Some sources I've found say that the Rural Dionysia is the last half of Poseideon. Whether or not that would more accurately apply to Poseideon 1 or 2, now still seems like a good time for a devotional project of sorts. I wrote and cut out epithets of Dionysos on small scraps of paper, with the intention of drawing one each day until the noumenia. And each epithet I'll focus on, research if possible, and draw a tarot card to supplement it. So here goes. Here is yesterday's.
Dionysos Limnaois (Dionysos of the marshes)
The sanctuary in the swamps was regarded in Athens not only as the oldest but also the most sacred temple of Dionysos. - Kerenyi, p 293
In Athens the festival (Anthesteria) was also referred to as the Older Dionysia, in contrast to the Great Dionysia, which was introduced only in the sixth century. A small sanctuary of Dionysos in the marches, en limnais, was opened only once a year especially for this festival on the 12th day of Anthesterion - the day, according to the sacral reckoning, lasts, of course, from sunset to sunset. No marsh or swamp was to be found within the city bounds of Athens, and so the name must have arrived as a cult name along with this Dionysos. - Burkert (Greek Religion: Archaic and classical)
To the sanctuary in the marshes belong foutenn women called simply the Venerable Ones, gerairai; they are installed by the 'king' and are subject to the 'queen', the wife of the archon basileus. She administers the oath to the Venerable Ones, and then a much more spectacular role falls to her lot: she is given as wife to the god himself. Their union takes place in the Boukolion, the ox-herd's house in the Agora. - Burkert (Greek Religion: Archaic and classical)
Dionysos in the Marshes is the god of the Anthesteria.
According to Thukydides, the temple of Dionysos Limnaois was situated to the south of the Akropolis and was one of the city's oldest sanctuaries. The nature of the "swamps" is indicated by representations on certain choes showing a rock and by Phanodemos' statement that the wine was there mixed with spring water. The place must have been a geological formation characteristic of Greece, the best known example of which is the swamp of Lerna: water pours abundantly from under the rocks, yet despite its purity forms a "swamp". Dionysos entered into the underworld and returned from it near Lerna; it was a gateway to Hades. The limnai of Dionysos must have had the same significance for the Athenians. That is why in Aristophanes the song of the frogs of this swamp accompanied Dionysos on his journey to the underworld, and why at the end of the all-souls-feast of the Anthesteria the people returned once again to this sanctuary of Dionysos. - Kerenyi (Dionysos)
My notes: Dionysos of the Marshes. Marshes combines water and earth. Emotions with physicality/stability. Liquid and solidity. Polarity in union. An in-between place. Such an environment supports a large variety of plant and animal life. Possible underworld associations if one considers the water springing up from the underworld. I didn’t recall the association with Anthesteria when I first drew this one, but coincidentally Anthesteria has been much on my mind lately. (As in I’m already getting excited for it.)
The sanctuary in the swamps was regarded in Athens not only as the oldest but also the most sacred temple of Dionysos. - Kerenyi, p 293
In Athens the festival (Anthesteria) was also referred to as the Older Dionysia, in contrast to the Great Dionysia, which was introduced only in the sixth century. A small sanctuary of Dionysos in the marches, en limnais, was opened only once a year especially for this festival on the 12th day of Anthesterion - the day, according to the sacral reckoning, lasts, of course, from sunset to sunset. No marsh or swamp was to be found within the city bounds of Athens, and so the name must have arrived as a cult name along with this Dionysos. - Burkert (Greek Religion: Archaic and classical)
To the sanctuary in the marshes belong foutenn women called simply the Venerable Ones, gerairai; they are installed by the 'king' and are subject to the 'queen', the wife of the archon basileus. She administers the oath to the Venerable Ones, and then a much more spectacular role falls to her lot: she is given as wife to the god himself. Their union takes place in the Boukolion, the ox-herd's house in the Agora. - Burkert (Greek Religion: Archaic and classical)
Dionysos in the Marshes is the god of the Anthesteria.
According to Thukydides, the temple of Dionysos Limnaois was situated to the south of the Akropolis and was one of the city's oldest sanctuaries. The nature of the "swamps" is indicated by representations on certain choes showing a rock and by Phanodemos' statement that the wine was there mixed with spring water. The place must have been a geological formation characteristic of Greece, the best known example of which is the swamp of Lerna: water pours abundantly from under the rocks, yet despite its purity forms a "swamp". Dionysos entered into the underworld and returned from it near Lerna; it was a gateway to Hades. The limnai of Dionysos must have had the same significance for the Athenians. That is why in Aristophanes the song of the frogs of this swamp accompanied Dionysos on his journey to the underworld, and why at the end of the all-souls-feast of the Anthesteria the people returned once again to this sanctuary of Dionysos. - Kerenyi (Dionysos)
My notes: Dionysos of the Marshes. Marshes combines water and earth. Emotions with physicality/stability. Liquid and solidity. Polarity in union. An in-between place. Such an environment supports a large variety of plant and animal life. Possible underworld associations if one considers the water springing up from the underworld. I didn’t recall the association with Anthesteria when I first drew this one, but coincidentally Anthesteria has been much on my mind lately. (As in I’m already getting excited for it.)
Tarot card drawn: King of Cups - as far as elemental associations are concerned, this card is considered “earth of water”! Makes even more sense when one considers the association of Dionysos Limnaios with Anthesteria. They mixed water with wine (earth). And the names of the days of Anthesteria are all associated with vessels and libations. Dionysos of the Marshes is associated particularly with Khoes, which is when the ‘queen’ was wed to Dionysos.
No comments:
Post a Comment