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A Dreamy Myth of Dionysus _ A Relaxing RAINY Myth ★ FALL ASLEEP in 5 Minutes ★ · Abide Meditation App

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: we get sleepy. As always, I'm your host, Thomas. Thanks
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: for listening tonight as we wrap up a wonderful series
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: that has been running throughout the whole of twenty twenty five.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: It's a series that I've had the pleasure of reading
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: for you all, and I'd like to thank Frankie for
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: her incredible work in writing each story. Don't worry if
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: you haven't had all of the others yet, you can
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: listen to them in any order you like. So we've
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: reached the last, but certainly not the least, of our
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: Olympian gods. You might know him under his Roman name
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: of Bacchus, but tonight will explore the passions and triumphs
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: of Dionysus as the young god of freedom, liberation, passion,
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: and theater. As the only Olympian to have a mortal parent,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Dionysus is even more connected to humanity than the rest
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: of his family. He is one of us in so
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  Speaker 1: many ways, proving that even mortals can ascend to the
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: level of the gods. Dionysus even descended to Hades several
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: times in order to deify the ones he loved most. Now,
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: before we begin our story, let's take a moment to
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: relax and prepare for sleep. To immerse ourselves fully in
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: this world of passion and liberation, we must first set
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: ourselves free. Dionysus lives in the spaces between. He is
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: between Olympus and Earth, between man and God. His existence
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: is in many ways like that of a dream. To
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: follow him, we must also find our way to the
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: place between. Begin by clearing away all the bits of
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: the day that you do not need right now. Then
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: imagine a large, beautifully carved table. Strewn across it are
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: the crumbs of conversations, spilt cups of responsibilities, and the
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  Speaker 1: general debris of your day. Take some time to clear
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: the table, wipe away the crumbs and spills. Put away
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: your cares and responsibilities. Now is not the time to
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: focus on them. As you clear the table, the carving
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: underneath becomes clear. The deeply varnished wood shows a scene
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: in it. A beauty, be full young princess lies asleep
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: while the room around her bursts into life with blooming
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  Speaker 1: flowers and curling vines. It is a wonderful image, and
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: as you look closer, it seems to come to life
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  Speaker 1: before your very eyes. This is where our story begins.
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  Speaker 1: Semile sleeps in her room in the palace at Thebes.
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  Speaker 1: She is the daughter of Cadmus, the first Hero, and
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: his wife Harmonia, the daughter of Aries. As she sleeps,
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: Semile dreams she sees a beautiful fruit tree with glossy
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: green leaves. It's heavy with strange fruit that she has
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: never seen before. Each one looks perfectly ripe and tantalizing.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: There is a flash of lightning and the tree is
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: split in two, the lovely fruit falling to the ground.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: A bird darts out of the sky and alights on
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  Speaker 1: one of the branches of the fallen tree. It carefully
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  Speaker 1: plucks a fruit and flies off. Semile's dream follows the
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: bird as it flies to a man. This man is
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: tall and strong and gives off an atmosphere of power.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: The bird drops the fruit into the man's hand. He
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: then does something very strange. The man presses the fruit
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: against his thigh. When he takes his hand away, Instead
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: of there being pulp and fruit juice, he seems to
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: be holding a tiny bull in the palm of his hand.
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: The ball looks out at the world with eagerness and excitement.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Semele wakes up. She barely has time to wonder about
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  Speaker 1: the strange happenings of her dream when she notices her room,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: the bed, wars, furniture, and even the floor are covered
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: in vines. The vines have large, wide green leaves and
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: clusters of little white flowers. The vines are wrapped around
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  Speaker 1: the posts of her bed and seem to weave around
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  Speaker 1: every object in the room. Calls out to her parents
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: and siblings, who all come running to marvel at the plants.
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: The arrival of the vines nearly drives the memory of
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: the dream out of Semily's mind, and yet the little
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: bull and the expression on its face stay with her.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Months later, Semile is down by the river washing her
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: sacred robes. She is a priestess of the Temple of
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Zeus and is well known for being incredibly devout. As
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: she washes her clothes, she sings to herself. She only
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: looks up from her work when she notices a man
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  Speaker 1: on the bank of the river. Semile greets him kindly
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  Speaker 1: and stands to take a clear look at him. She
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: is immediately struck by a sense of recognition. She feels
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  Speaker 1: that she knows this man, perhaps having met him before.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: The man is tall and gives off a familiar atmosphere
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  Speaker 1: of power. Being a priestess of Zeus, Semile upholds the
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: sacred practices of zenia or guest friendship. As a princess
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  Speaker 1: of the city, she greets the stranger warmly, welcomes him
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  Speaker 1: to thebes, and offers him a share of her lunch.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: The stranger simply smiles and replies that it is he
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  Speaker 1: who has something to offer her. He pulls out a
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  Speaker 1: small earthenware jug decorated with painted lightning bolts. Semile stares
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: at the jug, her sense of recognition rising. The stranger
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: explains to her that this jug is a gift from
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  Speaker 1: the god Zeus. It contains a piece of his heart.
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  Speaker 1: If she drinks it, she will give birth to a
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  Speaker 1: child that will be a god, something no other mortal
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: woman has ever done or will ever do again. The trade, however,
• 11:10
  Speaker 1: is that she will be escorted to the underworld sooner.
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: She is free to decline the offer and live a
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  Speaker 1: long life amongst the other mortals, going to the fields
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: of Asphodel many many years from now. Semile asks if
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: she may take some time to consider the stranger's offer.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: He nods his ascent, and Semily asks him once again
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  Speaker 1: to join her in her meal. The two of them
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  Speaker 1: sit on the bank of the river, chatting eyed or
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: resting in companionable silence, the lightning jar waiting between them. Finally,
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: after a couple of hours, the stranger tells Samily that
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: it is time to make a decision. Semile takes a
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  Speaker 1: deep breath and tells the stranger that she accepts this
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  Speaker 1: gift from Zeus. She is honored that he should trust
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  Speaker 1: her with a piece of his heart and that she
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: should play such a vital role in the creation of
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: a new God. Without a word, the stranger holds out
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  Speaker 1: the jug to her. Their fingers brush as Semily takes
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  Speaker 1: the vessel from him, and like a lightning strike, she
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: suddenly knows how she recognizes this stranger. He is the
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  Speaker 1: man from her dream, and as surely as she knows herself,
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  Speaker 1: she realizes that he is her god Zeus. Semily raises
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  Speaker 1: the jug to her lips, confident in her choice, and
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  Speaker 1: drinks the sweet liquid inside. When she lowers the jug,
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: she finds that she is now alone. Semily's pregnancy progresses smoothly,
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: and her familyats on her. Semle glows with pride and joy.
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: With every day that passes. She can feel her child
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  Speaker 1: growing strong and healthy. When she goes for walks by
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  Speaker 1: the river, sprouts and small flowers spring up from the
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  Speaker 1: earth where her feet touch the ground. She never stands
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  Speaker 1: in one place for too long, aware all the time
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  Speaker 1: of her bedroom after her dream. It is when she
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  Speaker 1: is on a walk by the river, about halfway through
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  Speaker 1: her pregnancy, that Semile sees him again. Zeus, in his
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  Speaker 1: human faith form, approaches her with another man by his side.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: This man is much younger, barely more than a youth.
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  Speaker 1: He wears a hat and carries a staff. As they
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: get closer, knowledge of this young man blooms in Semely's
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: mind like the opening of a flower. He is Hermes,
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: messenger of the gods and arch psychopomp. Father and son
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  Speaker 1: greets Semele warmly. Hermes even hugs her, asking after her
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  Speaker 1: fondly and inquiring about the health of the baby. As
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: the ground around Semily's feet grows thick with curling vines,
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  Speaker 1: Zeus and Hermes explain to her that the time has
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: come for her to leave. Hermes is here to escort
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  Speaker 1: her personally to the Asphodel meadows. Semily is confused and
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: looks down at her belly. Surely they must be mistaken.
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  Speaker 1: It cannot be time yet, as if reading her mind,
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  Speaker 1: Zeus places his hand on her belly. Semily feels a
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  Speaker 1: gentle warmth from his hand, and when he pulls it away,
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  Speaker 1: he holds a golden glow, nearly too beautiful to behold.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: Zeus presses his glowing hand into his thigh, where the
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: golden light sinks into his skin. Semeily smiles, the true
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  Speaker 1: meaning of her dream all those months ago becoming clear.
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  Speaker 1: Her child will be divine and mortal because it has
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  Speaker 1: been carried by both deity and human. Semilely nods and
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  Speaker 1: tells Hermes that she is ready to go with him.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: While Hermes escort Semele to her reward, Zeus makes his
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  Speaker 1: way back to Olympus. The child is destined to spend
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: part of the term with his mother on earth and
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  Speaker 1: part with his father in the dwelling of the gods.
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  Speaker 1: Zeus can fill the gentle warmth of his son. Growing
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Over the next few months, Zeus imbused divinity into the
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: as yet unborn child. When the time comes for the
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: new god to enter the world. Athena and Artemis are
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: the ones to deliver their new brother. The child comes
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  Speaker 1: forth with two horns upon his head in the shape
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  Speaker 1: of the crescent moon. The first sound he makes is
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  Speaker 1: not the usual cry of a new born, but a
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: delightfully sweet laugh that fills Olympus, the king of the gods,
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  Speaker 1: knows that it is of the utmost importance that Dionysus
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  Speaker 1: be raised on earth. Zeus places his infant son in
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  Speaker 1: the care of rayn nymphs called the Hyades, who live
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: in the mountainous region of Nisa. They shower the child
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  Speaker 1: with love and affection as he grows from baby to
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  Speaker 1: toddler to youth. When he is finally old enough to
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  Speaker 1: venture into the world on his own, he first decides
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  Speaker 1: to send up praises and offerings to his father Zeus.
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: He asks his divine father to reward the Hyades for
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  Speaker 1: their kindness. Zeus happily obliges and sets the nymphs among
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  Speaker 1: the stars as the constellation that bears their name. Dionysus
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  Speaker 1: spends the first few years of his independence traveling around
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  Speaker 1: Greece and discovering his godly abilities Aside from the cultivation
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  Speaker 1: of grapes, he also discovers his unique ability to bring
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  Speaker 1: joy wherever he goes. He encourages a willingness in others
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  Speaker 1: to forget or put aside their troubles, release their inhibitions,
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  Speaker 1: and embrace a sense of liberty. This freedom is both
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  Speaker 1: wild and passionate. Dionysus finds that what he gives to
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  Speaker 1: human kind is more ethereal than the sciences or arts
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  Speaker 1: of Apollo, but just as valuable. The years go by
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  Speaker 1: and Dionysus begins to turn his attention within. He is
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  Speaker 1: both mortal and immortal, tied more closely to humankind than
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  Speaker 1: any other god. He can walk the line between both.
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  Speaker 1: He thinks of his mother Semile. She sacrificed a long
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: and peaceful life in order to make her son a god. Dionysus,
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  Speaker 1: firm in his belief that he can bring joy to anyone,
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  Speaker 1: makes his way to the one place where joy is
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  Speaker 1: not often seen. He travels to the court of his
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  Speaker 1: uncle Hades and aunt Pasephone. If anyone was in doubt
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  Speaker 1: of Dionysus's power before he ventured to the undel, they
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  Speaker 1: would be utterly convinced by simply watching him stride up
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  Speaker 1: to the banks of the River Styx and cheerfully hail
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  Speaker 1: the boatman. Chiron. As soon as he sees Dionysus, the
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  Speaker 1: ancient immortal feels an unfamiliar sensation in his face. The
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  Speaker 1: corners of his mouth creak upwards, and he finds himself
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: smiling widely at the young god, before offering to take
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  Speaker 1: him across to the other side free of charge. Chiron,
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  Speaker 1: who may not have even smiled once in the entire
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: history of the world before today, is laughing and grinning
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  Speaker 1: with Dionysus all the way across. By the time the
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: little boat gently knocks against the shore, they are fast friends,
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  Speaker 1: and Dionysus gives Chiron a hug before venturing on. Dionysus
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  Speaker 1: next comes to the huge, slobbering and slathering figure of Cerberus.
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: The three headed dog is not only famously foul tempered,
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: but also monstrous in size. It is nothing short of magic. Then,
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: when a moment later, the huge beast is lying on
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  Speaker 1: its back, tail wagging and allowing Dionysus to scratch its belly.
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: As Dionysus walks further into the gem studded tunnels, he
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: can hear Cerberus whining after him. Sad to lose his
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: friend so quickly, Dionysus winds through the caverns and deep
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: halls of the underworld, often passing the shades of Mortals.
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: None can resist returning his smile and friendly greeting. Finally,
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: Dionysus comes to the palace of Hades. It seems to
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: have grown naturally from huge crystals, and it glitters in
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  Speaker 1: the dim light of the underworld. Dionysus makes his way
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  Speaker 1: to the throne room, gazing in awe at his aunt
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  Speaker 1: and uncle sitting upon their onyx thrones. Pasephone, the goddess
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: of Spring as well as the queen of the underworld,
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  Speaker 1: greets her nephew warmly. She smiles of fresh dew on
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  Speaker 1: the mossy earth and seems to glow with an inner light.
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  Speaker 1: Her husband, Hades, is stony faced and regal. This is
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: going to be a tough nut to crack, even for
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: the likes of Dionysus. Posephone invites the young god to
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: dine with them. He regales her with stories of his
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: youthful adventures. Pasephone laughs easily and hangs on his every word,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: whereas Hades barely says a thing. Finally, as Dionysus pauses
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: for breath, Hades speaks. He bluntly asks his nephew why
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: he came to the underworld. Dionysus, understanding that his uncle
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: is not a god to be trifled with, lays his
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: cards on the table. He talks about his mother and
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: the sacrifice she made for him. He expresses the depth
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: of his passion for his cause and how desperately he
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: wants to repay her. He talks about how grateful he
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: is to be both god and human. Once he finishes,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Hades nods slowly and tells him that he may collect
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: his mother from the fields of Asphodel, where the shades
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: of humans spend eternity amongst flowery meadows. As Dionysus turns
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: to go, he pauses and asks Hades what convinced him
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: to grant his wish. Hades responds that it was the
• 29:04
  Speaker 1: unbridled passion and love he heard in his words. Dionysus
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: collects the shade of his mother, distinguishing her from every
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: other shade as surely as he knows himself. He takes
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: her hand and leads her back into the world of mortals,
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: and then further to the realm of Olympus. Finally, he
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: places her into the starry heavens, where she lives an
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: immortal life as a star. Twice now Dionysus has placed
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: those he loves into the heavens directly and indirectly, and
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: it shall not be the last time. Dionysus returns to Earth.
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: After his mother is safely installed in the heavens, he
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: enjoys spending time with humans. He rides through the lands
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: and islands with a great train of followers, revelers and companions.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Pan the half goat, god of rustic music, is chief
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: amongst the group, as well as the other satyrs and
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: their father Silenus. Various nymphs and minor deities join the
• 30:58
  Speaker 1: group as it travel through Greece. Dionysus's chariot is pulled
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: by two leopards, and he wears ivy woven into a
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: crown in his hair. He rides to the sound of
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: the music, dancing and laughter of his followers. It is
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: this motley crew that a young woman can hear from
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: the other side of the island. Her name is Ariadne,
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: and she was abandoned here on the island of Naxos
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: by the hero Theseus. She has been sitting on the shore, sullenly,
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: tossing stones into the surf and inwardly cursing the young Athenian.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: After everything she did to help him get through the labyrinth,
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: defeat the minutor, and escape safely, he still left her
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: here on this island because his crew grew superstitious about
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: having a woman on board. Now she sits her stones
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: forgotten as the sound of Dionysus and the Revelous draws closer.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Playful music weaves on the wind and blends with the
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: sound of the surf. It seems to be coming from everywhere,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: and in the blink of an eye, she finds herself
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: surrounded by the joyful group. Nymphs are singing, satyrs are
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: playing music, and mortals are dancing with immortals. All along
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: the beach. Ariadne turns to see a beautiful chariot, more
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: finally made than any she had ever seen in her
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: father's royal court. On crete. It is poured by two
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: sleek and powerful leopards, and yet before the chariot can
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: even come to a full stop, the young man driving
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: it leaps onto the sand. His eyes glued to hers.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Ariadne feels herself blush, all thoughts of the childish theseus
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: banished from her mind. It is perhaps the first and
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: most genuine occasion of love at first sight. Needless to say,
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: Dionysus and Ariadne spend every waking and sleeping moment together.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: He makes her his queen and consort. They spend most
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: of their time not on Olympus, but in the world
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: of humans. Neither of them really notice as the years
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: start to slip away. They go on to have eleven
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: children together. Their happiness is unbounded, and yet Ariadne still
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: ages because she is mortal. Dionysus waits for her to decide,
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: never pressuring her for a decision. But one day it comes,
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: and all she has to do is look at him.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: For Dionysus to know, he raises her to the heavens,
• 35:43
  Speaker 1: just as he did with his mother. He uses her
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: wedding coronet, a perfect tiara of diamonds, to create the
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: constellation that will be her home for eternity. To celebrate
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: the immortality of his love, Dionysus organizes a festival amongst
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: human kind. He, along with a couple of the muses,
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: instructs a group of humans on how to create and
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: perform a play. He teaches them about the three kinds
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: of play, comedy, tragedy, and satire. Dionysus promises to reward
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: the playwright who presents the best three plays at his festival.
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: Rehearsals run all through the day and night. Scripts are
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: written and rewritten. The people prepare eagerly for this very
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: first theater festival. By the time the day of the
• 37:12
  Speaker 1: shows arrives, even the gods are brimming with excitement. Near Athens,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: there is a natural amphitheater formed by the earth gods. Satyrs, nymphs,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: immortals and humans gather on the grassy turf to watch
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: the plays. They all tell the stories of gods and heroes.
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: Stories that everyone knows are retold with heightened drama and excitement.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: The audience laughs, cries, gasps, and sits in awe over
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: the course of the day. Finally, as the last rays
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: of the sun start to dim, the festival draws to
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: a close. The gods confer about the quality of the plays.
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: The tragedies were so desperately sad and yet cathartic in
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: their expression of woe. The comedies had them all nearly
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: splitting their sides with laughter. The satires, which of course
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: the satyrs liked best, were sharp and witty. How will
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: Dionysius be able to choose a winner? Dionysus stands in
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: front of the assembled group. He holds out his arms
• 39:13
  Speaker 1: as if to embrace the entirety of existence, and glances
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: up to the sky. Even with only the first few
• 39:26
  Speaker 1: stars visible, he can see the coronet of Ariadne and
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: feel how warm starlight on him. Dionysus tells the audience
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: that he cannot choose a winner, and that he is
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: equally impressed by all the playwrights. But equally he tells them,
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: it is not his place to judge the art of humankind.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: What does a god know of the complexities of the
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: human experience. Every year from now on there shall be
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: a theater festival held here, and the people of Athens
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: will choose for themselves who they deem to be the
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: best playwright of their age. They can use theater as
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: a tool to explore what it means to be human.
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: They can also use it to bridge the gap between
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: the worlds for just a few hours and stride across
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: the stage as gods. All Dionysus asks in return is
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: that they crown a winner in his honor. For many
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: centuries after, Athenians held the Dionysia, the Festival of Dionysus.
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: The central events of the festival were theatrical productions. It
• 41:28
  Speaker 1: was this festival that produced the fathers of Western theater,
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: such as Sophocles, Euripides, and Escalus. It grew to become
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: the second most important festival to the ancient Greeks, and
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: even migrated to the Roman world as the Bacchanalia or
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: Festival of Bacchus. Others of the Olympians might be better remembered
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: or perceived as more powerful than Dionysus. After all, when
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: compared to the sky, the sea, the Earth, the sun,
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: and the moon, a god that is half human seems
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: to fall short. But the true power of Dionysus lies
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: in his humanity, and in the fact that he knows
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: better than any of the rest of the Olympians what
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: makes humans human. For this we are bound to love
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: and appreciate him as the god of those most important
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: attributes of life, freedom, passion, revelry, theater and liberation.
• 44:11
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