Bede

It would be a great idea if Rick, Peter, Joel, CX and others could put together an article for the II library that deals with this. We have covered it so many times and yet you continually get more people deceived by all the internet sites that spout this stuff. Biff has been here long enough to know better, but that might be too much to hope for. I'd write the article myself except that it really has to be by non believers or you'd get the standard garbage about not believing Christian sources...

I know this has been suggested before but it remains a good idea.

Yours

Bede

spin

Dionysus, the name, comes from dios and nysa. He is the god born on Mt Nysa, son of Zeus. I have noticed the hysterical etymology for this god's name in circulation on the net. Beware of Anglophones fiddling with what they don't understand -- language.


spin

Rick Sumner

I'd thought it meant Mt. something or other, and a quick google seemed to confirm that, but I've seen another suggestion, that it meant "healing semen" or something to that effect. Though I think that might have been in Allegro's mushroom trip.

Regards,
Rick Sumner

Toto

I think that "slaughtered" is the wrong word. Kirby's conclusion:

It would be better to say that Kirby upholds the essense of the critics' case while refining their argument, don't you think?

After all, Acts say that Jesus spoke in the Hebrew language when using this Greco-Roman expression. What does that tell you?

Biff the unclean

And you just happen to know what common expressions were in the fouth century BCE? All the "pricks" quote does is let you know that Luke lifted Euripides version of the Dionysian myth. That Acts has exactly the same plot (with a different ending) as the myth is what lets you know it isn't original.
If I wrote a story about a guy in San Francisco who is visited by the ghost of his dead father who tells the guy that his uncle poured poison in his ear to murder him, marry his wife and take over his business...then you know I lifted it from the Hamlet story. If I have this guy say "There are more things in heaven and earth, Bob, than you can dream of," then you can be sure that I lifted Shakespears version.

I'm sure "kicking at pricks" was a common expressions of all the Gods who stopped people on the road on their way to persecute the God's followers. Probably a catch phrase among the divine LOL

spin

Actually it's now "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt about in your philosophy, Bob." It's about a guy called Ming who thought he'd make a quick buck selling "pig" iron to the Japanese. Another of my famous quotes is "Look at all them f-u-c-k-i-n-' planes," said by a cook I wrote onto the Arizona as he was up on deck tugging on some Hawaiian gold. And who allowed you to read my manuscript? Furthermore, who's this Shakespear guy?


spin


Homer:

Hymn XXVI. TO DIONYSUS

(ll. 1-9) I begin to sing of ivy-crowned Dionysus, the loud-
crying god, splendid son of Zeus and glorious Semele. The rich-
haired Nymphs received him in their bosoms from the lord his
father and fostered and nurtured him carefully in the dells of
Nysa, where by the will of his father he grew up in a sweet-
smelling cave, being reckoned among the immortals. But when the
goddesses had brought him up, a god oft hymned, then began he to
wander continually through the woody coombes, thickly wreathed
with ivy and laurel. And the Nymphs followed in his train with
him for their leader; and the boundless forest was filled with
their outcry.

(ll. 10-13) And so hail to you, Dionysus, god of abundant
clusters! Grant that we may come again rejoicing to this season,
and from that season onwards for many a year.

(And Rick, the "Dios" part means "divine" and was an epithet of Zeus, who had the unborn child sown into his thigh until he was ready to be born, which took place on Mt Nysa, so you could say that Dionysos means, the Zeus of (Mt.) Nysa.)

Rick Sumner

I don't. I was addressing one specific point, the use of "kicking against the pricks" to show dependence. Here's what Kirby says on the matter:

"Thus, the use of an expression "to kick against pricks" in reference to resisting a god is widespread in the ancient Greek-speaking world and cannot in itself show dependence of one author upon another."

Which is, of course, exactly what I said above.

Regards,
Rick Sumner