Representations of Rhea Cybele are rare. A statue representing her seated on a throne is shown in the Vatican. Her usual attribute is a kettle-drum.
3. Dionysus, or Bacchus (Liber).—Dionysus, or Bacchus, was regarded by Greeks and Romans alike as the god of wine and vineyards. In his more extended meaning he represents the blessings of the autumn. It is he who causes the fruits to ripen for the use of man; it is likewise he who dispenses to mankind all the advantages of civilisation and refinement, and of well-ordered political affairs.
Thebes was described as the birthplace of the god. His mother was Semele, the daughter of Cadmus, whom Zeus, the great god of heaven, honoured with his love. This very love, however, proved fatal to Semele, for the ever-jealous Hera came to her in the guise of her nurse, Beroë, and succeeded in exciting her suspicions as to the truth of her lover’s divinity. She insidiously persuaded Semele to make her lover swear to do what she desired, and then to put him to the test. Semele did so, and then besought Zeus to appear to her in the full majesty of his divine form. In vain did Zeus adjure her to take back her foolish request; she insisted on its fulfilment, and perished miserably, being burnt to ashes by the flame of Zeus, who approached her in a flash of lightning. Her unborn child was preserved by Zeus, who ordered Hermes to carry it to the nymphs of Nysa to be brought up. A later legend makes Ino, the sister of Semele, the foster-mother of Dionysus. The locality of this Nysa is somewhat uncertain, but it is generally supposed to be a district of Mount Pangæus in Thrace.
Dionysus, after growing up amid the solitude of the forest and strengthening himself by his contests with its wild beasts, at length planted the vine. Both the god and his attendants soon became intoxicated with its juice; after which, crowned with wreaths of laurel and ivy, and accompanied by a crowd of nymphs, satyrs, and fauns, he ranged the woods, which resounded with the loud and joyful cries of his inspired worshippers. The legend says that his education was then completed by Silenus, the son of Pan. In company with his preceptor and the rest of his train, he then set forth to spread his worship and the cultivation of the vine among the nations of the earth. He did not confine himself to mere vine-planting, however, but proved a real benefactor of mankind by founding cities, and by introducing more civilised manners and a more pleasant and sociable mode of life among men. On such as refused his favours his wrath fell with dreadful effect. Agave, the mother of the Theban king Pentheus, who had refused to receive him, and the rest of the Theban women, were driven mad by him; and in their frenzy they mistook the king for a wild boar and tore him to pieces.
Fig. 36.—Dionysus and Lion. From the Monument of Lysicrates.
The most celebrated among the myths which testify to the wondrous power of Dionysus is the story of the punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates. On the occasion of his passage from Icaria to Naxos, these pirates put Dionysus in chains, purposing to take him to Italy, and there sell him as a slave. At a nod from the youthful god the chains fell from his limbs; he appeared as a lion, while a bear was seen at the other end of the ship. Vines and ivy tendrils wound themselves round the mast and sails of the ship, which stood still, whilst the strains of the nymphs burst forth. The sailors, terrified by the transformation of the god, leaped overboard, and were changed into dolphins. A fine representation, in relief, of this scene still exists on the monument of Lysicrates, at Athens. The most beautiful feature in it is the figure of the god playing with his lion in the most joyous unconsciousness (Fig. 36). With the name of Naxos, which was a chief seat of his worship, is connected the celebrated story of his marriage with Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, king of Crete. The Attic hero, Theseus, after escaping the dangers of the Labyrinth by her means, had taken her away with him from Crete in order to marry her. He deserted her, however, whilst asleep on the island of Naxos, either of his own accord or because warned of the god in a dream. The indescribable anguish and consternation of Ariadne, on awaking to find herself alone and deserted on a foreign strand, was only equalled by her joyous surprise when Bacchus, returning from his travels in India, found her and made her his bride. The poets, indeed, do not relate that Zeus then bestowed on her that immortality which he had already given his son on account of his glorious achievements and extraordinary merit toward mankind; but such appears to have been the popular tradition. At Athens a sort of harvest thanksgiving was celebrated in honour of both Dionysus and his bride, at which vines with the grapes on them were borne in solemn procession through the streets of the city.
The worship of Dionysus extended not only over the whole of Greece, but also to Italy, Asia Minor, Thrace, and Macedonia, and to every place where the vine was cultivated by the Greeks. The god was extolled as Lyæus, the deliverer from care, and great festivals were instituted in his honour, which were of a disorderly character, but very popular among the common people. At the time of the winter solstice there was mourning, because at this season the vine seemed to die away, and the god was believed to be suffering persecution at the hands of the evil spirits of winter, and obliged to flee in consequence to the sea or lower world. It was, therefore, thought right to suffer with him, and people manifested their grief at his disappearance by every kind of wild gesture. At the winter festivals of Dionysus, which were celebrated every other year, only women and girls took part. The festivals of the god at the beginning of spring, when the new wine was tasted for the first time, were purely festivals of gladness, like the greater Dionysia at Athens. On these occasions the reawakening of nature was celebrated with boundless joy and boisterous mirth. All kinds of jokes and mischievous pranks were indulged in, and festive processions and theatrical performances followed each other in quick succession.
The following festivals were celebrated at Athens in honour of Dionysus:—
1. The Lesser or Rural Dionysia. This was the vintage festival proper, which did not take place in Attica till the end of November or beginning of December, because they liked to let the grapes hang as long as possible. A he-goat was first solemnly sacrificed to the god; this was followed by a festive procession bearing the sacred things, and the festival concluded with all kinds of country amusements, dancing, masquerading, and revelling. The chief amusement of the young men was dancing on the leather bag. Out of the skin of the slaughtered goat was made a leather bag, which was inflated and smeared with oil: the young men then attempted to dance on it.