Deck 8: Dionysus: Rooted in Earth and Ecstasy

Question 1

Dionysus is generally identified in myths as a true "native son:" his origin is exclusively Greek.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Orphism promotes an alternative version of the Dionysian myth in which humans are created from the ashes of the Titans who killed and ate Dionysus.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Bread and wine, as emblems of divine care for human beings, played important roles in some Greco-Roman mystery religions.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The Dionysian Mysteries were very popular in Greece and Italy and persisted well into the Christian era.

Question 5

Orphism promotes an alternative version of the Dionysian myth that humans are born from the dolphins who abducted and ate Dionysus.

Question 6

Apollo is identified with the intellect and Dionysus with the emotions.

Question 7

Dionysus's mother is persuaded by Hera that her unseen lover is really Zeus, so she demands to know the truth. When she learns that Hera was right, she dies from the shock.

Question 8

There is a theory that Apollo and Dionysus are actually two aspects of the same divinity.

Question 9

Dionysus is commonly identified with other male fertility gods of the ancient Near East: Tammutz (Dumuzi), Adonis, and Osiris.

Question 10

Semele's sister Ino tries to protect Dionysus by disguising him as a goat.

Question 11

At the end of Theogony, Hesiod describes the flight of Ariadne from Theseus and her marriage to Dionysus.

Question 12

Dionysus is a fertility god representing the growth, death, and rebirth of vegetation.

Question 13

Early Christians used the figure of Orpheus or Dionysus to depict Jesus.

Question 14

Satyrs are famous for their physical strength and are often depicted with exaggeratedly large muscles.

Question 15

The two main characters in the ritual of the Anthesteria in Athens represented Dionysus and Ariadne in a sacred marriage.

Question 16

In the Hymn to Dionysus, pirates try to capture Dionysus, who has disguised himself as a dolphin.

Question 17

Maenads are women driven mad by Dionysus to punish them for dancing too wildly.

Question 18

Orphism created a balance between Dionysian excess and Apollonian moderation.

Question 19

Icarius is murdered while wearing the skin of a goat.

Question 20

Which of the following statements on the similarity between Apollo and Dionysus is false?

A) Both were born under difficult circumstances, persecuted by Hera.
B) Both are associated with ecstasy.
C) Both share their father Zeus's will to power.
D) Both have female as well as male elements in their nature.

Question 21

How did Ampelus die?

A) He was transformed into a grapevine.
B) He was gored by a raging bull.
C) He was transformed into a dolphin.
D) He was murdered by shepherds who thought he was a goat.

Question 22

What trait does Orpheus not share with Dionysus?

A) bisexuality
B) a descent into Hades
C) a violent death
D) being the son of Zeus

Question 23

What is a thyrsus?

A) an older Greek word for the ritual of sparagmos
B) a ritual of sacred intercourse to promote fertility
C) a long staff topped with a pine cone and entwined with ivy
D) a staff topped with wings and entwined by two snakes

Question 24

Jesus and Dionysus resemble each other in that

A) they both perform miracles.
B) they both must flee the anger of a powerful personage.
C) both descend into the underworld.
D) all of the above

Question 25

Dionysus learned his ritual from

A) Hercules, when he was traveling through Greece.
B) Cybele, a fertility goddess worshiped in Asia Minor.
C) the centaur Chiron.
D) his uncle, Ino's husband.

Question 26

What causes the death of Semele?

A) She is persuaded by Hera that her unseen lover is really Zeus, so she demands to know the truth. When she learns that Hera was right, she dies of shock.
B) Hera convinces Semele that her lover who visits her in the dark is an ogre. Semele persuades her lover to show himself as he really is, and when Zeus appears in a blaze of light, she is incinerated.
C) She has spurned the advances of Zeus and is struck down with his thunderbolt.
D) Being a mortal woman, she grows old and dies, and nothing her lover Zeus can do will make her young again.

Question 27

The fact that Dionysus's chariot was often pulled by panthers and leopards indicates that

A) there was no reason to fear those animals.
B) he liked to assume the shape of a big cat.
C) he was changeable, unpredictable, and dangerous, just like big cats.
D) all of the above.

Question 28

Who was Icarius?

A) Dionysus's first lover
B) Dionysus's last lover
C) the man Dionysus taught to manufacture wine
D) the leader of the pirates who tried to abduct Dionysus

Question 29

Who is Dionysus Zagreus?

A) another name for Orpheus
B) a name for the Orphic variation of the Dionysus myth
C) a name for the Apollonian aspect of Dionysus
D) a Slavic version of the Dionysus myth, first encountered in the region of Zagreb

Question 30

What happens when pirates attempt to kidnap Dionysus?

A) He changes them into dolphins.
B) He becomes a dolphin and escapes them.
C) He attacks the ship with the help of dolphins.
D) Trick question: Dolphins try to kidnap him and are, as punishment, changed into pirates.