250 word summary

Dionysia (Bacchanalia) Various dates

from Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary

View article on Credo

T he Dionysia was a fe stival in ancie nt Gre e ce in honor of Dionysus (also calle d Bacchus), the son of

Ze us and god of wine , fe rtility, and drama. T he re we re a se rie s of Dionysian fe stivals: the Oschophoria,

the rural or COUNT RY DIONYSIA, the Le nae a, the ANT HEST ERIA, the urban Dionysia, and the most

famous—the City or Gre at Dionysia.

T he Gre at Dionysias we re he ld in the spring (March or April) in Athe ns for five or six days, and the ir

ce nte rpie ce s we re the pe rformance s of ne w trage die s, come die s, and satyric dramas.

T he se took place in the T he ate r of Dionysus on the side of the Acropolis and we re atte nde d by pe ople

from throughout the country. T he e arlie st trage dy that survive s is Persai by Ae schylus, from the ye ar

4 72 B.C.E. T he dramatists, actors, and singe rs we re conside re d to be pe rforming an act of worship of

the god, and Dionysus was thought to be pre se nt at the productions.

T he City Dionysias we re a time of ge ne ral springtime re joicing (e ve n prisone rs we re re le ase d to share

in the fe stivitie s)

and gre at pomp. T he statue of Dionysus was carrie d in a proce ssion that also include d re pre se ntations

of the phallus, symbolizing the god.

Dionysus was both a me rry god who inspire d gre at poe try and a crue l god; the Gre e ks re alistically saw

wine as some thing that made pe ople happy and also made the m drunk and crue l. T hus, like the god, his

fe stivals se e m to have combine d contrasting e le me nts of poe try and re ve lry.

T he small rustic Dionysias we re fe stive and bawdy affairs he ld in De ce mbe r or January at the first

tasting of ne w wine .

Be side s dramatic pre se ntations, the re we re proce ssions of slave s carrying the phallus, the singing of

obsce ne lays, youths balancing on a full goat-skin, and the like .

T he Le ne ae , he ld in Athe ns in January or Fe bruary, include d a proce ssion of je sting citize ns through the

city and dramatic pre se ntations. T he Oschophoria (“carrying of the grape cluste r”), he ld in the fall whe n

the grape s we re ripe , was marke d by a footrace for youths.

Copyright © 2015 Omnigraphics, Inc.

http://ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/login? url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0

APA Dionysia (bacchanalia). (2015). In H. He nde rson (Ed.), Holidays, festivals & celebrations of the world

dictionary: detailing more than 3,300 observances from all 50 states and more than 100 nations (5th e d.).

De troit, MI: Omnigraphics, Inc. Re trie ve d from http://e zproxy.library.unlv.e du/login?

url=https://se arch.cre dore fe re nce .com/conte nt/e ntry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0?institutionId=778

Chicago "Dionysia (Bacchanalia)." In Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, e dite d by

He le ne He nde rson. 5th e d. Omnigraphics, Inc., 2015. http://e zproxy.library.unlv.e du/login?

url=https://se arch.cre dore fe re nce .com/conte nt/e ntry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0?institutionId=778

Harvard Dionysia (bacchanalia). (2015). In H. He nde rson (Ed.), Holidays, festivals & celebrations of the world

dictionary: detailing more than 3,300 observances from all 50 states and more than 100 nations. (5th e d.).

[Online ]. De troit: Omnigraphics, Inc. Available from: http://e zproxy.library.unlv.e du/login?

url=https://se arch.cre dore fe re nce .com/conte nt/e ntry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0?institutionId=778

[Acce sse d 27 Se pte mbe r 2018].

MLA "Dionysia (Bacchanalia)." Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, e dite d by He le ne

He nde rson, Omnigraphics, Inc., 5th e dition, 2015. Credo Reference, http://e zproxy.library.unlv.e du/login?

url=https://se arch.cre dore fe re nce .com/conte nt/e ntry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0?institutionId=778.

Acce sse d 27 Se p. 2018.

http://ezproxy.library.unlv.edu/login? url=https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/hfcwd/dionysia_bacchanalia/0