GENERAL DESCRIPTION
From the sixth century B.C.E. onward, many people in ancient societies became initiates (mystai) of cults that seemed to have promised immortality to their worshipers. The most prominent of these was the cult of the wine god Dionysos, who was always considered different from the major Greek deities. Dionysos was a god of intoxication and ecstasy. He was supposed to possess his initiates and translate them out of the human sphere into another state of existence. He represented the irrational in human life. Dionysos also promised his initiates some kind of life after death, unlike the traditional Greek view of bloodless shades.
Other mystery cults grew up around the sage Pythagoras; the mythic poet Orpheus; the goddess of crops, Demeter; and her daughter Persephone, queen of the afterworld. All these cults of immortality envisioned human life as being like the seasons in nature - constantly being born, dying, and being reborn in the springtime.
Excerpt from
DMA unpublished material, Label text.
NOTES
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS (list applicable note links)
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- MET Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read more about mystery cults in the Greek and Roman world.
- National Geographic~Explore the temples of an ancient Greek cult.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES (digitized/non-digitized)
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Set operator as OR
apply to objects where number equals 1972.22
apply to objects where number equals 1996.34.a-b
Category
rules_operator
OR
General Description
From the sixth century B.C.E. onward, many people in ancient societies became initiates (mystai) of cults that seemed to have promised immortality to their worshipers. The most prominent of these was the cult of the wine god Dionysos, who was always considered different from the major Greek deities. Dionysos was a god of intoxication and ecstasy. He was supposed to possess his initiates and translate them out of the human sphere into another state of existence. He represented the irrational in human life. Dionysos also promised his initiates some kind of life after death, unlike the traditional Greek view of bloodless shades.
Other mystery cults grew up around the sage Pythagoras; the mythic poet Orpheus; the goddess of crops, Demeter; and her daughter Persephone, queen of the afterworld. All these cults of immortality envisioned human life as being like the seasons in nature - constantly being born, dying, and being reborn in the springtime.
Excerpt from
DMA unpublished material, Label text.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
(digitized/non-digitized)
Web Resources
- MET Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History~Read more about mystery cults in the Greek and Roman world.
- National Geographic~Explore the temples of an ancient Greek cult.
Notes
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1972.22
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
1996.34.a-b
source file
cultures_and_traditions-0153.xml.nores