The document summarizes the ancient Greek god Dionysus and the festivals held in his honor known as the Dionysia. Dionysus was the god of wine, theatre, fertility and ecstasy. The largest festival in his honor was the City Dionysia held annually in Athens, which featured a procession, sacrifices, theatrical performances of tragedies and comedies, and competitions. The Theatre of Dionysus hosted the plays and was the birthplace of classical Greek theatre.

1. Also known as “The Great Dionysia”
By: Sarah M Smith

2.  Dionysus was known as the “Greek God of Wine, Theatre,
Ecstasy, and Fertility.
 Dionysus was one of the most popular Greek Gods who was
recognized in most religions and cultures in the Ancient
Times.
 The Romans referred to Dionysus as Bacchus- most stories
and myths refer to him by both names.
 He was the born son of Zeus and Semele. Unlike other
Greek Gods, Dionysus was born from Zeus himself because
his mother (a mortal woman) was killed. Zeus rescued the
fetal Dionysus by sewing him into his thigh and kept him
there until he was a fully grown baby, and then released
him (could be one major factor to the quote “Fruit of my
loins”)

3.  Stories of Dionysus’s childhood talk about his study of “the
vine” (referring to grapes) and making wine. He is the
creditor of discovering and making wine according to
Ancient Greek Myths.
 One of his obvious character traits were his looks. He was
said to be extremely handsome and was a model for several
works of art thru out history. Many famous sculptures,
paintings, and models were created for centuries after his
times. There are several famous works of art to honor him
in museums all over the world.
 Dionysus was often associated with satyrs (a troop of male
companions who were half-man and half-goat). According
to myth, satyrs are lovers of women, wine, and physical
pleasure of any kind. This contributes to Dionysus’s “God
of Fertility” reputation.

4. “Bacchus” by
Caravaggio

5.  Dionysus is the God that the Dionysia Festival was
created to honor and celebrate. Most festivals in the
ancient times were solely for worshiping their “Gods”
and were set up more like a ritual (acting out an
established procedure which has to do with religion).
 After Eleutherae (bordering town of Attica and
Boeotia) became part of Attica, the statue of Dionysus
was brought to Athens by the former Eleuthereans.
 The Athenians rejected the statue and God
immediately. Due to the rejection, the Athenians were
punished by Dionysus with a “plague” which affected
the male genitalia, and made reproduction impossible.

6. 2nd century Roman statue of
Dionysus, after a Hellenistic
model

7.  Athenians accepted Dionysus after the “plague”, and were
cured immediately.
 Each year the Athenians recalled the events that took place,
and started to worship Dionysus.
 The worshiping was done thru a procession (comparable to
a modern day parade), where worshipers carried “phalloi”
(objects that resembled an erect penis) to show their
appreciation for the gift of fertility.
 These events took place in approximately 7th century BC,
but the festival and its traditions evolved later.

8. Do you remember the story from childhood told
about King Midas? If you don’t remember, King Midas was
greedy and his love for gold made him lose the important
things in life.
He was awarded “anything his heart desired” for doing
a good deed. His one request was that anything he touched be
turned to gold. The God who offered this request warned him
that it wouldn’t be a good idea, but King Midas insisted. As
the story goes, he wasn’t able to enjoy food, other humans, or
anything that needed to be touched. His own daughter was
turned into a gold statue.
Well, the God that made King Midas the offer was
Dionysus. I found that to be an interesting fun fact that I
never knew before.

9. Satyr giving a
grapevine to Bacchus
child. Cameo glass,
1st half of the 1st
century. From Italy.

10.  The official City Dionysus Festival is brought to life in
6th century BC by the “Archons of Athens”.
 The festival from start to finish lasted about 5 full days.
 The first day of the festival was when the “pompe” took
place, and following were the sacrifices of the bull to
honor the God Dionysus.
 All plays took place at the Theatre of Dionysus.
 The most popular plays were Tragedies- three
playwrights were to present three tragedies with one
satyr play , and were judged for an award.

11.  At least three full days were set aside for tragic plays.
 Each year a playwright would be awarded the “top
prize” for their works-the top prize was a goat.
 The next two days were for “dithyrambic” contests
which were Greek hymns and dances that were done to
honor Dionysus. The music that was sung and danced
to is very comparable to the music that is playing in
this presentation. The dances and chorusus for
Dionysus were upbeat rhythms and sounded
differently from any other music in that time.
 In 449 BC, actors started getting awards for their
performances for the first time.

12.  Shortly after actors were recognized, comedies were
welcomed into the festival and awards were given to
honor comedy playwrights.
 The final day of the festival was when the winners were
announced . The winners at each City Dionysia were
given a wreath of ivy (to represent wine and the
process of making it), as well as the goat (satyrs) in the
honor of Dionysus.
 The fertility part of the ceremony was the beginning
procession/parade where worshipers carried “phalloi” ,
as well as baskets of fruit and wine to resemble
Dionysus and what he had done for the people.

14.  484 BC - Aeschylus
 472 BC - Aeschylus (The Persians)
 471 BC - Polyphrasmon
 468 BC - Sophocles (Triptolemus)
 467 BC - Aeschylus (Seven Against Thebes)
 463 BC - Aeschylus (The Suppliants)
 458 BC - Aeschylus (The Oresteia)
 449 BC - Herakleides
 442 BC - Sophocles (Antigone) (year approximate)
 441 BC - Euripides

15.  431 BC - Euphorion, son of Aeschylus, Sophocles took
2nd place, Euripides took 3rd with Medea
 428 BC - Euripides (Hippolytus)
 427 BC - Philocles, nephew of Aeshyclus, Sophocles
took 2nd place
 416 BC - Agathon
 415 BC - Xenocles
 409 BC - Sophocles (Philoctetes)
 405 BC - Euripides (The Bacchae, Iphigenia in Aulis,
Alcmaeon in Corinth)
 372 BC - Astydamas

16. "Bacchus" by
Michelangelo

17.  486 BC - Chionides
 472 BC - Magnes
 458 BC - Euphonius
 450 BC - Crates
 446 BC - Callias
 437 BC - Pherecrates
 435 BC - Hermippus
 422 BC - Cantharus

18.  421 BC - Aristophanes (Peace (2nd prize))
 414 BC - Ameipsias (The Revellers)
 402 BC - Cephisodoros
 290 BC - Poseidippus
 278 BC - Philemon
 185 BC - Laines
 183 BC - Philemon
 154 BC - Chairion

19.  Dionysus and the festivals in his honor were the start
of Theatre, and the basis of evolution of theatre from
ancient times to present all over the world.
 The first theatrical presentations were performed at
the ancient theatre, “Theatre of Dionysus”. The
theatre was where the parades ended, shows were
performed, and awards were given.
 The original theatre still exists today. In November
2009, it was announced that renovations were being
started to the original Theatre of Dionysus and are
expected to be finished in 2015.

21.  Косановић, Славен. Modern Day Theatre of Dionysus. 2007. Photograph. Greece, Greece.
 Bacchus by Michelangelo. 2008. Photograph. Museo Del Bargello, Florence, Italy.
 Daemonia Nymphe. "Dance of the Satyrs." Dance of the Satyrs. Prikosnovenie-Palace of Worms-
Cynfeirdd, 2006. MP3.
 "Dionysia-Festivals." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysia>.
 "Dionysus." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Apr. 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus>.
 "Great Dionysia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
 Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 29 Apr. 2012
 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/243182/Great-Dionysia>.
 Haigh, AE. The City Dionysia. The Attic Theatre. Claridon, 1898. 9-21. Theatre Database. 1898. Web.
29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.theatredatabase.com/ancient/city_dionysia_001.html>.
 Nguyen, Marie-Lan. Seated Dionysos Holding out a Kantharos. 2006. Photograph. British Museum,
London.
 Nguyen, Marie-Lan. Statue of Dionysus. Marble, 2nd Century CE. 2009. Photograph. Louvre
Museum, Paris.
 O'Neil, D. Bacchus by Caravaggio. 2004. Photograph. Galleria Degli Uffizi, Florence.
 Saint-Pol, Bibi. Satyr Giving a Grapevine to Bacchus Child. Cameo Glass, 1st Half of the 1st Century.
From Italy. 2007. Photograph. Petit Palais, Paris.
 "Theatre of Dionysus." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Feb. 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_of_Dionysus>.
 Wilson, Edwin, and Alvin Goldfarb. "Chapter 2: Greek Theatre." Living Theatre: History of the
Theatre. Sixth ed. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 25-55. Print.