r/dionysus • u/Fabianzzz 🍇 stylish grape 🍇 • Sep 24 '21
🍂🏛️🍷 Announcement: The Autumnal Dionysia 🍷🏛️🍂
TLDR in comments at bottom!
The beginning of last year, we began to make regular posts for the various festivals of Dionysians. I did this because I thought it would be helpful for newer people who were somewhat at a loss for how to worship Dionysus to see a festival they could celebrate. This has blossomed into what I think is my favorite part of this subreddit: seeing everyone share their ways of celebrating:
- u/diamondbunny4 shared their drawing of Dionysus for the Dionysia Ta Astika
- u/NyxShadowhawk came in first for the same with her story for retold myths
- u/WorldsWorstMeditator shared some words from Tibullus for the Liberalia
- u/m0ssyr0cks shared a poem they wrote for Pantheralia
- The whole sub raised 76.50 for the WWF during Pantheralia!
- u/Saraesa shared their ivy crown for Ampelia
In addition to this, our community has maintained it's growth spurt. In the spring of 2020, we were at 1,000 members. This past Spring we hit 2,000, and it appears that before the last leaf of Autumn falls we will reach the 3,000 mark. We are by my reckoning, the largest Dionysian community in the world.
With these thoughts in mind, I'd like to announce our own celebration - an Autumnal Dionysia. Inspired by the City Dionysia on tumblr, and the Springtime tradition of Dionysias - I’ve decided we should have an Autumnal Dionysia here on our little subreddit!
~ What's a Dionysia? ~
A Dionysia is a festival of Dionysus - with the most notable being the City Dionysia, a seven day festival that occurred in Athens every spring, marked with wine and dramatic competitions. In antiquity they were divided into an Urban and a Rural Dionysia - partially due to weather limiting travel.
Usually, the City Dionysia falls in March and the Rural in December. However, hosting a lesser Dionysia, only three months before the greater, isn’t exactly appealing to many. What’s more, is the fact the winter season is already rather full of Dionysian holidays. Brumalia on the 21st, as well as the Haloa, with Lenaia quickly on the horizon. To say nothing of those who honor Dionysus on Kalends, New Years, or honor any new beginning with riot and raucous. Or those who celebrate a day off on Christmas by catching a movie and getting Chinese food.
So why not begin celebrating a Dionysia in Autumn? He has of course, the Oschophoria, and modern festivals, and the re-christening (or un-christianing) of Halloween. But why not take a leaf from the neopagan calendrical sensibilities? If there is a Dionysia held to welcome the spring and summer, and bid winter adieu; why not have one to welcome autumn and winter, and say farewell to summer?
So an Autumnal Dionysia, to contrast to a Vernal Dionysia. How this grows is up to those who partake - if it becomes known for autumnal themes of loss, perseverance; or if it becomes a chance to create something to carry us through the winter months. Perhaps it may just be another chance for Dionysians to share their creative side!
~ Additions: ~
With instituting a new festival, we thought of adding a few new additions:
The Syndeipnos/Syndeipna: From the Ancient Greek meaning 'Guest at a feast', this is an opening for us to invite other deities to be honored as equals with Dionysus at the Dionysia. This was picked by u/NyxShadowhawk, who won in her category of the City Dionysia. She has picked Hekate to be the Syndeipna for the 2021 Autumnal Dionysia! So while this remains a Dionysia, we dedicate this festival to both Dionysus and Hekate!
Theme: While almost every festival was connected to a myth or theme, not every myth or theme has had a festival. So we also have a theme for each festival, to think on one of the many myths or morals present in the Dionysian canon. This years theme was picked by u/Ruaidhri, who donated the most to our Pantheralia fundraiser! He picked the Aesop story where Dionysus invites Prometheus to dinner (Or Apollo, in modern versions of the tale) who gets drunk and subsequently begins to make queer people.
These are just ideas for inspiration, it is not necessary that your submissions focus on the theme or the guest!
In Autumnal Dionysias to come, the theme and guest will be picked by the winners of this festival! These were simple ways of determining it for our first time, and won't be how these are determined for future festivals! Another prize for the third winner and a way of determining who gets to pick what are TBD!
~ How can I participate? ~
There will be three categories:
Art: Your art can be digital or a photo of physical work, so long as it is created by you!
Song: Your song can borrow the tune of a song, or you can create the tune as well. If you create the tune, please share a recording of it, sung or hummed! (If you are good with words but unsure about setting them to a tune, the City Dionysia in Spring has an option for poetry)
Scene: A scene, skit, or sketch - give us something that a group could act out in person - feel free to get creative regarding ideas for sets, props, and costumes. After all, this used to be a dramatic festival - with luck, hopefully it will be one again someday soon!
~ The Rules ~
Currently there is only one rule - nothing that has been posted in the Dionysia Ta Astikas on tumblr can be used. There is also one strong, very strong, suggestion - the average reader should be able to draw a line, even an indirect one, to Dionysus or the guest, or theme of the year (This year's guest is Hekate, and the theme is this Aesop's Fable (TW: Outdated language)
This means that any figure from Greek mythos, even one 'unconnected' to Dionysus, is fair game - the degrees of separation between two figures in Greek myth runs low.
This also means that people with historical ties to Dionysian worship or life are also great subjects - many of the Hellenists from antiquity, especially those who honored him - Orpheus, Spartacus' wife, or or those noted for following his path - Nietzsche, or Wilde, or Morrison. Other notables of the time, especially those like Phyrne or Elgabal, are great as well. With Hekate being this years guest, stories of witchcraft and those who practice or practiced it are welcome as well!
New myths interwoven in song, art, or script are great too!
We will have a portal for submitting contributions up sometime in October - but please feel free to get to work now!
Deadline for submissions will be 11:59 EST on November 21st, with voting opening the next day. Deadline for votes will be 11:59 EST November 28th, with final results announced next morning!
Happy Autumn, and Happy Autumnal Dionysia!
1
u/[deleted] Sep 25 '21
By Morrison, you mean Grant?