ancient Greek religion Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

, Iacchus (also Iacchos, Iakchos) () was a minor deity, of some cultic importance, particularly at Athens and Eleusis in connection with the

Eleusinian mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

, but without any significant mythology. He perhaps originated as the personification of the ritual exclamation ''Iacche!'' cried out during the Eleusinian procession from Athens to Eleusis. He was often identified with

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

, perhaps because of the resemblance of the names ''Iacchus'' and ''Bacchus'', another name for Dionysus. By various accounts he was a son of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

(or apparently her husband), or a son of

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

, identical with Dionysus Zagreus, or a son of Dionysus. During the

Greco-Persian Wars The Greco-Persian Wars (also often called the Persian Wars) were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Polis, Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world ...

, when the

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...

countryside, deserted by the Greeks, was being laid waste by the Persians, a ghostly procession was supposed to have been seen advancing from Eleusis, crying out “Iacchus”. This miraculous event was interpreted as a sign of the eventual Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis (480 BC). Iacchus was also possibly involved in an Eleusinian myth in which the old woman

Baubo Baubo (Ancient Greek: Βαυβώ) is a minor figure in Greek mythology who does not appear in surviving sources before the fourth century CE. A fragment from Asclepiades of Tragilus states that she is the wife of Dysaules, who was said to be Auto ...

, by exposing her genitals, cheered up the mourning Demeter.

Cult

Iacchus was one of the deities, along with

and Kore (

), worshipped as part of the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries () were initiations held every year for the Cult (religious practice), cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret rel ...

. The late 1st-century BC geographer

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

called him the ''ἀρχηγέτην'' ("leader-in-chief" or "founder") "of the mysteries".

Statue, temple, and feast day

There was a statue of Iacchus kept in a temple at Athens. According to the 2nd-century AD geographer Pausanias, the statue held a torch and was by the Athenian sculptor Praxiteles. A passage from

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

' ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' (; , often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in Athens, in 405 BC and received first place. The pla ...

'' (405 BC) suggests it wore a crown of myrtle. According to Pausanias, the statue was kept in a temple of Demeter located near the

Dipylon The Dipylon (, "Two-Gated") was the main gate in the Themistoclean Walls, city wall of Classical Athens. Located in the modern suburb of Kerameikos, it led to the namesake ancient cemetery, and to the roads connecting Athens with the rest of Greec ...

gate, the main entrance to ancient Athens. The temple was perhaps the one that Plutarch referred to as the "so called Iaccheion". Nearby was the Pompeion, the building which was the assembly point for the procession celebrating the

. According to the 10th-century

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

encyclopedia the ''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'', Iacchus was also the name of his "feast" day, presumably the day that Iacchus was carried to Eleusis as part of the Eleusinian procession.

Eleusinian procession

Iacchus and his statue played an important part in the Eleusinian procession.

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

referred to the procession as ''ἐξαγόντων Ἴακχον'' (“leading out Iacchus”). On 19 Boedromion (probably), the statue of Iacchus was taken from its temple and carried as part of the procession of the participants in the Mysteries who walked from

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Eleusis Elefsina () or Eleusis ( ; ) is a suburban city and Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost ...

, arriving on 20 Boedromion (corresponding to the 28th or 29 September). Along the way, the participants in the procession would cry out the cultic exclamation, ''Iacche!'' There was a special official associated with Iacchus and his statue called the ''Ἰακχαγωγός'' ('leader/bearer of Iacchus'), whose function presumably was to carry or accompany the statue of Iacchus during the procession. The ''Ἰακχαγωγός'' is listed as one of the Eleusinian officials receiving an endowment (c. 160–170 AD), appears in a list of Eleusinian priests given by the 2nd-century AD Julius Pollux, and had a reserved seat in the ''prohedria'' ("seats in front") of the Theater of Dionysus at Athens. An incumbent of the office (126/7 AD) is mentioned on four dedications. A parody of the Eleusinian procession appears in Aristophanes' comedy ''

'', set in

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

(the underworld). There a chorus of dead mystics, singing and dancing in procession, chant their "hymn to Iacchus": "O Iacchus, Iacchus O!", and sing, :Iacchus, here abiding in temples most reverend, :Iacchus, O Iacchus, :come to dance in this meadow; :to your holy mystic bands :Shake the leafy crown :around your head, brimming :with myrtle, :Boldly stomp your feet in time :to the wild fun-loving rite, :with full share of the Graces, the holy dance, sacred :to your mystics. and, :Awake, for it has come tossing torches in hand, :Iacchos, Oh Iacchos, :the light-bringing star of our nocturnal rite. :Now the meadow brightly burns :Old men's knees start to sway. :They shake away their pains :and the long cycles of ancient years :Through your holy rite. :Beaming with your torch, :lead forth to the flowering stretch of marsh :the youth that makes your choruses, o blessed one! and, :Now then :Summon the god of the hour with your songs :the partner of this dance of ours. :Iacchus, honored by all, deviser of our festal song :most sweet, follow us here :to the goddess and show us how :you travel a long road with ease. :Iacchus, lover of the dance, lead me onward,

The Lenaea

Iacchus also played a role in the

Lenaia The Lenaia () was an annual Athenian festival with a dramatic competition. It was one of the lesser festivals of Athens and Ionia in ancient Greece. The Lenaia took place in Athens in Gamelion, roughly corresponding to January. The festival was in ...

, the winter Athenian festival of Dionysus. According to the scholiast on the ''

Frogs A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

'' of

, participants at the Lenaia responded to the command to "Invoke the god" with the invocation, "Hail, Iacchos, son of Semele, thou giver of wealth." According to the scholiast, the command to call on the god was proclaimed by the Daduchos, a high Eleusinian official

At Delphi?

The name Iacchus—identified with Dionysus—was also possibly associated with cultic ritual at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

' ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'', referring to nocturnal rites occurring on Mount Parnassus above Delphi, contains the invocation:

O Leader of the chorus of the stars whose breath is fire, overseer of the chants in the night, son begotten of Zeus, appear, my king, with your attendant Thyiads, who in night-long frenzy dance and sing you as Iacchus the Giver!

Name and origin

Iacchus seems to have originated as the personification of the cultic exclamation, ''Iacche'', cried out by participants during the Eleusinian procession, with the exclamation itself, having apparently derived from ''ιαχή'' ("cry"), ''ιάχω'' ("to cry"). It has been suggested that the cry "iacche’’ over time came to be interpreted as the vocative form of a name "Iacchus". In addition to being the cultic cry, "iacchus" was also a term for a kind of song or hymn of worship, possibly unassociated with the god.

Identification with Dionysus

Iacchus is associated with Dionysus at least as early as the 5th century BC. The association may have arisen because of the homophony of the names Iacchus and Bacchus, one of the names of Dionysus. Two

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting (also known as black-figure style or black-figure ceramic; ) is one of the styles of Ancient Greek vase painting, painting on pottery of ancient Greece, antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th a ...

lekythoi (c. 500 BC) may represent the earliest evidence for such an association. The nearly-identical vases, one in Berlin and the other in Rome, depict Dionysus along with the inscription ''IAKXNE'', a possible miswriting of ''IAKXE''. More certain early evidence can be found in the works of the 5th-century BC Athenian tragedians

and

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

. In

' ''

'' (c. 441 BC), an ode to Dionysus begins by addressing Dionysus as the "God of many names" (''πολυώνυμε''), who rules over the glens of Demeter's Eleusis, and ends by identifying him with "Iacchus the Giver", who leads "the chorus of the stars whose breath is fire" and whose "attendant Thyiads" dance in "night-long frenzy". And in a fragment from a lost play, Sophocles describes Nysa, Dionysus' traditional place of nurture: "From here I caught sight of Nysa, haunt of Bacchus, famed among mortals, which Iacchus of the bull's horns counts as his beloved nurse". In

' ''

Bacchae ''The Bacchae'' (; , ''Bakkhai''; also known as ''The Bacchantes'' ) is an ancient Greek tragedy, written by the Athenian playwright Euripides during his final years in Macedonia, at the court of Archelaus I of Macedon. It premiered posthum ...

'' (c. 405 BC), a messenger, describing the Bacchic revelries on mount

Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia region in t ...

, associates Iacchus with

Bromius Bromius () in ancient Greece was used as an epithet of Dionysus/Bacchus. It signifies "noisy", "roaring", or "boisterous", from , to roar. According to Richard Buxton, Bromius (Bromios) is another name for a fundamental divine figure that preced ...

, another of the names of Dionysus, saying, they "began to wave the thyrsos ... calling on Iacchus, the son of Zeus, Bromius, with united voice." An inscription found on a stone

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

(c. 340 BC), found at

, contains a paean to Dionysus, which describes the travels of Dionysus to various locations in Greece where he was honored. From Thebes, where he was born, he first went to

where he displayed his "starry body", and with "Delphian girls" took his "place on the folds of Parnassus", then next to

, where he is called "Iacchus": :And in your hand brandishing your night- :lighting flame, with god-possessed frenzy :you went to the vales of Eleusis :... :where the whole people of Hellas' :land, alongside your own native witnesses :of the holy mysteries, calls upon you :as Iacchus: for mortals from their pains :you have opened a haven without toils.

says that Greeks "give the name 'Iacchus' not only to Dionysus but also to the leader-in-chief of the mysteries". For the identification of Iacchus with Dionysus in an Orphic context see ''Orphic Hymn'' 42.4, 49.3.

Dionysus Zagreus

In particular Iacchus was identified with Dionysus Zagreus, who was a son of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and Persephone. This Orphic Dionysus was, as an infant, attacked and dismembered by the Titans, but later reborn as Dionysus, the wine-god son of Zeus and

Semele Semele (; ), or Thyone (; ) in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysus and Semele ...

, the daughter of

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; ) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes, Greece, Thebes. He was, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Commonly stated to be a ...

, the first king of Thebes. As noted above, Sophocles mentions "Iacchus of the bull's horns", and according to the 1st-century BC historian

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

, it was this older Dionysus who was represented in painting and sculpture with horns, because he “excelled in sagacity and was the first to attempt the yoking of oxen and by their aid to effect the sowing of the seed”.

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period. '' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...

, the 2nd-century Greek historian, wrote that it was to this Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Persephone, "not the Theban Dionysus, that the mystic chant ‘Iacchus’ is sung". And the 2nd-century poet

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

refers to the "dismemberment of Iacchus".

Nonnus

The 4th- or 5th-century poet

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis (, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He i ...

, associates the name Iacchus with a "third" Dionysus. He describes the Athenian celebrations given to the first Dionysus Zagreus son of

, the second Dionysus Bromios son of

, and the third Dionysus Iacchus: :They he Athenianshonoured him as a god next after the son of Persephoneia, and after Semele's son; they established sacrifices for Dionysos late born and Dionysos first born, and third they chanted a new hymn for Iacchos. In these three celebrations Athens held high revel; in the dance lately made, the Athenians beat the step in honour of Zagreus and Bromios and Iacchos all together.

Herodotus' "Iacchus"

Possibly the oldest testimony related to Iacchus, is given by the 5th-century Greek historian

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

. According to Herodotus, Dicaeus an Athenian exile told the story that, he and the former

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n king Demaratus, who had become an advisor to the Persian king

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...

, witnessed a miraculous event which Dicaeus interpreted as predicting the defeat of the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), during the

: :Dicaeus son of Theocydes, an Athenian exile who had become important among the Medes, said that at the time when the land of Attica was being laid waste by Xerxes' army and there were no Athenians in the country, he was with Demaratus the Lacedaemonian on the Thriasian plain and saw advancing from Eleusis a cloud of dust as if raised by the feet of about thirty thousand men. They marvelled at what men might be raising such a cloud of dust and immediately heard a cry. The cry seemed to be the “Iacchus” of the mysteries, and when Demaratus, ignorant of the rites of Eleusis, asked him what was making this sound, Dicaeus said, “Demaratus, there is no way that some great disaster will not befall the king's army. Since Attica is deserted, it is obvious that this voice is divine and comes from Eleusis to help the Athenians and their allies. If it descends upon the Peloponnese, the king himself and his army on the mainland will be endangered. If, however, it turns towards the ships at Salamis, the king will be in danger of losing his fleet. Every year the Athenians observe this festival for the Mother and the Maiden, and any Athenian or other Hellene who wishes is initiated. The voice which you hear is the ‘Iacchus’ they cry at this festival.” To this Demaratus replied, “Keep silent and tell this to no one else. If these words of yours are reported to the king, you will lose your head, and neither I nor any other man will be able to save you, so be silent. The gods will see to the army.” Thus he advised, and after the dust and the cry came a cloud, which rose aloft and floated away towards Salamis to the camp of the Hellenes. In this way they understood that Xerxes' fleet was going to be destroyed. Dicaeus son of Theocydes used to say this, appealing to Demaratus and others as witnesses. However, while the "cloud of dust" and the ritual cry "Iacchus" are apparent references to the Eleusinian procession, no explicit reference is made by Herodotus to Iacchus' statue, nor in fact to the god himself— either here or elsewhere. Some scholars have taken this passage as evidence that, for Herodotus, Iacchus was not yet a god. This story, associating Iacchus with such an important Greek victory, presumably led to an increase in his fame, popularity and importance throughout Greece, and so conceivably, helped to establish Iacchus as a god.

Genealogy

Iacchus, when identified with Dionysus, as he was at the

in Athens (see above), was considered to be the son of Zeus and Semele, and when identified with Dionysus Zagreus, was considered to be the son

and Persephone. However, several sources associate Iacchus (or Dionysus/Iacchus) with Demeter, either explicitly or implicitly, as her son. The earliest such source, a 4th-century BC vase fragment at Oxford, shows Demeter holding the child Dionysus on her lap.

tells us about a "second Dionysus" (i.e. Dionysus Zagreus) who "the writers of myths relate, was born to Zeus by Persephonê, though some say it was Demeter". By the 1st-century BC, Demeter suckling Iacchus had become such a commonplace, that the Latin poet

Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( ; ; – October 15, 55 BC) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, which usually is t ...

could use it as an apparently recognizable example of a lover's euphemism. A scholiast on the 2nd-century AD

Aristides Aristides ( ; , ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian statesman. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''díkaios''), he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. ...

, explicitly names Demeter as Iacchus' mother. By other accounts apparently, Iacchus was the husband of Demeter. And according to

, Iacchus was the son of Dionysus and the nymph Aura, who was the daughter of the

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

Lelantos and the Oceanid Periboia (or

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

?).

The ''anasyrma'' of Baubo

Iacchus was possibly involved in an Eleusinian myth concerning Demeter. Following the abduction by

of her daughter

, Demeter visits Eleusis. Because she is in mourning for her lost daughter, Demeter refuses the offered hospitality of her Eleusinian hosts. Nevertheless, she is somehow made to laugh, and breaking her fast, finally accepts the offered food and drink. There are two versions of the story. In the earliest version, given in the '' Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', an old servant woman

Iambe Iambe (Ancient Greek: Ἰάμβη means 'banter'), in Greek mythology, was a Thracian woman, daughter of Pan (god), Pan and Echo (mythology), Echo, granddaughter of Hermes, and a servant of Metaneira, the wife of Hippothoon. Others call her a slave ...

makes Demeter laugh by telling her obscene jokes. In an apparent later Orphic version of the story, the old woman

makes Demeter laugh by lifting her skirts (an '' anasyrma'') thereby exposing her genitals. One account of this second version, suggests the possible involvement of Iacchus. The 2nd-century

Christian apologist Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria (; – ), was a Christian theology, Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and Alexander of Jerusalem. A ...

, in giving an account of this story, attributes the following lines of verse to

Orpheus In Greek mythology, Orpheus (; , classical pronunciation: ) was a Thracians, Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet. He was also a renowned Ancient Greek poetry, poet and, according to legend, travelled with Jason and the Argonauts in se ...

: :This said, she drew aside her robes, and showed :A sight of shame; child Iacchus was there, :And laughing, plunged his hand below her breasts. :Then smiled the goddess, in her heart she smiled, :And drank the draught from out the glancing cup.

, '' Protrepticus'' Exhortation to the Greeks"(Butterworth
pp. 42, 43
[
Orphic fr. 52 Kern
. For a discussion regarding the uncertainty of Clement's text, see Marcovich
pp. 20–27
See also O'Higgins
p. 194 n. 53

Notes

References

* Aristides, ''Aristides ex recensione Guilielmi Dindorfii, Volume 3'', Wilhelm Dindorf, Weidmann, G. Reimer, 1829
Hathi Trust Digital Library
*

, ''Frogs'', Matthew Dillon, Ed., Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, 1995
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Arnobius of Sicca, ''The Seven Books of Arnobius Adversus Gentes'', translated by Archibald Hamilton Bryce and Hugh Campbell, Edinburg: T. & T. Clark. 1871
Internet Archive
*

, '' Anabasis of Alexander, Volume I: Books 1–4'', translated by P. A. Brunt.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

No. 236. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1976.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Athanassakis, Apostolos N., and Benjamin M. Wolkow, ''The Orphic Hymns'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013)
Google Books
* Bernabé and García-Gasco, "Nonnus and Dionysiac-Orphic Religion" in ''Brill’s Companion to Nonnus of Panopolis'', editor Domenico Accorinti, BRILL, 2016. . * Bowie, A. M., ''Aristophanes: Myth, Ritual and Comedy'',

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1993. . * Bowie, E. L., "Time and Place, Narrative and Speech in Philicus, Philodams and Limenius" in ''Hymnic Narrative and the Narratology of Greek Hymns'', edited by Andrew Faulkner, Owen Hodkinson, BRILL, 2015. . * Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp (2008b), ''Euripides Fragments: Oedipus-Chrysippus: Other Fragments'',

No. 506. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

, 2008.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, ''The Exhortation to the Greeks. The Rich Man's Salvation. To the Newly Baptized''. Translated by G. W. Butterworth.

No. 92. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

, 1919.
Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive 1960 edition
* Clinton, Kevin, ''The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries'' Philadelphia, American Philosophical Society, 1974. *

, ''Diodorus Siculus: The Library of History''. Translated by C. H. Oldfather. Twelve volumes.

. Cambridge, Massachusetts:

; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989
Online version by Bill Thayer
* Dow, Sterling, "Athenian Decrees of 216-212 B. C.", ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', Vol. 48 (1937), pp. 105–126
JSTOR
* Encinas Reguero, M. Carmen, "The Names of Dionysos in Euripides’ ''Bacchae'' and the Rhetorical Language of Teiresias", in ''Redefining Dionysos'', Editors: Alberto Bernabé, Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui, Ana Isabel Jiménez San Cristóbal, Raquel Martín Hernández. Walter de Gruyter, 2013. . *

, ''

'', translated by T. A. Buckley in ''The Tragedies of Euripides'', London. Henry G. Bohn. 1850
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''

Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...

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The Trojan Women ''The Trojan Women'' (, lit. "The Female Trojans") is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece, Greek playwright Euripides, produced in 415 BCE. Also translated as ''The Women of Troy,'' or as its transliterated Greek title ''Troades, The Trojan Women'' ...

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De Rerum Natura (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC Didacticism, didactic poem by the Roman Republic, Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius () with the goal of explaining Epicureanism, Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, writte ...

'', William Ellery Leonard. E. P. Dutton. 1916
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Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' (, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hex ...

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The Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

'', second edition, Hammond, N.G.L. and Howard Hayes Scullard (editors),

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

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Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

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{{Authority control Eleusinian Mysteries Greek gods Epithets of Dionysus Chthonic beings Personifications in Greek mythology Children of Dionysus Children of Demeter Consorts of Demeter