Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life

Description

This work presents a historical account of the religion of Dionysos, from its beginnings in the Minoan culture, down to its transition to a cosmic and cosmopolitan religion of late antiquity under the Roman Empire. It constructs a picture of Dionysian worship, always underlining the constitutive element of myth. Included in this study are the secret cult sects of the women's mysteries, both within and beyond Attica, the mystic sacrificial rite at Delphi, and the great public Dionysian festivals at Athens. The way in which the Athenian people received and assimilated tragedy in its immanent connection with Dionysos is seen as a the greatest miracle in all cultural history. Tragedy and New Comedy are seen as high spiritual forms of the Dionysian religion, and the Dionysian element itself is seen as a chapter in the relgious history of Europe.

Carl Kerenyi was professor of classics and the history of religion in his native Hungary and later became a citizen of Switzerland. He died in 1973 at the age of 76. His works include Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter and, with C. G. Jung, Essays on a Science of Mythology: The Myth of the Divine Child and the Mysteries of Eleusis.

"A monumental work by one of this century's leading students of ancient religion... The book is lavishly produced... Should remain a standard item for some time to come."--Choice