A Dionysian Ritual, Mystis in Nonnus' Dionysiaca

8/12/2019 A Dionysian Ritual, Mystis in Nonnus' Dionysiaca

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Nonnus mysteric vocabulary revisited:

Mystis in Dionysiaca9.111-131

Rosa Garca-Gasco Villarrubia

University Carlos III de Madrid1

1. Introduction

Besides different themes and material, e can find in !onnus"Dionysiacareferences

to reli#ions that are intermin#led and confused in such a ay that it is e$tremely difficult, if

not im%ossible, to e$%lain clearly enou#h hat belief or set of beliefs each reference

corres%onds to& 'ionysian ritual, hich could a priori be considered the most im%ortant

influence in !onnus" or(, is mi$ed ith )r%hism and its doctrinal reformations made by!eo%latonic %hiloso%hers mainly, but also ith other mysterical reli#ions namely Mytraic and

Christian cults*, and ith numerous elements comin# from ma#ic and astrolo#y&

In the %assa#e that e are #oin# to comment e ill try to %oint out a series of

elements that allude to certain ty%es of ritual that may remind us of the reli#ion e (no as

)r%hism& +e ill not only mention them, but e ill also try to a%%roach the uestions

related to the te$t"s transmission and, if %ossible, the sense that such references could have for

!onnus and his contem%oraries& he %assa#e, in des%ite of its brevity .it has only tentyverses-, is very interestin# and relevant ith re#ards to the old ar#ument about !onnus"

reli#ion, but e are not e$%ectin# to anser ith an absolute certainty the uestion, nor

revisitin# all the mysterical references %resent in !onnus" or(&

he te$t is, mainly, more %rodi#al than any other in terms alludin# to conce%ts, ob/ects

or actions associated to forms of mysterical reli#ions& his abundance has dran the attention

of some scholars dealin# ithDionysiaca, ho have mentioned this te$t as the nucleus or at

least an im%ortant %art in their discussion about !onnus" reli#ious belief& In the so-called

quaestio Nonniana, references to rituals %lay a very im%ortant role, since Bo#ner %ointed out

that belief in mysterical reli#ions as one of the three %illars 0alon# ith ma#ic and astrolo#y*

of the %oet"s %a#anism& hus, 2rancis Vian, %rofessors 3ierre Chuvin or 4n#el Rui5 36re57,

in 8%ain, have mentioned Mystis" %resence to discuss, in one sense or another, !onnus"

1his %a%er has been ritten as a contribution to the folloin# research %ro/ects carried out in UniversitiesCom%lutense and Carlos III de Madrid9 :UM;;;7?2I@) and :UM;;A-&7Vian ;;, 7Af, Chuvin 1==, Rui5 36re5 ;;&

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reli#ious beliefs, and e are alloed to thin( that it must be due to the abundance of

mysterical references&

he %rinci%al %ur%ose of this intervention is to %rovide our on classification and

commentary of such accumulation of mysterical elements and references, in order to thro a

little li#ht on the ty%e of (noled#e that the %oet could have had on mysterical rites,

s%ecifically the 'ionysian and )r%hic ones&

+e ill set our hole ar#umentation around three (ey elements9

1& he introduction of Mystis as an innovation in !onnus" account of 'ionysus"

mythical life

& he alle#orical use of the character to tal( about mysterical initiations 0and

conseuently, the %ersonification of an abstract conce%t*7& )ur classification of the references, alludin# to the transmission of the ritual, the

circumstances of celebration of the teleta, and the ones alludin# to the ritual a%%earance

reuired or rather fi#ured in 'ionysian rituals

2. Mystis, a Nonnus innovation

here"s more or less a #eneral a#reement on the fact that theDionysiaca aims to be a

com%ilation of all the myths re#ardin# 'ionysus& he central e%isode in the %assa#e, =&111-171, deals ith %art of the #od"s childhood& 'urin# it, several deities ta(e care of the youn#

'ionysus in order to avoid :era, ho /ealously and constantly attac(s the boy&

2irstly, the e%isode of Mystis serves us as an e$am%le of the %oet"s tendency to follo

and res%ect the tradition, and to innovate on traditional accounts, the resource called imitatio

cum variatione&

@et"s see the traditional elements in 'ionysus" childhood9 his birth from Deus and

8emele ho deceived by :era, #ets struc( by thunder and dies hile %re#nant& Deus, as thetradition has it and !onnus carefully narrates, ses the boy to his thi#h so that the child may

be brou#ht forth& )nce born, Deus hands the baby to other #ods, so that they may hide him

from :era"s, ho (ee%s chasin# him ferociously&

!evertheless, hile Ino 08emele"s sister* is in char#e of 'ionysus, !onnus" introduces

a ne character9 Mystis, a nurse, hose name or similar actions are absent from the rest of the

sources, ho also ta(es care of the #od& ll the rest of the successive #od"s nurses a#rees ith

tradition, only Mystis is an innovation&


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his is not the only te$t in Dionysiacahich reflects mysterical allusions.but it is the

accumulation of the different references that ma(es it s%ecial alloin# us to ta(e it as the

%erfect e$cuse to tal( on !onnus" (noled#e on mysterical rites& he most interestin#

references to be commented a%%ear italici5ed in the #iven te$t&

3. Mystis, an allegorical way to reer to !ionysian ritual

It seems not only %ossible but also necessary to tal( about Mystis as an alle#ory or

%ersonification of the Initiation itself&

:ere, !onnus must be folloin# a tradition of )r%hic echoes9 the closest reference

seems to be the /rp0ic 1ymns, a hetero#eneus collection of %oems hich may be dated

beteen the second and third centuries '& 8%ecifically, it is the hymn number >= the onehich tal(s about a mystical nurse, called :i%ta 0to hom the :ymn is consecrated*& Vv& 1->

JF YXYZPYW, \Y]T JKTL, H SF YTgKQ,

NPJXZTX JHZHJF PX [FZZTNQ jT [T

YJHKkTX JH ]TKT PX KXjKHNJFT Y]T &

YZ k NT H ]TNT, ]TkF NJQK, jFPkZHXF

I invo(e :i%ta, mother of Bacchus, maiden of the evo02,

initiated ho is %leased ith the mysteries of the sacred 8abo

and the ni#ht dances of the loud acchus&

:ear my %rayer, mother earth, soverei#n

he fi#ure of Mystis is clearly connected to :i%ta"s, as anine Balty has shon in her

article Mystisp in the 3e4icon 5con6rap0icum, the 3578& here are some relevant

icono#ra%hic sources that seem to be used by !onnus" in this %assa#e, as a marble relief

%reserved in the @ouvre Museum hich shos 8ilenus and Mystis?:i%ta as 'ionysus"

mysta#o#ue and mystical nurse, res%ectively&

Mystis" name is not an invention of !onnus, but its a%%lication to the nurse, called

:i%ta in or%hic tradition, is ori#inal& he %oet aims to %resent Mystis li(e the inventor or

discoverer of the rites to honour 'ionysus& !onnu"s insistin# in the use of the noun NgPJX,

both as a common and a %ro%er name alon# the te$t, has very much to do ith such an

intentio&

8uch ambivalence allos the %seudoethymolo#ical #ame in verses 111 to 1179 here,

the first occurrence of the name Mystis is a %art of the introductory distich ith hich

!onnus mar(s the transition beteen the former scene 0in hich 'ionysus, still a child, is

ne$t to Ino, PPQ*, and the one that e are tal(in# about& In =&117 e find the

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reci%rocity beteen the nurse"s name and the denomination mysteric artp 0N PJXSX J ]QX*

#iven to the ty%e of rites that she founds in order to ma(e it still clearer, !onnus insists and

adds e$%licitly that the rites ta(e her name9 K[XF LHKqNF&

he use of s%ecific terms to desi#nate celebrations associated ith the mysteries, such

as K[XF in =&11> and JHZHJ in =&11, is si#nificantly reduced to only to verses in all the

%assa#e& 8uch verses are, in addition, in immediate succession and their sense is %ractically

identical, becomin# another e$am%le of the %oet"s redundancy&

Given Mystis" alle#orical nature, it does not seem a %roblem inter%retin# the set of

ritual actions carried out in the %assa#e that e are discussin# as an overvie of the

constitutive elements of mysterical rites, at least as !onnus" ima#ines them& It is to be

reminded, nevertheless, that there are many other %laces in Dionysiacahere actions relatedto mysterical rituals are referred to& ctually, it ould be erroneous to state that Mystis" scene

is the clearest or most com%lete descri%tion of dionysian cultual %rocedure in !onnus" or(&

But it is also true that most of the references that e discuss here find su%%ort in other

references that e ill mention as an e$am%le&

". #lassiication o t$e reerences

)ur %ro%osal of classification ta(es into account the folloin# criteria9 the structureand ay of transmission of 'ionysian ritual, the ob/ects used in mystic celebrations and the

%arallels in other sources and, finally, the characteristic clothes and instruments of the

Maenads in literary and icono#ra%hic tradition&

a& 8tructure and transmission in ritual

he e$tension of the cult throu#hout the orld serves as a %rete$t to 'ionysus,

considered as the unuestionable main character of the %oem, to underta(e the ar a#ainst theIndians and to %unish all those characters ho try to %revent it& hat"s hy the references to

dionysiac ritual are the most interestin# to us in this %oint-

ccordin# to Rui5 36re5, !onnus" %oem is rou#ht ith myths that belon#ed to a

HK Z[T, containin# 6rosso mo9oa series of narrative elements %resent in all the stories

carried out by %eo%le ho re/ect 'ionysus and suffer very severe %unishments& hese

characters are called t0eom:c0oi in Dionysiaca& he HK Z[T can be considered the

theoretical foundation of a 'ionysian ritual and this sacred story is euivalent to the s%o(enp


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%art 0ZH[NHF* of a series of cult acts in hich the re%resentation of the myths %lays an

im%ortant role, hich constitutes the dramati5edp %art 0SKqNHF*& he devotee must e$tract

from the HK Z[T a moral that, in the case of 'ionysus, is com%osed of the elements of the

most ambi#uous Greco-latin #od"s %ersonality, hose e$treme cruelty is only com%arable to

the liberation resultin# from the cult and to the com%assion that it e$erts on its folloers&

s for the structure of the 'ionysian ritual, e$tremely difficult to se%arate from

)r%hism in !onnus" and former times, the te$t fromDionysiaca =,111-171 offers evidence of

the ay the s%o(enp com%onent as transmitted and com%letes other te$ts that deal ith

re%resentation of myths and the ob/ects used in the dramati5ation&

+e are #oin# to tal( firstly about the im%ortant %resence of to forms of the verb

SXSPYW, hich %oint at the s%ecific ay of transmission of mysterical rites belon#in# to'ionysism and )r%hism&

his verb, that means to teachp in the active voice and to learnp in the %assive, is the

one used s%ecifically to refer to the %rocess of transmission of mysterical doctrines, namely

)r%hic& mysta#o#ue teachesp the mystes the (noled#e re#ardin# the mysteries also in

secret ceremonies& In the te$t e find to %artici%les of this verb, one referred to Mystis and

the other one to 'ionysus9 v& 11> and v& 1, althou#h the %art of the te$t corres%ondin# to the

second instance is corru%t& Both %artici%les are ambi#uous

, for it is not ay clear hetherthey are %artici%les in the medio-%assive voice 0to teachp* or in the %assive 0to learnp* the

solution is %rovided by %rofessor Vian hen %ointin# out that 'ionysus is not only initiated

by Mystis, but also Mystis is initiated by the youn#, but %oerful, #od&

he %assa#e also contains references to SKqNHF in 'ionysian ritual, not only to

ZH[NHF& hus e can consider the references to the dances, the earin# of dionysian

clothesp or the handlin# of certain musical instruments or torches, that are distributed all

alon# the %assa#e& 2irmly connected ith these allusions is the folloin# #rou% of references,that e are callin# the ob/ects of the ritualp&

b& he ob/ects of the ritual

+e have to tal( firstly about the bas(et in =&1Af


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he bas(et, or the cas(et, seems to have had a dee% symbolic value in )r%hismA9

2irmicus Maternus %rovides data on the mythical base of its meanin# hen assurin# that it

contained the heart of 'ionysus saved by thena& Besides YkPJQ, it is also attested by the

name YZFT, hich served to %rotect the symbols of the mysteries, hich ere to be

revealed to the initiate durin# the ceremony& Clemens le$andrinus %rovides an interestin#

evidence on its content=9

FX S YF F Y PJFX NPJXYF SH [ K T[N PFX J [XF F J YF J KKQJF _HXH &

PQPFNF JF JF YF KFN SH YF JTZ FX YF FF TZ NLFZF ] SKTX JH Z YF SK YW, K[XT

`XT PT \FPP KT

8uch are too the mystical bas(ets for it is necessary to stri% them of all the sacred and to %roclaim the

untold& re these sesame and %um%(in %ies many-lum%ed ca(es, #rains of salt and a sna(e, not 'ionysus

Bassareus" symbolsp

In the li#ht of Clemens" evidence1;, it seems reasonable to thin( that some )r%hic

rituals ould include a bas(et ith a sna(e inside, an obviously telluric animal, that ould

serve therefore as a reminder of the initiate"s immortal ori#in and destiny11& he Gurob

3a%yrus also mentions a different (ind of content of the bas(et, named no YZFT& his

te$t is of an enormous im%ortance for the study of )r%hic ritual& In lines -7; e read9

w J YZFT NjFZxH

Yw T NjT PJK[FZTX

Qw PTJKT&

3ut into the bas(et %ine, bull-roarer, (nuc(le-bones mirror&

he te$t mentions a set of ob/ects that in the )r%hic myth of 'ionysus" dismemberin#

ould have served the itans to deceive 'ionysus before (illin# him& he 3a%yrus" te$t,

combined ith the one by Clemens, allos us to say that the bas(et as used to contain one

or more sacred symbols of the cult9 the sacred sna(e, food-offerin#s and ob/ects that

su##ested or evo(ed the #od"s toys& !evertheless, there is no reason hy they should all be

inside at the same time1& )n the other hand, the bas(et itself as a symbol of #reat reli#ious

Also in the leusinian mysteries, of hose ZH[qNHF it too( %art, accordin# to Clemens9 Clem& ;rot& & 1&&

Iul& 2irm& Mat& )f err& &1;nd of others that a#ree ith him9 a series of 3er#amus coins, dated around II &'&, de%ict a sna(e leavin#

a bas(et& Cf& Cumont 1=77, >


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value, as denoted by the fact there as an officiant, the YXPJLTKT, receivin# its name from

bein# its carrier, li(e 'emosthenes certifies17& In a very interestin# %assa#e from his s%eech

/n t0e 8ro@n, %ara#ra%hs =-&

'emosthenes ferociously %arodies some asiatic mysteris in hich, accordin# to him,

eschines" mother ould have been a %riestess& he te$t %resents an interestin# accumulation

of elements of diverse %rovenances, such as 'ionysian mysteries, but also mytraism and the

oriental .and omanish, in #ree("s eyes- cult of ttes 1& he orator ridicules subtly his

17Cf& '& 1&


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o%%onent by usin# his mother as an e$cuse& :oever, of #reater im%ortance is the fact that

'emosthenes accuses eschines of bein# %ro-macedonian&

he allusion to the bas(et a%%ears in the te$t in a tofold ay9 'emosthenes

underlines the main role %layed by eschines in the ceremonies, first as his mother"s

assistant, and then, surrounded by rich #rannies, as YXJJTLKT YF ZXYTLKT YF JTXF {

J [K SkW KTPF[TKHNHT& lthou#h the inter%retation of YXJJTLKT as sacred& +

bas(et carrierp is not sure, and in fact our translation reflects the other %ossibility .

understandin# the ord as ivy carrierp, as a si#n of the hi#hest sacerdotal status of

eschines-, e have the second com%osed of LKW9 ZXYTLKT, hich ta(es us to the

his ord ta(es us to a different ob/ect, called ZkYT, hich as used in a#riculture

to se%arate the #rain from the chaff& In )r%hic celebrations, nevertheless, it had a symbolicvalue, mainly in the ceremonies desi#nated YFFKNTk, hose aim as to %urify the devotees&

'ionysus himself has a cultual relationshi% ith the ZkYT, #iven the fact that he is called

3iBnitesin some testimonies& ccordin# to them, the God ould have been #ron u% in a fan,

used as a cradle& 2or all these reasons, the ZkYT is considered a sacred ob/ect in the realm of

'ionysus in hose rites it could be used in the same ay as the bas(et, YZFT or JZFKT,

the +ord %resent in !onnus" te$t1


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YXPJFLKTX, and %riestesses, YXPJFLTKPFPFX, e$clusively in char#e of the bas(et care ;& In

the Dionysiaca, YZFT is re%laced by a term JZFKT used by !onnus to evo(e the

leusinian mysteries, in three %assa#es in hich it a%%ears closely related to a#riculture1& he

bas(et and the sna(e ould not allo by themselves to tal( e$clusively about 'ionysian rites,

because both symbols are attested also in 'emeter and 3erse%hone"s mysteries& )n the other

hand, the evidence from Clemens and the forementioned Gurob 3a%yrus allo us to brin# to

elements to#ether that in the %assa#e referred to Mystis are not related one to the other9 the

sna(e and the bas(et& !onnus" confusion is due to his lac( of direct (noled#e of the content

and uses of a mystical bas(et, but it seems clear that both symbols belon# to the same conte$t&

)n the other hand, as e have seen, the Gurob 3a%yrus mentions toys, even ithout

classifyin# them very clearly9 %ine, the bull-roarer and (nuc(le-bones& 2or !onnus, themystical bas(etp is 'ionysus" toy itself9 such is the lesson that Mystis, his nurse, teaches him

accordin# to verses 1Af& his allusion serves us to connect the im%ortance of teachin# ith

the dramati5ed %ractice of rituals& !onnus is not interested at all in the content of the bas(et,

but in the bas(et itself, for hose %resence in 'ionysian he could have found the most useful

source in icono#ra%hy&

c& he circumstances of the teletai9 the ni#htIn re#ard to the achievement of SKqNHF of the mysterical rites, e have to em%hasi5e

the ords related ith the ni#ht, indeed very numerous throu#hout all the %assa#e& hey

su##est that a #reat %art of the mysteries in !onnus" time could usually ta(e %lace at ni#ht9 in

=&11, !onnus tal(s about unslee%less Mystis" eyes 0 NNFPX [K TXPX*, in 11> the same

idea is reflected by a ell-(non ad/ective of 'ionysus 0YJHZ TXT `XT PT* and in 11

the conce%t that receives the ualification of [KT is JHZHJ& #ain, in 11 there is a

reference to the ritual ni#ht dance 0YJX] KHJT*, for torches are needed 0LZ [F*, hereas 11= contains a ne reference to the slee%lessp condition of the #od 0 YTXN JWX XT PWX*&

'emosthenes" te$t from /n t0e 8ro@nuoted and commented above contains an

im%ortant reference to the ni#ht, durin# hich a series of rituals related to dionysism and

or%hism ta(e %lace9 t ni#ht it as your duty to mi$ the libations, to clothe the catechumens

in fan-s(ins, to ash their bodies, to scour them ith the loam and the bran, and, hen their

lustration as duly %erformed, to set them on their le#s, and #ive out the hymn9 :ere I leave

;

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my sins behindp& hen, the author tal(s about the other (ind of celebrations, those hich

ta(e %lace durin# the day& he later consisted, as it seems, on #uidin# the kFPTX, the name

#iven in the sources to the #rou%s of 'ionysian devotees& he former allusion, indeed, seems

to be closer to or%hic celebrations&

It is very im%ortant in !onnus" te$t the ad/ective YJZXT, hose meanin# is ni#htly

or nocturnal, is similar to another one, very ell attested in te$ts referrin# to 'ionysian cults9

YJkTZT, closely related to the other one used by !onnus9 YJX]KHJT& In my o%inion,

YJZXT #uides us to YJgTZT and simultaneously to YJX]KHJT&

he earliest a%%earances of the term YJgTZT in Gree( literature have to do ith

'ionysus" folloers, human or mythical, and not ith the God himself& hus in a fra#ment

from :eraclitus of %hesus 0:eraclit& 2r& A Marc& B 1> '& .~&* it is used to criticise all the%artici%ants in 'ionysus cults9

kPX S NFJHgHJFX KYZHXJT LPXT YJXZTX, N[TX, jY]TX, ZFX, NgPJFX, . ( /

JTgJTX HXZH J NHJ FJT, JTgJTX NFJHgHJFX J K J [ K TNXONHF YFJ K T

NPJKXF XHKWPJ NT JFXp&

2or hom does :eraclitus of %ehsus %ro%hesy 2or ni#ht-anderin# i5ards, Bacchants,

@enaeans, initiates& hese are the ones he threatens ith the thin#s that come after death for these he

%ro%hesies fire& 2or the initiation-rites acce%ted amon# man(ind they %erform 0are initiated into* in an

im%ious manner

&he bacchants are as ell called YJkTZFX in uri%ides"5on0&5onA1


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`X SF T N PJQ [H NQ,

YF YJX ZT F[K W jKTJ

JT NTL [T SF JF JHZ PF " 4

NQJK J" KH WX S XSF FP] 5 *

YF YTK JW

j Y]T YZ Q PXWH & (

ZZHYF S" ]W H NFJF LH [W 0

[ HP JH jKTJ YF HYKT YQ

T ]KXNJ NHT J J" N^ ]W

jK PX SHPJ HL ZF[NFX >&

8on of 3hoenician-born uro%a and of #reat Deus .you ho rule Crete and its hundred cities| I have

come here from the most holy tem%le hose roo fis %rovided from native cy%ress-ood cut into beams

ith Chalybean a$e and bonded in e$act %oints ith o$-#lue& 3ure is the life I have led since I becamean initiate of Idaean Deus and a servitor of ni#ht-ran#in# Da#reus, %erformin# his feasts of ra flesh

and raisin# torches hi#h to the mountain Mother amon# the Curetes, I as consecrated and named a

celebrant& In clothin# all of hite I shun the birthin# of men and the %laces of their dead I do not #o

near a#ainst the eatin# of animal foods I have #uarded myself&

his te$t is a very interestin# com%endium of information about the earliest form of

or%hism, as %rofessor Bernab6 has recently demonstrated


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dionysian and or%hic rites& 8o, it seems reasonable to ta(e in consideration !onnus"

(noled#e of the connection beteen this ad/ective and the or%hic 'ionysus=&

d& he ritual a%%eareance9 'ionysian clothes, ornaments and instruments

2inally, e ill discuss the te$tual references to elements referrin# to the community

member"s %hysical a%%earance in the 'ionysian ritual, namely to their clothes and ornaments,

hich, in fact, seem %ertainin# to mythical territory, rather than ritual& In =&1;-1> e find

the consecration by Mystis of the cultual ve#etal ob/ects, the #ra%evine and the ivy, hich

intertine around the thyrsus, the essential com%lement of the bacchants traditional ima#e&

Ne>rys0fan-s(in*, mentioned in verse 1*,or :ecate 0& R& 7& &1>, =, 1;;*& all of them related ith the underorld&

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in a sentence dealin# ith a LXZQ ith the sha%e of a breast, related to the root that in Gree(

desi#nates the oman"s breast 0NFPJ-*, and he conseuently ima#ines it as if it ere a

metallic article to cover the breast&

)nce /ustified the %resence of LXZFX in the %assa#e, the %ossibility of !onnus directly

(noin# 'ionysian ritual, and mysterical ritual in #eneral, becomes still fainter and less

%robable& Contrarily to +ilson, itrem tries to defend the received te$t by seein# in LXZFX

chimes or bells, or bron5e vessels from hich the Maenads used to drin( mil( Coo(, thin(s

they ould be vessels used in libations Chr6tien tal(s about han#in# ornaments, and urcan

thin(s of bells7;& ll of them have in common the reference to ob/ects hose %resence in the

ritual, the icono#ra%hy or literature related to 'ionysus is confirmed by evidence %revious to

!onnus& hey e$%lain the ob/ect from an archety%ical conce%tion of Maenad that corres%ondsto the one from the 'ionysian ima#ery&

Mystis" actions in !onnus" or( do not have to be ta(en literally, li(e a document of

ritual actions, but /ust li(e a sim%le accumulation of literary and icono#ra%hical elements&

8uch a %oint of vie ould allo to unite +ilson"s vision, ho even sees no sense in the

%resence of the LXZFX, ith the one of those ho see in them com%lements of the bacchant

ima#e that the sources have created&

he same e$%lanation is valid for the use of sna(es as belts, althou#h in this case the%arallels are evident and more numerous& Indeed, the inclusion of the re%tile in the ritual

clothin# is only a variant of the handlin# of these animals that the tradition considers

characteristic of the Mainads in their state of divine %ossession& he sna(e is an animal

stron#ly lin(ed to 'ionysus and his folloers in a #reat number of testimonies& hus, 3lutarch

tal(s about le$ander the Great"s mother, )lym%ias, ho a%%arently used to ta(e %art in

bacchic celebrations, here she ould have ta(en these animals in her hands 03lu&Fle4& &


15/18

+e can also find sna(es in the te$t from 'emosthenes" /n t0e 8ro@nuoted before&

he orator accuses eschines" mother to have been a %riestess in some (ind of mysterical

rites, but she is not the one to handle the sna(es, but eschines himself& @et us remind e$actly

the ords9 you suee5ed 0ZkjW* the fat-chee(ed sna(es, or brandished them above your

head, no shoutin# your Euoi Ga>oi| !o footin# it to the measure of 1yes FttesH Fttes

1yesp& he reference is made clear to a celebration in honor of Bacchus, identified ith an

oriental #od called 8aba5ios honored by means of the ritual cry Ga>oi& )n the other hand, the

first %art of the cry is traditional hen celebratin# 'ionysus&

s for 'emosthenes" allusion to the sna(es brandished by the devotees, it is a very

ell attested %ractice& In !onnus", actually, e can find sna(es ho act friendly ith the

Maenads, as for e$am%le inDionysiaca7&;>-9 here, hen the bacchant Calchomede isabout to be ra%ed by the Indian Morreus, a sna(e suddenly comes out of her clothes and

terrifies the arrior& But the etiolo#ical e$%lanation of the relationshi% beteen the sna(e and

'ionysius" realm, as many other traditionally 'ionysian elements, in uri%ides" Iacc0ants,

==-1;>, here e can read9

JHYH S", YF T KFX

J ZHPF, JFK YHKW H

PJHL WP JH SKFY JW

PJHL TX, H [KF Q-

KTJK LT NFX SH NLX-

j ZZTJFX ZTY NTX&

+hom once, in the com%ulsion of birth %ains, the thunder of Deus flyin# u%on her, his mother cast

from her omb, leavin# life by the stro(e of a thunderbolt& Immediately Deus, ~ronos{ son, received him in a

chamber fit for birth, and havin# covered him in his thi#h shut him u% ith #olden clas%s, hidden from :era&

nd he brou#ht forth, hen the 2ates had %erfected him, the bull-horned #od, and he croned him ith

crons of sna(es, for hich reason Maenads cloa( their ild %rey over their loc(s7&

+e should also mention the %arallels for Mystis" 'ionysian clothes and the earlier sources&Besides the sna(es and the p0ialai,!onnus tal(s about other ob/ects used by the oman in

this first mysterical initiation9 fan-s(ins, S KNFJF HjK , and the thyrsus, coronated ith

ivy, KPT N O[T T TX YXPP X& #ain, the main source is to be found in the (

Iacc0ants, hich e can consider ithout hesitation the archety%e for all the literary and

icono#ra%hic ima#ery that e$isted in uri%ides" time and that ould come later& s for the

ne>rys, the ritual animal s(in that 'ionysus and bacchants used to ear, is also %resent in

7ranslation by && Buc(ley&

1


16/18

'emosthenes" te$t insistently commented under the form of the %artici%le HjKkOW, referred

to the act of eschines %uttin# this clothe on the initiates& 2inally, !onnus" mention of

musical instruments li(e the rattle and the cymbals, in =&11


17/18

Bur(ert, +& 01==7*, Bacchic eletai in he :ellenistic #e, in9 Car%enter, & ? 2araone, C&

0eds&*,7asBs oA Dionysus, Ithaca-@ondon, =-A&

Chrtien, G& 01=*,Nonnos 9e ;anopolis= 3es Dionysiaques= Lome 5K= 80ants 5OPO, 3aris&

Chuvin, 3& 01==1*,7yt0olo6ie et 62o6rap0ie 9ionysiaques= ec0erc0es sur lQoeuvre 9e

Nonnos 9e ;anopolis, Clermont-2errand&

Collard, C& ? Cro%%, M&& ? Gilbert, & 0tr&* 0;;>*,Euripi9es Gelecte9 ra6mentary ;lays Kol=

55, )$ford&

Coo(, &B& 01=*,Reus, Cambrid#e&

Cumont, 2& 01=77*, @a #rande inscri%tion bachiue du Metro%olitan Museum, II&

Commentaire reli#ieu$ de l"inscri%tion& 3lanches -III, in9FSF

7A, 7-*,Demost0enes 9e 8orona, Cambrid#e,

:arrison, & 01=;7*, Mystica vannus Iacchi, in9S1G7, 1=;7, =-7>&

:arrison, & 01=;>*, Mystica vannus Iacchi, in9S1G >, 1=;>, >1->&

:enrichs, & 01=&

im6ne5 8an Cristbal, &I& 0;;*,ituales MrAicos. 9iss=, Madrid&

Murray, G& 01=17*, Euripi9es= Euripi9is a>ulae, )$ford&

!ilsson, M&3& 01=A*, L0e Dionisiac mysteries oA t0e 1ellenistic an9 oman a6e, @und 0re&

!e or( 1=A*&

3errin, B& 01=1=*,;lutarc0= ;lutarc0Us 3ives= @it0 an En6lis0 Lranslation, Cambrid#e M&

Robinson, &M& 01=A*,ra6ments Z 1eraclitus[ a te4t an9 translation @it0 a commentary,

oronto&

Ricciardelli, G& 0;;*, :imnos rficos, in9 Bernab6, & ? Casadess, 2& 0eds&*, /rAeo y la

tra9iciMn MrAicaJ un reencuentro, volume , Madrid, 7-7>&

1A


18/18

Rouse, +&:&'& 01=>;*,Nonnos= Dionysiaca, :arvard&

Rui5 36re5, & 0;;*, @a mntica como factor de cohesin en las 'ionisacas de !ono de

3an%olis& @os mitos tebanos, in91a>is77, 1-1&

urcan, R& 01=

Documents

A Dionysian Ritual, Mystis in Nonnus' Dionysiaca