Eleuthereus: Towards a Theology of Dionysian Liberation

by Fabian MacKenzie

Dionysus is the god of freedom, and his ties to it flow through his various names, mythologies, and theologies. From his epithet Eleuthereus (Liberator) being present in Bronze Age inscriptions, to an Orphic recitation saying ‘Bakcheios himself has freed me!’, in productions of Euripides’ Bacchae ranging from 405 B.C.E. to 2025 C.E., his liberation is ever present. A story was told of Dionysus looking in a mirror and becoming the entire multiplicity of the universe therefore we shouldn’t be surprised when Dionysus appears in a kaleidoscope of colours, genders, sexes, sexualities, and physical forms. Dionysus holds a mirror which calls us to see the world in such a variegated light. Dionysus, looking in the mirror, looks at both the self and and at the other. Dionysus calls us to see the self in the other, and the other in our self. Using the framework of liberation theology, this book seeks to investigate how Dionysus liberates and how we can work towards liberation ourselves.

555 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 5, 2025