One of my favorite sources relating to the ancient cult of Dionysos is this inscription from Miletos dated to 276 BCE:
Whenever the priestess performs the holy rites on behalf of the city … it is not permitted for anyone to throw pieces of raw meat [anywhere], before the priestess has thrown them on behalf of the city, nor is it permitted for anyone to assemble a thiasos of maenads before the public thiasos [has been assembled] ….
… to provide [for the women] the implements of initiation in all the orgies ….
And whether a woman wishes to perform an initiation for Dionysos Bakchios in the city, in the countryside, or on the islands, she must pay a piece of gold to the priestess at each biennial celebration.
- LSAM 48
Lately I’ve been getting nudged by Spider to man up as a priest of Dionysos. Hence the strong focus on Orphism and the cult of the dead since my return from Silent July as well as my attempts at fostering community. (And by the way, some really interesting conversations are happening here. Do check it out!)
It is also why I am making this post tonight. You see, I think I would like to revive the custom mentioned in that inscription.
No, I’m not going to kill a wild animal, drag it to Dionysos’ shrine, bite off a chunk of it’s still warm and bleeding flesh and spit that onto the altar for my community. I mean, I love you guys — but my love definitely has limits.
However I do think regular sacrifices need to be made on behalf of our community. Sacrifices to bring strength, wisdom, stability and prosperity to our community so that its members will be in a better position to do the work of their gods and spirits. I’m not thinking of any community in particular, but of polytheists everywhere. May all who honor the gods and spirits be blessed, regardless of my personal feelings about them!
In addition to that I will make special petitions to Dionysos on behalf of any individual who requests them.
I am going to do this each Friday and I encourage anyone else who feels called to participate to do so. I think this simple act, if enough people did it, could work wonders in creating a sense of fellowship among us. Out of that fellowship will arise the community we desire.
Why should this be done?
“Let them look at the standing crops already flourishing with waving heads in the broad fields, and at the meadows glittering with plants and flowers, in response to abundant rains and the restored mildness and softness of the atmosphere. Finally, let all rejoice that the might of the most powerful and terrible Mars has been propitiated by our piety, our sacrifices, and our veneration; and let them on this account enjoy firm and tranquil peace and quiet; and let as many as have wholly abandoned that blind error and delusion and have returned to a right and sound mind rejoice the more, as those who have been rescued from an unexpected storm or severe disease and are to reap the fruits of pleasure for the rest of their life.” – Rescript of Maximinus Daia, quoted in Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesastical History 6.7.10-11
“Like that of some flawless king, who, god-fearing, ruling a numerous and doughty people, upholds justice so that the dark earth brings forth wheat and barley, and the trees are heavy with fruit, and the sheep and goats give birth without fail, and the sea provides fish from his good leadership, and the people flourish under him.” – Homer, Odyssey 19.109-14
For the good of all those who honor the gods and spirits.
Tagged: dionysos, heroes, religious practice, spider, spirits
