The ThebaidEuropa, Cadmus and the birth of Dionysus
Caesar van Everdingen. Rape of Europa. 1650
Zeus = Io
Memphis = Epaphus
Poseidon = Libya Lysianassa
Belus Agenor = Telephassa
In the Danaid, we followed the descendants of Belus.The Thebaid follows the descendants of Agenor
Agenor = Telephassa
• Agenor migrated to the Levant and founded Sidon• But see Josephus, Jewish Antiquities i.130 - 139
• “… for Syria borders on Egypt, and the Phoenicians, to whom Sidon belongs, dwell in Syria.” (Hdt. ii.116.6)
Cadmus Phoenix Cylix Thasus Phineus Europa
The Levant
Levant
• Jericho (9000 BC)• Damascus (8000)• Biblos (7000)• Sidon (4000)
Biblos
TyreSidon
Damascus
Jericho
Levant
• Canaanites:• Aramaean• Language, not race.• Moved to the Levant ca.
1400-1200 BC• Phoenician = • purple dye people Biblos
TyreSidon
Damascus
• Zeus appeared to Europa as a bull and carried her to Crete.• Agenor sent his sons in search of Europa
• Don’t come home without her!
Agenor = Telephassa
Cadmus Phoenix Cylix Thasus Phineus Europa
• The Rape of Europa• Maren de Vos• 1590Bilbao Fine Arts Museum (Spain)
Image courtesy of wikimedia
• Rape of Europa• Caesar van Everdingen• 1650• Image courtesy of wikimedia
• Europe Group• Albert Memorial• London, 1872.• A memorial for Albert,
husband of Queen Victoria.
Crete
Europa = Zeus
• Asterius, king of Crete, married Europa• Minos became king of Crete• Sarpedon king of Lycia• Rhadamanthus king of Boeotia
Minos Sarpedon Rhadamanthus
The Brothers of Europa
• Phoenix• Remained in Phoenicia
• Cylix• Founded Cilicia
• Thasus• Island of Thasos
• Phineus• Thrace
Cadmus
• Went to Thrace• Discovered the gold of Mt. Pangaeus• His mother died there
• Delphi• Told to follow a cow
• Cadmea• Founded Cadmea were the cow stopped
Travels of Cadmus
Harmonia
• Ares and Aphrodite• Affair produces:• Harmonia• Phobos• Deimos• Eros
The Revenge of Hephaestus
Cadmus
• Founder of Thebes• Married Harmonia, the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares• Brought Phoenician Alphabet to Greece
• Alpha = Aleph, Bull• Beta = Bet (Beth), House• Αα Ββ Γγ Δδ Εε Ζζ Ηη Θθ Ιι Κκ Λλ Μμ Νν Ξξ Οο Ππ Ρρ Σσ Ττ Υυ Φφ Χχ Ψψ Ωω
Cadmus = Harmonia
• Zeus lay with Semele• Trick of Hera• Semele consumed by the fire• Zeus recovers the baby
Autonoe Ino Semele Agave = Echion
George Frideric HandelSemele, 1743
Dionysus
Dionysus
• Taken by Hermes to Ino and Athamas• Both driven mad by Hera: Athamas killed Ino (see Hellenic Saga)
• Zeus turned Dionysus into a ram• When he grew up, Hera made him mad.• “Both the Greeks and the Egyptians have many legends about
Dionysus” (Paus. 10.29.5)
Dionysus
• Wandered the world:• Visited Egypt, Syria, Babylon …India• Accompanied by Pan, Satyrs and maenads
• Returned to Greece as a god• God of wine and the vine
• Youth, effeminacy, sexuality• Theatre
Dionysus
• Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519)• St John the Baptist?• No, Bacchus
• The leopard, or panther, skin• The Thyrsis (staff)• The crown of vine leaves• Grapes in his hand• All sure signs of Bacchus.
• Caravaggio, Bacchus• 1596-97
Descendants of Cadmus
Cadmus = Harmonia
Aristaeus = Autonoe Ino Semele Agave = Echion
Pentheus
Dionysus at Thebes
• Originally doubted,• Dionysus drove the women of Thebes into a Bacchic frenzy in the
mountains
• Pentheus• Son of Agave and Echion• King of Cadmeia after Cadmus• Tried to intervene • Torn to pieces by the women
Apotheosis
• Having proven himself a god, Dionysus rescued Semele from Hades and both ascended to Olympus
• Dionysus replaces Hestia in the list of the twelve gods of Olympus
Nietzsche
• The Birth of Tragedy• Apollo and Dionysus represent a contrast, a struggle, between order and
ecstasy. • Creative art is a negotiation, a reconciliation of opposing forces.
Apollo
Dionysus
Dionysian Music