{"id":86309,"date":"2020-12-22T15:50:13","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T14:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/?post_type=artykuly&#038;p=86309"},"modified":"2020-12-22T15:53:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-22T14:53:59","slug":"reflections-on-bacchus","status":"publish","type":"artykuly","link":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/reflections-on-bacchus\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections on Bacchus"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Chapters<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/reflections-on-bacchus\/#general-deliberations\" >General deliberations<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/reflections-on-bacchus\/#the-area-of-action-of-dionysos\" >The area of action of Dionysos<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/reflections-on-bacchus\/#dionysos-in-rome\" >Dionysos in Rome<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/reflections-on-bacchus\/#the-bacchic-cult\" >The Bacchic cult<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>It is commonly assume that <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/bacchus\/\">Bacchus<\/a> was counterpart of Dionysos. But what it actually means? It\u2019s highly not obvious and doesn\u2019t concern only the Dionysos nor even <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-geography\/roman-cities\/rome-eternal-city\/\">Rome<\/a> itself, but the essential methodological problems of religious science and history of religion. Were <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/\">gods<\/a> identify with each other just like that?<!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"general-deliberations\"><\/span>General deliberations<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">It needs to be remember that \u2018Bacchus\u2019 is latinised form of Greek \u2018Bakchos\u2019, so there is no any identify <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/bacchus\/\">Bacchus<\/a> with Deionysos, because there were no separate Dionysos and Bacchus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">For long decades the researchers insight on <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/\">Roman religion<\/a> was shaped by XIX century. In the next century dominated, created by Gregor Wissowa, scheme of development of the <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/\">Roman religion<\/a> assuming departure from the &#8220;real&#8221; &#8220;Roman&#8221; religion under the influence of an external factors \u2013 Latin, Etruskan and Greek. Many researchers accepted this scheme in their works. Today it can\u2019t be stated any longer, because after this &#8220;epoche of ancestors&#8221; there are no sources contermporary to described events left. In later authors no doubt, of course, survived much earlier accounts and fragments of elders sources, but first accounts contemporary to described events comes not until turn of III and II century BC. Condition of their preservation cause however, that the key role in studies of Romans religion imagines have works even later. Moreover, if we had richer source base from earlier epoches could we really shelled this &#8220;truly Roman&#8221; religion the problem concerned in equal degree any religion and philosophical system)? For Romans yet in VIII c. BCE were contacted with the Greeks in Italy which, naturally, has to conduct to exchange of religious thought and ideas, so was there at any time &#8220;pure&#8221; Roman (or any other) religion? Rather not. John Scheid, great scholar of Greek religion, wrote about this like that:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"center\">\n<p class=\"quote\">(\u2026) a religion is never and never can be pure, uncontaminated. It is always the result of mixture, even at the earliest stages we are able to identify. So the sorting out of Roman and non-Roman elements, or for later periods a concept like syncretism as opposed to a &#8220;pure&#8221; religion, are nonsense.<\/p>\n<p class=\"male3\">&#8211; <strong>John Scheid<\/strong>, <em>Graeco ritu: a typically Roman way of honoring the gods<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">All this issues cause that it can\u2019t be pointed the &#8220;true Roman backbone&#8221; distorted gradually by alien influences (mainly because it never existed). This web of penetrating and interacting on each other beliefs and religious ideas can\u2019t be untie. This is why can\u2019t be point any &#8220;begin&#8221; of hellenization, because we know well that Romans were connected with the Greeks long before any written sources accessible for us. We can only examine the nature of this process, because it does not consisted on simple transfer of gods and rituals.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">That\u2019s how we reach, worked out by contemporary anthropology, the idea of acculturation. This is how writes about it scholar of Roman religion, Prof. Danuta Musia\u0142:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"center\">\n<p class=\"quote\">(&#8230;) overtaken by given community alien elements involve usually to emerge brandly new structure, understood only in native context. It has to be remember that there are not one-way processes, but usually asymmetric, i.e. one culture more take than give.<\/p>\n<p class=\"male3\">&#8211; <em>Dionizos w Rzymie<\/em>, s.25<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">If it\u2019s about Rome, perfectly expressed it one of the greatest historians of XX century, Arnaldo Momigliano when he wrote: &#8220;There is no such time and no such place, in which Romans would be free from Greek influences&#8221;. There is no doubt that the main cultural receivers in this relations were Romans. It wasn\u2019t, however, &#8220;copy-paste&#8221; process. Romans creatively processed what they received from Greeks \u2013 both mythology and art.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">The idea originally described identifying gods derived from different religions is syncretism. Every religion is syncretic, truly, as a result of migration of beliefs, miths and religion ideas. The Romans took from the Greeks very much not only in religious sphere but also in art. The resemblance of Roman and Greek pantheons is so great that it persuaded many scholars throughout history to assume latinization of the whole Greek religion. In antiquity itself we find <i>nterpretatio <\/i>(<i>interpretatio <\/i>literary and <i>interpretatio <\/i>priest), i.e. called alien gods by names of the gods derived from Roman <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-art-and-culture\/roman-architecture\/roman-buildings\/pantheon-in-rome\/\">pantheon<\/a>. Mostly it resulted from resemblance of functions of the gods or goddesses. One of the proofs of that are commonly cases of double dedications, e.g. for Athena-Minerva. Still, they\u2019re not the same goddesses what contemporary readers of antic texts seems to forget. Just imputation different name some god doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s one and the same god. The main difference between gods lies in the way of performing the cult, so it\u2019s the ways must approach to themselves, not just names. In Rome itself we have several temples of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/minerva\/\">Minerva<\/a>, each of them suits &#8220;slightly different Minerva&#8221;, with a little bit different &#8220;area&#8221; of action, and from any of them waited slightly different help. The same case was, among other cultures, in <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/greece-birth-of-city\/\">Greece<\/a>, i.e. with Athena (Athena Polias, Promachos, Nike).<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\"><i>Interpretatio<\/i> literary concerns the &#8220;folk&#8221; identify the gods, <i>interpretatio<\/i> priest, on the other hand, has more official character \u2013 allows priests and officials to reconcile the native religion tradition with openness on alien cults, avoid thanks to this religious conflicts. The mechanism of <i>interpretatio<\/i> doesn\u2019t concern the cult, however.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-area-of-action-of-dionysos\"><\/span>The area of action of Dionysos<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>What is actually the area of action (gr. <em>time<\/em>) of Dionysos?\u00a0 Albert Henrichs, great scholar of Greek religion, was trying to answer to that question by distinguishing &#8220;wine, theater, menadism, and underground world&#8221;. Great expert of Dionysos, W\u0142odzimierz Lengauer, added to these spheres women and sexuality. By menadism Henrichs understood rituals performed under the god\u2019s <em>mania<\/em>, fury, strikes besides almost exclusively women. Thus Dionysos is greatly not only the god of wine, but also even the chthonic god! Moreover \u2013 Dionysos is <em>dimorphos<\/em> (&#8220;about two figures&#8221;) what combined with another sources may refer to his sexual dimorphism. On depictions visible bearded man or long-hair boy (delusively similar to woman); in one of the versions of the myth of his childhood he was nurture in girl\u2019s costume; it is also called as the Pseudanor (&#8220;the fake man&#8221;). <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/biografie\/owidiusz\/\">Ovid<\/a> is said:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"center\">\n<p class=\"quote\">\u2026tu formossisimus alto<br \/>\nConspiceris caelo; tibi, cum sine cornibus astas,<br \/>\nVirgineum caput est;<\/p>\n<p class=\"male3\">&#8211; &#8220;thou art the most lovely in the lofty sky; thy face is virgin-seeming, if without horns thou stand before us&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/biographies\/ovid\/\">Ovid<\/a>, F. J. Miller (transl.) &#8211; Metamorphoses, Books 1-8, Loeb Classical Library, 1971, Heinemann<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">Bacchus is therefore the god of opposites. On the one hand \u2013 wild, crazy, the wine giver and a the <i>mania<\/i> sent down on bacchants, i.e. the god\u2019s worshippers, which under its influence tear apart <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/article\/animals-and-hunting-in-world-of-romans\/\">animals<\/a> and even their own children, on the other hand however \u2013 caring, custodial, gentle, almost girlish, incoming to human. That <i>mania<\/i> is however also some kind of direction on the beauty of the sensual world, first of all the erotic feelings.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">In the Roman, as well as in the Greek, world Bacchus was accompanying Eros. It is clearly see on different frescoes, i.e. in Villa dei Misteri in Pompei we find (in The Room of Misteries) marriage\u2019s rituals, on one of the scenes appears even Eroses. In addition the fixed motif presented in Dionysos\u2019s cult, visible also on that frescoes, is phallos. There is no strange thing in this \u2013 wine, joy and feast were all connected with lust and love the most in symposions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">The presence of the phallos in Dionysos\u2019s cult may in first moment be pointed on fertility. However profound analysis of iconography performed by leading expert of Dionysiac iconography, Cornelia Isler-Kerenyi, leads to conclusion that that&#8217;s not what it&#8217;s supposed to do \u2013 it\u2019s symbolizes bringing by the god &#8220;joy of life, i.e. sexuality, which in it\u2019s essence is useless and joy0giving&#8221;. It\u2019s confirmed by presence of the homoerotic plots in Dionysiac mythology. Thus it\u2019s not about fertility, but about the joy of bodily commune with other human being, something which european culture, as an effect of the victory of <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/christianization-of-ancient-rome\/\">christianity<\/a>, has long lost.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"dionysos-in-rome\"><\/span>Dionysos in Rome<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">It is true that very early has started identifying old-italian god Liber with Dionysos. However the crucial moment has come in 495 BC. For during the war with Wolscis dictator Postumius made a vow before the gods that &#8220;if the battle were attended with a happy and glorious outcome, he would offer great and expensive sacrifices and institute costly games to be celebrated annually by the Roman people&#8221;. So it has done so and as a fullfilment of the vow in 494 (or 495) BCE sacrificed a temple on Aventine for the three gods: <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/gods-of-ancient-rome\/list-of-roman-gods\/ceres\/\">Ceres<\/a>, Liber and Libera. They created so-called Aventine Trinity, which were very quickly identified with the Trinity of Eleusinian Misteries: Persephone, Core and Dionysos. We have to remember, of course, that the then Rome is not Italy in which the presence of Dionysos is much older (what is logically \u2013 there were Greek <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/roman-and-latin-colonies\/\">colonies<\/a> in Italy, after all).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"the-bacchic-cult\"><\/span>The Bacchic cult<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">What are exactly cult, myth and ritual and what are the relations between them? Answer for this question is not simple at all. Modern definition of ritual we owe anthropology and specifically so-called the Cambridge school. In the end of XIX century one of the scholars from that school (Robertson Smith) formulated the thesis that the fundament of the old religions were not a faith but an institutions and practices explained by myth. We reach here to the relation between ritual and myth, what is in itself a subject on separate study. It has to be remember about one thing \u2013 there is no simple connection between one and the other. Not always myth derives from the ritual or otherwise, not always myth explains ritual, too. Against theses old scholars it can\u2019t be simply colligate. Certainly any component can\u2019t be underestimate \u2013 ritual is no less valuable than theology or mythology.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">    <div class=\"ramka_ze_zdjeciem float-center \"\n         style=\"\">\n\n        <div class=\"zdjecie\">\n            <img\n                class=\"ramka-ze-zdjeciem\"\n                src=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/sarkofag.jpg\"\n                                alt=\"Bacchanalia shown on a Roman sarcophagus \"\n                width=\"700\"\n                height=\"352\"\n               \n               \n            \/>\n\n            <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/sarkofag.jpg\"\n               rel=\"fancybox\"\n               title=\"Bacchanalia shown on a Roman sarcophagus, dated to 210-220 CE.\">\n                <div class=\"iover\">\n                    <div class=\"zicon\">\n                        <i class=\"fa fa-search-plus\"><\/i>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n\n                    <div class=\"opis\">\n                                <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/curiosities\/bacchanalia-the-first-persecutions\/\"><b>Bacchanalia<\/b><\/a> shown on a Roman sarcophagus, dated to 210-220 CE.            <\/div>\n        \n                    <div class=\"chmurka\">\n                Na licencji Creative Commons Uznanie autorstwa - Na tych samych warunkach 3.0.            <\/div>\n        \n    <\/div>\n<p class=\"Standard\" style=\"line-height: 150%;\">It can be simply said that cult is a whole set of rituals performed in honour of some god. But in such definition lies many traps. The cults performed in honour of the same god in different time and places can be diverse. It is easily seen on example of commonly mistaken <a href=\"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/roman-religion\/roman-feasts\/liberalia\/\">Liberalia<\/a> and Bacchanalia. I have mentioned already about identified Dionysos (i.e. Bacchus) with Liber, but! The Liberalia, i.e. official &#8220;state&#8221; holiday in honour of Liber-Dionysos celebrated 17 march, were one thing and the Bacchanalia \u2013 unofficial &#8220;private&#8221; rituals in honour of Bacchus, were the other! Around the latter became loudly in 186 BCE because of bachanalia\u2019s affair. But this affair didn\u2019t concern Liberalia. It concerned only private cults known as Bachanalia. But there was no one Bachanalia! They were not in any sense regulated so there were as many Bachanalia\u2019s as many were different private associations (<i>thiasoi<\/i>), which could be as different as possible between themselves. All Bachanalia\u2019s affair concerned while among other things correct and incorrect ways of cult.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":85573,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"kategorie_artykulow":[158],"class_list":["post-86309","artykuly","type-artykuly","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","kategorie_artykulow-religion"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/86309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/artykuly"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artykuly\/86309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"kategorie_artykulow","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imperiumromanum.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/kategorie_artykulow?post=86309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}