Dionysos

This work presents a historical account of the religion of Dionysos, from its beginnings in the Minoan culture, down to its transition to a cosmic and cosmopolitan religion of late antiquity under the Roman Empire. It constructs a picture of Dionysian worship, always underlining the constitutive element of myth.

Included in this study are the secret cult sects of the women's mysteries, both within and beyond Attica, the mystic sacrificial rite at Delphi, and the great public Dionysian festivals at Athens. The way in which the Athenian people received and assimilated tragedy in its immanent connection with Dionysos is seen as the greatest miracle in all cultural history.

Tragedy and New Comedy are seen as high spiritual forms of the Dionysian religion, and the Dionysian element itself is seen as a chapter in the religious history of Europe.