Ancient Greek God Dionysus and the celebrations of the carnival
The word ‘’Carnival’’ derives from the latin ‘’Carnevale’’ which means absence from meat.
The celebrations of the Carnival however, have an ancient Greek origin and come from the worshipping of Dionysus, god of wine and fun but also of life and reproducing. Dionysus was accompanied by the Satyrs and the Sileni, who used to wear masks and cover themselves in animal skins. The worshippers of Dionysus would also drink wine, make noise and dance. Comedy and Satire would jump eventually jump out from these rituals.
All these Dionysian rituals were related with the end of winter and the coming of spring; the awakening of the earth from hibernation. For our ancient ancestors, this cycle of rebirth was linked with the human souls and was symbolized with the masks.
By the end of the 6th century B.C, the pre mentioned rituals were mixed with the Athenian celebrations of ‘’Anthesteria’’. They were taking place on the 11th, 12th and 13th day of Anthesteria month, which co-relates with today’s February.
On the first day, they were worshipping Dionysus with a wine mix. On the second day they were competing on a wine race and the third day was dedicated to the dead. This last element survives until today as a part of Christianity, the “Saturday of the souls” on the first Saturday of the 40 day fasting.
Today the carnival is viewed clearly as a party time period. However, its origins can be traced all the way back to the ancient times of Greece, reminding us the impact of the ancient Greek world, nearly 2000 years after its decline.
By Vasilis Karaiskos
