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dionysos' counterparts in other cultures |
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Zagreus was the first incarnation
of Dionysos, in Orphic theology. Fufluns is an Etruscan god closely
related to Bacchus and Dionysos. Bacchus is basically the Roman
Dionysos. Sabazius is the Phrygian/Thracian wine god, usually connected to Dionysos. Phrygia was in Asia Minor, where the goddess Kybele originated, and his rites may have been similar to hers. I have not found much information on him, other than one ritual called "god through the lap" where a metal snake was passed under the robes of the initiate. This may be connected to the version of Dionysos' birth where Zeus mated with Persephone in the form of a snake. Periodic festivals called Sabazia were celebrated in his honor. He is also connected with Mithras (another bull-related god). In Thrace, he was considered a solar god, married to Bendis, a moon goddess. Some images of Sabazius show horns on his head. Yarilo is the Slavic god of sexuality and vegetation, and has some very close correspondences to Dionysos. His name may derive from the root "yary" which means passionate, virile and uncontrolled. He is usually said to be blonde, dressed in white, and barefoot, wearing a crown of flowers and riding a white horse. In one hand he holds a bunch of wheat, and in the other a skull. Wherever he treads, flowers and wheat grow in his wake. As a popular song says: "Where he sets his foot, the corn grows in mountains, where he doth glance the grain rejoices." He is also associated with the god of summer, Kupalo, and with the sun. He had a festival day on June 4, and his death and burial was celebrated sometime during the harvest, possibly at the end of June. A priapic doll was placed in a coffin and carried through the town by an old man after sunset, to the cries and laments of women. He was buried in an open field, after which games and dances began. There are a few Greek Orthodox
saints that can be linked to Dionysos, at least
etymologically. |
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