DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14696#0296
^34
Dionysos at Delphoi
say to us that God, who by nature is imperishable and everlasting, yet owing to
a certain necessity inherent in mind and reason undergoes transformation, and
sometimes kindles his nature to a fire thereby reducing all things to a state of
uniformity, sometimes becomes manifold in shapes and in diverse passions and
powers thereby producing an orderly universe, as at present, and winning for
himself the name that is famous above every name1. Our wiseacres keep this
knowledge from the populace, and call his transformation into fire Apollon by
reason of its unity2 or Phoibos by reason of its pure and unpolluted character ;
but as to his turning into wind, water, earth, stars, births of plants and animals,
and his ordering of the universe in general, they hint at his suffering and trans-
formation by speaking of a certain rending-asunder and dismemberment : they
call him Dionysos, Zagreus, NyktMios, Isodattes, and recount certain destruc-
tions and disappearances followed by rebirths and resurrections—mystifying and
mythical phrases that suit the transformations I have mentioned3. Again, to
the one god they sing dithyrambic songs full of passions and of a transformation
that involves a certain wandering and scattering : as Aischylos puts it—
;Tis meet the dithyramb of mingled cry
With Dionysos should go revelling by4.
To the other god they sing a paean, an orderly and discreet form of composition.
Painters and sculptors always represent him as free from old age and youthful,
his partner as taking on a variety of forms and shapes. Generally speaking,
they ascribe to the former similarity, order, pure seriousness, to the latter ups
and downs of sport and violence, seriousness and madness, invoking him as—
' Lord of the Loud Cry, Waker of Women, Dionysos flowering forth with
frenzied rites5.' In fact they have seized aright the true nature of both trans-
formations. But inasmuch as the periods of time allowed for these transforma-
tions are unequal, the former period which they call "satiety" having the longer
duration, the latter period of "need" the shorter6, they are careful to observe
1 Sc. deos, as Paton points out, airb rrjs decreois = 5ia.Kocrfj.ri<Teu>s, cp. Cornut. theol. I
p. 3, if. Lang rdxa 8' cLv etev deol derrjpes Kal iroiriral rtov yivo/xevuiv. So Hdt. 2. 52, et.
mag. p. 445, 48 ff. = Choirobosk. in psal. p. 99, iff.
2 'AttoAAwj' is here derived from a + iro\vs—a favourite whimsy (Chrysippos ap.
Macrob. Sat. 1. 17. 7, Plout. de E apud Delphos 20, de Is. et Os. 10, 76, Clem. Al.
strom. 1. 24 p. 103, 3 f. Stahlin, Plotin. enn. 5. 5. 6 p. 213, 20 ff. Volkmann, Hesych.
s.v. 'A-rrdXKcov, Lyd. de mens. 2. 4 p. 21, 18 ff. Wiinsch, Cramer anecd. Paris, i. 315,
34 ff., v. Plat. p. 8 ed. A. H. L. Heeren in the Bibliothek der alien Litteratur und
Kunst Gdttingen 1789 Stiick v).
3 rrjs 5' et's Trvevpid re (codd. irvev/j-ara corr. Meziriac) Kal vSicp Kal yrjv Kal dcrrpa Kal
(fivr&v s'ywj' re yeveaeis rpotrrjs avrov Kal Si.aKOO~fJ.r]o~eios to [lev Trddrjfxa Kal ttjv /j.€Ta/3o\7]v
biaairaaixov riva Kal 8iajj,e\icr/j.6v alviTTovrai' Alovvctoi' 5e Kal Tiaypea Kal ~NvKTe\ioi> Kal
Tffodairrjv avrbv ovofxd'covai, Kal (pdopds rivas Kal a<pavt.tTju.ovs elra 8' (so Stegmann for o'i rds
V1. 01 rds D. B. Pal. A. Pet. ol ras F. V:i. E. Vat.) avajHicocrei.'s (so Stegmann with Amyot
for codd. d7ro/3tc6crets) Kal TraKiyyevecrias, oiVeZa reus eipT)fxtvais /nerafioXals aivLyixara Kal
ixvdedfxara irepaivovai.
4 Aisch. frag. 355 Nauck3 fj.i^oj36av wptwei \ 8c6vpafj.pof o/uapreiv | avyKUfxov (so
T. Tyrwhitt for avyKovov Vat. Pet. crvyyovov E. crvyKoivov cett.) Aiovvacp.
5 Frag, adesp. 131 Bergk4 ap. Plout. symp. 4. 6. 1 apa, £<pv), crv rbv warpiuTrji' Oebv, ci
Aafxivpia, " evl'ov opaiyvvaiKa, /j.aivofxevais dvdeovra Tifxa7ai Aiouvaov" iyypd(peis Kal
u7ro7roieis rots 'Ytj3paiwv dwopprjroLS; cp. id. de exit. 17 (Aiovvaov ixaivop.ivai'i dvdeovra
ri/xcus), de E apud Delphos 9 (fxaivo/xevais Aiovvcrov dvdiovra TL/xais).
6 Herakl.yroo". 24 Bywater, 65 Diels.
Dionysos at Delphoi
say to us that God, who by nature is imperishable and everlasting, yet owing to
a certain necessity inherent in mind and reason undergoes transformation, and
sometimes kindles his nature to a fire thereby reducing all things to a state of
uniformity, sometimes becomes manifold in shapes and in diverse passions and
powers thereby producing an orderly universe, as at present, and winning for
himself the name that is famous above every name1. Our wiseacres keep this
knowledge from the populace, and call his transformation into fire Apollon by
reason of its unity2 or Phoibos by reason of its pure and unpolluted character ;
but as to his turning into wind, water, earth, stars, births of plants and animals,
and his ordering of the universe in general, they hint at his suffering and trans-
formation by speaking of a certain rending-asunder and dismemberment : they
call him Dionysos, Zagreus, NyktMios, Isodattes, and recount certain destruc-
tions and disappearances followed by rebirths and resurrections—mystifying and
mythical phrases that suit the transformations I have mentioned3. Again, to
the one god they sing dithyrambic songs full of passions and of a transformation
that involves a certain wandering and scattering : as Aischylos puts it—
;Tis meet the dithyramb of mingled cry
With Dionysos should go revelling by4.
To the other god they sing a paean, an orderly and discreet form of composition.
Painters and sculptors always represent him as free from old age and youthful,
his partner as taking on a variety of forms and shapes. Generally speaking,
they ascribe to the former similarity, order, pure seriousness, to the latter ups
and downs of sport and violence, seriousness and madness, invoking him as—
' Lord of the Loud Cry, Waker of Women, Dionysos flowering forth with
frenzied rites5.' In fact they have seized aright the true nature of both trans-
formations. But inasmuch as the periods of time allowed for these transforma-
tions are unequal, the former period which they call "satiety" having the longer
duration, the latter period of "need" the shorter6, they are careful to observe
1 Sc. deos, as Paton points out, airb rrjs decreois = 5ia.Kocrfj.ri<Teu>s, cp. Cornut. theol. I
p. 3, if. Lang rdxa 8' cLv etev deol derrjpes Kal iroiriral rtov yivo/xevuiv. So Hdt. 2. 52, et.
mag. p. 445, 48 ff. = Choirobosk. in psal. p. 99, iff.
2 'AttoAAwj' is here derived from a + iro\vs—a favourite whimsy (Chrysippos ap.
Macrob. Sat. 1. 17. 7, Plout. de E apud Delphos 20, de Is. et Os. 10, 76, Clem. Al.
strom. 1. 24 p. 103, 3 f. Stahlin, Plotin. enn. 5. 5. 6 p. 213, 20 ff. Volkmann, Hesych.
s.v. 'A-rrdXKcov, Lyd. de mens. 2. 4 p. 21, 18 ff. Wiinsch, Cramer anecd. Paris, i. 315,
34 ff., v. Plat. p. 8 ed. A. H. L. Heeren in the Bibliothek der alien Litteratur und
Kunst Gdttingen 1789 Stiick v).
3 rrjs 5' et's Trvevpid re (codd. irvev/j-ara corr. Meziriac) Kal vSicp Kal yrjv Kal dcrrpa Kal
(fivr&v s'ywj' re yeveaeis rpotrrjs avrov Kal Si.aKOO~fJ.r]o~eios to [lev Trddrjfxa Kal ttjv /j.€Ta/3o\7]v
biaairaaixov riva Kal 8iajj,e\icr/j.6v alviTTovrai' Alovvctoi' 5e Kal Tiaypea Kal ~NvKTe\ioi> Kal
Tffodairrjv avrbv ovofxd'covai, Kal (pdopds rivas Kal a<pavt.tTju.ovs elra 8' (so Stegmann for o'i rds
V1. 01 rds D. B. Pal. A. Pet. ol ras F. V:i. E. Vat.) avajHicocrei.'s (so Stegmann with Amyot
for codd. d7ro/3tc6crets) Kal TraKiyyevecrias, oiVeZa reus eipT)fxtvais /nerafioXals aivLyixara Kal
ixvdedfxara irepaivovai.
4 Aisch. frag. 355 Nauck3 fj.i^oj36av wptwei \ 8c6vpafj.pof o/uapreiv | avyKUfxov (so
T. Tyrwhitt for avyKovov Vat. Pet. crvyyovov E. crvyKoivov cett.) Aiovvacp.
5 Frag, adesp. 131 Bergk4 ap. Plout. symp. 4. 6. 1 apa, £<pv), crv rbv warpiuTrji' Oebv, ci
Aafxivpia, " evl'ov opaiyvvaiKa, /j.aivofxevais dvdeovra Tifxa7ai Aiouvaov" iyypd(peis Kal
u7ro7roieis rots 'Ytj3paiwv dwopprjroLS; cp. id. de exit. 17 (Aiovvaov ixaivop.ivai'i dvdeovra
ri/xcus), de E apud Delphos 9 (fxaivo/xevais Aiovvcrov dvdiovra TL/xais).
6 Herakl.yroo". 24 Bywater, 65 Diels.