Post by tzinana on Jul 27, 2005 3:54:46 GMT
JIM MORRISON; One, Two, Many Dionysiuses
By GREGORY RABASSA (letter to the editor)
The New York Times
April 28, 1991
Jon Pareles states that Jim Morrison knew who
Dionysius was ["Jim Morrison, Resurrected for
Sensitive Souls," March 24]. I have my doubts. Would
it be Dionysius the Elder, Tyrant of Syracuse? Or was
it his son Dionysius II, the lout whose brother-in-law
Dion sought to turn into a decent ruler, perhaps even
the philosopher-king, through the good offices of
Plato? It could also be Dionysius of Halicarnassus or
perhaps the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who gave
us B.C. and A.D.
Mr. Pareles doubtless meant Dionysus, son of Zeus and
Semele (a k a Bacchus), the god to whom the adjective
Dionysian also applies. The ruler Dionysius might have
tempted self-destruction through bad political
decisions, but the god Dionysus, being immortal, could
not have brought it off, even though he certainly was
able to bring mere earthlings along, as any bacchanal
will attest.
This whole matter may well be moot, however, as our
leaders tend to be Dionysian after Dionysius and our
mediocre popular arts are wild affairs in the
Dionysian way of Dionysus, while Bird weeps and Apollo
sulks in the realization that his mood has been
mispronounced.
By GREGORY RABASSA (letter to the editor)
The New York Times
April 28, 1991
Jon Pareles states that Jim Morrison knew who
Dionysius was ["Jim Morrison, Resurrected for
Sensitive Souls," March 24]. I have my doubts. Would
it be Dionysius the Elder, Tyrant of Syracuse? Or was
it his son Dionysius II, the lout whose brother-in-law
Dion sought to turn into a decent ruler, perhaps even
the philosopher-king, through the good offices of
Plato? It could also be Dionysius of Halicarnassus or
perhaps the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus, who gave
us B.C. and A.D.
Mr. Pareles doubtless meant Dionysus, son of Zeus and
Semele (a k a Bacchus), the god to whom the adjective
Dionysian also applies. The ruler Dionysius might have
tempted self-destruction through bad political
decisions, but the god Dionysus, being immortal, could
not have brought it off, even though he certainly was
able to bring mere earthlings along, as any bacchanal
will attest.
This whole matter may well be moot, however, as our
leaders tend to be Dionysian after Dionysius and our
mediocre popular arts are wild affairs in the
Dionysian way of Dionysus, while Bird weeps and Apollo
sulks in the realization that his mood has been
mispronounced.
who can actually tell me who dionysis was and when and where he was a ruler....i presumed he was a pagan god, but was he also a leader of people?