Rick Sumner

In Frazer's _The Golden Bough_, Frazer observes the existence of an oft-cited epithet for Dionysius--"Dionysius in the tree." Everything I have been able to find referencing this cites Frazer himself, rather than any prior source. No online copy of Frazer's work I've been able to find includes what, I've told, are an impressive collection of footnotes. Local libraries are similarly bereft of Frazer's work.

Is anyone aware of what Frazer's source for this is?

Regards,
Rick Sumner

Vorkosigan

well....Here's the chapter, for reference

My trusty copy of The White Goddess also identifies Dionysus as a tree-god. Graves identifies the "tree" as one of the set of sacred trees that supposedly followed a set of tree magic laid out in Roderick O Flaherty's book on Druidic magic, Ogygia (Graves implies that the source is not very trustworthy). The "tree" is actually the vine in vintage season, and another "tree" is yellow-berried ivy. Graves says that both are dedicated to resurrection, and both are used to make fermented beverages -- in his day ivy-ale was still made at Trinity College.

There's an encyclopedia of 1911, roughly the same period
http://28.1911encyclopedia.org/D/DI/DIONYSUS.htm

that gives sources.

This page has cult titles of Dionysus
http://www.theoi.com/Cult/DionysosCult.html

in which "in the tree" is noticeably absent.

Why do you ask? Frazer is old stuff, and not, I understand, really good.

Vorkosigan

GakuseiDon

I was curious about that as well. IIRC Adonis was known as "he in the tree", as he was born from a tree. I wasn't able to track down Dionysus being called "he in the tree", but some ancient Greek vases depict a tree made up to be an effigy of Dionysus (below), so perhaps Frazer took it from that?

Amlodhi

And surrounding text containing "tree descriptions" of Dionysus.

Footnotes:

pg. 320; 2) On Dionysus in general see Preller, Griechische Mythologie, I, 544 sqq. Fr. Lenormant, article "Bacchus" in Daremberg et Saglio, Dictionnaire des Antiquite's grecques et romaines, E. 591 sqq. Voigt and Thraemer's article "Dionysus," in Roscher's Ausfuhrliches Lexikon der griech, und rom Mythologie, I. C. 1029 sqq.

Pg. 321:

1) Plutarch, Quaest. Conviv. v. 3.

2) Hesychius, s.v. Evoevopos .

3) See pictures of images taken from ancient vases, in Botticher, Baumkultus der Hellenen, plates 42, 43A, 43B, 44; Daremberg et Saglio, op. cit.(pg 320 footnote 1 citation above), i, 361, 626.

4) Daremberg et Saglio, (ibid), i. 626.

5) Cornutus, De natura deorum, 30.

6) Pindar, quoted by Plutarch, Isis et Osiris, 35.

7) Maximus Tyrius, Dissertat. viii, I.

8) Athenaeus, iii. pp. 78 c, 82 d.

9) Himerius, Orat. i, 10,

10) Orphica, Hymn 1. 4, iiii. 8.

11) Aelian, Var. Hist. iii, 41; Hesychius, s.v. Compare Plutarch, Quaest. Conviv. v. 8, 3.

12) Pausanias, i, 31, 4; id vii, 21, 6 (2).

Hope this will be of some help. But I must agree with Vorkosigan; Frazer belongs to the class of "everything's a fertility cult or a vegetation cult". There is some informative material in Frazer and I still keep my copy of "The Golden Bough", but, IMO, later and more integrated scholarship has progressed beyond this rut.

Amlodhi

Rick Sumner

Much thanks.

I'm inclined to agree--I've actually gone rounds on this very board to that effect. I was just curious as to what the basis of the epithet was.

Thanks again,
Rick Sumner

Celsus

You should see this at Ebla, but anyway, here's my summary of M.S. Smith's review of Frazer: Putting the mystery to rest

Joel

Toto

Interesting.

The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts

Amazon allows you to search inside the hardcover edition.

Iacchus

Dionysus and Adonis were both called Lord by the way.

Have written a book called The Advent of Dionysus which, is published on the Internet in case anyone's interested.

Celsus

I'm not up to speed on the classics, but for Adonis, his name is a cognate for the BH Adonai attested all the way back to Ugarit. In fact, he's a semitic God and to compare him with Dionysus is a mistake. Read what I posted at my link.

Joel

Celsus

And before you go out and splurge, I suggest getting Smith's The Early History of God first, as in the recommended reading list. This book is seriously hard going for anyone not familiar with Ugaritic mythology (The Early History of God isn't a plain sail either, but it's easier than this one).

Joel