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Five - Responding to Divine Music

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2024

Carolyn Laferrière
Affiliation:
Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey
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Summary

Chapter five focuses upon scenes of revels in which Dionysos is surrounded by the musical and danced performances of satyrs and maenads, the mythical beings who accompany him. Dionysos exhibits a distinct kind of musicality: unlike the other gods, Dionysos rarely plays an instrument himself. Rather, he acts as the source of inspiration for satyrs and maenads, prompting them to play their instruments, dance to the wild music they produce, and lose themselves, collectively, to the ecstatic sounds that envelop them. The movements of the satyrs and maenads also communicate to the external viewers how they might experience Dionysos’ presence. Within the symposium, ancient viewers created the opportunity for Dionysos to manifest when they consumed wine from the vases, looked at the representations of mythical revels, listened to music performed on similar instruments, and moved their bodies in response to the music they both saw and heard. Such immersive and imaginative seeing and hearing thus allowed the symposiasts to join in the divine revel, where, under the influence of Dionysos, they played instruments and danced with satyrs and maenads.

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Chapter
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Divine Music in Archaic and Classical Greek Art
Seeing the Songs of the Gods
, pp. 200 - 241
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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  • Responding to Divine Music
  • Carolyn Laferrière, Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey
  • Book: Divine Music in Archaic and Classical Greek Art
  • Online publication: 01 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315906.006
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  • Responding to Divine Music
  • Carolyn Laferrière, Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey
  • Book: Divine Music in Archaic and Classical Greek Art
  • Online publication: 01 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315906.006
Available formats
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  • Responding to Divine Music
  • Carolyn Laferrière, Princeton University Art Museum, New Jersey
  • Book: Divine Music in Archaic and Classical Greek Art
  • Online publication: 01 February 2024
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009315906.006
Available formats
×