Dionysus and Politics: Constructing Authority in the Graeco-Roman World (Routledge Monographs in Classical Studies)

This volume presents an essential but underestimated role that Dionysus played in Greek and Roman political thought. Written by an interdisciplinary team of scholars, the volume covers the period from archaic Greece to the late Roman Empire. The reader can observe how ideas and political themes rooted in Greek classical thought were continued, adapted and developed over the course of history. The authors (including four leading experts in the field: Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, Jean-Marie Pailler, Richard Seaford andRichard Stoneman) reconstruct the political significance of Dionysus by examining different types of evidence: historiography, poetry, coins, epigraphy, art and philosophy. They discuss the place of the god in Greek city-state politics, explore the long tradition of imitating Dionysus that ancient leaders, from Alexander the Great to the Roman emperors, manifested in various ways, and shows how the political role of Dionysus was reflected in Orphism and Neoplatonist philosophy. Dionysus and Politics provides an excellent introduction to a fundamental feature of ancient political thought which until now has been largely neglected by mainstream academia. The book will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in ancient politics and religion. Dionysus and Politics Cover -1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures 10 Contributors 12 Abbreviations 15 Introduction 18 Notes 22 Part I: Dionysus and the polis 24 1. Dionysos, the polis and power 26 Dionysos Gigantomachos in the archaic and classical periods 26 Dionysos Gigantomachos in Pergamon 30 Notes 33 Bibliography 34 2. The politics of Euripides' Bacchae and the preconception of irresolvable contradiction 35 Notes 46 Bibliography 47 3. On the necessity of Dionysus: the return of Hephaestus as a tale of the god that alone can solve unresolvable conflicts and restore an inconsistent whole 49 Conflict between Hera and Hephaestus 50 'Made him drunk with wine' 53 The wisdom of Dionysus and the tragedy of the world 54 The possibility of new bonds 58 Notes 60 Bibliography 61 4. Alexander and Dionysus 63 The Macedonian background: Dionysus before Alexander 63 Nysa: Alexander finds Dionysus in India 64 Alexander's use of Dionysus 66 After Alexander 68 The anger of Dionysus 71 Notes 72 Bibliography 75 Part II: Dionysus in Rome 78 5. Dionysos against Rome? The Bacchanalian affair: a matter of power(s) 80 The affair: a politico-religious question. Prodromes and the structure of a tale 80 The Bacchanalian affair: an exceptional piece in Livy's work 82 The Roman youth between family, city and Bacchanal 84 The SC, a test of historic faithfulness 85 Two objections 87 After the Bacchanals 90 Notes 102 Bibliography 104 6. Augustus and the Neoi Dionysoi 106 Introduction 106 Context 107 Dionysian panegyric 108 Fertility 111 Conclusion 113 Notes 113 Bibliography 115 7. The state as crater: Dionysus and politics in Plutarch's Lives of Crassus, Antony and Caesar 120 Dionysiac balance 120 Three types of statesmanship 123 Crassus: nothing but water 124 Antony: nothing but wine 126 Caesar: wine mixed with water 129 Conclusion 133 Notes 134 Bibliography 138 8. Dionysus and legitimisation of Imperial Authority by myth in first and second century Rome: Caligula, Domitian and Hadrian 141 Conqueror of the East: the background to the tradition 141 Dionysus: Triumphator 142 Mark Antony: the New Dionysus 143 Caligula: the New Antony 144 Domitian: Flavian Bacchus 146 Hadrian: Neos Dionysos of the τεχνῖται 147 Hadrian in the company of Dionysus 148 Antinous: the boy of Dionysus 149 Conclusion 150 Notes 151 Bibliography 155 9. The role of Bacchus/Liber Pater in the Severan religious policy: the numismatic and epigraphic evidence 159 Introduction 159 Numismatic evidence 159 Epigraphic evidence 163 Conclusion 166 Notes 168 Bibliography 171 Appendix. Inscriptions 173 Part III: Late-antique reflection on Dionysus 176 10. The rule of Dionysus in the light of the Orphic theogony (Hieroi Logoi in 24 Rhapsodies) 178 Introduction 178 Hieroi Logoi in 24 Rhapsodies 178 Zeus, the creator of the world 181 Dionysus Zagreus: the myth in the Rhapsodies 182 Dionysus Zagreus: the myth outside the Rhapsodies (sources and discussions overview) 185 The reign of Dionysus 188 Notes 191 Bibliography 192 11. Dionysus in the mirror of Late Antiquity: religion, philosophy and politics 194 Introduction 194 Dionysus in Late Antiquity 195 Dionysus and Neoplatonism: metaphysics and aesthetics 198 Dionysus in late Roman politics and society 205 By way of conclusion 215 Notes 217 Bibliography 222 Index 227 "This volume provides the reader with the substantial evidence, presented here for the first time in a chronological manner, of the essential place that Dionysus occupied in Greek and Roman political thought. The eleven chapters that make up the volume are authored by an interdisciplinary team of scholars (including four top specialists in the field, Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, Richard Seaford, Richard Stoneman and Jean-Marie Pailler) and cover the period from archaic Greece to the late Roman empire. The reader can therefore observe how the political ideas and motifs rooted in Greek classical thought were continued, adapted, and developed in successive periods of history. The contributors reconstruct the political significance of Dionysus by examining different kinds of evidence: historiography, poetry, coins, epigraphy, art, and philosophy. They discuss the place of the god in the politics of Greek city-states, explore the long tradition of imitating Dionysus that ancient leaders, from Alexander the Great to the Roman emperors, manifested in various ways, as well as demonstrate how the political role of Dionysus was reflected in Orphism and Neoplatonist philosophy. Dionysus and Politics provides an excellent introduction to a fundamental feature of ancient political thought which until now has been largely neglected by mainstream academia. The book will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in ancient politics and religion"-- Provided by publisher This volume presents an essential but underestimated role that Dionysus played in Greek and Roman political thought. Written by an interdisciplinary team of scholars, the volume covers the period from archaic Greece to the late Roman Empire. The reader can observe how ideas and political themes rooted in Greek classical thought were continued, adapted and developed over the course of history. The authors (including four leading experts in the field: Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, Richard Seaford, Richard Stoneman and Jean-Marie Pailler) reconstruct the political significance of Dionysus by examining different types of evidence: historiography, poetry, coins, epigraphy, art and philosophy. They discuss the place of the god in Greek city-state politics, explore the long tradition of imitating Dionysus that ancient leaders, from Alexander the Great to the Roman emperors, manifested in various ways, and show how the political role of Dionysus was reflected in Orphism and Neoplatonist philosophy. Dionysus and Politics provides an excellent introduction to a fundamental feature of ancient political thought which until now has been largely neglected by mainstream academia. The book will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in ancient politics and religion. This volume presents an essential but underestimated role that Dionysus played in Greek and Roman political thought. Written by an interdisciplinary team of scholars, the volume covers the period from archaic Greece to the late Roman Empire. The reader can observe how ideas and political themes rooted in Greek classical thought were continued, adapted and developed over the course of history. The authors (including four leading experts in the field: Cornelia Isler-Kerényi, Jean-Marie Pailler, Richard Seaford and Richard Stoneman) reconstruct the political significance of Dionysus by examining different types of evidence: historiography, poetry, coins, epigraphy, art and philosophy. They discuss the place of the god in Greek city-state politics, explore the long tradition of imitating Dionysus that ancient leaders, from Alexander the Great to the Roman emperors, manifested in various ways and show how the political role of Dionysus was reflected in Orphism and Neoplatonist philosophy. Dionysus and Politics provides an excellent introduction to a fundamental feature of ancient political thought which until now has been largely neglected by mainstream academia. The book will be an invaluable resource to students and scholars interested in ancient politics and religion.