The Cult of Dionysus:
Harken! harken to me, Shirerithians, followers of so many confusing gods and politicians! There is no greater crime than to never let oneself go and enjoy life. The people of this nation are great criminals. I'm here to save you all.
Can you hear it? The jingling of bells, the shake of leafy boughs, the slam of the thyrsus on the ground and then- from the ground, jets of sweet honey and wine! Observe them scrape away just the surface of the earth and beneath, pure milk, granted by the god. These are my maenads, the faithful followers of Dionysus, my god and my only refuge.
Bacchus cannot see himself "setting up shop" like a regimented merchant in this Temple that has been constructed. Does he need a permit? The Cult shall be established somewhere here, in this land, where the people are wise and receptive and good. And better they shall be for it, for Dionysus is the only way to truly be free.
Scott, you would be the one. This is the issue at hand. Let Shireroth be free of its self-imposed imprisonment, the will of order! Let the overwhelming will of the god consume and feed us all, one, the citizens of this nation. Kaiser- Duke- Baron- Count- Freeman- Slave- Mondesian- they are all the same to the god, he calls them all to his rites equally. It has been revealed to me by Bacchus that the rites will not first be accepted in Elwynn, so let me try to appease him in some other corner of Shireroth. Brookshire will do nicely.
Illumination in Illumination:Leo, oppose the will of the god and you will be denied the greatest happiness one can ever be afforded. Your own refusal to believe is a far worse punishment than Dionysus could ever deliver. Can't you hear him? He's there, calling out. He's you, calling out from inside, shouting crying screaming in an act of defiance against the ordered facade we all maintain. Let him free and let yourself free in doing so. Join the dance and experience the ecstacy of... nothing. A lack of responsibility, of free will, of desire- simply acting according to the divine will. To serve him is to be free; to lose everything is to gain everything. Letting go is the first step. Hold tight to those personal grounds of yours if you must, but how truly personal they are and what good they will do you I do wonder.
Shyriath, to watch the dance may be enjoyable, but to know the rites is a greater joy still.
And Ardashir, I might be a religious fanatic now, but I can still recognise the fact that Bablyon 5's a pile of shit. :P
Elwynn. The worst offender of all the Duchies, she must be tackled first and brought to reason, for her own good and the good of the nation.
And this place, Illumination, it feels right in some way. I cannot place it. The name, I guess: Illumination. To bring light where there is darkness, that is the mission of the God, and so I suppose this is what attracts me.
Dionysus is here, children of light! Step forward and be initiated into the Rites if you can already see the light. If not, be prepared to bear witness.
Sing to the God, the liberator of ourselves from ourselves!
Eaaaaohhh! The god who repatriates us to our true selves!
Bearer of wine, let the libations be plentiful in recognition of his power!
Eaaaaohhh! His power to inspire is unlimited!
Fruitful are his labours, and unhappy are those who cross him!
I was Benkern, now I am nothing. The true self revealed; I am the High Priest of Bacchus. This was my destiny and what he knew would happen at the appointed time. He gave me the rites, and the mission to save you all! Let the illumination commence in Illumination! Let the ranks of the Maenads swell and reform! Eaaaaohhh! the god, the god is come.
The Maenads meet the Lunatics:Such hostility to the rites of the god! If he wills it, Bacchus will have his justified revenge. But do not take these words as prophecy, for as a man I cannot claim to know the will of the god. All I know is what Dionysus lets me know; and what Dionysus is telling me now, is to leave the man with the big cudgel be, forgive the fools for their ignorance (after all, a man who speaks wisdom to a fool will be considered a fool himself), and find a new place to found the rites in Shireroth. Come, my Maenads, dance your way to Brookshire!
Upon reaching this place, so far away from the Unilluminated Land, a tingle races through my body under my skin. Perhaps it is the divine wine, this sweet beverage of Ismaran potency, or perhaps it is the name of this place which inspires this hidden movement. Lunaris... a land of lunatics... there is a chance the rites of Bacchus will be recieved here with greater hospitality than in that disastrous realm of cudgelling.
Dionysus comes to you, children of Lunaris! Drink the wine, look to the sky, listen to the call of Bacchus and watch, watch now the Bacchants as they are filled with the spirit of the god. Look now! a striking thyrsus, golden life and the magic of divine power. They dance, and in their minds they see the approving smile of the bull-horned god who is the great mover in this euphoric trance.
Come forward now, hear the call, join the dance, let go of the ties that bind and find unity and the natural truth!
Shot forth from Zeus' thigh was the god, a magnificent sight to behold from the first. Horns of a bull protruded from his brow and upon his head was set the thick, golden locks which befit an Olympian god. It was not long before Bacchus had established himself throughout the many Achaean nations which then existed. Then, as now, Dionysus' power was unique and truly necessary, for though he is the great patron of many fine arts in the world, his purest dimension was his influence over the intoxication of man.
Intoxication is a false term, associating the state of drunkenness with a kind of poisoning of the body, employed by materialistic, uptight enemies of the god's will. I do not deny that the gifts of the god will in all likelihood lead to death by ill-coloured liver; however, there is another aspect of so-called "intoxication", a spiritual goodness and fulfilment. The way this can be discerned is the fact that it feels good. It is commonly held that, while fornication is a detriment to civilised society, sex in general is a good and holy thing, with physical and spiritual sides to it. This theory is not my domain, but that of Aphrodite's cultists; but the key ideas behind this theory apply to the cult of Dionysus. Sex feels good and begets new life. Inebriation feels good and begets truth. As the Romans said, in vino, veritas. This is Bacchus' gift to the world.
Let the whole of Shireroth know that Bacchus' gift is free to all, the believer and the non-believer, such is his generosity. But the greatest level of spiritual fulfilment- complete submission to Bacchus and the discarding of the false self- is granted only to those who learn the rites. The rites are freely open to any who hear the call of Bacchus and listen.
Eaaaaohhh! Bacchants, lead the way!
Let the dance overtake you all, submit to Dionysus' will!
Eaaaaohhh! The god's rites make the light visible!
Only those who listen to Bacchus can know the truth!
Dance, my maenads, show the god's spirit and will. Soon, soon the time will come for a hunt, as the god will demand a sacrifice worthy of his magnficience and august beauty!
The great dance continues:Try not to doubt Bacchus when his movement is merely in its infancy in this country. Age means little; the god himself is the youngest of the Olympians and yet, as detailed above, one of the most potent.
Perhaps if you were to listen to his will and join in the dance, you would not find so many triple posts about.
This place has hidden itself quite well under the guise of enlightenment. I was first taken by Elwynn; saw her as the worst offender; but it is clear to me now that, perhaps, it is Kildare that has most needed my attention. This is not a revelation from the god, but from man; a man, your Baron, Andreas the so-called Wise. With the twelth decree of his reign he has banned the god's drink. All wine except the wine of Kildare, he says- but Kildare is suffering a great infestation. Who can tell how far and deep the rampant search for knowledge has caused damage? Perhaps it is even in the wine, the water, the air.
My Bacchants however fear not this infestation for they are sent by the god and are full of his indefatigable spirit. Dance now, let the dance begin in Kildare! Dionysus is before you, before your eyes, my children! See the bull-horns swing, his locks fly to and fro as the dance issues forth from its master. Strike! the thyrsus hard on the ground and yield the earth's good bounty. A stream of juice from the god's sending. How does it taste, my maenads? That slight taste of iron- that is the sickness permeating through the land and into the wine.
That sickness is the hubristic actions of the nobles of this region. Proclaiming wisdom is the single greatest folly a man can commit. Only the gods can hope to understand this world and any others that might exist; the only true knowledge we can achieve comes directly from the gods, such as the rites, which were revealed to be shared among men. Take, for example, matter. It was Leucippus and his student Democritus who committed one such folly. They held that, if a bar of gold was cut in half with a knife, and again, and again, one would eventually have the smallest possible object of matter- atomos. And yet, today we know there is something smaller, sub-atomic particles. Within these sub-atomic particles there are even smaller things. 1000 years from now they will be talking in terms of sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-atomic particles and yet without the revelation of the truth from the god they will not be able to understand that there is no end, no ultimate truth, no definitive unit of existance by which you can measure yours. There is the folly- the search for the truth- and the light- the embracing of the rites and life, together. I do declare it, the only man whose self-proclaimed wisdom I can appreciate was Socrates- the smartest man in all of Greece, so said the Oracle, because he understood he knew nothing. We will always know nothing. So join in the dance, forget about wisdom and ignorance, life and death, everything and nothing and let the euphoric trance become your act of study.
Andreas, you may be aware that this speech is partly in address to you. May the Baron think no more, and let the rites be his guide. Here is a lovely bottle of 2007 Tarrango, Browns' Mystic Park. Slightly chilled by the god for your enjoyment.
Ardashir- It doesn't do to crack open the venerable vintages when dealing with those who do not know the rites of Bacchus. Though you knock the Tarrango? Hmm. I suppose not bitter enough for your tastes.
The god has a way of setting people free, and I do mean in the literal sense as well as the metaphorical sense. Let my Bacchants dance me to my cell if that is what Dionysus will have happen; but don't upset the rhythm, no. My body and my spirit are nothing but a voice for the god, a role which could just as easily be fulfilled by another body and another spirit. Silence me, kill me, you will never kill Bacchus, you will never silence the burning desire of your own heart to be in communion with the world around you. And that is what the rites will grant you, if you only choose to join the great dance.
"Exciting" and "prohibition" are two words that ought never to be used in the same sentence.
Now, to the matter at hand. You seem to me as one of the greatest enemies of Dionysus, not through direct vocal opposition (a wise move on your part, for opposition is widespread in these early days and it would be easy to fall into that trap) but I think in attitude. Do you still hold learning dearer to your heart than the exploration of your own true self? Scholarship for its own sake is a powerful and damaging force, much like the rites in some cases; indeed, neither have an ultimate goal, Dionysus' worship being the realisation of the truth and nothing more thereafter is required, and with wisdom seeming an unending battle. But the key difference is that there is no truth in scholarship, there is no definition. Paradoxically, while Bacchus worship concerns itself chiefly with the deconstruction of those disastrous barriers which plague society, it does provide definition: two tiers, the first, the irrepressible will of Dionysus himself which exists within everyone, the second, man, the hounds and tools and objects of Bacchus. Further definition is provided in the rites themselves in their simplicity. Follow the divine instruction which comes from within and without, and hurry forth now as the dance and music begin. My maenads, take heed! The god speaks! Thyrsus in hand, carry out his will as one, the Bacchants, the workshipful follower of Dionysus. To you, Andreas, I put this. You can achieve so much more with the rites in the single lifetime for which Bacchus watches over you than you can with an infinite number of years to study all the works of men, holy and unholy, learned and unlearned. The cultists can speak words to you, but the truest and most poignant act of conversion comes from within, from Dionysus himself, whose will permeates through your mind and heart constantly. To repress or reject him is dangerous in more ways than one. Use the wisdom claim to have gathered and know there is nothing malign in what I say.
The Bacchic Debate:By all means, take your leave if you want to, don't think I try to detain you. The great dance satisfies all of the heart's inner desires; this conversation affords me nothing signficiant, aside from the development of the Bacchic theology which is happening constantly in everyone. Go now, please, and let the Maenads refresh and renew communication through their motions and movements. A circle now begins to form as the Bacchants all together hear the voice of the god calling them, instructing them. They raise their thyrsus and the dappled fawnskin waves gently in the wind as Dionysus' want for silence overtakes the arena. Now, all together, they strike! and what does not form before them all in the centre but a pool of wine, emerging from the ground as Dionysus wills it. After supping on the liquid Dionysus called into existance, they begin their dance, first in pairs, now alone, each listening intently to the words of the god as they move in formation and yet in different ways. This, a demonstration of the nature of the rites.
The whole freedom-slavery thing is a central point of Bacchic worship. I wish the terminology was not a) so cliched and b) so melodramatic, but I don't know what else to say. Without the knowledge of the rites, people are trapped without knowing it. You are not defined by your society, you are not defined by what you do, you are not defined by who you are. An important aspect of Dionysian faith is the knowledge that you are defined by one thing alone, which defines everyone else- union under Bacchus. Hold on, I hear you cry, does that mean you're not special? Different? Unique? Quite right! Heck, even Bacchus the god can be impossible to distinguish from his worshippers, often depicted in works of art as being in amongst his followers who are none the wiser. In fact, the reason why these ideas are so cliched in the first place is because they are based on some fundamental thing in all of our lives, which I recognise as Bacchus.
Here are some interesting quotes related to the Bacchic rites not penned by Dionysian authors, but nonetheless interesting.When the rites were originally revealed in ancient Greece, it must be remembered they were introduced as part of a patheon of gods. All the cults demanded attention- and most of them recieved it due to the occupation of the worshipper, e.g. Hephaestus, god of metallurgy, craftsmen etc. would get attention from blacksmiths and sculptors. Of the faithful, most were not in the situation where their main concern was plays and wine, instead directing their prayers first to the god who would likely make them the most money. Even when you devoted yourself to one god, you were expected to offer prayers to all the gods merely out of respect to their power. And so, the issue was dealt with in that context. However, it is a serious problem here, I appreciate that.
I officially hold that Bacchus calls to all equally and that any attempt to subdue the rites would be disastrous. I do agree that practically some kind of line ought to be drawn, but I cannot guarantee that Bacchus will not call others who I do not teach the rites- after all, he is always calling everyone, and if I begin to falter in my duties it is likely he will choose another more able. That said, I think I can agree to a selected portion of the population to proselytise, since Dionysus accepted this in the days of Zeus and all the other Olympians. Nonetheless I am unwilling to completely remove the rites from the nation except for Yardistan, as Yardistani anarchism and the Bacchic rites are two different things and I would hate for them to be lumped together in the memories of the people.
Ardashir wrote:The Bacchic rites represent a reaction against the futility of existence and the inevitability of oblivion, that is not in itself harmful - indeed debauchery can be positively beneficial for adjusting the perspective of those who would otherwise be inclined to take life too seriously. We must however also remember that this belief system gives far too much licence to the plebs and proles to abandon their drudgery upon which the Middle and Upper Classes depend for the supporting of their leisure time in a functioning and hierarchical society (and society cannot be non-functioning and hierarchical or non-hierarchical and functioning), applied leisure time which, since the very beginning of urban civilisation has been instrumental in human progress. Civilisation is a coercive social structure, out of necessity a complex structure demands the subordination of some and their relegation to the most menial roles - human progress rests upon the silent misery of the greater part of humanity, ever must it remain so - humans are too transient and ineffectual in their own right to be accorded unlimited freedom without the whole fabric of humanity fraying and coming apart.
To put it another way, if the Bacchic rites were followed universally then wine production would collapse for there would have been no sullen peasants to gather in the grapes and to trample them in the wine presses for next to no return - thus Baachus would have defeated himself.
Within our local context the Cult of Bacchus should be tolerated, but within controlled bounds, say the bounds of Yardistan, where everything is already pretty-much a free-form anarchy.
Investigative Roman Consul, report to the Senate on the Bacchic Rites wrote:...there was no crime, no deed of shame, wanting. More uncleanness was committed by men with men than with women. Whoever would not submit to defilement, or shrank from violating others, was sacrificed as a victim. To regard nothing as impious or criminal was the sum total of their religion. The men, as though seized with madness and with frenzied distortions of their bodies, shrieked out prophecies; the matrons, dressed as Bacchae, their hair dishevelled, rushed down to the Tiber River with burning torches, plunged them into the water, and drew them out again, the flame undiminished because they were made of sulphur mixed with lime. Men were fastened to a machine and hurried off to hidden caves, and they were said to have been taken away by the gods. These were the men who refused to join their conspiracy or take part in their crimes or submit to their pollution.
