Dionysian Quotes

"O Lord, intoxicate me with the wine of Thy Love. Place the chains of Thy slavery on My feet; Make me empty of all but Thy love, And in it destroy me and bring me Back to life. The hunger Thou has awakened culminates In fulfillment." - Sufimaster Sheikh Abdullah Ansari "Zeus stretched out on Semele's bed in the form of a bull with human limbs. Then he was a panther. Then a young man with vine shoots in his curls. Finally he settled into that most perfect of shapes: the serpent. Zeus prolonged their union like some story without end, a rehersal of the life of the god about to be generated. The snake slithered over Semele's trembling body and gently licked her neck. Then, gripping her bust in one of his coils, wrapping her breasts in a scaly sash, he sprnkled her not with poison but with liquid honey. The snake was pressing his mouth against Semele's mouth, a dribble of nectar trickling down onto her lips intoxicated her, and all the while vine leaves were sprouting up on the bed and there was a sound of drums beating in the darkness. The earth laughed. Dionysus was conceived just as Zeus shouted the name with which for centuries he was to be evoked: 'Evoe!'" (Roberto Calasso. The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, pg 47) "Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free." - Jim Morrison "Walk with me my little child, To the forest of denial, Speak with me my only mind, Walk with me until the time, And make the forest turn to wine, You take the legend for a fall, You saw the product, Why can't you see that you are my child, Why don't you know that you are my mind, Tell everyone in the world, that I'm you, Take this promise to the end of you." - System of a Down, Forest "The destiny of death by burning runs through the stories of Apollo and Dionysus like a scar. Semele is burned to death, and she is Dionysus's mother; Coronis and Asclepius are reduced to ashes, and they are Apollo's lover and son. The divine fire devours those venturing outside the human sphere, whether they be betraying a god, bringing a man back to life, or seeing a god bereft of the cloaking veil of epiphany. Beyond the limit laid down for what is acceptable, burns the fire. Apollo and Dionysus are often found along the edges of that borderline, on the divine side and the human; they provoke that back-and-forth in men, that desire to go beyond oneself, which we seem to cling to even more than to our humanity, even more than to life itself. And sometimes this dangerous game rebounds on the two gods who play it." (Roberto Calasso. The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, pg 59) "New, what do you own the world? How do you own disorder, disorder, Now, somewhere between the sacred silence, Sacred silence and sleep, Somewhere, between the sacred silence and sleep, Disorder, disorder, disorder. When I became the sun, I shone life into the man's hearts, When I became the sun, I shone life into the man's hearts." - System of a Down, Toxicity "I've always liked reptiles. I used to see the universe as a mammoth snake, and I used to see all the people and objects, landscapes, as little pictures in the facets of their scales. I think peristaltic motion is the basic life movement. Swallowing, digestion, the rhythms of sexual intercourse. We must not forget that the lizard and the snake are identified with the unconscious, with the forces of evil. There's something deep in the human memory that reacts very strongly to reptiles. Even if you've never seen one, the snake embodies everything we fear." - Jim Morrison "Plutarch, priest of Delphic Apollo, claimed that Dionysus was just as important in Delphi as Apollo. In the freezing winter months, the months when the dead rise and the torches wander about the slopes of Parnassus, Dionysus is lord of Delphi. But then Apollo returns from his nordic quest among the Hyperboreans, and for the other nine months of the year he reigns supreme. No victory is ever complete, nor ever enough to last the whole year. Neither Apollo nor Dionysus can reign forever, neither can do without the other, neither can be there all the time. When Apollo reappears and squeezes Dionysus's arm, we hear the last notes of the dithyrambs, and immediately afterward the first of the paeans. The only continuity is sound." (Roberto Calasso. The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, pg 148-149) "Where is the wine we were promised, the new wine...?" - Jim Morrison "Life is a waterfall, We're one in the river, And one again after the fall. Swimming through the void We hear the word, We lost ourselves, But we find it all? Cause we are the ones that want to play, Always want to go, But you never want to stay, And we are the ones that want to chose, Always want to play, But you never want to lose. Aerials, in the sky, When you lose small mind, You free your life. Life is a waterfall, We drink from the river, Then we turn around and put up our walls. Swimming through the void We hear the word, We lost ourselves, But we find it all? Cause we are the ones that want to play, Always want to go, But you never want to stay, And we are the ones that want to chose, Always want to play, But you never want to lose. Aerials, in the sky, When you lose small mind, You free your life. Aerials, so up high, When you free your eyes, Eternal prize. Aerials, in the sky, When you lose small mind, You free your life. Aerials, so up high, When you free your eyes, Eternal prize. " - System of a Down, Aerials "I bring love to give you solace In the darkness of the night, In the Heart's eternal light. You need only trust your feelings; Only love can steer you right. I bring laughter, I bring music, I bring joy and I bring tears. I will soothe your primal fears. Throw off those chains of reason And your prison disappears." The cities were abandoned, And the forests echoed song. They danced and lived as brothers; They knew love could not be wrong. But the winter fell upon them And it caught them unprepared, Bringing wolves and cold starvation, And the hearts of men despaired. - Rush, Hemispheres III. Dionysus: Bringer of Love "Sometimes...I like to think of the history of rock & roll like the origin of Greek drama. That started out on the threshing floors during the crucial seasons, and was originally a band of acolytes dancing and singing. Then, one day, a possessed person jumped out of the crowd and started imitating a god..." - Jim Morrison "I know the feeling It is the real thing The essence of the truth The perfect moment That golden moment I know you feel it too I know the feeling It is the real thing You can't refuse the embrace... It's like the pattern below the skin You gotta reach out and pull it all in And you feel like you're too close So you swallow another dose The pinnacle of happiness Filling up your soul You don't think you can take any more You never wanna let go To touch the roots of experience The most basic ingredients To see the unseen glitter of life And feel the dirt, grief, anger and strife Cherish the certainly of now It kills you a bit at a time Cradle the inspiration It will leave you writhing on the floor... This is so unreal, what I feel This nourishment, life is bent Into a shape I can hold A twist of fate, all my own Just grit your teeth, make no sound Take a step away and look around Just clench your fist and close your eyes Look deep inside, hypnotize The whisper is but a shout That's what it is all about Yes, the ecstasy, you can pray You will never let it slip away Like the sacred song that someone sings through you Like the flesh so warm that the thorn sticks into Like the dream you know one day will come to life Try to hold on just a little longer, stronger It's the jewel of victory The chasm of misery And once you have bitten the core You will always know the flavor The split second of divinity You drink up the sky All of heaven is in your arms You know the reason why It's right there, all by itself And what you are, there is nothing else You're growing a life within a life The lips of wonder kiss you inside And when it's over the feeling remains It all comes down to this The smoke clears, I see what it is That made me feel this way... This is so unreal, what I feel Flood, sell your soul, feel the blood Pump through your veins, can't explain The element that's everything Just clench your fist and close your eyes Look deep inside, hypnotize Yes, the ecstasy, you can pray You will never let it slip away Like the echoes of your childhood laughter, ever after Like the first time love urged you to take its guidance, in silence Like your heartbeat when you realize you're dying, but you're trying Like the way you cry for a happy ending, ending... I know" -Faith No More, The Real Thing More quotes.... Quotes from Thiasos Dionysos site Wine among the ancients

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