Dionysus Worship

This thesis attempts to study the cult of Dionysus in ancient Greece, based on available ancient literature and archaeological materials.It was because of F. Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy that the cult of Dionysus attracted scholars' attention, hi his book, Nietzsche explained the origin of Greek art by two opposing factors: Dionysus and Apollo. It is clear that Nietzsche's Dionysus is a philosophical conception. My question is what the cult of Dionysus exactly was in ancient Greece.The cult of Dionysus is a kind of special cultural phenomenon, but similar elements exist in other regions and other places, for example, the cult of tree, going to the god's body by mania and releasing the nervous through the carnivals, etc., also existed in history. However, only the cult of Dionysus flourished in Classical Greece due to the polytheism and the democracy. Therefore, The cult of Dionysus is not only a kind of religious action, but also reflects the social order and social relationship.To give a historical background for further research, in this thesis, firstly I draw an outline of the development of the cult of Dionysus. Dionysus originated in Greece, not came from Thrace, which was proved by Linear B Tablets from Pylos. With its development, the cult of Dionysus was affected by civilizations, especially Egyptian culture, and was added some mythical factors, In the struggle between the poor and the noble, Dionysus was elected because the cult of Dionysus had been away from the noble's control. The City Dionysia appeared, the great procession and dramatic performance appeared, and all of them became the parts of political life.This thesis explained the cult of Dionysus according to the theory of 'four factors of the religion' put forward by a Chinese scholar Ltl Daji. The cult of Dionysus expressed its idea through myth, and practiced its ritual through the religious festivals and Bacchic mystery. And on Dionysian festivals, there were processions, killing animals and eating the meat, the same as the festival for other gods; however, the case is different in the mystery, the religious actions were away from the political life, but permitted by the polis.Drama is the most important part of the heritage that the ancient Greeks left to us, but it originated in the Dionysian rituals. Although dramatic performances expressed the city's ideas and educated the citizens in the city, and were under the control of the polis, they still were played in the thick atmosphere of religion.As a conclusion, the thesis analyzes the function of the cult of Dionysus in many aspects of social life. It released social pressure and supplied the excuse for women to be far away from the ordinary housework. Also, because it is different from Olympian religion, it opened a different road for the ancient Greeks to practice religion, which is needed for them.Therefore, as a kind of cultural phenomenon, the cult of Dionysus reflects its relationship with the political, cultural and economical elements in ancient Greece. Studying this phenomenon, we will try to understand classical Greek civilization from a very new angle.