The following outline details the key learning objectives for each section of this chapter.
Dionysus and Apollo: Contrasts and Connections
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- explain how Delphi changes during Dionysus's winter rule.
- discuss the differences of character between Apollo and Dionysus by comparing their instruments/songs of choice.
The Dionysian Myth
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- discuss Dionysus's connection to other male fertility gods of the ancient Near East.
- explain how myths about Dionysus's entrance into Greece reflect the Greeks' "deep ambivalence about this troubling god."
Dionysus's Double Birth
After studying this section of the chapter you should be able to
- discuss Dionysus's miraculous "double birth" and his subsequent status in the Olympian hierarchy.
- discuss the two main themes which dominate Dionysus's disparate narratives.
- explain how Dionysus's love for Ampelus leads to his discovery of wine.
- recount the series of adventures set in motion by Hera's vindictiveness, including Dionysus's initiation into the orgiastic rites of Cybele, and his confrontation with King Lycurgus of Thrace.
- identify and describe the various members of Dionysus's diverse retinue, including the satyrs and silens, and the bacchae and Maenads.
- discuss the differing accounts of Dionysus's marriage to Ariadne, and the significance of this myth to the Anthesteria.
- discuss the Orphic tradition's divergent account of Dionysus's double birth.
- recount the erotic myth of Dionysus's journey through the underworld, and explain its function in the City Dionysia.
- discuss the many parallels between Dionysus of Thebes and Jesus of Nazareth.
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