Bacchic Rituals and Modern Manifestations

Bacchic Rituals and Modern Manifestations

The foundations of the society in which we live today have a distinctive dependence on technology and science, with a strength of nations that drives desire for personal control over resources and in a sense even the coarse of ones life. Yet, in reality there is really relatively little, real opportunity for personal control of the determination of one's life and yet much opportunity for leisure. The culture of the modern world, at least in western society is relatively stable, not as bound and determined to expand at the cost of other nations and regions but still expanding in quieter ways allowed the post colonial concepts of nations. The reach for a global economy and global communication an almost mind-boggling concept for the individual, who sees both the potential for cohesion and the potential for exploitation and division as self-fulfilling prophecies of the age, often including a rejection of all things spiritual as a prerequisite to progress seeks to find such spirituality in new ways. This work will first discuss the history of the mythical legend of Dionysus, the Bacchic ritual and its rich traditions and then move on to discuss its modern manifestations.

Yet, these knew ways of seeking spirituality, especially for personal release are in no way new or untried and are instead old tried and true methods of finding balance. The mythical birth of Dionysus and the following Bacchic rituals of the Greek and Roman cultures, having gone through countless rebirths throughout the western tradition are still very much alive today, all be it in different forms. Such opportunity for the mind and body to reclaim control through stepping away from convention and releasing the inner spirit are very much a part of the culture of the day. Two examples of this trend, among many are the birth and embrace of rock n roll music and its ever-present culture as well as spiritual retreats such as the Burning Man festivals, a yearly event where thousands of people converge on a previously unpopulated region of arid desert land to express individuality and release for a week.

The Greeks and Romans had many manifestations of the mythical figure of Dionysus and the Bacchic rituals, in both public and private ceremonial forms, offering an opportunity for people, especially the disenfranchised to seek spirituality through group expression and individual expressions of release. Films such as Woodstock, Gimme Shelter and productions like Dionysus 69 as well as all the accompanying music and questioning express the nature of the way that rock-n-roll permeated cultural expression in the 1960s and 70s and also express the sort of rights of passage inherent in the Bacchic ritual. The modern expression, the Burning Man Festivals by all account also express this sort of desire to utilize creative expression and mind altering substances to alter the way in which one thinks about the immediate and broader world. The expression of the underground can be seen in the modern as well as the anchinet as Bacchic ritual is repeatedly embraced and one must seek answers within it to, help one understand how...women and other disenfranchised members living in conditions that seem extremely restrictive to contemporary eyes, might have generated in themselves the allegiance to the values of their culture that allowed them to carry out the various roles society had decreed for them.

In the expression of both juxtaposed events in history there are many similarities and borrowed theories, though all in the modern do not know of the long history of this practice. Many in fact see no connection at all, while still others, seek to consciously reinvent spiritual expression that could potentially help by allowing individuals the avenue for such expression in a manner that is befitting of a culture so closely tied to science and technology for answers to the spiritual. In a groundbreaking work, written in 1963 David Taffel attempts to make sense of the difficulties inherent in seeking such answers through a modern and knowledgeable view on Nietzche, the atheist philosopher who wasn't really atheist but a deeply spiritual man who wanted to call attention to the danger and difficulty that would be faced by a culture seeking the spiritual through modern science and industry. (Taffel, 1963) This work as a precursor to the eras that would follow, the free expression movement, the embrace of Rock-n-roll and even the newer expressions such as Burning Man, is a fantastic jumping off point, though its complexity demands greater attention than can be expressed here and so therefore will be discussed only briefly. The thesis of the work being the most important point, how does modern man seek to express and build spirituality, when all the institutions that tell him how to do so are in decay and no longer holding such great power over the people? The answers come later, in the movements mentioned above and will be elaborated on at a later time in this work, but for many they are reinventions of the Dionysus myths and the Bacchic like rituals.

To seek a common ground and understand the validity of the connection between the modern Bacchic rituals and those of the past one must gain a better understanding of the origin of the ideas. To do so many historically minded individuals turn to the fragments that express Bacchic in art and archeology. Carpenter in 1997, seeks to explore the Dionysian imagery through an archeological exploration of fifth century Athens attempting to unravel the modern myth from the evidence and expressions that are still available today in the Athenian art that remains. Carpenter takes a scientific approach to what he terms Attic religion, meaning private and hidden expressions of spirituality through the mythology of Dionysos in the archeological record. This expression of seeking the answers to the spiritual through science is in and of itself an answer that Nietzsche foresaw and would be proud of, in that it makes a bold attempt to build upon what is available to better understand human needs and desires. The bull, the serpent, the ivy and wine are the signs of the characteristic Dionysian atmosphere, infused with the unquenchable life of the god. Their numinous presence signifies that the god is near. (Kerenyi 52) More modern works on Dionysos express a culmination of the myth through a summary of its various versions. Richard Seaford in Dionysos (2006) summarizes the myth:

On the prompting of Hera, the primeval deities known as Titans lure away the infant Dionysos by means of a mirror and other objects, and tear him into pieces which they cook and taste. They are punished by being blasted with the thunderbolt of Zeus. Dionysos is then restored to life from his heart, which had been preserved by Athena. The smoke rising from the bodies of the blasted Titans form a soot, from which is created humankind. This summarises one version of the story, which is told in versions with differences in detail....The myth of his dismemberment at the hands of the Titans, followed by his restoration to life, is (at least in part) a projection of the experience of the mystic initiand...The result is that not just his death but also his restoration to life brings him closer to us than are most other deities, and the same can be said even of the form of this death and restoration, namely dismemberment (fragmentation) and return to wholeness... (Seaford 111-112, 85)

The myth speaks of a deity that is an expression of humanity, a collective jumble of parts forever seeking to become the collective through rebirth and regeneration but eternally being torn asunder by forces out of their control, war, famine, technology, economy and many others. The full expression of Dionysis is varied but the rights of Bacchic ritual express this individual destruction and rebirth, collectivism that can clearly be seen in the modern and ancient expressions of coming together to express an rebuild individual and collective character.

The rituals of the Bacchic encompass and expression of the rebirth of Dionysos, through individuals collectively, both publicly and privately, seeking to be tested by trial and then be put back together.

In the German Middle Ages, to, singing and dancing crowds, ever increasing in number whirled themselves from place to place under the same Dionysian impulse. In these dances of St. John and St. Vitus, we rediscover the Bacchic choruses of the Greeks, with their prehistory in Asia Minor, as far back as Babylon and the orgiastic Sacaea. There are some who, from obtuseness or lack of experience, turn away from such phenomena as from 'folk-diseases," with contempt or pity born of the consciousness of their own 'healthy-mindedness.' But of course such poor wretches have no idea how corpselike and ghostly their so-called 'healthy-mindedness' looks when glowing life of the Dionysian revelers roars past them" (Kerenyi & Manheim 136)

The expression of the roaring crowds destabilize the idea of restraint, a common demand in almost any civilized society, and most common during the various resurrections of conservatism, in the western tradition, such as in conservative 1950's America.

The bacchius ritual is an expression of another related god, who has been embraced by some as the guide of the spiritual through free expression and has been judged by others as the leader of good people to wicked excess. Though the story of Bacchus is controversial it is one that needs retelling. In Andrew Dalby's work, Bacchus a Biography the life story of Bacchus is told, from am ore modern perspective, a biographical expression of an ancient god. Through his retelling there is a clear sense that the god is all to human, the type of god we humans love to love and love to hate, as the expression of the gift of wine, is a freeing gift and a destructive gift at the same time and mistakes are thought to be only of human making, in our monotheistic culture. This work is an expression of the old cliche, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." In the introduction to a modern translation of the Euripides classic, Bacchai (or Bakkhai) there is a clear sense of the connectivity between the Bacchis myth and that of Dionysus,

Dionysos is the god of Letting Go. One of his cult titles repeatedly alluded to in the Bakkhai is Lysios, the Releaser. He liberates from the constrictions and restraints of ordinary social life. He does this through his gifts of wine, his breakdown of inhibitions in group ecstasy and excited dancing and singing, and through the lesser intoxications of the illusion-inducing power of the mask and the theater. He offers a liberating surrender of self that, in the extreme and nightmarish form envisaged in the play, brings homicidal madness. In its more benign version however, it offers the restorative blessings of festivity, collective enjoyment, and the exhilarating release of barriers between oneself and others. Letting go, surrendering control, yielding to the intoxicating effects of wine or exciting music, total fusion with the group in emotional participation and exultation in our animal energies -these are the gifts that Dionysos holds out to Thebes and through Thebes to all of Greece, that is (in our terms), to the civilized world.

Euripides and Shapiro 3)

The ultimate gift of release and all its corresponding expression of free will, sometimes recognized as evil in its expression of the cruelty of man, but in its best and truest form and expression of release that invigorates and connects humanity to one another through drink, free expressions of sexuality built in character by excesses of dance and music.

In the theatrical production the Infernal Machine Jean Cocteau also demonstrates the urgency of the intellect to seek solace in history to allow for the rebirth of freedom of expression and spirituality. In the work Cocteau's dialogues between characters, representative of authority and challenges to it there is a clear sense that intellect seeks to remind a disconnected world of the rich history of the Greek tradition of Dionysus as well as the value of living ones life, not to stay within the confines of fear and judgment but to express the vitality of life, as an expression of the value of the peaceful aspect of the creator..

Cardinal. Are you not slightly drunk?

Hans. Bacchus is a god whom drunkards made in their own image. Does your Eminence know Dionysus? Do you know the Greek gods?

Cardinal. I get them rather confused; there are so many!

Hans. There were many Greek gods, Your Eminence, and never an unbeliever. There is now one God and many unbelievers.

Cardinal. And if I am not mistaken, you are one.

Hans. Me, my lord! My fellow countrymen fear the devil more than they believe in God. My crime is to believe in God more than the devil. it's very unfashionable.

Cardinal. God leaves us free to choose.

Hans. Free? What do you say to the horrors the priests hold up, high and low, right and left to frighten us? Man walks amidst trials, rewards, and punishments. Man has made God a judge, because he himself judges and condemns. But make no mistake. Brother Martin says that God is foolish but he would not say it of the devil. He would be afraid. The best people believe that wickedness shows intelligence and that goodness comes from foolishness. That is the tragedy. (Cocteau 351)

In this production one can see the rejection of the dominant spiritual guise of seeking to find the way through fear of censure rather than through the guidance of free expression and vitality of living. The Bacchus statement also demands some note as Hans rejects Bacchus as he has been reinvented by the world to express all that is unholy, as an excuse for excess and debauchery, and is therefore no longer the expression of creativity that he once was. To Hans Bacchus has become the conservative's name for blaming excess for the ills of the world.

Cardinal. You say that "man has made of God a judge." You[r] forgot that God made man in His own image.

Hans. And man returned the compliment. If they had less fear of a cruel God, people would gain self-confidence, they would regain their dignity and responsibility as human beings. They would stop being trembling beasts. They would become "man." They would put to God's account those things which they now put to the devil's and so justify Him. Heaven would be triumphant and Hell would lose it sway. (Cocteau 352)

The value of the birth of Dionysus and the Bacchic rituals, when they are censured only to the degree that they do not hurt others in their development, can be seen repeatedly through out the historical record. The culture we live in today, is no exception, as the creation of a world that values science over spirit is a culture very in need of alternative expression, just as every censured and fearful culture has been before.

The connection between modern expressions of music, dance and naked frenzy is not knew, in a fundamental work exploring the nature of modern expression of the Bacchic ritual and the Dionysus mythology Hall, Macintosh and Wrigley collectively edit a group of literary articles that build this connection through thought and analysis of modern expression of film, dance and music. In one of the works, within the larger collection (Dionysus in 69: Greek Tragedy at the Dawn of the Third Millennium) there is reference to the validity of the argument of reinvention of the Dionysus legacy and Bacchic ritual. The work discusses the context of the theatrical production Dionysus in 69

The run of the play extended from June 1968 to July 1969...Its opening night took place the day after Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, preceding by only a few months the election of Richard Nixon...One month after its closing, the renowned Woodstock rock concert took place, an event that has assumed legendary status in the annals of hippie utopia. The title Dionysus in 69 was chosen, not only for its more naughty associations, but also to propose a revolution that 'would elect Dionysus president' in the coming year. This was a time of radical social transition, 'reflected in diverging social values between old and young, rich and poor, whites and blacks, male and female sexual roles, and above all, between advocates and opponents of war in Vietnam'...'protests against this conflict escalated to protests by the young against all authority figures; freedom of expression carried over to the realm of sex as well as speech.' (51)

The production Dionysus in 69 is a foundational expression of the direct connection between the era and the older mythos and expressions. In the production, with limited dialogue and more nudity than not, the audience was encouraged to disrobe and take part with the actors in this free expression of humanity, once again an expression of the frenzy associated with Bacchic ritual and expression.

Creating the world anew was the goal of the late 60s and early 70s society and the standard to be used was as ancient as the desire of free expression. The era reflected the entire cornucopia of the early Greek movement as it displayed in full Technicolor expression both the good and the bad aspects of free expression and human culmination of it. In the documentary film Woodstock (1970) one can see the good and the bad associated with the concert and the movement, as details about drug use and violence are not missing and images of naked hippies convening with nature and each other naked and in the mud are juxtaposed, with back stage scenes of drug use and conversations as well as the stupefying power of the music and its messages. The film embodies the reality of application associated with this rejection of the norm, as it was developed in the concert event and all the surrounding hoopla. What the movement and the event meant to all the people involved is clear and what the movement and the event meant to the broader society is also shown when the surreal expression of the failed infrastructure and size of it overburdened its landscape and needed National Guard troops to swoop down on the scene and offer medical care and relief food, water and shelter.

Another film that embodies an expression of the extreme in the Bacchic ritual is the film Gimme Shelter, which is a documentary exploration of another free concert that took place after Woodstock and had an even more sinister ending to juxtapose over the intentions of the concert planners (the Rolling Stones). The film Gimme Shelter (1970) is described here:

In December of 1969, four months after Woodstock, the Rolling Stones and Jefferson Airplane gave a free concert in Northern California, east of Oakland at Altamont Speedway. About 300,000 people came, and the organizers [the Rolling Stones and others] put Hell's Angels in charge of security around the stage. Armed with pool cues and knifes, Angels spent the concert beating up spectators, killing at least one. The film intercuts performances, violence, Grace Slick and Mick Jagger's attempts to cool things down, close-ups of young listeners (dancing, drugged, or suffering Angel shock), and a look at the Stones later as they watch concert footage and reflect on what happened. (IMDb website Gimme Shelter)

In the film the Rolling Stones are demonized for making the fatal error of thinking that the American version of the Hells Angles were similar to those they had met and utilized for security in Europe, as the scenes of violence are graphic and destructive and the sorrow that was felt by all who participated was not really expressed. The rejection by the broader society of the movement, when each subsequent venue pulled out of sponsorship and promotion, in part as an aftereffect of what by many was seen as a debacle at Woodstock, can also be seen clearly in the film, the underground idea of the Bacchic ritual being clearly expressed again in this example.

The whole expression of the initial rejection of the Rock-n-Roll culture, music and lifestyle, not to mention its messages of rejection of the broader conservative culture is an example of the manner in which youth demonstrates revolutionary control over subsequent generations. The initial desire of the broader more conservative culture to suppress the movement, and all its expressions was met by heated rejection of conservatism. Many who look back on the beginnings of the movement express that all their fears were realized, through the very public expression of conflict and rage that became synonymous with Rock-n-Roll music and all of its accompanying events, which clearly reached it peak of possibility both good and bad during the Woodstock era. (Altschuler, 2003, p. 3)

Yet, it is also clear that the music and the mentality it brought with it changed the face of society, and all that the older more conservative generations could do about it was warn the culture of its potential threats, much as those who drove the Bacchic ritual into the attic.

A rived early and in force, as many as three hundred strong, some of them on horseback, to set up wooden barriers along the sidewalk, separate the crowd from passersby on Times Square, and then station themselves in the aisles and at the rear of the theater (Altschuler, 2003, p. 3)