Representation of Humanities in "Masks of Dionysus" 

The most complex of the Greek gods, master of intoxication, inventor of the symposium and wine, and patron of Athenian drama and music, Dionysus has fascinated artists, philosophers, and poets for thousands of years. Masks of Dionysus examines the specific social and historical contexts of Dionysus in the Greek world and explores his influences in the modern world. There are twelve essays that address such subjects as the influence of Dionysus on Greek tragedy and art, his connections with mystery religions, and concepts of the afterlife. This book is thought to be essential for students and scholars of classical literature, history of religion, art history, ancient history, and classical philology.

Masks of Dionysus is split into four separate sections. The first begins with Albert Henrichs who believes Dionysus is mainly the god of wine but is also the god of the mask, female votaries, and the dead. Along with Henrichs, Michael Jameson wrote about the asexuality of Dionysus followed by Thomas Carpenter’s representations of the beardless Dionysus. While the idea of having a beard or not may slip past many, the acknowledgment of his beard was important to many Greeks because he was interpreted to be in his coming of age. It is believed that because he was still coming of age it would explain why he was showing signs of being asexual, due to the Greeks' belief of sexuality and age went together. Finally, the first section ended with Dirk Obbink's writing on Dionysiac sacrifice. Obbink explained how the Greeks' Dionysiac sacrifice was often compared to Christian sacramental rituals by scholars.

Sections two are writings by Renate Schlesier, Richard Seaford, and Froma Zeitlin (pgs. 89-182), which all talk about Dionysus’ connection to the theater. Schlesier discussed the critics trying to find Dionysus in Greek tragedy and she wrote a bit on the use of Bacchic terminology 'shows that tragedy is a Dionysiac genre.' Seaford analyzes the connection between maenads, female followers of Dionysus, and wedding rituals that were found by subtle observations. Finally, Zeitlin discusses the different morals of Athens and Thebes had in regard to their treatment of Dionysus. Zeitlin concluded that Athens tended to show love to Dionysus, meanwhile plays set in Thebes usually connect Dionysus with 'negative' gods.

The third section is written by Carpenter, Francois Lissarrague, and Larissa Bonfante. Lissarrague talked about the images of satyrs on Attic vases, explaining that satyrs are represented as members of a “cult” who are thirsty and have a great sexual appetite. Meanwhile, Bonfante set out to investigate what images of the Etruscan Dionysus could be similar or different from the Greek Dionysus. Both writers set on examining the art that followed Dionysus and how scholars may interpret them.

The fourth and final section is three studies on Dionysus and the mystery cults by Fritz Graf, Walter Burkert, and Susan Cole. Graf investigates the Orphic gold leaves that were often found with women, discovering that they come from Bacchic mysteries, Bacchic being another name for Dionysus. Burket surveyed evidence of the mysteries and described their transformations throughout time. Cole focused primarily on the lack of attention Dionysus’ followers focused on life and death the closer they got to the Roman Empire.

While Masks of Dionysus only focuses on the study of one god, it is able to bring to light many different studies of humanities. Starting with the historical connections, which is the whole book really, all the contributing writers each focused on a different era for Dionysus and described why what was being told was important to the people of that time. Next, there was Greek mythology, which is an enormous part of humanities because the idea of gods and followers begins. Then the connection of the arts, which the writers highlighted in both performing arts and art was placed on vases to convey their story. Finally, there was a focus on society, though it was only for Dionysus himself, people came together and began to share the same morals as one another. If this book was to be taught in a humanities course the class would be able to learn why each section is able to be connected and how the articles included were not only about Dionysus specifically, but had the underlying themes of connection.

While in a humanities class lessons are broken down by time periods and countries, Masks of Dionysus breaks down both time periods and sections of learning. Instead of teaching how an empire or a kingdom functions the book focuses on Dionysus’ followers and the surrounding society. Dionysus has managed to catch the attention of artists, philosophers, and poets for thousands of years and there is no sign of interest running out. While he may just be on god, fictional of real, there is no doubt that he is still managing to be a part of modern-day society.