“Beneath the wild, savage rites of Dionysus lies the recognition of man’s need for occasional release from the bonds of law and order. To resist Dionysus is to reject joy- and to incur terrible consequences.” -Charles De Houghton
“The Dionysiac cult recognizes the universal human need to fling off the fetters of habit, if only -willingly- to take up again…the demands of an ordered social life. Dionysus allows us this release, this necessary respite from regime. As Professor E.R. Dodds observes ‘Dionysus is beyond good and evil…he is what we make of him.’ The god, in fact, is already within us: we have to seek him and allow him to escape, if we do not wish him to break out…and drive us mad. In this sense, we are indeed one with Dionysus; that is why he fascinates us.”
-Charles De HoughtonImage: Herakles and Dionysos, with a Dancing Maenad, from “The House of the Drinking Contest”, Antioch-on-the-Orontes. Roman mosaic, 3rd c. AD.
“Icarus” - Portrait Painting by Sam Spratt
In the pursuit of perfection, we often get burned along the way. Reference model: Joey L
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