Why do Europeans worship Dionysus so much? It turned out that it was because ....

In the last article, we learned about Dionysus's life experience. Friends who haven't seen it can look back: you can't be a wine lover if you don't know Dionysus!

Today, let's see why people are so fascinated and worshipped by Dionysus!

Dior means "God" in Italian, which is equivalent to Dieu in French and God in English.

Nisos means Mount Nisos, which is another name for Nisa.

Dionysus literally means the God of Mount Dionysus.

Dionysus was called Bacchus in Roman mythology.

Silenus is Dionysus's favorite drunk follower and his mentor when he was young. Silenus is often drunk, and every time he gets drunk, he is carried by a donkey or a lecherous.

He is an old wise man, and his appearance is characterized by baldness and thick lips.

Painter Gerrit van soste's oil painting The Arc de Triomphe of Silène.

Dionysus spent a carefree childhood, wandering happily in the forest with Sati and the water lily fairy every day. Once, he found a plant that was growing wildly, that is, vines.

Dionysus slowly learned to extract juice from the fruit on the vine, and formed a special drink. After a binge drinking, they couldn't help shouting, singing and dancing. Later, more and more people wanted to taste this strange drink and began to worship this wonderful and pleasant drink.

He gradually found that moderate drinking can not only make people live happier, but also make people forget the pain and sadness.

So he decided to bring wine to all mankind, and decided to take his followers on a trip to teach local people the skills of growing grapes.

Dionysus rode a cheetah with a cane, surrounded by hundreds of followers beating gongs and drums, passing through Syrian, Egyptian, Arabian, Indian and many other places.

As time goes by, people's worship of Dionysus is increasing day by day. Because drinking was a sacred act for the ancient Greeks.

Christianity has always compared wine to the blood of Jesus. In many sacrificial activities, red wine is used as a symbol of holy blood. This is why many monks in the Middle Ages tried to study how to make wine.

Monks make wine, the most famous of which is Burgundy. Generation after generation of Burgundy monks painstakingly studied the brewing and customs of wine, and finally pushed the brewing technology to the peak.

Burgundy red wine still fascinates countless wine lovers with its rich levels and complexity!

Dionysus was the center of all religious activities in ancient Greece, which made Dionysus the most important god in people's daily life.

The worship of Dionysus is partly attributed to the resurrection of Dionysus. His rebirth is very similar to growing grapes. Every year, vines are pruned to hibernate in winter and germinate and grow in spring. For Dionysus's life story, please refer to Uncle Lan's articles in the first two issues.

Besides Dionysus's legendary life experience, people feel more powerful under the influence of wine, which also deepens their worship of Dionysus!

In memory of Dionysus, the ancient Greeks held the bacchanalia four times a year!

Most of the great Greek dramas were written for performance at the bacchanalia. All the participants, screenwriters, actors and audiences are regarded as the sacred servants of Dionysus in bacchanalia.

In the month of Poseidon in ancient Greece, that is, in the modern 65438+February, the Greeks held the bacchanalia in the countryside.

People will parade, sing and dance with male genitalia symbolizing fertility. Finally, people will sacrifice bread or porridge to Dionysus.

In the "Wedding Month" of ancient Greece, the Greeks held the annual "The Lenaia" to commemorate Dionysus. There will also be drama competitions on festivals.

The Antes Festival, the "Flower Festival" in ancient Greece, was usually held at the end of February, and the Greeks would celebrate the arrival of spring, especially the ripening of the wine brewed the year before.

The Terry Festival in Antis will last for 3 days. During the festival, people can temporarily forget their position in society, whether citizens or slaves, they will get together to celebrate.

On the first day, people opened the cellar where new wine was stored.

The next day, the Greeks will hold a drinking contest. Boys as young as 3 years old and grandfathers as old as 80 years old will take part in this competition. Everyone will receive a jar that matches their drinking capacity. The winner of the competition will get an ivy-woven crown.

The third day is the Day of the Dead. People will make a porridge or porridge from several kinds of grains, and then the whole family will eat it before dark. People sacrificed to Hermes to drive away evil spirits. Hermes was the god who sent souls to the underworld.

Hermes and the French luxury brand Hermes have the same name!

Great bacchanalia, also known as the city of Dionysus, is a grand festival held from the end of March to the beginning of April every year to commemorate Dionysus Dionysus.

Ancient Greek drama, tragedy and satire all originated from the great bacchanalia.

All people in Athens, men and women, and people from all over Greece will come to bacchanalia.

The ancient Greeks drank, sang and danced, showing a crazy state to express their worship of Dionysus.

People will sacrifice goats. Men will play like perverts.

On the first day, the ancient Greeks dedicated themselves to singing hymns for Dionysus. Accompanied by flute and tambourine, 50 Sang Men people danced around the altar in Dionysus.

The next day, people hold poetry or polo competitions.

The next three days are devoted to the performance of drama: tragedy. Bacchanalia the Great only performed the works of three playwrights as a competition. Each playwright must submit three tragedies and one Sartre play (the choir is required to dress like Sartre's play). Three tragedies need to form a trilogy. After three days of theatrical performances, people will choose the winner.

Mask is an important element in ancient Greek drama performance. The ancient Greeks used masks to strengthen the shaping of characters' personality characteristics.

Various ancient Greek masks

This is similar to the facial makeup of our Peking Opera.

The ancient Greeks recorded the winning plays. Many Greek tragedies handed down to this day are one of the trilogy of The Great bacchanalia.

The great bacchanalia ended with a triumphant parade and the coronation of God.

There are countless paintings about Dionysus or Bacchus in later generations. Uncle Lan chose a few personal favorite paintings and enjoyed them with everyone.

"Drinking Bacchus" ("Wine Classic"), the painter is unknown.

The Youth of Bacchus by the French painter William Adolf bouguereau.

Bacchus by Italian painter michelangelo merisi da caravaggio.

Well, now you know why the ancient Greeks worshipped Dionysus!

If you like Uncle Lan's article, please pay attention to it and share it with your friends!