and everywhere he taught people to cultivate grapes. Probably, the eastern campaigns of Dionysus are associated with a statue with his image, which for a long time was known under the name Sardanapalus - due to an inscription made in later times. Art connoisseurs recognized it as an image of Dionysus (a type of Eastern Bacchus) in the image of a handsome, stately bearded old man, draped in long ceremonial robes.

During one of his processions, Dionysus met the beautiful Ariadne, the daughter of the legendary King Minos, whom Theseus, captivated by her beauty, took from the island of Crete. This plot formed the basis of Titian's painting "Bacchus and Ariadne", where the god is presented in rapid motion among the bacchantes and satyrs. Leopards and snakes - creatures sacred to Dionysus - accompany his cortege. The indispensable attributes of Bacchic celebrations are also placed here - tympanums and thyrsus (a thyrsus is a stick densely entwined at one end with ivy). According to legends, at a wedding feast in honor of the marriage of Dionysus and Ariadne, the bride was presented with a radiant crown. (Relief "Wedding procession"). But this union was short-lived: the god of wine and fun soon left his wife during her sleep, having once doubted her fidelity. Dionysus was also awarded the love of the beautiful Aphrodite, who bore him two sons: Hymenaeus, the god of marriage, and Priapus, the deity of the fruitful forces of nature.

Dionysus cruelly punished those who did not recognize his cult. Thus, one of the legends that formed the basis of Euripides’ tragedy “The Bacchae” tells about the sad fate of Theban women, who were struck with madness by the will of Dionysus because they did not recognize his divine origin. And the Theban ruler Pentheus, who prevented the cult of Dionysus in Thebes, was torn to pieces by a crowd of raging bacchantes led by his mother Agave, who mistook her son in a state of ecstasy for a bear.

Wherever Dionysus appears, he establishes his cult; everywhere along his path he teaches people viticulture and winemaking. The procession of Dionysus - (the mosaic "Dionysus on the Panther"), which was of an ecstatic nature, included Bacchantes, satyrs (the painting "Dionysus and Satyrs"), maenads or bassarids (one of the nicknames of Dionysus - Bassarei) with thyrsus (rods) entwined with ivy. Girdled with snakes, they crushed everything in their path, seized by sacred madness. With cries of "Bacchus, Evoe" they praised Dionysus-Bromius ("stormy", "noisy"), beat the tympanums, drinking in the blood of torn wild animals, cutting honey and milk out of the ground with their thyrses, uprooting trees and dragging crowds with them men and women. The first women who took part in the mysteries of Dionysus-Bacchus were called Bacchantes or Maenads. Art made no distinction between them. But Euripides says that there is a difference in mythology: the Bacchae are Greek women, the Maenads are Asian women who came with Bacchus after his campaign in India. Not a single holiday, not a single procession was complete without bacchantes and maenads. In a wild dance, deafening and exciting themselves with the loud music of flutes and tambourines (tympans), they rushed through the fields, forests and mountains until they were completely exhausted. The famous Greek sculptor Scopas in 450 BC. e. sculpted a dancing maenad, which we can judge from a small copy, which, unfortunately, was badly damaged. The Maenad, whose image is full of emotional dynamics, is presented in a frantic dance, straining the entire body of the Maenad, arching her torso, throwing back her head, bordering on madness.

In one of the Thracian villages, according to a Greek folk tale, there lived an old sad homeless goat. However, in the fall, amazing changes happened to him: he began to jump up cheerfully and playfully cling to passers-by. The goat remained in this state for some time, then returned to its despondency. The peasants became interested in the unexpected changes in the goat's mood, and they began to follow him. It turned out that the animal’s mood changed for the better after it walked around the vineyard and ate the remaining grapes after the harvest. As a rule, crushed, dirty grapes remained in the fields. The grape juice fermented and turned into intoxicating wine. It was this that made the goat drunk. People tried this delicacy and felt the effects of alcohol for the first time. The goat was recognized as the inventor of wine and proclaimed a god. Apparently, it was from that moment that Dionysus began to take the form of a goat.

Dionysus the goat is no different from the minor gods - Pans, Satyrs, Selenes, who were closely related to him and were also more or less often depicted in goat guise. Pan, for example, was invariably depicted by Greek sculptors and artists with the face and legs of a goat. Satyrs were depicted with pointed goat ears, and in other cases with protruding horns and a tail. Sometimes these deities were simply called goats, and the actors who acted as these gods dressed in goat skins. Ancient artists depicted Selene in the same attire.

Dionysus was also often depicted as a bull or a man with horns (Dionysus Zagreus). This was the case, for example, in the city of Cyzicus, in Phrygia. There are ancient images of Dionysus in this hypostasis, for example, on one of the figurines that have come down to us, he is represented dressed in a bull’s skin, the head, horns and hooves of which are thrown back. On another he is depicted as a child with a bull's head and a wreath of grapes around his body. Such epithets were applied to God as “born of a cow”, “bull”, “bull-shaped”, “bull-faced”, “bull-faced”, “bull-horned”, “horned”, “two-horned”.

After a little time, the cult of Dionysus and the mysteries that accompanied it spread from Thrace throughout Greece, and then (from the 3rd century BC) throughout the empire of Alexander the Great. Wherever the young god appeared, he was accompanied by explosions of enthusiasm and orgies.

Before the discovery of the Mycenaean culture, it was believed that Dionysus was a foreign god who was revered by the barbarians and one fine day began an attack on civilized Hellas. However, it has now been established that this opinion was not entirely accurate. Achaean inscriptions indicate that the Greeks knew Dionysus even before the Trojan War. Gradually, the cult of Bacchus began to supplant the cults of local gods and heroes. Dionysus, as the deity of the agricultural circle, associated with the elemental forces of the earth, is constantly contrasted with Apollo, as the deity of the tribal aristocracy. He was the antipode of the aristocratic Olympian gods, defending the interests of the communal tribal nobility. For a long time his cult was persecuted due to its orgiastic nature, and only in 536-531 BC. was equated with the official pan-Greek cults, and Dionysus himself was included in the Olympic divine pantheon.

Chapter 2. Holidays in honor of Dionysus

2.1 The emergence of ancient theater

Come with quick footsteps, O lord, to the wine press

Be the leader of our night work;

Above the knees, picking up clothes and a light leg

Having moistened it with foam, revive the dance of your workers.

And directing the talkative moisture into empty vessels,

Accept the cakes as a sacrifice along with the shaggy vine.

Quintus Mecius. The winemakers' prayer to Bacchus.

One of the most important aspects of the cult of Dionysus in Greece were holidays. In Attica (a region in the southeast of Central Greece with its center in Athens), magnificent festivities were held in honor of Dionysus. Several times a year, festivals dedicated to Dionysus took place, at which dithyrambs (songs of praise) were sung. The mummers who made up Dionysus’s retinue also performed at these festivities. Participants smeared their faces with wine grounds and put on masks and goat skins. Along with solemn and sad ones, funny and often obscene songs were sung. The ceremonial part of the holiday gave birth to tragedy, the cheerful and playful part gave birth to comedy.

Tragedy actually means “song of the goats.” Tragedy, according to Aristotle, originates from the singing of dithyrambs, and comedy from the singing of phallic songs. These singers, answering questions from the choir, could talk about any events in the life of God and encourage the choir to sing. Elements of acting were mixed into this story, and the myth seemed to come to life in front of the participants of the holiday. Initially, the praises in honor of Dionysus, sung by the choir, were not distinguished by either complexity, musical variety, or artistry. And therefore it was a big step forward to introduce a character, an actor, into the choir. The actor recited the myth of Dionysus and gave lines to the choir. A conversation began between the actor and the choir - a dialogue that forms the basis of a dramatic performance.

According to the assumptions of many scientists, the ancient Greek theater arose from rituals dedicated to this god.

At first, Dionysus was considered the god of the productive force of nature, and the Greeks depicted him as a goat or bull. However, later, when the population of ancient Greece became acquainted with the cultivation of vineyards, Dionysus became the god of winemaking, and then the god of poetry and theater.

The historian Plutarch wrote that in 534 BC. a man named Thespides showed a performance - a dialogue between the actor playing the role of Dionysus and the choir.

From this legendary year, theatrical performances apparently became an obligatory part of the Dionysus holidays.

When performing sacrifices and the accompanying magical ceremonies, those present were located in the form of an amphitheater on the slopes of a neighboring hill adjacent to the altar. This is the beginning of Greek theater. The principle of the amphitheater was maintained in the future. Greek theaters throughout history remained amphitheaters, located at the foot of the hills, in the open air, without a roof or curtain. The Greek theater was a free space that formed a semicircle (amphitheatre). Thus, the democratic principle was already embedded in the very design of the Greek theater. Not bound by an enclosed space, Greek theaters could be very large and accommodate large crowds. For example, the Theater of Dionysus in Athens accommodated up to 30 thousand spectators, but this is far from the largest theater of ancient Greece known to us. Subsequently, in the Hellenistic era, theaters were created that could accommodate 50, 100 and even more thousand spectators. The main part of the theater consisted of: 1) koilone - a room for spectators, 2) an orchestra - a place for the choir, and initially for actors, and 3) a stage - a place where the scenery was hung and later the actors performed.

In the middle of the orchestra was a richly decorated altar of Dionysus.

The back of the stage was decorated with columns and usually depicted a royal palace. The spectator areas (auditorium) were separated from the rest of the city by a wooden or stone wall without a roof.

The sheer size of theaters has led to the need for masks. The audience simply could not see the actor’s facial features. Each mask expressed a certain state (horror, fun, calm, etc.), and in accordance with the plot, the actor changed his own “faces” during the performance. The masks were a kind of close-ups of the characters and at the same time served as resonators - they amplified the sound of voices. The masks were made of wood or linen; in the latter case, the linen was stretched over a frame, covered with plaster and painted. The masks covered not only the face, but the entire head, so that the hairstyle was fixed on the mask, to which, if necessary, a beard was also attached. The tragic mask usually had a protrusion above the forehead, which increased the height of the actor.

The mask changed the proportions of the body, so the performers stood on buskins (sandals with thick soles), and wore thick ones under their clothes. Bustles made the figure taller and the movements more significant. Fabrics brightly colored with natural dyes, from which complex costumes were made, also enlarged and emphasized the figure. The color of clothing was endowed with symbolic meaning. The kings appeared in long purple cloaks, the queens in white, with a purple stripe. The color black meant mourning or misfortune. Messengers were required to wear short clothes. Attributes were also symbolic, such as olive branches in the hands of those asking.

Masks in comedies were caricatures or caricatured portraits of famous people. Costumes usually emphasized an enormous belly and a fat butt. Chorus artists were sometimes dressed as animals, such as frogs and birds in Aristophanes' plays.

In the ancient Greek theater they used the simplest machines: ekkyklema (platform on wheels) and eorema. The latter was a lifting mechanism (something like a system of blocks), with the help of which characters (gods, for example) “fly up into the heavens” or fall to the ground. It was in the Greek theater that the famous expression “God ex machina” was born. Later, this term began to mean an unmotivated denouement, an external resolution of the conflict not prepared by the development of action, both in tragedy and comedy.

Actors in Ancient Greece were considered respected people. Only a free-born man could act in the theater (they also performed female roles). At first, the performances featured a choir and only one actor; Aeschylus introduced a second actor, Sophocles a third. One performer usually played several roles. The actors had to not only recite well, but also sing and have sharp, expressive gestures. In tragedy the chorus consisted of fifteen people, and in comedy it could include twenty-four. Usually the choir did not take part in the action - it summarized and commented on the events.

Ancient Greek drama is based on myths. They were known to every Greek, and the audience was especially interested and important in the interpretation of events by the author of the play and the actors, and the moral assessment of the actions of the heroes. The heyday of the ancient theater dates back to the 5th century. BC.

Various competitions occupied a lot of space in the daily life of the Greeks: chariot drivers and horsemen competed, and sports Olympics were held every four years. Theatrical performances were also organized as competitions for both play authors and actors. Performances were performed three times a year: on the Great Dionysia (in March), the Lesser Dionysia (late December - early January) and Linea (late January - early February). Tragic poets presented three tragedies and one satyr drama to the audience and jury; comic poets performed individual works. Usually the play was staged once, repetitions were rare.

By introducing the theorikon (theater money that was paid to the poorest citizens), Pericles made theater accessible to all Athenian citizens.

Theatrical performances were given only on the holidays of Dionysus and were originally part of the cult. Only gradually did the theater begin to acquire social significance, serving as a political platform, a place of relaxation and entertainment.

The theater ensured a high general cultural level of the Greek city-states. He organized, educated and enlightened the masses. In the Celebrations in honor of Dionysus and the accompanying theatrical performances, a socio-political orientation is visible. Playwrights have always put words into the mouths of mythological heroes that relate to the most pressing problems of our time.

Along with theatrical performances, sports competitions, games, wrestling, musical, literary and many other types of physical and spiritual sports should be noted.

2.2 Theater of Dionysus in Athens

The oldest known theater building is the Theater of Dionysus in Athens, located in the sacred enclosure of Dionysus on the southeastern slope of the Acropolis, which was rebuilt several times in subsequent eras. Its excavations were completed in 1895 by Dörpfeld.

On two minor remains of the wall, Dörnfeld installed a round orchestra - a terrace with a diameter of 27 m. (E. Fichter considers the diameter of this orchestra to be approximately 20 m). It was located on the slope of the Acropolis in such a way that its northern part jutted into the mountain, and its southern part was supported by a wall that rose in the southernmost part 2-3 m above the level of the sacred fence of Dionysus and in the west was in close contact with the old temple.

There were no stone seats in this theater yet: the audience sat on wooden benches, and, perhaps, on the first bunks and just stood. The Byzantine scholar Svida reports that during the 70th Olympiad (i.e., 499-496 BC), the temporary seats collapsed and that after this the Athenians built a theatron, i.e., special seats for spectators.

Skena did not initially designate a palace or temple. However, the later plays of Aeschylus and the dramas of Sophocles already required a palace or temple as a backdrop, and on the tangent of the orchestra they began to build a wooden building, skena, on the facade of which 3 doors soon appeared.

At the same time, stage painting also came into use, and painted boards could be placed between the columns of the proscenium. Under Pericles, the theater underwent reconstruction, which probably ended after his death.

The old orchestra was moved to the north. In this way, somewhat greater space was achieved for the presentation of actors and for the stage adaptations required by the development of the drama of Sophocles and Euripides. The southern border of the terrace was completely rebuilt, and instead of the old curved supporting wall, a long (about 62 m) straight wall was built from large blocks of conglomerate to support the terrace. At a distance of approximately 20.7 m from the western end of the wall, a solid foundation extending approximately 2.7 m towards the Skene is approximately 7.9 m long. It is believed that it served as a support for machines used in the theater. But the skene itself was still made of wood.

Somewhat south of the old temple, a new temple of Dionysus was built, in which a statue of the god made of gold and ivory, sculpted by Alcamenes, was placed. The supporting walls of the spectator seats were in contact with the Odeon, a building for musical competitions, the construction of which was completed by Pericles in 443 BC. e. The seats in this rebuilt theater were still made of wood, with the possible exception of some seats of honor.

There were paraskenias. The skene building for a production that required the depiction of a palace or house was usually two stories high, with the top floor possibly receding somewhat back and leaving space for the actors in front and on the sides.

The temple could have a pointed pediment. The Periclean reconstruction was completed by the construction of the feet, a large hall running along the entire length of the new supporting wall, with an open colonnade on its southern side. The next major reconstruction of the Athenian theater took place in the 2nd half. 4th century BC. (completed c. 330) and was associated with the name of Lycurgus, who was in charge of Athenian finances.

Instead of temporary wooden structures, a permanent stone skene was built. Paraskenii performed approx. 5 m from the façade of the slope. The façade of the skena had 3 doors. Probably on the facade and on its interior. the sides of the parascenium had columns. Some scientists believe that in the stone theater of Lycurgus there was a wooden proskenium, slightly receding from the building and forming a portico

(similar to how it was later in the Hellenistic theater).

The plays were still performed at the orchestra level, in front of the skene, the facade of which was adapted (with the help of movable screens, partitions and other devices) for the presentation of individual plays.

The spectator places, a significant part of which can still be seen in Athens to this day, were built of stone. A double support wall was built to support them. In the lower tier, the space for spectators was divided by radially rising stairs into 13 wedges. In the upper tier the number of stairs doubled. There were a total of 78 rows on the hillside. The orchestra was moved somewhat further to the north. A canal was built around the orchestra to drain rainwater.

Conclusion

Ancient Greece became the cradle of ancient civilization. In Greece, from where bacchanalia came to Rome, the cult of Dionysus had two types - rural holidays (Dionysia, Lenaea, etc.) and orgiastic mysteries, which later gave rise to the development of ancient Greek theater. He gave impetus to the development of theatrical art throughout the world. Modern theaters have undergone changes, but in general the basics remain the same. Also, his cult enriched various types of art: the plots of myths about him are reflected in sculpture, vase painting, literature, painting (especially the Renaissance and Baroque), and even music. Composers of the 19th and 20th centuries turned to the cult of Dionysus - A.S. Dargomyzhsky "The Triumph of Bacchus", the divertimento by C. Debussy "The Triumph of Bacchus" and his opera "Dionysus", J. Masne's opera "Bacchus", etc.

Bacchanalian processions, accompanied by crazy dancing of maenads, replete with wine, orgies and music, inspired and inspire to this day workers of various kinds of art.

Bibliography

Sources

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8. Pliny the Elder. Natural History XXXV 140

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Literature

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Holidays of Dionysus

Everywhere in Ancient Greece, where grapes and fruit trees grew, there was service to Dionysus, holidays were celebrated to him, which had a great influence on the development of ancient Greek civilization. The festivals of Dionysus, held in Attica, Boeotia and on the island of Naxos, which were the main centers of this cult, became especially important for cultural life. The oldest temple of Dionysus in Athens was Lenaion, which stood at the foot of the Acropolis in a damp lowland called Limne (Swamp). Soon after the end of the grape harvest, the festival of the “Little” or “rural” Dionysius was celebrated in ancient Athens. It was a cheerful holiday of the villagers, who amused themselves with jokes, dressing up, and various village fun in a common, rough taste. Around the time of the winter solstice there was a holiday of “Lazyness,” “squeezing” juice from grapes, a celebration of the end of this task. While celebrating this celebration, they decorated the temple of Dionysus with ivy, put on ivy wreaths, made sacrifices, feasted, drank grape juice at the feast, walked in processions, and amused themselves with jokes.

When the first greenery of the returning spring appeared, in Attica, on the Greek islands, in the Greek colonies, Anthesteria was celebrated in honor of Dionysus; they lasted three days; on the day of “uncorking the barrels,” masters and slaves drank new wine together and had fun together; on the day of “pouring” new wine, they put on wreaths, feasted with singing, music, and symbolic rituals, celebrating the return of the gods of the earth from its depths to life in the light of day; joked and held wine drinking competitions. Women of the most noble Athenian families walked in procession to the Lenaian Temple and performed the mystical rite of marriage of the wife of the archon-king with Dionysus; This ritual acquired the patronage of Dionysus over the olive trees and vineyards of Attica. On the third day, sacrifices were made in memory of the dead. A month later, in March, the Feast of the Great, or City Dionysius, was celebrated in Athens; it was a brilliant spring festival, in honor of Dionysus, the liberator from winter poverty. Among the rituals of this ancient Greek holiday was a magnificent procession in honor of Dionysus, the procession of which was accompanied by the singing of noisy praises; the singers walked with ivy wreaths on their heads; girls carried baskets of flowers and new fruits, citizens and metics carried wineskins; they were accompanied by disguised men; orchestras thundered, in front of the procession they carried a wooden image of Dionysus and a phallus attached to a pole, a symbol of fertility. The splendor of the great Dionysius attracted the villagers of Attica and many foreigners to this holiday in Athens. With the development of ancient Greek culture, the celebration became more and more luxurious and elegant. All the dramatic poetry of the Greeks - tragedy, comedy, and satirical drama - developed from the rituals and gaiety of the Athenian holiday of the Great Dionysius.

Dionysus and the satyrs. Painter Brigos, Attica. OK. 480 BC

Holidays were celebrated in honor of Dionysus on the ancient Greek islands, rich in vineyards: Crete, Chios, Lemnos; but his holiday was especially magnificent on the island of Naxos, where Dionysus married Ariadne (Ariagno, “Most Holy”), the beautiful-haired goddess who was the personification of the earth, awakening from winter sleep, who was abandoned there by Theseus. Dionysus was the main god of folk religion on this island. His holiday began with rituals expressing sadness for the abandoned Ariadne, and ended with joyful songs of her marriage to Dionysus. Dionysus is not always the god of luxurious development of vegetation: nature temporarily plunges into the sleep of death; at this time he is a suffering, slain god, the god of the underworld. In this capacity he bears the mystical name Zagreus. In Ancient Greece, sacrifices were made to Dionysus Zagreus with the performance of symbolic rituals expressing grief over the death of the god of the generative force of nature; these mystical holidays had an exalted character. In the winter cold, women and girls from Delphi, neighboring places and even from Attica converged on the heights of Parnassus, covered with snow, to celebrate the Maenads, and whirled and ran there in sacred ecstasy, like drunken people. Waving thyrsus and torches, with snakes in their flowing hair and in their hands, these servants of Dionysus, maenads or thyiades, or, as they were also called, bacchantes, beating tambourines and accompanied by the piercing sounds of flutes, frantically scoured the forests and mountains, danced, jumped, made faces. Ancient Greek myths said that Dionysus strikes with madness all those who resist him and refuse to participate in his noisy processions. The festivals of the maenads were an imitation of the processions about which myths told.

Cult of Dionysus

The nature of the cult of Dionysus in different regions of Ancient Greece was different, according to the difference in the education of their population: in some places it was rude, in others elegant, favorable to the development of art and poetry. In the Peloponnese, especially in Argos, Achaea, Elis and Taygetos, the cult of Dionysus included nightly orgies, atonement rites, and sacrifices in memory of the dead. In ancient times, people were even sacrificed on the islands. The maenads who served Dionysus tore goats, young deer, and other animals into pieces; these were symbolic actions that meant that nature was dying a painful death from the cold of winter. Dionysus was sometimes depicted as a bull or with bull horns. During his festivals, women in Elis exclaimed: “Come, O lord, to your temple, come with the Charites to your holy temple, knocking with your bull’s foot!” In Ancient Greece, a goat, a representative of voluptuousness, was dedicated to Dionysus.

In Asia Minor, the orgiastic cult of Dionysus was combined with the exalted rites of the holiday of the “Great Mother,” Cybele. Therefore, the fantastic creatures that made up the retinue of this goddess: the Curetes, Corybantes, Cabiri, Dactyls of Mount Ida - were also transferred to the myths about Dionysus. Excellent works of art have come down to us, the motives of which are taken from the orgiastic festivals of Dionysus: artists loved to depict maenads in the ecstasy of passionate excitement. The orgiastic cult also provided the ancient Greek poets with material for legends that symbolically expressed philosophical thoughts. The festivals of the cult of Dionysus were celebrated not every year, but once every two years; That’s why it was called trieterian (two-year). All his rituals were based on the idea that the god of the luxurious development of vegetation was killed by the power of winter and that he would soon resurrect, awakening dead nature to new life.

When the ancient Greeks got acquainted with other countries, they brought all the rituals that reminded them of his holidays closer to the cult of Dionysus. They found such rituals in Macedonia, Thrace, Lydia, Phrygia. Processions, running with torches, noisy songs, loud music, frantic dancing, fantastic costumes at the holidays of the Pessinuntian “Great Mother” and the Syrian goddess of birth inspired them with the idea that this was the cult of Dionysus. The festival of Osiris made the same impression on them in Egypt: crowds walking at night with torches to look for the body of the murdered Osiris, other fantastic rituals, the phallus, seemed to the ancient Greeks to be accessories to the service of Dionysus. When the Greeks, who were in the army of Alexander, saw in India endless magnificent processions of people in colorful clothes, saw decorated animals in these festive processions, saw chariots driven by panthers and lions, when they found ivy and wild grapes on a mountain whose name seemed similar to them in the name of Nysa - all this was transferred to the myths about Dionysus and his cult. Thus, in Ancient Greece, a legend gradually formed about the victorious campaign of Dionysus across all lands from Greece to the Indus and to the Arabian Desert; it provided material for the glorification of Alexander and his successors who went to India: they were likened to Dionysus. Therefore, in Macedonian times, as many bas-reliefs of that era prove, one of the favorite objects of art was the myth of the campaign of Dionysus with his retinue (thiasos) of satyrs, silenae, centaurs and other fantastic creatures who personified the generative forces of nature and the revelry of the villagers during the grape harvest. Through the addition of foreign legends to the previous Greek ones, the myth of Dionysus acquired enormous proportions. The imagination of ancient Greek artists and poets expanded the cult of Dionysus with new episodes; Along with the legends, the number of mystical and orgiastic rituals grew. But in the teachings of the sacraments, the Greeks preserved behind the myth of Dionysus its main meaning, the idea of the eternal cycle of the emergence, death and rebirth of plant life.

This study is devoted to the most interesting and controversial period of domestic and European culture, which in Russia received the metaphorical name “Silver Age”. In terms of genre, this is a cycle of essays that have both a share of autonomy and a common organizing methodological core, which is the phenomenon of Dionysianism and Apollonianism (mystical and mysterial practices of the Ancient World). The author not only traces the communication of these historically and territorially distant cultures, but also supports his position with reference to the original texts of Russian thinkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The book can be used as a teaching aid when studying the history of Russian culture, the history of philosophy, religion, and aesthetics.

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There are attempts on the part of this objective reality to turn a person into a means and an instrument. This is a rebellion of the strong in spirit and in the name of the power of the spiritual.”204 It is no coincidence that Nietzsche’s philosophy comes to the affirmation of the superman as a natural result in the development of the human species. Berdyaev understands Nietzschean man as a religious-metaphysical idea, believing that “man not only has the right, but also must become a “superman,” since “superman” is the path from man to God.”205 But such a thing The reading is clearly contradicted by the appeal in the doctrine of the superman to the law of natural selection, the principle of improvement of the species, which causes natural rejection in Berdyaev and gives rise to his reproaches for inappropriate biologism: “Earthly dirt sticks to his sublime ideal.”206 All this, however, is not prevents N. Berdyaev from seeing in F. Nietzsche the most brilliant personality of his time, whose main merit he considered to be criticism of modern morality and “yesterday’s” man. “Everything that Nietzsche has that is valuable and beautiful, everything that will cover his name with unfading glory, is based on one assumption necessary for all ethics, the assumption - the ideal “I”, the spiritual “individuality.”207 Thus, N. Berdyaev refuses to characterize F. Nietzsche as a brilliant immoralist, and comes to a religious understanding of his teaching and the entire personality of the German philosopher. Noting the influence of the teachings of F. Nietzsche on Russian culture, N.A. Berdyaev in the article “Russian idea. The main problems of Russian thought of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century” wrote: “What was perceived in Nietzsche was not what was most written about him in the West, not his closeness to biological philosophy, not the struggle for an aristocratic race and culture, not the will to power, but a religious theme. Nietzsche was perceived as a mystic and prophet.”208 It was this feature of the Russian perception of the teachings of F. Nietzsche and Russian thinking in general that gave rise to an amazing gallery of philosophical images of the German thinker. None of the researchers limited their scientific research exclusively to the socio-political range of issues. Russian criticism on the Nietzschean question in all cases tends to be comprehensive, which, however, was largely provoked by Nietzsche himself. Placing the idea of the future man at the forefront of his philosophy and thinking about it universally, Nietzsche devoted both his life and his work to serving the new idol. It is this feature of Nietzsche’s philosophy, its personal and confessional character, that turned out to be akin to the Russian spiritual tradition, giving rise to a specific phenomenon in Russian thought - the “paradox of the Russian Nietzsche.” 204 Ibid., p. 103. 205 Ibid., p. 103. 206 Ibid., p. 103. 207 Ibid., p. 105. 208 Berdyaev N.A. Russian idea. The main problems of Russian thought of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century // About Russia and Russian philosophical culture: Philosophers of the Russian post-October diaspora. M., 1990, p. 246. 61 Dionysian passions and Apollonian dreams (F. Nietzsche and R. Wagner) F. Nietzsche did not create a strictly scientific complete aesthetic system. He was a principled opponent of systemism as such. In addition, the high poetic style of F. Nietzsche always requires interpretation. The problem is further complicated by the fact that his aesthetic views are scattered throughout his work; and even the “purely aesthetic” work of the first period – “The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism” (1872) – is difficult to reduce to a sum of logically related postulates. This “riddle” of Nietzsche is largely dictated by his position in life - to prophesy. He likens his Zarathustra to the new Messiah, bringing people the light of Truth, Knowledge of the Greater. His gospel is art, which alone is “the metaphysical activity of man in essence.”209 The reason for such a total interest of F. Nietzsche in art lies in the essential basis of the phenomenon itself: its ability to influence the consciousness and feelings of a person and humanity as a whole. , accumulate and artistically refract the most important ideas, perceptions and values. Nietzsche especially highlights the ability of art to draw closer to religion and borrow some of its properties and abilities. In the work “Human, too human. A Book for Free Minds" (1878) F. Nietzsche reveals the reason for the actualization of art in an era of general cultural decline, including during the period of religious crisis. He believes that this is what paradoxically leads to a rise in the aesthetic sphere and to the birth of art “deeper, more spiritual, so that it is capable of conveying inspiration and an elevated mood,”210 like a religious teaching, a cult performance. “The existence of the world can be justified only as an aesthetic phenomenon,” is a thought repeated many times by F. Nietzsche on the pages of his writings. This phrase contains an extremely deep meaning, affecting not only the problems of “pure” aesthetics. Along with such questions as a new understanding of the category of “beautiful”, the content and meaning of the creative act, the relationship between art and reality, art and history, genius and society, Nietzsche also opens new horizons in questions of the connection between the ethical and the aesthetic. The new concept of the world as an aesthetic phenomenon allowed Nietzsche to interpret the content and meaning of the cultural-historical process differently. Art in the mouth of Nietzsche takes on a new meaning, becoming the only possible meaning and the main content of human life. In this context of the metaphysical significance of art, E. Trubetskoy’s conclusion about the main question of Nietzsche’s aesthetics is logical. In his opinion, this is the problem of future art, true art, capable of revealing “the metaphysical unity of all beings, the unity of the eternal foundation of the universe - 209 F. Nietzsche. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism // F. Nietzsche. Works: In 2 volumes. T.1. M., 1990. p.52. 210 Nietzsche F. Human, too human. A book for free minds//F. Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil: Works. M.-Kharkov, 1998, p. 117. 62 nia.”211 All other problems are drawn into this context and serve, in a way, as a basis for deducing the basic principles of the art of the future. Raising the question of the art of the future implies, first of all, the identification of that specific language capable of conveying all the inexpressibility, the transcendental nature of the divine. “Together with Schopenhauer, Nietzsche saw the highest expression of art in music; for in music we are distracted from any image, we rise above the realm of illusory phenomena in order to contemplate the single essence of the world’s will, to listen to that single melody that sounds in everything,”212 wrote E. Trubetskoy in a monographic study of 1902. In “The Birth of Tragedy,” Nietzsche more than once resorts to literal quotation from A. Schopenhauer, following him in identifying music and the world will; “for music, as has been said, differs from all other arts in that it is not a reflection of a phenomenon (...) but a direct image of the will itself.”213 Thus, music, in the interpretation of Nietzsche-Schopenhauer, is not an exclusively aesthetic phenomenon , this phenomenon is rather of a metaphysical order. Music precedes the world of phenomena, thereby approaching the world of spirits. Referring to A. Schopenhauer, F. Nietzsche postulates: “One could call the world as justly embodied music as embodied will.”214 Here Nietzsche approaches the Pythagorean idea of music as a universal law of the universe. One of the brilliant ideas of this school – the idea of “harmony of the spheres” – places music (sound) and movement, the two essential foundations of the world, in direct dependence. The Pythagorean school began to identify the principles of organizing music as an art form with the laws of cosmic music. This led to the formation of the idea of a “celestial scale” formed by sounding spheres - celestial bodies: the Moon, Sun, Venus, Mars, etc. Considering that all of them, like natural phenomena and elements, were deified, then music, as a result of their life, their movement, was associated directly with the language of the gods. It is no coincidence that playing music was an integral part of the education of young men in Ancient Greece, as evidenced by Aristotle.215 Moreover, music was credited with not aesthetic, but moral education of the younger generation: “music provides a person with moral education, and, just as gymnastics forms the body, it is able to form the soul of a person, teaching him to enjoy pure pleasure.”216 We find similar thoughts in Plutarch (as retold by E.M. Braudo), who also considered music “an invention of the gods” and a means “to form the soul of a young man and direct her to good morals.”217 In him we find thoughts about the purpose of music in ancient times, which was the worship of God and education primarily. 211 Trubetskoy E. Philosophy of Nietzsche. Critical essay//Andreevich E. Nietzsche. M., 1902, p.20. 212 Ibid., p.20. 213 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism//F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T.1. M., 1990, p.119. 214 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism//F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T. 1. St. Petersburg, 1998, p. 78. 215 See: N. Ostroumov. Aristotle's thoughts on education and the importance of music in education. Tula, 1903. 216 Ibid., p. 21. 217 Plutarch. About music. Petersburg, 1922, p. 63. 63 Thus, music is that “highly generalized language”218 that is capable of speaking about the One. Music does not speak about the individual, the concrete; “Music gives us the inner core, or heart, of things, which precedes any acceptance of form.”219 Music is the heart of Dionysus, it is the language of the gods. Nietzsche clearly draws a line between the likeness of life and its origin, the element of life, the music that fills everything that exists. He talks about music as the bearer of true meaning, in contrast to the meanings introduced by various contents. “Countless phenomena (...) may accompany the same music, but they will never exhaust its essence, and they will always remain only its external reflections.”220 In his 1871 work “On Music and Word,” Nietzsche explores the problem of music as a language in conjunction with the word and, in particular, with the poetic word. The reason that prompted Nietzsche to pose the question this way, on the one hand, was the specific fact of the original interaction between music and lyrics; on the other hand, the philosopher’s assumption about the existence of an objective reason for this interaction. Nietzsche considers this reason to be “the duality of the essence of language established by nature.”221 It is this initial duality that gives rise to the discrepancy between the word and the tone of the speaker. Nietzsche considers the first a symbol, “merely a representation,” belonging exclusively to the world of phenomena and illusions. Unlike the word, tone, which is always understandable regardless of the language of the speaker, goes back to the primordial will, acting on the same principles as music, due to which it acquires its universal character. Taking into account these two components of language - symbolic and musical, Nietzsche explains the basic principles of the evolution of music: from vocal, based on a combination of music and lyrics, to pure, and, in contrast, from free lyrics to dramatic music with the desire to “express music in images.” " Nietzsche does not dispute this evolutionary movement on the part of music; on the contrary, he explains it by the ability of music “to generate from itself images that will always be a scheme and, as it were, an example of its real general content.”222 Nietzsche is outraged by the reverse process, when music is used to illustrate the poetic words or dramatic action. He denies the applied, service role of music, appealing to the images of the ancient gods Apollo and Dionysus: “How can the Apollonian world of images, completely immersed in contemplation, give rise to sound, which symbolizes the sphere highlighted and defeated precisely by the Apollonian desire for illusion?”223 Nietzsche outlines a certain metaphysical construction, within the framework of which he strictly harmonizes music and speech with respect to will and representation. Nietzsche makes the watershed and key concept of this construction human feeling, through which the awareness of the global world, world will, and the world of music occurs. The feeling itself is based on ideas about higher principles 218 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism // F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T.1. M., 1990, p. 118. 219 Ibid., p.120. 220 Ibid., p.144. 221 Nietzsche F. On music and words//F. Nietzsche. Complete works: in 10 volumes. T.1. M., 1912, p. 188. 222 Ibid., p. 190. 223 Ibid., p. 190. 64 of the world, but it is always subjective, subordinate in nature, experiencing dependence both on the cosmic will and on the part of the individual. Nietzsche speaks of feelings as “symbols of music”: it is them that the lyricist “hears,” thus approaching music and the world will. The feedback from listeners is also dual: they can either follow the path of infection by this feeling (affectation) or fall under the power of the music itself (orgiasm). The latter excludes subjective feeling, raising the problem of internal activity, instinctivity and universality. This is the unconditional kingdom of Dionysus, where that force is accumulated, “which, under the form of will, gives rise to a world of visions.”224 All this gives Nietzsche grounds to say that music is non-individual, therefore, it is not feelings that give rise to music, but music itself that provokes a person to they, like herself, “choose for herself that text of the song as an allegorical expression of herself.”225 As an example, Nietzsche offers the finale of Beethoven’s ninth symphony. He explains the inclusion of the choir to Schiller’s words not by the genius of the poetic word or the impotence of symphonic music, but by the thirst for a new tone, a new musical color: “The great teacher took up not the word, but a more “pleasant sound”, not the concept, but the deeply joyful tone in his longing for the inspired harmony of the sound of his orchestra.”226 Nietzsche considers opera to be a reverse example of the dominance of the word-concept over tone-music. By placing the task of clarity, illustrativeness and activity in the foreground, opera moves away from the original musicality of art, turning music into an instrument of influence, into a means. Nietzsche calls this metamorphosis “dramatic music” (as opposed to music for drama), in which he distinguishes between “conventional rhetoric with music of reminders, and exciting music, acting primarily physically.”227 This is what modern opera (and opera in general) ) is fundamentally different from Greek tragedy, but, first of all, by the division into performers and listeners-contemplators. Both of them only play their role. They do not believe in the action being played out, therefore they are spiritually passive. Thus, spectacle and entertainment, illusoryness prevail. Unlike the Apollonian model, Dionysism does not tolerate statics and contemplation, just as it is not compatible with individualism. The problem of universality comes to the fore, and it does not require explanation; it requires faith with all your soul to the point of self-forgetfulness. All this allows Nietzsche to come to the conclusion that “the main feature of Dionysian art is that it does not take into account the listener: the inspired servant of Dionysus (...) will be understood only by his own kind.”228 Thus, it is music as a universal language that will be the basis of the art of the future , an art capable of healing human souls with a saving word about the One and Eternal, about life. The musicality of the world, and, consequently, the musicality of the uni- 224 Ibid., p. 192. 225 Ibid., p. 193. 226 Ibid., p. 194. 227 Ibid., p. 199. 228 Ibid., p. 195. 65 the universal language of art is one of the central questions of Nietzsche’s aesthetics. But finding life-giving music for him is only a condition, a means for creating the art of the future, but not the final and only goal. Nietzsche considers the second necessary condition for creating the art of the future to be myth, as the plot basis of art, that “significant example” through which music is able to exert its cleansing effect. “Without this myth, without faith in the wonderful wisdom of the hoary past, national culture is unthinkable. A people without an epic is a lost people.”229 Myth is that wonderful dream that helps a person to plunge into a very special state: when the One, inexpressible in concrete images and phenomena, is revealed to his clouded gaze. Myth is the clothing that envelops the almighty Dionysus, hiding his unbridled power and overwhelming unity. Nietzsche considers the mechanical combination of music and myth impossible and unnatural (for which he would later reproach R. Wagner). On the contrary, he asserts “the ability of music to give rise to myth,”230 explaining this by the unique impact of music on humans. On the one hand, it reveals to the finite personality the secrets of the world - its unity, infinity and greatness; on the other hand, it stimulates the creative implementation of this knowledge, the result of which is an allegorical image, as one of an infinite number of possible associations. It is this already finite, definite image that becomes especially valuable for a person: both as a result of one’s own creativity, and as a resolution of the tragic discrepancy between the infinity of the world and the finitude of man. At the same time, music, which actually gave birth to the myth, also gives it a special universal significance: “Through Dionysian music, a separate phenomenon is enriched and expands into a world picture.”231 Thus, a person becomes familiar with the truth of the world, but only - a cutting myth that protects him from death, from self-destruction of individuality. And here we come to another problem: the embodiment of this universal music of life in a specific work of art, a question that received special coverage in the work of Nietzsche. Already by the very title of one of his works - “The Birth of Tragedy from the Spirit of Music” - Nietzsche declares the main position of his concept of the art of the future. It was Greek tragedy, with its roots in the mysteries of the great god Dionysus, that expressed the idea of harmony of two elements: the universal and the individual. On the other hand, tragedy has outgrown mystery, adding an artistic element and shifting attention from the passions of Dionysus to the fate and suffering of the hero. It is also significant that Dionysus also often appears to the world together with his “companion” Apollo. Nietzsche saw in the images of the gods of ancient Greece - Apollo and Dionysus - the embodiment of natural phenomena - light and darkness, the most important principles of the world order - life and death, and in general - the Individual and the One. In art, Nietzsche differentiates the spheres of influence of Apollo and 229 Rachinsky G.A. Nietzsche's tragedy. Part 1. Dionysus and Apollo//Questions of Philosophy and Psychology, 1900, No. 55, p. 1002. 230 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism // F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T.1. St. Petersburg, 1998, p. 79. 66 Dionysus as follows: “Apollo is the radiant god of sleep, the god of prophecy and the plastic arts, the god of poetry and pure beauty (...) Dionysus is the god of delight and mystical contemplation of truth, the god of the one great art of music.”232 But right there he speaks of the need for the coexistence of both, in which Dionysian art allows a person to immerse himself in the contemplation of the absolute, “merge with it in a sense of beauty,”233 Apollo keeps humanity from the consequences of this merging, from disappearance, dissolution of the individual in the One, then there is from death. Projecting Apollo and Dionysus onto the human personality - intoxication and dreams, he reveals the internal reasons for the creative act, biological in nature - the idea of perfection and the fullness of inner strength. Thus, Nietzsche thinks of art as “the need to transform into the perfect.”234 That is, art is nothing more than the self-realization of a person filled with Knowledge; True, by man Nietzsche always means an artist, a genius. It is the artist, and only he, who is the prophet who knows about the Greater (Dionysus) and embodies this knowledge through the means of art (Apollo). The struggle of these two principles - the one and the individual, the Dionysian and the Apollonian, according to F. Nietzsche, moves the world, humanity and art. Depending on which principle dominates, we can talk about one or another direction and style in art, moreover, about one or another type of culture. Nietzsche outlines the general dramaturgy of this process: “Apollo is given a service role: to hold and save an individual from (...) destruction. As long as he is content with this role, humanity is on the straight path; as soon as Apollo wins and reigns, the fall of mankind begins; art loses its meaning and serves as a tool not for education, but for the corruption of the individual.” 235 In this context, Aristotle’s parting words, which were already discussed above, are interesting. In a conversation about musical education, among other things, he mentions the fundamental importance of combining music with singing, that is, with the word. At first glance, this is completely opposite to the concept of Nietzsche, who separated musical and poetic art. At the same time, the vocal support of a musical composition can be compared with that same myth, a “significant example,” with the only difference being that the dramatic element in vocal music is too weak. Aristotle also carries out a gradation of harmonies, identifying the four most commonly used types: Dorian Phrygian, Ionian and Lydian. To solve educational problems, he insists on using exclusively Dorian harmony, “since it is distinguished by its smoothness and courageous character.”236 Also in the time of Aristotle, a melodic scale was adopted, dividing the entire variety of musical melody into three large groups: “ethical 231 Ibid., p. 83. 232 Rachinsky G.A. Nietzsche's tragedy. Part 1. Dionysus and Apollo//Questions of Philosophy and Psychology, 1900, No. 55, p. 986-987. 233 Ibid., p. 981. 234 Nietzsche F. Twilight of idols, or how they philosophize with a hammer // F. Nietzsche. Works in 2 volumes. T. 2. M., 1990, p. 598. 235 Ibid., pp. 981-982. 236 Ostroumov N. Aristotle’s thoughts on education and the importance of music in education. Tula, 1903, p. 22. 67 (i.e., promoting the development of morality), practical (predisposing to energetic activity) and enthusiastic (leading to bacchanalian delight). Thus, already in ancient times, the ability of music to evoke certain feelings in a person and encourage various actions was noted. It was at that distant time that the task was set to monitor the listener’s reaction and the results of “music therapy.” We find similar conclusions in F. Nietzsche’s work “The Gay Science” (1882, 1886). In his reflections “On the Origin of Poetry,” he touches on the problem of music, musical influence, and the problem of the poetic line, the musical-rhythmic nature of its origin and essence. Nietzsche reveals the reason for the universality of both artistic forms, which is rhythm. And if music, due to its rhythmicity, turned out to be capable of “discharging intense emotions, purifying the soul”237 and, at the same time, pacifying the rage of the gods; then poetry, which also represented a certain rhythmic formula, in the minds of the Hellenes, was capable of influencing the gods and even changing fate. “Without verse, man was a nonentity, but with the help of verse he becomes almost God himself.”238 In his work “Human, All Too Human” (1878), Nietzsche also raises the question of the relationship between music and the poetic word, but from the point of view of his contemporary dramatic music. He emphasizes the fact that over a long period of interaction between music and poetry, man has learned to intuitively “hear” and “recognize” the language of music, which he associates with the language of his feelings. In fact, according to Nietzsche, this is only the result of a long process of symbolizing music through rhythmic-poetic movement and the meanings introduced by this union. And then he concludes about the possibility of the emergence of true dramatic music, but only then “when the art of music has acquired a huge sphere of symbolic means through song, opera and many attempts at sound painting.”239 We are talking about the synthesis of arts, about the mutual subordination of Dionysus and Apollo. Nietzsche considered Greek tragedy to be the ideal balance of forces between Apollo and Dionysus in the art of past eras - a synthesis of action, poetic word, living plasticity and music. Tragedy was a popular version of mystery using the same structural elements: myth, passionate pathos, catharsis, as a result of empathy for the suffering of the hero (Dionysus). The Great Dionysias - with their disguises, reincarnations, dances and music - served as the basis for the creation of an ancient tragedy, the plot of which was myth. But unlike a mystery, instead of the passions of God, tragedy reveals the passions of the hero and transfers the action from the universal world to the human world. For a long time, tragedy remained close to the sacred game, although it gradually degenerated into pure art. As J. Huizinga noted, to a greater extent the tragedy was 237 Nietzsche F. The Gay Science (“La gaya scienza”)//F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T.1. St. Petersburg, 1998, p. 672. 238 Ibid., p. 673. 239 F. Nietzsche. Human, all too human. A book for free minds//F. Nietzsche Beyond Good and Evil: Works. M.-Kharkov, 1998, p. 142. 68 “not literature for the stage, but acted out worship.”240 Thus, only in the form of tragedy, in the close interaction of its musical essence and mythical content, can humanity partake of the sweet Knowledge of the Greater, without fear of dissolving in him; and only thanks to myth does this latter become accessible to man. “The tragic myth can only be understood as the embodiment in images of Dionysian wisdom by Apollonian means of art; he brings the world of appearance to those boundaries where the latter denies itself and again seeks refuge in the bosom of the true and united reality.” 241 Thus, tragedy, according to Nietzsche, is the result of the true unity of Dionysus, in the form of music, and Apollo, in the form of myth; where the first is the basis and the only meaning, the “idea” of the world, and the second is the way of comprehending it. “Tragedy places between the universal meaning of its music and the Dionysically receptive viewer a certain sublime resemblance, a myth, and arouses in the viewer the illusion that music is only the highest visual means for giving life to the plastic world of myth.”242 In fact, it is myth that is It is the form, the vision that music excites in us. There can be an infinite number of such phenomena, and “they will always remain only its external reflections.”243 The purpose of the myth is to remove from a person the heavy burden of physically experiencing suffering, replacing them with scenic suffering. In addition, folk myth expresses the idea of unity, duty and heroism, that is, it performs an educational function. In this understanding of tragedy as a universal art, the mechanism of existence and the world is revealed in its entirety, which can only be justified as an aesthetic phenomenon. Universal music conveys to a person knowledge about the world; and this knowledge is joyless, since the world and its existence are aimless. The world is self-sufficient in its constant process of circulation. And then, as a way of self-defense, a person turns what he sees into a game, replacing the natural “rhythm of life” with artistic images of myth with the obligatory dramatic situations, suffering and inevitable death of the hero. As a result of this substitution of reality for representation, there is a shift in emphasis from the tragedy of life itself to empathy for the tragedy of the hero; in which a person is distracted from his own problem, thus receiving the desired consolation through the means of art - “the art of metaphysical consolation.” So, life received its justification (meaning), but only as an aesthetic phenomenon. Within the framework of Nietzsche’s worldview, the conclusion about the purpose of art that the Basel professor comes to is also logical: “The highest and truly serious task of art is to shield the gaze from the horror of the night with the healing balm of illusion, to save the subject from convulsions of volitional excitations.”244 Nietzsche discovered a certain analogy between European culture and 240 Huizinga J. Homo Ludens; Articles on the history of culture. M., 1997, p. 142. 241 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism//F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T. 1. M., 1990, p. 145. 242 Ibid., p.140. 243 Ibid., p.144. 244 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism//F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 volumes. T.1. St. Petersburg, 1998, p. 93. 69 culture of ancient Greece. In his opinion, Europe went through the same changes in cultural forms as Ancient Greece, but in reverse order - “back from the Alexandrian age to the period of tragedy.”245 Accordingly, in the future art expects an inevitable return to tragedy and heroic myth. The problem is how to hasten the advent of a new era – the era of total creativity. Nietzsche’s historicism finds the right word here too, referring to the reasons for the transformation of ancient tragedy and culture as a whole. “If the ancient tragedy was knocked out of its rut by the dialectical impulse towards knowledge and optimism of science, then from this fact one could conclude about the eternal struggle between the theoretical and tragic worldviews; and only when the spirit of science reaches its boundaries and its claim to universal significance is refuted by an indication of the presence of these boundaries, can one hope for the revival of tragedy.”246 With these words, Nietzsche makes clear the inconsistency of modern knowledge, which relies primarily on scientific knowledge. To revive in man his natural beginning, the intuitive feeling of the One - this is the condition for the emergence of a new type of man, and a new art, and a new culture. Nietzsche describes to us the current state of culture and man from a historical perspective, outlining those tasks of the future that, in his opinion, are predetermined and the only possible ones. He sees his purpose in the revaluation of all human values. He deliberately breaks our understanding of the world and of man, so as not to leave a single stereotype of the passing time, as a necessary condition for the construction of the building of a new era, the era of universal creativity. Its destructive power sweeps away everything in its path: authorities, dogmas, moral and social principles. The structure called European civilization is crumbling to its foundations; to that cornerstone that is no longer associated with modernity, which is higher than it, and, therefore, closer to the truth, to life. Nietzsche takes upon himself the heavy burden of being the judge of the world. The purpose of his life is to preach a new religion, a new god - the natural elements. By affirming the reality of the only guided world, Nietzsche thereby deifies it, endowing natural principles with such power that a person is not able to contemplate them in a natural way. He has no choice but to hide the truth with a mask, a sign, a symbol, which only hints at Itself, without calling His “name.” This path of symbolization is the language of art. Moreover, the very content of art is a symbolization of existence. That is, art contains knowledge about Being without naming It. Nietzsche's aesthetics comes into contact with related problems, mainly of an ethical nature. He tries to influence a person, his attitude towards a world that is unchanged in its hopelessness, through replacing social guidelines. To carry out a “revaluation of values”, replacing ethical and moral standards with artistic ones - this is Nietzsche’s main slogan. He considers it necessary to change not the world itself, which is unchangeable, but the attitude towards it: to accept knowledge about the world, but to brighten up one’s existence with the beauty brought by art. His aestheticization of existence is a means of self-defense for humanity. 245 Ibid., p. 94. 246 Nietzsche F. The Birth of Tragedy, or Hellenism and Pessimism // F. Nietzsche. Op. in 2 vols. M., 1990, p. 123. 70

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...... “He who has not undergone initiation and performed the rituals will not find bliss after death in the dark dwellings of the other world” (Ancient Greek hymn);

“There are many Tyrson-bearers, but few bacchants”;

“Oh, how happy you are, mortal, if, in peace with the gods, you learn their mysteries”;

“respect the gods”, “respect your parents”, “respect the guest” - the three most important commandments of the ancient Greeks;

“Lord Zeus, grant us good, even without our request, do not grant us evil, even at our request” (prayer of Socrates);

In ancient Athens, among the altars to many gods, there was an altar to the “Unknown God,” and in Sparta there was an altar to the “Unknown Hero” with an eternal flame;

“Whoever, during a time of unrest in the state, does not take up arms for either one or the other, is dishonored and deprived of civil rights...” (Solon);

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This work can be considered as a continuation of Vyacheslav Ivanov’s research “The Religion of Dionysus. Its Origin and Influence” (1905), “The Elin Religion of the Suffering God” (1904), and the monograph “Dionysus and Pre-Dionysianism” (Baku, 1923) , where the author explores the cult of Dionysus before the formation of ancient Greek tragedies in the 5th century BC. e. We are trying to directly restore the Apolonian trinity of the annual Dionysian mysteries, annual ritual rituals, Dionysian “tragedy” and others of the Greek theater as a whole and compare them with the total fractal trinity of the Christian liturgy and worship of the New Age.

We are talking not just about the “churching” (Fedorov, priest P. Florensky)), “dying” (Weidle) or “denial” (I. Bryanchaninov) of culture, but about its new transformation, about its rethinking taking into account the achievements of science of the 20th century century (structuralism, psycho-physiology, fractal mathematics), about the beginning of its new stage...

(See also works: Toporov V.N. On the origin of ancient Greek drama: the question of Indo-European origins. - Balkano-Balto-Slavica. Symposium on the structure of the text. Preliminary materials and theses. M., 1979; aka. Several considerations on the origin ancient Greek drama. - Text: semantics and structure. M., 1983)...

Starting the process of systematizing various aspects of the cultural activities of the ancient Greeks, you immediately pay attention to the amazing structure and thoughtfulness of various types of activities in the ancient polis. Everything was subordinated to the idea of maintaining vitality in the city, the idea of communication with the gods, reflecting the hope of continuous support for the city from the gods. From archaic mythology, those myths stood out that helped the Athenians connect the entire annual political-social, economic and climatic cycle into a single whole, reflect it in a single annual ritual-calendar, incantatory-invocative magical cycle, unite both winter and spring in a single well-thought-out system. autumn festivities...

In Athens there were several cults, the celebration of which covered the entire sacred annual cycle. In winter, these were the mysteries of Dionysus, designed to support and restore the strength of the god Dionysus (plants that produce the vital forces), personified by the vine and ivy. In spring and autumn, the Small and Great Eleusinias are held, mysteries in honor of the goddesses (Demeter\Kore (Persephone)\Dionysus the Child, Iacchus), designed to regulate the germination of grain (barley\millet). In the summer, the Great Panathenaea was held - mysteries in honor of Athena and Artemis.

The magical cult of Dionysus was no less important than the cult of the earth mother Demeter or the pan-Greek cult of the sun god Apollo (or his sister the huntress goddess Artemis). He was the same giver of good as they were. Just as Demeter (Earth) annually gives people grain and bread, and Apollo gives them health, prosperity and security, so Dionysus annually gives them wine that heals sadness... Thus. The main triad of gods in the classical period was the triad (Demeter\Dionysius\Apollo).

In general, the structures of these mysteries were largely the same and were associated with the ripening and dormancy cycles of various cereals or plants. Thus, the Small Eleusinia was held before sowing barley, and the Great Eleusinia was tied to the end of the grain harvest and provided magical support for the preservation of vitality in the grain (barley, pomegranate seeds, olives)...

If in the annual agrarian-ritual cycle the mysteries of Dionysus were mainly held in the winter period of the year (November-February), then the spring-summer period was mainly occupied by rites dedicated to Athena. These are the six main holidays to this goddess: Procharisteria (sprouting of bread); Plinteria (beginning of harvest); Arrephoria (giving dew for crops); Callitheria (fruit ripening); Scorophoria (June, aversion to drought); and finally, Panathenaea (July, the last sheaf, the battle with the Titans, the end of the annual cycle)...
The seventh great festival dedicated to Athena was held at the end of October, at Thesmophoria (Day of Athena-Ergana, Athena the Weaver, Family Day). The eighth - at the beginning of March, the day of Athena the Navigator...

According to myths, Dionysus was considered a thrice-born god: from Zeus and Persephone in the guise of the Snake, mistress of the world of the dead, mistress of wealth hidden in the other world and the power of plants as the ancient, chthonic infant god Dionysus-Zagreus; the second time, when he was resurrected from the heart by Zeus (the one-year-old Dionysus-Zagreus, who turned into a kid, was then torn into a bull by the Titans at the instigation of the vengeful and jealous goddess Hera, but Athena saved his heart). And the third time from Zeus and the earthly woman Semele, the daughter of the Theban king Cadmus (who was burned during childbirth by the fire of Zeus), who took into herself the fetus from the dying Semele, and gave birth (like the goddess Athena) from her thigh to Dionysus - Iacchus. The latter was possible after the episode in the Titans, because... people (and Semele) were created by Zeus from the clay of the earth and the ashes of the titans he burned, who tore to pieces Dionysus-Zagreus. All these events associated with Dionysus the thrice-born were annually reproduced in various rituals.

There are several versions of the birth of the god-man Dionysus.
According to the teachings of the Orphics (see Zelinsky F. Ancient Greek Religion), Persephone from Zeus gives birth to Dionysus Zagreus (cult on the island of Crete) - the first birth of Dionysus. Hera, the wife of Zeus, taking revenge out of jealousy, sets her uncles - the Titans - against him, who, having lured the boy with toys, grab him, tear him apart and eat him. However, his heart is saved by Athena (or Dionysus’s grandmother Rhea) and given to Zeus. He swallows the heart and in anger incinerates his uncles - the titans who destroyed God. Then from the mortal Semele (daughter of Cadmus) he gives birth to the second Dionysus (Bacchus). However, before giving birth, Semele is burned by the fire of Zeus. Zeus manages to swallow the fruit and three months later gives birth to Dionysus from the thigh. Third birth of Dionysus. To hide him from Hera, he turns him into a kid and gives him to be raised by the nymphs of the Nysa Valley... Further education, a trip to India, return to Greece, marriage to Ariadne, etc.

That. the mysteries of Dionysus were determined by a cycle of two years. If the first year is associated with the three births of Dionysus (as Iacchus from Semele\as Dionysus from the thigh of Zeus\as Zagreus resurrected by Rhea\Athena), then the second annual cycle, superimposed on the first, is associated with the return of Dionysus from India, the wedding with Ariadne, the rescue of his mother Semele from Hades, the adventures of the god in Greece, which end with the expulsion of him and his retinue into the Lycean Sea (Lycurgus\Perseus). Then reconciliation with Erseus, marriage with Arva and the birth of his son Iacchus...

It is he, the son of Dionysus-Bacchus (sometimes the Greeks called him the Third Dionysus, Dionysus the Younger, the grandson of Zeus, born of a god-man and an earthly woman) who appears as one of the characters in the Athenian Lesser (March) and Great (September) Eleusinian Mysteries (Demeter\Persephone\ Iacchus). The newly initiated mystics were compared precisely with this incarnation of Dionysus, with Iacchus, who during the mysteries was kept in a cradle woven from wicker...

It is appropriate to note here that in ancient Greek mythology, mortals often changed their names when becoming gods. So, Semele, having become a goddess by the decision of Zeus, began to be called Tione. Her sister Ino, becoming a sea goddess, called herself Leucotea. The great god himself, born at six months old, was named Iacchus (as in the hymn to Dionysus it was sung “Come, son of Semele, Iacchos, giver of wealth!”), then born from the thigh of Zeus, who had already become a god, received the name Dio\nisos (Dio-god, Zeus, nisos - son, baby). Those. son of God. The third name of this god is Zagreus (mysteries on the island of Crete), associated with a cycle of myths about the struggle of Dionysus with the Titans and Hera.

The Greeks also distinguished three main hypostases of Dionysus: Dionysus, as the son of Zeus (gives birth to him from the thigh); Dionysus-Zagreus, as the son of Persephone the Snake, mistress of Hades, the world of night and shadows; Dionysus-Iacchus, as the son of the earthly woman Semele, as a human child who must be sacrificed to the gods, so that he himself becomes a god...

People took part in the cult of Dionysus at various levels. Thus, all residents of the Athenian union had the opportunity to commune with the god Dionysus in the winter (from Lesser Dionysus to Antereria). The statue of the god was taken outside the city (to Eleusis) and all non-citizens of Athens could meet with him. During the Great Dionysia, only the townspeople, citizens of Polis, mystics and noble guests from allied cities, as well as metics, took part in extra-temple rituals. To do this, they solemnly brought out a statue of God, walked around all the quarters of the polis, and during this carnival everyone could personally greet God. This was the second degree of involvement in the cult, public initiation. The third, highest degree of involvement in the cult is associated with rituals in the temple of Dionysus itself, where only initiates, initiates and hierophones (secret initiation) had access...

After his third birth, Zeus gave Dionysus to be raised by the nymphs (muses). Three sisters of the burnt Semele (Ino\Agave\Antonoia) came to Mount Nisa to Dionysus, brought with them three fiads (initiates) and established 12 altar-altars. Three of them were dedicated to Semele (they were served by maenads, the descendants of her three sisters Ino\Agave\Antinoia), 9 altars were dedicated to little Dionysus (they were served by fiads, young mothers initiated into the cult, who fed their milk to the cubs of wild animals - personifications of various incarnations Dionysus-Zagreus, after which they were sacrificed). According to this myth, the structure of the sacred retinue of Dionysus was determined at the trieteria festivals (held once every two years on Mount Parnassus during the winter solstice), which included three “old women” (maenads - hereditary senior priestesses of the cult, mad, walking with torches, leading the led with their squads of female fans and sacrificial rituals, sacrifices are made to God. The basis of the cult mysteries were hierarchically organized (mainly triadic) sacred colleges of priestesses of Dionysus...

It was the maenads who had the right to sit around the tripod in the temple of Dionysius/Apollo in Delphi during the winter divinations of the Pythia). Each maenad had at least three female matrons (fiad priestesses, fierce) and three novice girls (bacchantes, chorus girls, dancing around the altars and playing tympanums and flutes). All of them were dressed in SKINS of large forest animals (wolves, foxes, deer), belted with the skins of snakes, with WREATHS of evergreen ivy on their heads and with THYRSES (staffs entwined with snake skins and with cones on top). Among the accompanying persons there had to be choir singers, dancers-mime-actors, musicians (wind, percussion, strings)... Their role was played either by bacchante girls, or by specially invited male performers, gatherers, dressed in skins and animal masks. grapes, always tipsy winemakers, always ready for sexual games (satires/silens). Among the animals most characteristic of Dionysus’ retinue were considered (lions/panthers/lynxes), symbolizing the passion for unlimited destruction and eating; (goat\bull\donkey), which symbolized eros, fertility; and finally (bears\boars\snakes) - symbols of strength, deceit, vitality... This is the most archaic basis of the retinue of Dionysus, which preserves the archaic hierarchical triad...

That. maenads, priestesses of omophoria (raw food diet), Erinyes maidens, who founded the sanctuary of Dionysus in the den of snakes on Mount Parnassus, who introduced snakes (the snake is the personification of Persephone\Kore, the symbol of Erinyes\Ker from Hades) to their cult, dressed in wolf clothes (as pursuing their the god Dionysus the goat, who sacrificed his skins, were always considered as the descendants of the god’s mother, Semele, who was introduced (under the name Fiona) by Zeus after death to the gods. Here it was important to observe the direct continuity of the transmission of grace (from Zeus through Semele) from generation to generation. The continuity of such continuity ensured the duration of the cult of Dionysus. In the Christianity that replaced the cult of Dionysus, the maenads corresponded to bishops. Incorporation into the cult of Dtonis was always considered as interbreeding with the clan of the maenad-mentor. To become a maenad, it was necessary to undergo a ritual of initiation into the priestess family. It is no coincidence that the ancient authors, when describing the cult of Dionysus, always emphasized that old women, young women, and girls ran away to the mountains for orgies... On the other hand, metaphysically, three types of women (three in three) were symbolized as the three main lunar phases (growing moon\full moon\defective moon), and nine months of growth of the fetus (hidden Dionysus, Iacchus) in the mother’s womb...

The priestesses of the cult of Dionysus also differed in appearance. Thus, maenad-priestesses (hunters, drivers) mainly wore the skins of wolves, panthers, and foxes (bassars); fiads (nurses of the baby god) - walked in goat skins; Bacchantes wore the skins of deer and lambs (nonbreds)...

The celebration was held in several stages. First there was preparation (communion, purification, instruction of new adherents, fasting), then a solemn procession through the entire city (village) to the sanctuary and, finally, the actual communication with God near the altar.

Each such ritual communion with the god Dionysus included, as necessary, the following components: Invocation to God (prayers, dancing, singing in a round dance, accompanied by playing the timpam, flute (avlos), cymbal with calls to give life to people and nature). Then sacrifices were made (sacred gifts to God with a one-year-old kid / wine / figs - to maintain the strength of God himself). It all ended with a solemn procession with a sexual orgy (an act of life affirmation, self-fertilization with the vital force of Dionysus) and mass games. In the classical period of ancient history, orgies were enhanced by theatrical spectacles (tragedy, satire, comedy). Nightly fun games with mimes and mummers were held by torchlight until the morning. Despite the transformations of the ritual over time, in the Mysteries of Dionysus, intoxication with undiluted wine, raw food, sexual intercourse and severe beatings (as a symbol of the persecution of Dionysus and the beating of his followers) always remained part of the first initiation into the Bacchants.

The mysteries were held at night and not only in the temple of Dionysus, but also in any secluded cave hidden among the mountains. Moreover, the initiation ritual could be carried out by anyone already initiated, and not just by representatives of some priestly family, as in other cults. This largely explained the wide spread of the cult of Dionysus among rural residents remote from the city policies... In addition, as in all mysteries, those who went through them were promised a blissful existence after death, the residence of their souls in blissful meadows... Moreover, the blessed one, the pure, who came to the pure, who emerged from the womb of the Mother Goddess, became a god in the other world, a participant in the eternal symposium and feast of the gods... In fact, the Dionysian symposia (drinking wine among equals among equals) after a meal were the human version of the feast of the gods on Olympus. Those initiated into Bacchants were crowned with a wreath of white poplar branches (a symbol of Hades, the other world)... Only the one who experienced ecstasy during the Bacchic initiation was considered an initiate (“Bacchante”).

As in other mysteries, during initiation into the Bacchants, the initiate was tested by the elements (water, fire, “death,” hunger, humiliation and torture, sex, wine) ...

The structure of the annual cycle of the Athenian Dionysia of the classical period included six main winter holidays and two summer ones.
Winter included: Oschophoria (October\November, Day of Carrying Bunches of Grapes: from the Temple of Dionysus to the Temple of Athena); Small Dionysia (December, rural Dionysia); Lesser Lenaea (December 26, Day of Dionysus-Zagreus), January 12, full moon (Greater Lenaea); Anthesteria (February, full moon: Day of Barrels, Day of Mugs, Day of Pots); Great Dionysia (March, full moon, Carnival of Dionysus).
Two rituals associated with the cult of Dionysus were also carried out in the summer-autumn period of the year: at the Great Eleusinia (the first birth of the baby Iacchus-Dionysus by Persephone) and at Thesmophoria (scattering parts of sacred animals dedicated to Dionysus and preserved from the Great Paniphenia).
The Dionysian holidays also included Agrionia (autumn/winter), during which a raw food diet of sacred animal meat was practiced. The same raw food diet was typical for Lenya.

Dionysia was an integral part of the citywide annual cycle of services. Especially the winter holidays, which were preparatory rituals for the Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries. It was during the winter Dionysia that young Athenians were trained and selected in competitions for initiation into mysticism. On the other hand, the Bacchus, called to initiation into the mysteries of Dionysus, were equated with the Eleusinian mystes, i.e. have passed the first level of initiation. That is why in the cult of Dionysus, as well as in other ancient Greek cults, there were three levels of initiation: (bacchantes\fiads\maenads)...

Oschophoria is the celebration of the first pressing of grapes. After the grapes were harvested, they were specially kept in the sun for 10 days so that they would become saturated and sugared. Then it was stored in the shade for 5 days and only after that the process of preparing ritual wine began. At Oschophoria this process was completed; for such ripe grapes there was a special name “percoctus” (fully prepared) and they began to transport grapes from the plantations to the city for squeezing and preparing a special, medicinal wine “acrotos” (unmixed). It was the cycle of preparation of this temple wine that determined the cycle of the winter holidays of Dionysius. Mystic boys, accompanied by hierophants, carry the best grapes from the temple of Dionysus to the temple of Athena: Dionysus gives Athena (the city) grapes for the polis...

Small (rural) Dionysias were held in the month of Posedonion (December) on the full moon in the rural areas of Hellas. They staged old, last year's tragedies. These festivities were led by demarchs - the heads of demes, rural communities. Small Dionysia was associated with gartering grapes, pouring new wine into barrels, applying fertilizers to vineyards...

Leneys were held twice. Lesser Lenaeus (end of December, winter solstice) correlated with the death of the baby Dionysus (the machinations of the Moon goddess Hera) and his third birth (the myth of Dionysus-Zagreus). Wine, figs, a one-year-old kid were sacrificed on them...
The second leneas were held in the middle (full moon) of January and during them the primary qualifying theatrical agons for the Great Dionysia, competitions of boys' choirs, running were held... It was the day of the First New Wine...

Anthesteries were held on the February new moon. Three days. On the first day, they opened barrels of wine and drank. On the second day of the circle competition. On the third day, boiled zarn with honey was poured into ritual pots and placed outside near the threshold. It was a day of meeting with the spirits of deceased ancestors, a kind of ancient Greek Radunitsa.
On the other hand, on the third day of Antisteria, the ritual wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne was celebrated...

The Great Dionysia (urban) was held at the end of February (March new moon) and symbolized the return of Dionysus, the god of vitality and joy, to Greece. The beginning of the festival was formalized as a solemn carnival with a festive cart in which the statue of Dionysus was carried throughout the city, to all its quarters. In the evening and throughout the night, choir competitions (children's, youth's, and old people's) were held between different phyla. This is the time of communication of all townspeople (both initiated and uninitiated into the sacraments) with their beloved god. This was the beginning of maritime navigation in Greece, the nearest allied cities brought tribute, and guests from all over Hellas began to arrive in Athens.
The beginning of the awakening of the vine (the awakening of Dionysus) coincided with this date. It was also a celebration of the first spring flowering.

It should be noted that in the retinue of Dionysus there had to be three types of priestesses (3 girls \ 3 women \ 3 old women), who personified on the one hand the three phases of the Moon (young\full\defective), on the other hand 9 months of pregnancy, and 9 muses - patrons and educators of Dionysus...

The political-territorial structure of Hellas was also characterized by strict structuring. Moreover, these associations were sanctified by religion and were under the protection of certain gods. At first, people united into a family, which was patronized by Zeus the Fence and Hestia, the goddess of the hearth, whose altar was located in the courtyard. Then came the clan associations, which were patronized by Zeus Omagnius. At tribal meetings, weddings and funerals were held, and names were given to newborns. Then, annually in the city, the Day of Apaturia was celebrated (the day of the phratry, the day of common ancestors, the Day of Fathers, (end of October, beginning of November, Orthodox Dmitrov Saturday), on which newborns were recorded in the book of the phratry, sacrifices were made, and agons of young rhapsodes were held among the children of the phratry. The next association was the phylae (in Athens - 10 phyla) - territorial associations around the temples of the patron gods.Then the day of the polis was celebrated (Panathenaea in Athens, July), at which there were agons of male and female trochees, chariot competitions, trochees of hoplites and horsemen, agonos of the rhapsodes, hecotombs (sacrifices of 100 bulls) were performed with citywide feeding of meat, a solemn procession to the temple of Athena (to the Acropolis) and dressing the statue of Athena in peplos... It is well known that the main sanctuary of Athens had three altars: (Zeus the protector, the legislator \Hestia - guardian of the sacred fire \Athena - benefactor).

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The following materials were used in the preparation of materials:

Hesiod, “Works and Days”, “On the Origin of the Gods (Theogony);
Wilhelm Burkert, The Greek Religion (1977);
Fyodor Zelinsky, "Ancient Greek Religion", "Hellenistic Religion";
Evgeny Elizarov, "Ancient City";
Lev Osterman, "Oh, Solon!";
Carl Jung, "Archaic Man";
Eduard Shure, "Great Initiates";
Mircea Eliadi, “History of Faith and Religious Ideas!;
François Lissarag, "Wine in a Flow of Images. The Aesthetics of an Ancient Greek Feast";
Walter F. Otto, "Dionysus. Myth and Cult";
A.S. Shokhov, "The structure of the mental world of classical Greece"
Vyacheslav Ivanov, “The Religion of Dionysus. Its Origin and Influence” (1904);
Vyacheslav Ivanov, “The Elin Religion of the Suffering God” (1904);
Vyacheslav Ivanov, “Dionysus and Pradionisystvo” (1924);
VC. Mamardashvili, “Lectures on Ancient Philosophy” (1979);
Nonnus of Panopolitan, “The Acts of Dionysus” (St. Petersburg, 1997);
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Euripides. Bacchae. 1--6

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