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Bacchus: A Biography
This is the life story of the wine god Bacchus-seducer, magician, and merrymaker-as never told before. Tales of his bizarre birth from a womb fashioned in his father Zeus's thigh led to even stranger stories, passed down through generations of dramatists, poets, storytellers, and historians.
Bacchus is best remembered, however, for his gift of wine to humanity. With it he brought not only pleasure but also savagery and death. Pentheus, for example, was torn apart at the hands of his own mother and her fellow Maenads in the midst of a Bacchic frenzy.
In this highly enjoyable biography, Andrew Dalby weaves together these and other intriguing episodes from Bacchus's life-from his youth spent on Mount Nysa among nymphs and satyrs to his relentless pursuit by the goddess Hera to Bacchus's many amorous exploits-bringing the wild and powerful wine
god to life.
Bacchus is best remembered, however, for his gift of wine to humanity. With it he brought not only pleasure but also savagery and death. Pentheus, for example, was torn apart at the hands of his own mother and her fellow Maenads in the midst of a Bacchic frenzy.
In this highly enjoyable biography, Andrew Dalby weaves together these and other intriguing episodes from Bacchus's life-from his youth spent on Mount Nysa among nymphs and satyrs to his relentless pursuit by the goddess Hera to Bacchus's many amorous exploits-bringing the wild and powerful wine
god to life.
168 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2003
2 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Dalby
45 books20 followersAndrew Dalby (born Liverpool, 1947) is an English linguist, translator and historian who most often writes about food history.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
Dalby studied at the Bristol Grammar School, where he learned some Latin, French and Greek; then at the University of Cambridge. There he studied Latin and Greek at first, afterwards Romance languages and linguistics. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1970. Dalby then worked for fifteen years at Cambridge University Library, eventually specializing in Southern Asia. He gained familiarity with some other languages because of his work there, where he had to work with foreign serials and afterwards with South and Southeast Asian materials. In 1982 and 1983 he collaborated with Sao Saimong in cataloguing the Scott Collection of manuscripts and documents from Burma (especially the Shan States) and Indochina; He was later to publish a short biography of the colonial civil servant and explorer J. G. Scott, who formed the collection.[1] To help him with this task, he took classes in Cambridge again in Sanskrit, Hindi and Pali and in London in Burmese and Thai.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 3, 2023
"Bacchus himself was not a typical member of the Greek pantheon. He represented no human force, whether love, hatred, anger or forgiveness; he stood for no natural power, wind, earthquake or thunderbolt. He represented a force that is beyond human control but we cannot shut out: the force that takes possession of our minds or places us outside ourselves, in 'ecstasy'."
3,5/5!
Bacchus: A Biography is a retelling of all the major myths surrounding the greek and roman god Dionysos/Bacchus. Dalby begins with his parents and his unusual birth, his travels as a young man, his love story with Ariadne, his ascension to Olympus and his vengeful actions against those who refuse to worship him.
This was a fun read. I love Dionysos/Bacchus a whole lot - he is my favorite of the Greek gods - and I loved getting to know more about him. Even though most of the stories in this book were, at least on some level, familiar to me, there were lots of new information for me. Bacchus' family tree, for example, became much clearer to me - Ares is his great-grandfather and his half-brother, he is (most likely) Deianeira's (who married Herakles) father and so on. I also learned some wacky stories about him, such as the ritual he performed on Prosymnos's grave and how that impacted his cult's ritualistic behaviour. I enjoyed the way the author focused on Bacchus and how he brought wine into the world, how people were both scandalised and comforted by it, how it caused destruction and joy. Dalby also did a great job depicting the Maenads and how frightening they were in their madness and uninhibited celebration of their god.
I love Bacchus/Dionysos for many reasons, but one of the big ones is how he is a bit of a gender-bender, someone who does not cleanly fit into typical gender roles. He is, most of the time, depicted as an effeminate god, pretty as a woman, and he had a very untypical upbringing for a male god. He was raised by women, among women. And later on in life, his most prominent and important followers were his Maenads, women. He occasionally takes on feminine personas, and he is also not heterosexual - he, for example, loved a boy called Ampelos. Dalby definitely shies away from calling Bacchus's relationship with Ampelos romantic, though it is hinted at, but he does emphasise how he stands out as a gender-bending god.
One of the aspects I appreciated the most about Dalby's book was how he didn't pretend there is one clear version of Bacchus's story; there are as many versions as there were authors telling these tales. For example, there were a dozen versions on how Dionysos and Ariadne's story went, and who it was who raised Dionysos and where. One of the key things you must understand about Greek mythology is that there is no strict canon - there are stories that are more popular or well-known than others, but that doesn't mean other versions are invalid.
There was something about the language and the writing style that didn't click with me and made some of the passages a bit frustrating to read. I truly don't know what it was - it's not that the book was tough to read or boring - but oh well, it's my subjective opinion.
If you are looking to know more about Bacchus/Dionysos, this is not a bad place to start!
3,5/5!
Bacchus: A Biography is a retelling of all the major myths surrounding the greek and roman god Dionysos/Bacchus. Dalby begins with his parents and his unusual birth, his travels as a young man, his love story with Ariadne, his ascension to Olympus and his vengeful actions against those who refuse to worship him.
This was a fun read. I love Dionysos/Bacchus a whole lot - he is my favorite of the Greek gods - and I loved getting to know more about him. Even though most of the stories in this book were, at least on some level, familiar to me, there were lots of new information for me. Bacchus' family tree, for example, became much clearer to me - Ares is his great-grandfather and his half-brother, he is (most likely) Deianeira's (who married Herakles) father and so on. I also learned some wacky stories about him, such as the ritual he performed on Prosymnos's grave and how that impacted his cult's ritualistic behaviour. I enjoyed the way the author focused on Bacchus and how he brought wine into the world, how people were both scandalised and comforted by it, how it caused destruction and joy. Dalby also did a great job depicting the Maenads and how frightening they were in their madness and uninhibited celebration of their god.
I love Bacchus/Dionysos for many reasons, but one of the big ones is how he is a bit of a gender-bender, someone who does not cleanly fit into typical gender roles. He is, most of the time, depicted as an effeminate god, pretty as a woman, and he had a very untypical upbringing for a male god. He was raised by women, among women. And later on in life, his most prominent and important followers were his Maenads, women. He occasionally takes on feminine personas, and he is also not heterosexual - he, for example, loved a boy called Ampelos. Dalby definitely shies away from calling Bacchus's relationship with Ampelos romantic, though it is hinted at, but he does emphasise how he stands out as a gender-bending god.
One of the aspects I appreciated the most about Dalby's book was how he didn't pretend there is one clear version of Bacchus's story; there are as many versions as there were authors telling these tales. For example, there were a dozen versions on how Dionysos and Ariadne's story went, and who it was who raised Dionysos and where. One of the key things you must understand about Greek mythology is that there is no strict canon - there are stories that are more popular or well-known than others, but that doesn't mean other versions are invalid.
There was something about the language and the writing style that didn't click with me and made some of the passages a bit frustrating to read. I truly don't know what it was - it's not that the book was tough to read or boring - but oh well, it's my subjective opinion.
If you are looking to know more about Bacchus/Dionysos, this is not a bad place to start!
March 11, 2014
This was a great refresher from some of Dalby's heavier books. Bacchus just tells the tale of Bacchus! There are a few digressions when legends differ but everything is covered in an easy narrative format that lets you sit back and enjoy. The plates of historical interpretations of Bacchus are also pretty interesting. I kinda miss that now that I'm reading Venus.
May 4, 2018
An excellent reference for the life, myths, and cults of the god Dionysus.
September 2, 2024
"Thus it was the women of the Nysa region who began to join with the Satyrs to worship Bacchus. They shouted 'Iobacchos!' and they began to call the god by his special name Bacchos, lord of the vine."
This was such a pleasant read!
Prior to reading this, I wasn't too knowledgeable about the Roman god Bacchus (other than that he's the god of wine and festivities and that he's very fun to play in Smite). However, by the time I finished this book, I think I may know more about him than I do of than other mythological god. I love the way Dalby is able to express Bacchus' life as though he were a real historical figure. He weaves narrations of Bacchus' exploits with historical accounts so seamlessly.
I wish that Dalby included more information on the later parts of Bacchus' story, but this was a wonderful read nonetheless. I'm interested in reading more of Dalby's works, and I'm eager to see him write more "biographies" of other Roman gods.
This was such a pleasant read!
Prior to reading this, I wasn't too knowledgeable about the Roman god Bacchus (other than that he's the god of wine and festivities and that he's very fun to play in Smite). However, by the time I finished this book, I think I may know more about him than I do of than other mythological god. I love the way Dalby is able to express Bacchus' life as though he were a real historical figure. He weaves narrations of Bacchus' exploits with historical accounts so seamlessly.
I wish that Dalby included more information on the later parts of Bacchus' story, but this was a wonderful read nonetheless. I'm interested in reading more of Dalby's works, and I'm eager to see him write more "biographies" of other Roman gods.
November 2, 2023
This was so good. A clearly well-researched "biography" that was so fun and entertaining to read. I wish the author wrote one of these for all the Gods! I see one on Venus so I'll get that one but I think that's all.
June 3, 2023
A total must for any Greek mythology fans !! I loved the balance of writing a narrative style with going over the history/origins of myths
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews