dionysus


HOME AUTHOR DIONYSUS MASKS TULLIUS-WORLD LABYRINTH
Dionysus is the patron of theaters and the protective god of actors. He was considered a disruptive force, coming from the outside and upseting the ordered lives of cities, but he could not be denied without there terrible consequences. Truth-be-told, he is a much older god than the Olympians. His roots go back to the dancing shamans of the caves whose special relationship to the Great Goddess enabled them to make things right when her animals were killed for food. He offers his followers a path to get in a healthy relationship with the wild side of their nature. The Dionysus of history, the patron of ancient actors, reveals himself in their charisma, their special gifts. They can go into the Underworld, into the unconscious, and bring up the essence of other lives in order to benefit the whole community. These spirits were thought to enter into the masks, so that they were the property of the god Dionysus and shared in his powers.
	Women who followed Dionysus were called Maenads. There were shown as under the spell of the god, running barefoot with animal skins. The god sent his priestesses and other followers back to their primitive, animal roots.They carried the god's attributes, his animal skins, snakes, ivy, panthers, tamborines and other instruments used in his worship.
Dioynsus was the consort of Ariadne, the Great Goddess of prehistorical times. They are shown together in a fertile vinyard and in the Underworld. Ariadne is the goddess on the labyrinth, her dancing floor.
HOME AUTHOR DIONYSUS MASKS TULLIUS-WORLD LABYRINTH

Dionysus is the patron of theaters and the protective god of actors. He was considered a disruptive force, coming from the outside and upseting the ordered lives of cities, but he could not be denied without there terrible consequences.

Truth-be-told, he is a much older god than the Olympians. His roots go back to the dancing shamans of the caves whose special relationship to the Great Goddess enabled them to make things right when her animals were killed for food. He offers his followers a path to get in a healthy relationship with the wild side of their nature.

The Dionysus of history, the patron of ancient actors, reveals himself in their charisma, their special gifts. They can go into the Underworld, into the unconscious, and bring up the essence of other lives in order to benefit the whole community. These spirits were thought to enter into the masks, so that they were the property of the god Dionysus and shared in his powers.