1. The Two Great Gods of the Earth: Demeter and Dionysus

2. Olympians Little use for earth/humans
Two exceptions, generally good/kind/useful to humans
Demeter (Ceres)
Dionysus (Bacchus)

3. Demeter Goddess of corn Daughter of Cronus & Rhea Older of the two
Corn farmed before wine pressed
Care of the fields belonged to women (men hunted & fought)

4. Demeter Elusinian Mysteries Chief festival Harvest time (duh)
Every 5 years
Little is known of the E.M.
Vow of secrecy that was actually kept!

5. Demeter and Persephone
Demeter’s daughter
“the maiden of the spring”
Carried off by Hades (married?)
Demeter searched for 9 days
Sun finally told her what had happened

6. Demeter and Persephone
Left Olympus
Eleusis, disguised as a maiden
P (Eleusis story)

7. Demeter and Persephone
The next year
NOTHING grew
Zeus sent ALL the gods, one at a time, to try to change her mind (NOPE)
Zeus sends Hermes to Hades, to tell him to let Persephone return

8. Demeter and Persephone
Hades relents
Tricks Persephone (and the rest)
Has her eat a pomegranate seed
Persephone MUST return to Hades for a part of each year

9. Demeter and Persephone
Zeus sends Rhea (Demeter & Zeus’ mom) to earth
Demeter relents, even though it means she must let Persephone go to Hades for 4 months out of the year
WHY IS THIS STORY TOLD?

10. Demeter and Persephone
Change of seasons?
Goddess of Corn & the “maiden of the spring”,
MUST be a reason for WINTER
Knowledge that plants must wither
A mother must watch her daughter “die” each year

11. Dionysus God of Wine Revelry Son of Zeus & Semele (Theban princess)
Only god w/out TWO immortal parents
Thebes – Dionysus’ city

12. Dionysus Early life Mother killed as a result of:
Zeus’ oath by Styx
Hera’s jealousy
Both common themes in mythology
Zeus saves son, reared away from mortal man
Pirate story?
“none lived long who strove with gods”

13. Dionysus Journey to Hades See his mother Refused to leave her
Overcame death
Not for new life on earth
Straight to Olympus
Received by gods & allowed to stay

14. Dionysus Could be good OR bad
Just like wine?
Maenads
Women “frenzied with wine”
Savage, violent
“throughout the story of his life he is sometimes man’s blessing, sometimes his ruin”

15. Dionysus Pentheus’ fate Greeks were practical with facts
Dionysus had two seemingly contradictory aspects because SO DOES WINE
Drunken violence is described because IT HAPPENS TO AND BY PEOPLE WHEN DRUNK

16. Dionysus Feast of Dionysus Complete opposite of Elusinian Mysteries
Spring (5 days)
“worship” happened not in secret, not in temples…
Theaters
All aspects of Greek drama, and especially early Greek tragedy, were in worship of Dionysus

17. Dionysus “death” of Dionysus Similar to Persephone Resurrection story
“death is not the end…”