The Two Great Gods of the Earth: Demeter and Dionysus
Olympians Little use for earth/humans Two exceptions, generally good/kind/useful to humans Demeter (Ceres) Dionysus (Bacchus)
Demeter Goddess of corn Daughter of Cronus & Rhea Older of the two Corn farmed before wine pressed Care of the fields belonged to women (men hunted & fought)
Demeter Elusinian Mysteries Chief festival Harvest time (duh) Every 5 years Little is known of the E.M. Vow of secrecy that was actually kept!
Demeter and Persephone Demeter’s daughter “the maiden of the spring” Carried off by Hades (married?) Demeter searched for 9 days Sun finally told her what had happened
Demeter and Persephone Left Olympus Eleusis, disguised as a maiden P. 57-59 (Eleusis story)
Demeter and Persephone The next year NOTHING grew Zeus sent ALL the gods, one at a time, to try to change her mind (NOPE) Zeus sends Hermes to Hades, to tell him to let Persephone return
Demeter and Persephone Hades relents Tricks Persephone (and the rest) Has her eat a pomegranate seed Persephone MUST return to Hades for a part of each year
Demeter and Persephone Zeus sends Rhea (Demeter & Zeus’ mom) to earth Demeter relents, even though it means she must let Persephone go to Hades for 4 months out of the year WHY IS THIS STORY TOLD?
Demeter and Persephone Change of seasons? Goddess of Corn & the “maiden of the spring”, MUST be a reason for WINTER Knowledge that plants must wither A mother must watch her daughter “die” each year
Dionysus God of Wine Revelry Son of Zeus & Semele (Theban princess) Only god w/out TWO immortal parents Thebes – Dionysus’ city
Dionysus Early life Mother killed as a result of: Zeus’ oath by Styx Hera’s jealousy Both common themes in mythology Zeus saves son, reared away from mortal man Pirate story? “none lived long who strove with gods”
Dionysus Journey to Hades See his mother Refused to leave her Overcame death Not for new life on earth Straight to Olympus Received by gods & allowed to stay
Dionysus Could be good OR bad Just like wine? Maenads Women “frenzied with wine” Savage, violent “throughout the story of his life he is sometimes man’s blessing, sometimes his ruin”
Dionysus Pentheus’ fate Greeks were practical with facts Dionysus had two seemingly contradictory aspects because SO DOES WINE Drunken violence is described because IT HAPPENS TO AND BY PEOPLE WHEN DRUNK
Dionysus Feast of Dionysus Complete opposite of Elusinian Mysteries Spring (5 days) “worship” happened not in secret, not in temples… Theaters All aspects of Greek drama, and especially early Greek tragedy, were in worship of Dionysus
Dionysus “death” of Dionysus Similar to Persephone Resurrection story “death is not the end…”