Διόνυσος

Forms

Δῐόνῡσος (Diónūsos) m (genitive Δῐονῡ́σου); second declension^[1] Epic and lyric Διώνυσος (Diṓnusos), Thessalian and Cretan Διόννυσος (Diónnusos), Aeolic Ζόννυσος (Zónnusos), Δεύνυσος (Deúnusos) in Anacreon, Διένυσος (Diénusos) on Amorgos.^[2][3] Mycenaean genitive Mycenaean Greek di-wo-nu-so-jo, dative Mycenaean Greek di-wo-nu-so.^[2][4]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^[5][2] The forms seem to point to *Διοσ-νυσος (*Dios-nusos), whose first part looks like the genitive of Ζεύς (Zeús), Διός (Diós).^[2][6] Chantraine notes that the Homeric spelling with ω, Διώνυσος (Diṓnusos), is puzzling if the name goes back to *Διοσ-ν- (*Dios-n-).^[4]

Since Dionysus was said to come from Thrace, Kretschmer took the second part for a Thracian word for “son”, comparing Νῦσα (Nûsa), where the god was raised,^[6] but Frisk and Beekes find no linguistic support for this.^[2][6] Dunkel saw in it Proto-Indo-European *suHnús (“son”) with the /s/ and /n/ transposed, which Beekes thinks improbable, and NIL lists the name only doubtfully under that root.^[2][7] García Ramón explains the variants Διεννυσία and Διοννυσιαν by two old genitives of the name of Zeus, Proto-Indo-European *diwés and Proto-Indo-European *diwós.^[2] Furnée pointed to the personal name Διονυτᾶς beside Διονυσᾶς: the alternation of τ and σ marks a non-Indo-European word, and Beekes therefore considers it Pre-Greek, a foreign name.^[2][8] Wiktionary reports Janda's analysis as a verbal stem from δίεμαι (díemai, “to chase”) and a word nūsa “tree”, the whole meaning “impeller of the world-tree”.^[1]

Ancient writers derived it from διανύω (dianúō, “to accomplish”) or from thinking things out, and Cornutus wrote it Διόνυξος, a false etymology.^[9][10][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The name is already on Linear B tablets, in the genitive Mycenaean Greek di-wo-nu-so-jo and the dative Mycenaean Greek di-wo-nu-so, in fragmentary contexts.^[2][4][11] In the Iliad he is the raving Dionysus whose nurses Lycurgus drove off, and the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele.^[3][12][11]

Semantic evolution

Dionysus was the god of wine and of orgiastic rites, and also the god of the drama: tragedies and comedies were performed at his Athenian festivals.^[3][10][13] Hence ἐν Διονύσου, literally “in Dionysus's precinct”, could mean “in the theatre”, and the actors' guilds were called “the artists of Dionysus”.^[13] Genealogies varied: besides Semele, later writers name Persephone, Demeter, Io or Isis as his mother, and Persephone belongs to the knowledge of the mysteries.^[3][11]

Latin took the name as Latin Dionysus, and English Dionysus is the Latin form; the Romans identified him with Bacchus.^[1][5]

Timeline

• Mycenaean period – The Linear B tablets record the name in the genitive and the dative.^[2][11]
• Homer – The Iliad has the form Διώνυσος (Diṓnusos), and the Odyssey Διόνυσος (Diónusos).^[12][4][14]
• Before the 6th century BC – Hesiod names Dionysus as the son of Zeus and Semele.^[3][11]
• 6th century BC – Anacreon uses the Ionic form Δεύνυσος (Deúnusos), and an inscription from Amorgos has Διένυσος (Diénusos).^[3][12]
• 5th century BC – Euripides makes him the god of the Bacchae, and an inscription from Berezan writes Δίνυσος (Dínusos).^[3]
• 1st century AD – Cornutus writes Διόνυξος (Diónuxos), after a false etymology.^[3]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Dionysus, son of Zeus and Semele, god of wine, ecstatic rites and the theatre.^[12][3][13]
2. In the phrase ἐν Διονύσου: in the theatre, or in the precinct of Dionysus.^[13]

Word family

• Διονύσια (Dionúsia)
• Διονυσιακός (Dionusiakós)
• Διονύσιος (Dionúsios)
• διονυσιάζω (dionusiázō)

Related words

• Ζεύς (Zeús)
• Σεμέλη (Semélē)
• Βάκχος (Bákkhos)
• Latin Dionysus
• English Dionysus

Usage notes

The hypocoristic vocative Διονῦ occurs in Phrynichus, and Hesychius glosses διον(ν)ύς as an effeminate man.^[2][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
4. ^ a b c d e Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Frisk, Hjalmar (1960–1972), Griechisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3 vols, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
7. ^ Wodtko, Dagmar S.; Irslinger, Britta; Schneider, Carolin (2008), Nomina im indogermanischen Lexikon, Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Beekes, Robert S. P. (2014), Pre-Greek: Phonology, Morphology, Lexicon, ed. Stefan Norbruis, Leiden; Boston: Brill
9. ^ Adler, Ada, ed. (1928–1938), Suidae Lexicon, 5 vols, Leipzig: Teubner
10. ^ a b Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography, ed. David Whitehead et al., Stoa Consortium, https://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/sol/
11. ^ a b c d e Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth, eds. (2002–2010), Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ a b c d Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ a b c d Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
14. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux