Dionysus is life, the here and now that must be enjoyed because death is always around the corner. He is a chthonic deity, who exists in the world with us life and death can be seen everywhere we look (or could, before modernity made life so easy to ignore death).Īpollo is order and discipline, a far flung look into the future and the planning for it. Like Apollo, who is the sun in heaven, they exist in the spiritual world. They exist above humanity, separate from the world and looking down on it. And because of that, in no other god is death so horrible than in Zagreus, the hunter who rends the flesh of his prey.Īnother interesting point is that Dionysus is unlike any of the other Greek gods, who inhabit the summit of Mount Olympus.
In no other god is life so vibrant than the Master of the Vine, who gave wine to humanity. Such an observation led to the idea of a god who embodies such a paradox Dionysus. They were struck by the thin line between life and death in such an important action. This was something that ancient people were aware of. Yet the action of giving birth is incredibly dangerous, for the woman and the baby. One great example when a woman gives birth she is bringing new life into the world. What we really need to be doing is, according to Otto, is start with the natural phenomena. When we endeavor to understand ancient gods, we start with the concept of the god god of war, of smithing, of agriculture, of love and romance.
Yet the author claims this was not the mindset of ancient people.
Everything has to have a purpose that gives us some advantage in the world. Modern people always need to find a reason for something to exist. Too often, the author claims, we look at old religions through our modern lense. On the other hand it is a look into the mindset of ancient people. On one hand it is a great resource for detail concerning the rites of the Cult of Dionysus.
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