Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life

Great book about Dionysus that hardly anyone has come close to in many decades.

I am still reading this wonderful exploration of the many roles of Dionysos in ancient Greek religion. The part that has most fascinated me so far is the discussion of Minoan origins of Dionysian and other epiphanies and of Dionysian religion in relation to life and nature. Kereyi illustrates/supports his discussion with a great collection of black and white photos at the back of the book. Thus he is reading images as well as material from Linear B. His book is helping me to understand the bewildering role of Dionysos in Euripides Bacchae, which is my current goal.

This nook is an exceptional, detailed resource for Dionysian material in a single place.

the book has safely arrived and in a perfect condition. Although not new, it is still to my mind perhaps the best research on the subject.

I first encountered Karl Kerenyi by way of another of his books, _Eleusis_, a study of the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. Let me tell you, I love the way that man's mind worked. In the case of Eleusis, and also in the case of Dionysos, there are secrets that the celebrants of the rites took to their graves. But rather than just say "we'll never know what really went on", Kerenyi leaves no stone unturned in an attempt to figure it out. Using myths, art, and "urban legends" from ancient times, which often dance around secret subjects, Kerenyi puts together a more coherent picture of the religions of these ancient deities. The myths and art may dance around the real mysteries, but if you "dance" around enough and see the material from enough different angles, you can get a pretty good idea of what isn't being said.Dionysos originated on the island of Crete, where he was considered to be the same deity as Zeus, and was a dying and resurrected god who presided over mead and the mysteries of death and rebirth. From there, his cult was taken all over the Mediterranean world, and changed along the way. His rites changed, too, and Kerenyi shows us all of the different ways he was worshipped, from the bull-sacrifice on Crete (with a great chapter on the god's notorious wife Ariadne) to the roving maenads of rural Greece, to the sacred tragedies and comedies of classical Athens. Then we see Dionysos again on the walls of the Villa dei Misteri in Pompeii.In a way, _Dionysos_ is differently focused than _Eleusis_, where the author was trying to reconstruct what happened on one particular night. This book is more protean, following the thread of the Dionysus cult throughout distance and time as it changes. Recommended to anyone who loves mythology.

I found this book to be an important part of the story of Greek religion. It is fascinating and interesting. Dionysus is a very complicated God and his worship was equally complicated. This is not something you learn from other books on ancient Greek Gods.

This is one of the most fascinating books on ancient myths I have ever read. If you're into ancient pagan religions, you won't be able to put this book down once you pick it up. It's a bit of a tome --lots of scholarly details --but well worth journey.

Arrived promptly, good book!

A wonderful and thorough education on the history and mythology of one of Greece's most beloved Gods.