Dionysian Mysteries - Temple and Officers

Temple and Officers

The sacred loci of the Dionysian Mysteries have varied over time and place, as the rituals themselves have. The earliest rites took place in the wilderness—in the forests, the marshes and in the mountains (where the low oxygen content is suitable for trance induction). Later the priest would simply cast his staff into the ground at a suitable location, and hang a mask and animal skin from it; the circle around this centre was the sacred precinct for however long the staff remained. This practise became archaic, but was revived by the nomadic healers of the Orphic Mysteries. In classical times temples were built for Dionysus, the earliest being circular buildings open to the sky—probably the origin of Greek theatres and forums—and later no different from any other Greek temple as Dionysus was assimilated. The lenos (the building that housed the wine press) also became a temple to Bacchus, and was often solely used as such. Underground chambers were often used for initiations, which may have originally taken place in natural caves (particularly those by the shoreline). Although boundary zones were sacred to Dionysus, by the final days of the cult any temple could be dedicated or rededicated to him.

Most mystery religions had a hierarchy of priests maintaining them, but it is uncertain if this was the case with the Dionysian Mysteries. The Orphic texts of the late period record a boukolos (or "cowherd") as an offerer of sacrifice, sayer of prayers, and hymn singer, who seems to have been the equivalent of a priest. Other inscriptions record an archiboukolos ("chief cowherd") presiding over the boukoloi; in some records there is also mention of boukoloi hieroi ("holy cowherders") as well as hymnodidaskaloi ("hymn teachers"). According to Athenian sources, when the Dionysus cult was state-controlled a high priest (hierophant) and a high priestess (referred to in Rome as the matrona, with two assistant priestesses) were appointed as overseers. One late text describes a complex hierarchy of three archiboukoloi, seven boukoloi hieroi and eleven boukoloi. The names of many senior priests and priestesses reveal them to be aristocrats, although the high priest in at least one text has the name of a slave (indicating equality within the cult, where slaves and masters were encouraged to exchange roles). There is no evidence of a complex hierarchy in the Bacchic Mysteries of Rome, which seem to have been presided over by a Domina and Dominus (priestess and priest), so it is possible that only the Athenian form of the Mysteries and the Orphic religion had this structure. The original Mysteries of Dionysus seem to have had no hierarchy at all; only ritual functionaries (such as the Phallophoroi) are mentioned, the rest being participant Bacchoi, Thyiades or Maenads. However, a key role was always reserved for the Heroes and his "bride" (who were possessed by the god), and initiates may have played officiating roles in this process.