The Toys of Dionysos

Department of the Classics, Harvard University
The Toys of Dionysos

Author(s): Olga Levaniouk
Source: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 103 (2007), pp. 165-202
Published by: Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30032222
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THE TOYS OF DIONYSOS'
OLGALEVANIOUK
IN A MYTH ASSOCIATEDWITH HIS MYSTERIES,2the Titanskilltheinfant

Dionysosafterdistracting himwithtoys-a rhombos, dolls,
k5nos,
goldenapples,a mirror, and knuckle-bones. The littlegod fallsinto
a trap,suddenlyand horribly, whilenaivelyabsorbedin thetrinkets.
Thesetrinkets wereevidently partofthemyth;
feltto be a significant
in fact,listingthetoysis a recurrent featurein accountsofthemys-
andonesuchlist,intheform
teries, oftwohexameters, is evenascribed
toOrpheus.3
1 Thegermofthispaperwasfirstpresentedatthecolloquium XI,Lausanne
"Corhali"
2000.I amgrateful
totheparticipants
ofthatcolloquiumfortheircomments andsugges-
tions.
2 OF60-235.Fora reconstruction
ofthemyth, a defenseofitsearlydate,anda new
examinationoftherelevant seeBernabe
texts, 2002.Themyth wasnarratedintheOrphic
see West1983:68-75and Betegh2004:140-143.Althoughthe Rhapsodies
Rhapsodies; seem
to appearfirstin thelateHellenistic
period,theDervenipapyrus(latefourthcentury
BCE)hasmadeitclearthatthepoemabsorbed muchearliersongs,goingbackat least
to the fifthcentury.See West 1983:75-115and Betegh2004,esp. 92-181 fordiscussion
andreconstructionofthepoemonwhichtheDerveni papyrus Onthe
is a commentary.
Derveni
papyrus see alsoLaksandMost1997.Themyth mustbe older,sincethere
itself
areseveralallusionstoitinearlysources,
including
Herodotos2.49,Pindarfr.133,Plato
Kratylos
400c and Laws701c,Xenokratesfr.20 (on Phaedo62d); see also Burkert1977:297-
298 withreferences,Linforth1941:307-374.Linforth(1941:355)concludedthatOrphic
abouttherending
poetry ofDionysos
andpunishment oftheTitanswasknownearlier
thanPindar.Formoreon themythanditsdating,
see Graf1985:588-589,
Lloyd-Jones
1990:90-91,and Kahn 1997:56-60(withadditionalargumentsbased on Herodotos).For
earlypictorialevidenceofthemyth,see Smith1890,Simon1966:78-86,and Graf1974:67-
76.Burkert(1977:5)has arguedthatthe mythis structurally
old. See Henrichs1972:56-58
fora concisediscussion Edmonds
ofthisquestion. (1999)deniesthemyth's but
antiquity,
hisexceedingly excludes,
criticalargument inanycase,thesparagmosofDionysos.For
a responseanda "reconstitution"
oftheOrphicmythto itsrightful
place,see Bernab6
2002.
3 Tortorelli
Ghidini
(2000)suggests
thatpriortoClement
ofAlexandria
thetoyshadno
166 OlgaLevaniouk
Thetoysofmyth correspondtoa setofritualobjects-theso-called

"tokens"(symbola)-which mayhavebeen handledin therites(the
detailsremainlargely undocumented andobscure)andwhichalsohad
a symbolic function.4 Withthenotableexceptionofthemirror, their
significanceremains examined,
insufficiently andmygoalinthispaper
is to analyzetwomoretoys,therhombos and thekanos, as symbola
of
themysteries.5 Thereasonsbehindthechoiceofthesetwoobjectsare
practical:first,
enoughsurvives tosuggesttheirlikelyfunction;second,
thetwotoysforma pair,and thereis a significant overlapbetween
theirsemantic fieldsas symbola.6
I beginbytrying to elucidatetherole
ofall toys,as a collective
entity,
inthediscourseofthemysteries, and
thenturntothek6nos andrhombos, lookingfortheirpeculiarcharacter
within thelargerset.
I. "TOYS" IN THE MYSTERIES

Theearliestsourceforobjectssuchas a k6nos
orrhombos as
functioning
isa third-century
symbola BCEpapyrus fromGurob:
]1.TOVEdqAt6VUooqjYpUo3
o0
]vpacOE0q6it K6onTOU
25 ]v ~'ntovivoq IouK6OXo
]t1t[
]I.araUv0el"c KcIwrOYq
avWo
parttoplayinthedeathofDionysos,
andinstead
weresymbolsofa mystic
tiebetween
thegodandhisdevotees.Buttoysareaninstrument
ofdeceitintheCarmenmystarum
1963
(Heitsch LVII) andrattles
anda mirror appearinthehands
ofTitansontheCampana
reliefs Bacchus265[terracotta
(LIMC relief BMD 534],Simon1962:plate285).
inLondon,
theparallels
Moreover, ofDionysos
themyths
between andPersephone
(more
onwhich
below) suggestthatthe roleofthetoysin thismythis notclement'sinvention.
4 The mostcomprehensive generaldiscussionof the toysand tokensknownto me is
West1983:154-159.West'sanalysis,however,focuseson the possibleuse oftheseobjects
as ritualimplements, not on theirfunctionas symbola.
See also Guthrie1966:120-125.On
symbola as "passwordsforentryintoextaordinary realms"see Struck2004:104-107.
5 See Seaford1998and Arrigoni2003fordetaileddiscussionsofthemirror.
6 I have notbeen able to makemuchheadwaywithapples and dollsin the mysteries.
Forastragaloi, thereis plentyofevidenceofreligiousfunctionsand plentyofpossibilities
forsymbolism in the mysteries(see Kurke1999:247-298),but a specificmysteries-related
referenceremainsto be clarified.
TheToysofDionysos 167
oi 5660avTXoGatx
] Kai6ot
E]iC'.Ov [P]PaMXvi
KxdXaOov
K]Wvoqp6PPoq&arpdyaXot
30 ]qEuaortTpoq.7
... one Dionysos symbola
... god throughthelap
... I drankass cowherd
... synthima:abovebelow...
andtouseupwhatwasgiventoyou
toputintothebasket
k6nos,rhombos,knuckle-bones
... mirror...
Thepapyrusis fragmentary, a ritualcentered,

butitconcerns most
onthedeathandrebirth
likely, ofthechild
Dionysos.8
Among theritual
actionsandutterances number
thereis an impressive ofsymbola,both
9andattheendthereisa listofseveralobjects-
verbalandnon-verbal,
k5nos,
rhombos,knuckle-bones,andmirror.'0
Clementof Alexandriais the sourceof two morelists,one of
Dionysos'toys in myth,the otherof the corresponding symbola.
Although Clement'stellingofthemythis infusedwithhisChristian
polemicsand is highlydismissive ofthetoys,he is certainly
well-
informed aboutthem:
7 Smyly1921:no. 1,Hordern2000,OF578F Bernabe(31 Kern).

8 Hordern2000:131.
9 Onesynthima (&vw KdraT)is identifiedas suchon thepapyrus, andmoremaybe
lurkingin the fragmentary lines.Porta(1999:113)has pointedout thatE]igtiv KaXaOtOV
[E]p3ahiv is similarto anothersynthima recorded byClement,rtaOnE4fV KxdXaeov
ECig
Kal EKKCaXOUX0 2.21). The phrase 8E6q
Eiq KiOt'lV(Protreptikos 656Kx6Anou in the Gurob
papyrusis also clarified byClement, whosaysthat6 5it K6oXOU 0E6q was thesign
(symbolon) given to initiatesinto the mysteriesof Sabazios (Protreptikos
2.16). Another
symbolon maybe containedin the phraseEntov6vo poUK6XoO, whichremainsunclear
because of the lacunae on both sides. Porta (1999:113)notes thatfinovis reminiscent
of an Eleusiniansynthima K KUPv3dXOU, ntov(ClementProtreptikos 2.15), while Smyly
(1921:9)proposes"I drankas an ass I becamea herdsman":' Hordern(2000:139)entertains
thepossibilityoftwospeakers:(A) "as an ass I drank"(B) "as a herdsmanI .".
10 Smyly1921:7:"o6yl3oAais probablya kindofheading... indicatingthatthe follow-
ingexpressionsweremysticpasswords,ortestphrases:'
168 OlgaLevaniouk
z& y&pAtov6oou vprTpita EX tc, &TndvOpona" 8"vEiaoTL

nat a vra v6nXy KLvjOELJEpLXopEUo6vrwv Kovpijzcv,
86XW6E rOo6iVTWV TItzivov,&Tjna avrgTE nralapl6c5SEGIV
a&6ppaIcv,oaTot6i oi Trt&VE tirGnctaoav,
ETIVrlnTaXov6vra,
qsTErXErfiq
q06 iV noTiT 'OpqOE6q <prjov6 Op KtOq'
KainaLyvLaKaInEGiyVta,
Ka pO6OqKIaO
KWGVOq
ipiXaurXpaoEaKcaXnaap' Xtyuqxovcv.
'EanEpi&Sv
TI
Kal i q S& OvpiLV
~ TErETfqt& &XPElaoau'oXa OuK &Xpdiov
EciKatayv0oatv aqpoapa,arp6I13Xoq,
inapatoav" &arTpyaXoq,
pjXa, 6pf3poý, n6KOq."
oonitpov,
Forthe mysteries ofDionysosare completelyinhumane:

when he was a
still childand the Kouretesweredancing
aroundhimin an armeddance,the Titanssneakedin by
anddeceivedhimwithchildish
trickery toys,andthesevery
Titanstorehimtopieces,eventhoughhe wasstilla baby,as
saysOrpheus theThracian,thepoetoftheinitiation:
kanosandrhombos anddollswithbendinglimbs
andbeautifulgoldenapplesfrom theclear-voiced
Hesperides.
Andso itis notuselessto putforthforcensuretheuseless
symbolaofyourrite:knuckle-bone, ball,strobilos,
apples,
rhombos,mirror,
wool.
Clement byArnobius,
is followed whotellshowDionysos wasdismem-
the
beredby Titanswhiledistracted bychildish toys puer-
(occupatus
witha listofobjectswhichhe ascribesto
andconcludes
ilibusludicris)
Orpheus:
cuius rei testimoniumargumentumquefortunaesuis
prodiditin carminibus Thraciustalos,speculum,turbines,
volubilesrotulaset teretispilaset virginibus
aureasumpta
ab Hesperidibusmala.12
11 OF307FBernab6(34 Kern)= ClementofAlexandriaProtreptikos 2.17-18.

12 Adversusnationes5.19 (OF 34). There are multiplereferencesto individualobjects,
includingkanos:Suda,s.v.Kwvo0p6pot, AG6.165.4;mirror:Olympiodoros on Plato'sPhaidon
TheThracianpoetputforth
inhissongsevidenceofthat(i.e.
ofwhathappenedto Dionysos)andproofofhis(Dionysos')
fate:knuckle-bones,
mirror,spinningtops(turbines),
spin-
ningwheels,androundballs,andgoldenapplestakenfrom
theHesperides.
ThelistsClementandArnobius attribute to Orpheus arenotiden-
tical,butagreeinattributing peculiarsignificancetothetoys.Clement
quotesOrpheus ostensibly toconfirm hisrendition ofthemyth, butthe
Orphiclinessimply nametheobjects, as ifthelistitself
wasa sufficient
testimony bothto Dionysos' tenderageandtotheTitans'inhumanity.
Arnobius makesthisattitude explicit,
pointing outthatthetoysarenot
just propsofthe rites,buta testimony (testimoniumargumentumque)
ofa specialkind.It is thisqualityoftheobjects,theirroleas symbola,
evidentalsointheGurobpapyrus, thatdistinguishes themfromother
kindsofritualimplements andputstheminsteadinthesamecategory
as ritualutterances(alsocalledsymbola orsynthimata) andgestures.
Thereis someevidenceofwhatmight havehappenedto suchtoys
afterinitiation.In his Apology,Apuleiussaysthattheinitiatesinto
themysteries ofDionysoskeptcertainobjectsat homeand secretly
worshipped them:
vel uniusLiberipatrismystaequi adestisscitis,quiddomi
conditum celetiset absqueomnibusprofanis tacitevener-
emini.
Apologia55
you,theinitiatesoftheone fatherLiberwhoare
Certainly
presenthere,knowwhatyou keep hiddenat home and
worship allwhoareprofane.
insecretfrom
Apuleius beinganinitiate
himself, ofmanymysteries,hadathomesome
rattles wrappedina linenclothandtreated
(crepundia), withreverence:
111.14(OF209),Prokloson Plato's Timaios33b (OF209),NonnosDionysiaka6.165-169,Ps.-

Arignotosin Harpokration141.8s.v.Eaoi (emendedby Burkert[1967]),Ioannes LydosDe
mensibus4.51,DionysiacmirrorfromOlbia (late sixthcenturyBCE,Rusaeva 1978:56-97,
West1983:156-157),two Campana reliefsdepictingBacchicdance withmirrors(Simon
1962);apples:Pausanias 5.19.6,Julian prlrpa rGvOEGv176a,Philetasfr.18Powell.
EiqTrjly
170 OlgaLevaniouk
Etiamnecuiquammirum videripotest,cui situllamemoria

hominem
religionis, totmysteriis
deumconsciumquaedam
sacrorumcrepundiadomi adservareatque ea lineotexto
quodpurissimum
involvere, estrebusdivinisvelamentum?"3
Apologia
56
Coulditbe surprising
to anyonewhopaysanyheedto reli-
giousobservances, inso manymysteries
thata participant of
thegodsshouldkeepat homesomerattlesbelongingtothe
ritesandwrapthemina linenfabric,
thepurestcovering
for
objectsofworship?
Perhaps,liketheserattles,
thetoysofDionysoscouldbe keptbythe
mystaiat homeas reminders oftheirinitiation,
tokensidentifying
the
andobjectsofprivate
initiates, worship.14
Thesymbolic functionofsuchtokensis clearfromPlutarch,who
refersto the symbolaof Dionysiac rites in his Consolatioad uxorem.
Plutarch to persuadehiswifenotto grieveoverthedeathof
is trying
theirdaughter,butthereis oneargumenthe knowshe cannotuse.He
cannotconvince herthatthedeaddo notsuffer,
becausethesymbolaof
themysteries her
prevent from believing
this:
o01'1tT KWhXJEl KaiT' pUCoTIK
cE TI TEEIV 06TCITplOXo6Yoq
G
6pipoPXaTWvrTEpi6TvAt6vuaov6pytaaupv,& aovioapEv
a' flXotloi KovovoOUVTEq.
ad uxorem
Consolatio 10,611d
I knowthatyouareprevented from thisbyanances-
believing
traltaleandthemystic symbolaoftheDionysiac a
mysteries,
knowledge whichallofus share.
participants
herearea reminder
Thesymbola ofparticipation,
notsimply butalso
oftheknowledge acquiredin themysteries-in
thiscase,knowledge
Wedo notknowwhatthesesymbola
abouttheafterlife. are,noreven
13 Crepundiaare mentionedamong Dionysos' toys by FirmicusMaternus(De errore
profanarumreligionum6.15.2)and shownin the Titans' hands on a Campanarelief(LIMC
Bacchus265,terracottareliefinLondon,BM D 534),Simon 1962:plate285.
14 On symbolaas tokensof initiate'sstatus,see e.g. Henrichs 1982:156-157,Burkert
1972:176-177(on thePythagoreans),and Struck2004:104-107.
whethertheyare thingsor wordsor actions,buttheyseemto encapsu-

late the sharedknowledgeand experience(cnvolapEV, KolvWVO0VTER) of
the initiates.The distinctionbetween6 'r ptoloX6yog and rt&pUO(T1K
aippoXa suggeststhat,while the logosis a source of "information,"
the symbolaare somethingelse besides-remindersofan experience,
perhaps,thatmake the knowledgeparticularly potentand impossible
to ignore.
Aristotlereportedlysaid that the mysteriesrequirenot learning,
but pathos,,"and our later authoritieson such ritescontinueto insist
on the priorityof experienceover knowledge.16 StephanosByzantios
defines the mysteriesat Agraas "mimetic performance aboutDionysos"
i nEpiTiv At6vuaov),thusprioritizing
(PiptLpa-rv whattheinitiatesare
shownoverwhat theyare told.17 The actions,sightsand soundsofthe
mysteriesare thus themselvessymbolic,in the sense thattheyconsti-
tutesigns,and givethe initiatesa glimpseofsomethingneitherdirectly
accessiblenorfullytranslatableintowords.18
This mimeticand evocativemode ofcommunicationis crucialfor
the"semiotics"ofthe mysteries, whichelicitan emotionalresponseby
means of suggestion-byimplyingmorethanis revealed-and sustain
this effectby the riddlingstyleof the revelations.19 In this mode of
communication,a symbolon may be a suggestivesigngiven to mystai
duringthe initiation,or,beyondthe ritualitself,a signthatreminds
AptatorrTXqI
15 Fr.15 (SynesiosDion8.42):KaOaCtrEp' qgd&to
o10 TEXOUpVOU pou
a0Eo V ti
oo5
56EV&Wa% rtaeiv Kati65tarefivat, 65rXov6rt
yEvoVOUvg~TTrl5Eiouq.
See Burkert1987:46-
ofritual.
53ontheindependence
16 E.g.Epiktetos3.21.15-16,Dio Chrysostom
Orations
12.33.
17StephanosByzantioss.v."Aypa.
18A usefulcharacterization
ofsymbol inthemysteries is givenbyStruck(2004:107):
"aninterpretable likeanomenorshibboleth,
riddle, thatjoined onesensetoanother and
alsoandmoreimportantly cleaveditsaudienceintothosewhoknewandthosewhodid
not:'Struck suggests
further thatmysterieswereoneofthecontexts instrumentalinthe
evolutionofsymbol fromitsearlysenseof"authenticating intosomething
credential"
closertoitsmodernsense,an evolution comparabletothatoftheainigma, as discussed
byNagy(1999:239).
19Testimoniestotheriddling styleofthemysteries includePoseidonios (fjTEKPUi)t
11
pUGOt1KuWViEpWv, fr.370.9= Strabo10.3.9),Demetrios(rd paUOriptaiv aAArlyopiatqXEy-
EratitpboqKnrTrl1V
Kai (ppiKrlV,
OnStyle101.1-2),Dio Chrysostom Orations 12.33,Plutarch
DeEapudDelphos388f7-389a8,MacrobiusInsomnium 1.2.18.See Seaford1981:253-
Scipionis
255ontheriddling
styleofthemysteries,
especially inEuripides'
as reflected Bacchae.
172 OlgaLevaniouk
one oftheinitiatory experience, theritual,themyths, andthehieroi

Toborrow
logoi.20 a termfromsemiotics, a symbolon inthemysteries is
an indexical sign:it does notdirectlydepict the ritualor represent a
myth, butitpointsto themandoftenhas a non-arbitrary connection
tothem,a meaningful linktotheentitiesitbringstomind.Whatthese
signssignify to an initiateremainsessentially closedto theprofane,
andyetthesignsareonlypartially opaque:thekindsofassociations
theyarelikelyto have,inbroadoutline,maybe discernible fromthe
signsthemselves.
It maybe asked,then,whattheindexicalfunction oftoysin the
mysteries is.To whatdo theypoint?Whyshouldtoysbecomesymbola?
A childis atthecenterofmanymysteries, notonlytheDionysiac ones:
a nameless"child"(naiq)appearsnextto Dionysosin theBoeotian
Kabeirion, and thebirthofanothermysterious childis partofthe
Eleusinian myth.21 Even Persephone herself,although certainlyfarfrom
beinga baby,is insomesensecomparable tothelittleDionysos, sinceit
is undoubtedly theabruptendofherchildhood thatwearewitnessing
intheEleusinian myth. A comparisonbetweenthemyths ofKoreand
Dionysos that for
revealssimilarities arehelpful understanding therole
oftoysas toys(as opposedtoritualobjects)inthemysteries.
In theHomeric
HymntoDemeter, 5) in a "soft
Koreplays (na~,ouovav,
meadow"(7) and is attracted beautiful
bya wonderfully narcissus,
describedas an athurma,
"toy"(15-16):
ii 5' cpa Oapp'laaa' WpacctoXEpoivap
ii' q<p
xKaXbv &8Ouppa
XccEIv" XdVE~E Xwcv Fiupudyuta.
andinwonder shestretchedoutbothhands
toy,andthewideearthopened.
totakethebeautiful
20Onhieroilogoisee Henrichs 2003.AsHenrichs shows,thetermimpliessecrecy,but

doesnotimply a written
document.
21"Achildis born"-this is howBurkert summarizes hisdiscussion
ofthispartofthe
ritual(1983:289).
Thechildis sometimes calledIakkhosandidentified,
underthisname,
withDionysos. Butforothershe is Ploutos,sonofDemeter, whileHippolytos
ofRhome,
citinga Gnosticauthor,claimsthatthehierophant Ko0pov,
shoutediSpbv&EK"nT6tvtIa
omnium
BptpltBpti6v(Refutatio haeresium 5.8.40).AtEleusis,a boywas initiated"fromthe
hearth"on behalfofAthens,see IG1.2.6= LSS3.108,Isaios fr.84 Baiter-Sauppe= Harpokr.
EoriaqpUeiact; Burkert1983:280-281.
s.v.&yp'
Shereacheswithbothhandsfortheflower,andhergesture
is distinctly
her attentionsuddenlyabsorbedby
childish,almostinfant-like,
the"toy."ForDionysos,too,theterrifying comesas he is
experience
playingwithbeautiful,
wondrous andthewordusedbyClement
things,
theverywordusedofKore'snarcissus
forthetoysis athurmata, in the
Hymn.The same wordoccursagain in the Carmen
Homeric Mystarum
of
theimperial
period:
yvt
]aonvStrln6ratoy
]vavOEwvtOt-KiX,'
&06ppara.22
theydeceivedhim
... ornatetoys.
Wonderandfascination are stressed,
bothintheHymn toDemeter
and in thedescriptions
ofthemysteries. WhenKoresees theflower
sheis astounded(8app3rjoaaa),
an emotionalso experiencedbyiniti-
speaksin thiscontextof"wonder"
ates:Plutarch (OdpIoq),Demetrios
of "astonishment"(EKrCntXlfq).23
The same fascinationtraps Dionysos
whenhe looksinthemirror, andperhapswhenhe startsplaying with
theothertoys.24AllthetoyslistedbyOrpheus aremarvelous things,
suchas goldenapplesanddollswhoselimbscanbend.
ForKoreand Dionysos,theirplayquickly endsindeath,and this
verycontrastis itselfbothessentially
Dionysiacand centralto the
mysteries.25
The toys,686ppazra,are instrumentsofdeceit,bothin
Clement(&arljaoaVTEq,Protreptikos
2.17) and in the CarmenMystarum
22 Heitsch
1963LVII.Ifthepreceding
wordis &vGwv,
thenhereDionysosis (uniquely)
attractednotbytoysbut,likePersephone, Morelikely
byflowers. thislineis tobe read
]vaveOELv.
23 Plutarchfr.178,DemetriosOnstyle101.2.
24 Prokloson Plato's Timaios33b (OF209),NonnosDionysiaka6.169.
25 Plutarchfr.178is perhapsthebestillustration ofthecontrast:Irtdvatr&txpTa Kial
KOnt(Eg Kat St&oKatOUgrTVqiUTroiToT
rtEpt5poplal nopeiacKai &rTAEaro, Eicra tp6toO
ihxouqa6Troo r&6Eva ridvra, <ppiKrlKair Kal ibpW(
ap6lo a
Kai lO" O K6 to6rou<pq
t aupda&tov artivlaGEVKai Tr6ro KaGapoi ta
KalXEpQv iGavro, q(wv&q Kal opdEaq Kal
aOev6Otraq &KOUOadrTwv iep&VKai qaopatowv &yiwv &Xovreg.Theexperience is alluded
elsewhere
to byPlutarch 36e,47a,81e,943c)andbyPlato(Phaidon
(Moralia 96c,107d-
108c,Phaidros 210e). Burkert(1987:101)commentson the"dynamic
247a-254c,Symposion
paradoxofdeathandlifeinall themysteries
associated ofnightand
withtheopposites
day,darkness
andlight,
belowandabove."
174 OlgaLevaniouk
(6trtndrov). thewordathurma
Elsewhere cropsupinreferencetothings
yetfalseorfitonlyforchildren,
thataretempting as ina fragment
of
Euripides(fr.272Kannicht):
ri86' o06xi
XcpEtvrlniolq&O6ppaciv; 26
Whodoesnottakepleasureinchildish
illusions?
ofthemysteries
Yettheathurmata also pointto somethingthatis not
Therearemultiplereferences
a deception. to playfulness
in connec-
tionwithmysteries.Plato,forexample,speaksofthosewho seek
through
salvation thechildishgames(5t& vuotvKainat itaq 1iSov v)
which are part of the teletai(Republic364e3-365a3).27As Shapiro
has shown,a personified figureofPaidiaappearsamongDionysos'
entourage on fifth-centuryvases.28Lada-Richards seesa reflection of
Dionysos'playful dimension in thepresenceof"dollswithbendable
limbs"(nafyvta Kcap.TEayUtca)amonghistoys,andcitesa passagefrom
Plato'sEuthydemos wherebothdancingandplaying(natrtc ) arenoted
as partofKorybantic initiation(Euthydemos277d9).29IntheEleusinian
mysteries, thejoyfulplayofKorebefore herpathosis a clearparallel
to thejoyfulandplayful stateofthe initiatesaftertheirs,just as the
settingofherinitialplay,a flowering meadow, is a premonition ofthe
meadows
blissful wheretheinitiates dwellafterdeath,notonlythose
initiatedat Eleusis,butalso thosewho experiencethemysteries of
Dionysos.30Thereis a similarlogicto theprogression ofDionysiac and
Eleusinian mysteries:at firsttheplaywithitsathurmata is a trapthat
quicklyleadsto horror, the
butafter horrortheplayresumes, presum-
ablyon a moresecurefooting, withfullknowledge ofthemysteries,
and thistimeit is no longera mereillusion.The athurmata areboth
deceptive intheshortrunandpromising inthelongrun.IntheDiony-
26 cf.a similaruse of&6'pPaxa in Sapphofr.63.4.

27 These teletaiare likelyto includethe Dionysiac ones, since Plato mentionsOrphic
poetryand Dionysosis one of its centralsubjects.See Linforth1941:107-132,264,West
1983:12-26,Burkert1987:33-34,87-88. Plato certainlyassociatesTrai5idwithDionysos
and wine(e.g.Laws649d9-e2).
28 Shapiro1993:183-185.
29 Lada-Richards 1999:100.
30 On thebacchicmeadow,especiallyin theOrphicgoldtablets,see Cole 2003.
siac mysteries,Dionysos' playingwiththe toys makes the violence

that follows,by contrast,all the more disturbing,but here too, the
athurmata pointto what is to come on the otherside ofthe encounter
with death.As I will argue below,some ofthe toyspointto the baby
Dionysos'futuredomainofbothjoyfulplayand terriblemania.31
II. SPINNING TOYS
Beyondtheirgeneral function,specifictoyshave additionalassocia-

tionswithDionysosand additionalmeaningsas symbola. The two toys
to whichI now turn,the kanosand rhombos, pointfirstand foremost
to the experienceof Dionsyiacmania,functioning bothas toysand as
symbolsofthegod's powers.
Althoughthere are only two objects in question,there are three
wordsthatrecurin the lists-kanos,rhombos, and strobilos.
The Gurob
papyrusagrees withthe Orphicverses in pairingkanosand rhombos:
both objects are placed at the beginningof the list and in the same
order.This is probablynot a coincidence,especiallysince these may
be the onlyobjects presentin all threeGreeksources:on the Gurob
papyrus,in Orpheus,and in Clement,ifclement'sstrobilos refersto the
sameobjectas k5nos(thetwowordsarepartiallysynonymous). One may
wonderwhetherthewordsthemselves,thephraseKxOVOR Kcd 561oppo or
KLvo 56p3poq, might not a
constitute verbalsymbolon (synthema).
The meaningof these words,however,is problematic.Both k5nos
and strobilos
can mean either"pine-cone"or "spinningtop,"withkanos
being particularlydifficultbecause it can also referto a geometric
shape and designate,forexample,a cone made ofclay,likethosefound
in someThraciangraves.32
In Orpheus'hexametersand on the Gurobpapyrus,k6nosis usually
takento mean "pine-cone,"since the ritualuse of pine-conesis well
documented,forexampleas a partofthethyrsos.33 Nevertheless, I think
31 Cf.Anakreon'sEr6s: darpaydXat6' "Epwro EiolvPayviat TEKai Ku6otpOi (fr.398

Page) and Anakreonfr.357.1-4PMG(addressedto Dionysos):lcvaý,w SapdFXAq
"Epw Kcal
N6apcyt KVuavRnt86Eq q aupnafiouatv...
XOpq(upiz' 'Appo6irT
32 Theodossiev1996.
33 West1983:157.
176 OlgaLevaniouk
it is preferable
to understand thekanosin theOrphiclinesas a spin-
ningtop,andspecifically as a whipping top,as suggested byGuthrie.34
The spinning top is more to
appropriate list a oftoys,and theOrphic
linesare explicitly introduced as describing toys,notritualimple-
ments.35 Moreover, Arnobius in hisunambiguous Latinsaysnothing at
all aboutpine-cones, butascribesto Orpheus a mention ofturbinesand
volubiles bothspinning
rotulae, toys.Thismeans,as Westrecognizes,
thatArnobius understood kanosin theOrphiclinesto referto a spin-
ningtop,nota pine-cone.36 Arnobius's listcontainstwospinning toys.
Ifkanos/strobilos
means"top,"theneachoftheotherlistsalsocontains
two suchtoys:k5nosand rhombos in Orpheus,kdnosrhombos on the
Gurobpapyrus, andrhombos andstrobilos inClement.
theverygrouping
Finally, ofthewordspointsto thespinning top.
In twoofourthreeGreeksources(theGurobpapyrusand Orpheus)
kanosappearsnextto rhombos, thebull-roarer. Thereis no particular
reasonwhytherhombos shouldrepeatedly appearnextto a pine-cone,
butthereis a goodreasonwhytwodifferent kindsofspinning toys
shouldgotogether. Giventhescarcity ofoursources, thefactthatthis
pairing ofk5nosandrhombos occurstwicemayindicate thatitis botha
stablesetoftoysanda stablephrase.
AsWestpointsout,thereis no directevidencefortheritualuse of
thespinning top.37Hekate'sstrophalos, whichappearsin a fragment of
theChaldean oracles,may be a top,and this would mean thattops were
usedintheurgy, butPsellos'explanation ofthefragment leavesroom
fordoubt.38Symbola, however, arenotnecessarily usedinrituals-their
34Guthrie Thewhipping
1966:120-125. topisthemostwidespread typeofspinning top
attested
inantiquity, throughouttheancientworldfrom reliefs
Hittite (Carchemish relief,
ofKingAraras[8thcentury
children
depicting BCE,MuseumofAnatolian Civilizations,
Ankara236-A])to a detaileddescription
in Vergil(Aeneid 7.378-382), and thereare
multiple onvases,e.g.ARVI
depictions 445.251,ARVI 771.2(a womanspinning a top)and
LIMCEros767(Erosplaying witha top).See also Daremberg andSaglio1817-1872 s.v.
equateKLoVOq
Thelexicographers
turbo. withpipi (e.g.Hesykhios s.v.Pi.tI't),which
unambiguously thewhipping
designates top(e.g.Etymologicum Magnum s.v.P3e'p).
I
35 Cf.West1983:157-159, Hordern2000:139.
36 Adversusnationes
5.19(OF34),West1983:157.
37 West1983:157.
38 Fr.206des Places,PsellosPG122, 1133 a 4. See Johnston1990:90-95fora discussion
of this implement.Tavenner(1933) has argued that the iynxis in factthe top,but his
symbolic functiondoesnotrequiresuchuse-andtopsdoappearindedi-
cations,ina contextrelatedtotheDionysiac Alargenumber
mysteries.
of votivetops,many decorated withDionysiac havebeenfound
motifs,
at theKabeirion nearThebes,wheretheywerededicated, alongwith
othertoys,to the"boy,'raiq.39A spinning also appears
top(strobilos)
in a third-century
BCElistofdedicationsfromtheKabeirion,whereit
is placednext a
to whip(mostancienttopswerespunbywhipping):
'Q2Ku0e6a n~Erapcu,arp6hiXov,
&aazpaycvXcoq cC'Sax,
lircCTya,
6XAK&
Apyo6ptaI, paxCp'l wiVTE.40
Okythoa (dedicated)fourknuckle-bones, top,a

a whipping
whip,a torch,
a silverweightworthfivedrakhmai.
Asforrhombos,thiswordcandesignate a number
ofobjectsthatwere
whirledor spunaround,includinga topanda iynx-wheel.41
Primarily,
however,it refersto an objectknownin Englishas "bull-roarer."42
argumentis dependenton Horace,Epode17.6,and is moreconvincing forRomanpractice

thanitis forGreek.
39 Woltersand Bruns 1940:123-124,tab. 18-19. On Kabeirosand Pais, see Schachter
1986:89;on dedicationsoftoys,Schachter1986:98.In Pausanias'aetiologyofthe cultthe
ritesare givenby Demeterto KabeiroiPrometheusand Aitnaios,fatherand son (9.25.6).
40 woltersand Bruns1940: Inscr.2. See Guthrie1966.123-125fora discussionoftoys
foundat theKabeirion.
41 A iynx-wheel is describedby Gow (1934:3) as follows:"It is a spokedwheel (some-
timesit mightbe a disc) withtwo holes on eitherside ofthe center.A cord is passed
throughone hole and back throughthe other;ifthe loop on one sideof the instrument
is held in one hand and the twoends (whichit is convenienttojoin) in the other,and the
tensionalternatelyincreasedand relaxed,the twistingand untwisting of the cordswill
cause the instrument to revolverapidly,firstin one directionand thenin another:'See
alsoJohnston1995:180-185fora descriptionand discussionofvarioustypesofiynges.
42 Bull-roarer is definedas a "flatstripofwoodtiedto a string,makinga roaringsound-
whenwhirledaround"by TheNewShorter OxfordEnglish
Dictionary(1993).Childrenall over
Europe,fromSicilyto England,used to play withit,and it has a religioussignificancein
a numberofcultures.For a wide-rangingdiscussionofrhombos fromancientGreece to
modern-day Australia,see Pettazzoni1997:19-43.Gow(1943)arguedforbull-roareras the
onlymeaningofrhombos, butsucha strictdefinitionseemsto be unsustainable. Hesykhios
withbembix,
equatesrhombos thewhipping theScholiaonProtreptikos
top,(s.v.P3~FprIt);
withk1nos(302.28).The magicaldevice knownas iynxmaybe also designatedas rhombos,
e.g. vuppiovin the Scholiato ApolloniosRhodios4.144.In Theokritos2, Simaithawhirls
both a iynxand a rhombos, and the two objectsare consideredthe same by the Scholia
on 2.30,as well as by Eustathios(on DionysiosPeriegetes1134).Gow(1943) came to the
178 OlgaLevaniouk
Hesykhios andtheScholiato Clement(Protreptikos 2.17.2)definethe

rhombos as a littleplankon a rope,whichin themysteries is whirled
aroundandproduces a sound(vAXrptiov, i
oU fiprrat b oartapiov,
KcIEv
TXETdai o60VEiTo
Traig 'Va oi0.fi),whiletheEtymologicum Magnum has
as oneofitsdefinitionsofrhombos"a littleplankusedinmysteries which
they(thepractitioners) whirlup intotheair and producea sound"
( pluOTtKx1
T61pc"4 aavtpIi 8 api<povouw EigTbv&ipa X
iPKa qov pOtoo10o031).
The factthatthisimplement is whirledintheair and describedas a
littleplank(aaviSiov)makes"bull-roarer" theonlylikelytranslation.44
Adegree offluidityinthemeaning ofrhombos,however, underscores

as
rotation a fundamental and sharedcharacteristic
ofthetopandthe
bull-roarer. Thisqualityis reflectedin thewordsthatdesignatesuch
objects,including thewordrhombos, whichisderived fromiPPa3opat "to
roam,rollaround, rotate:'Thewordstrobilosbelongstoa large"expres-
sive"groupofwordsultimately relatedto orpicpw"torotate,twist,"
e.g. orp63oPandorpo~i3oq ' rpop& "towhirl;',"
"whirlwind," opEIX6
"twisted,'andtheHomeric atp61pppoq
"whipping top."45
Spinningleads directlyto the second qualitysharedby such
toys-they all producea remarkable sound.Therhombos, according to
Arkhytas (1.57),producesa low-pitched soundifwhirledslowlyand
a high-pitched one ifwhirledfast.In Nonnos'Dionysiaka therhombos
is called puKr t&)p, "bellower,"and compared to thunder (41.81).
conclusionthatancientscholarship is wrongon thispoint,in contrastto Eitrem

(1942:78-79),
Nelson(1940),andJohnston esp.94n15).
(1990:93-95, Johnston
doubtsthat
bull-roarers
wereevenknown inancientGreece, ofthemon
sincewehavenodepictions
vases.
302.28.Cf.Etymologicum
3 Hesykhioss.v. 6p3oq,Scholia on Protreptikos Magnums.v.
06043oq.
44 Rotation
throughtheairisalsomentioned inEuripides
Helen Theuseof
1362-1363.
a rhombosasa weaponinNonnos (Dionysiaka andthemetaphor-
29.190-192),
14.400-402,
icaluseoftheword byPindar (Isthmian 13.94)
4.47,Olympian makemostsenseifrhombos
designatesthebull-roarer.
45 Thevoicedfinalconsonant oftherootis thought feature
tobe an"expressive"
(Chantraine Risch(1974:173)
1968s.v.otrpEPX6q). groupsorp6ap3oq withwords
together
denoting
soundsandending in-Ioq,suchas aipap3o,
KovaI3o,pXoiopoq, suggesting
3oq might
thatarp6'p havebeenderived orp opw
from onthebasisofthese
analogically
words.This, doesnothelptoaccount
however, fortheexpressivenasalrather remi-
niscent
ofthenasalinfix (cf.ii6ow),
in uvy( andperhaps thereis another possibility,
namelythatorp63poqisbasedonananalogy withb6lppoq,
which object.
is a similar
Elsewhere, itis oftenpairedwiththetympana as a characteristicpart

ofthepandemonium ofthemysteries andorgiastic Otherspin-
rites.46
ningtoysalso producea sound.Johnston hasshownthatthemagical
properties oftheiynx-wheel layintheseductive andenchanting voice
produced byitsfastrotation.47 Eventopsareaudibletoys,andtheword
bembixmeansboth"whipping top"and"buzzing insect."48
Another the
qualitysharedby topandthebull-roarer is a whipping
It is enoughforPeisetairosinAristophanes'
effect. Birds(1460-1463)
to hearthewordbembix "whippingtop"forhimto pullouta whip.
The bull-roarer itselfis essentially
a whipwitha plankattachedto
it,and occasionally seems to usedas such.Forexample,a maenad
be
in Nonnos'Dionysiaka turnsher improvised rhombos intoa weapon
(14.400-402):
5' Ef3otrpuvTEEcTOKpTrqGE
OrrltX6pr KUSOlppp,
Kai Sqriwv gaaEuE 6paP
y'vog rlj~tjvopt
K61ppaa SwtvEouaaP3ap63popca
6,iuy XaXK().
richinclusters
Stesikhore, ofgrapes,jumped
intothefray
and
a of
scattered tribe enemies withher manbreaking
rhombos,
whirlingherloudly-clashingcymbalswithdoublebronze.
A directreference to a rhombos whippinga personis containedin an
otherwiseobscurefragment ofEupolis(fr.83Kassel-Austin):
'6p13E
cW
pariaa q pi, "Orhombos whowhipped me"
Thespinning toys,then,all sharethreecardinal
features:
spinning,
and
sound, whipping. Giventhese onemightexpectany
similarities,
oneoftheseobjectstosuffice ina setofDionysos'toys,butthefactthat
everyattested listmentionsat leasttwoofthemsuggests thatdifferent
46E.g.Pindarfr.70b.9(Dithyramb
2),AP6.165,
Diogenes
Trag.1.1-4,
Apollonios
Rhodios
1.1139.
47Johnston 1995:180-189.Onthesoundoftheiynx see alsoGow1934:5n13, Johnston
1990:95.lynxisalsothenameofa bird,thewryneck, whichhasanunusual voice(Aristotle
HistoryofAnimals 504all). Thewordiynxis itselfonomatopoeic andhas an apparently
"expressive" absentintherelatedverbi6o "shout,
nasalinfix, yell,buzz"(ofbees)and
ivyii"shrieking"(ofhumans) or"hissing"(ofsnakes).
48 Cf.06appuo,
a low-sounding Popp6o"booming,
flute, humming," Polpao "torumble
(ofthunder),hum,buzz"(ofinsects), etc.
180 OlgaLevaniouk
spinning on a themeandthatthisthemeis impor-

toysarevariations
tantenoughtothemysteries to meritbothemphasisandnuance.For
kanosandrhombos, thetheme,I suggest,
is mania,
whilethevariations
are determined bytheparticularcodeofthemysteries,includingthe
ritualstagesandtherolesoftheparticipants.
InwhatfollowsI examine
themultiple waysinwhichthespinning toys,kdnosandrhombos,point
totheexperience ofmaniainthemysteries.
III. SPINNINGTOYS AS SYMBOLA
Noise,spinning,andwhipping are all partoftheDionysiac mysteries.

Dionysosoftenappearsto the accompaniment of rattles,clappers,
tambourines, cymbals,and auloi.49
The eery"bellowing" ofthe bull-
roareris a fitting
additionto theseinstruments,s0 and it musthave
beencommon enoughinthemysteries tobe listedbyEpiphanios inhis
spiteful
summary paraphernalia:
ofinitiatory
r6parcvaTE Kai n6nava, 6poR rTEM Kci K~hXaOo, pEa
E'Epyc[aPvfl Kcni KUl3PCXROVKal KUKEWV EV EKTITWpcTl
KCZsE(KEUCOPVO(.S1
drumsand cakes,rhombosand basket,workedwool and

cymbals
andkyke5n ina drinking
prepared cup.
The rhombos
is notconfinedto the Dionysiacrites,and Apollonios
forexample,
Rhodios, putsone in thehandsofRhea'sworshippers.52
Buttheuproaris especially thegodwhois himself
typicalofDionysos,
"theroarer,"
pp6ipoq, andipippo qo"roaring"53
andwhosecharacter-
49 See Bremmer1984:277-280with references;on the "pandemonium"of Dionysos,

see Otto1965:92-94.On bull-roarersin initiationsthroughoutthe world,see Pettazzoni
1997:19-43.On clatterassociated with chthonicdeities and theiranodoi,see B6rard
1974:75-87.
50 West1983:57.
51 Panarion(Adversus
haereses)
3.510.15(OF34).
52 ApolloniosRhodios 1.1139: f56p(pKai Tupvtvy~ 'Pvsiv Fp6yEq iXdaoKovTxl,cf.
DiogenesTrag.1.3-4.
53 Pratinasfr.1,AeschylusEumenides24, Pindarfr.75 (Bp6ptov8v t' 'Eptp6av sEfporol
KaXiopEv),Homeric Hymn 7.56,Anakreon11 Bergk.
toDionysos
isticgenre,thedithyramb, is calledptiop36aq"mingledwithshouts"by
Aeschylus.54
Whenitappearsin connection withDionysos, therhomboscan be
presentedinwaysespecially suitedtothegod'steletai.
Forexample, the
soundoftherhombos is described as "bellowing;'
andthisbringsitinto
contactwiththebovineaspectofDionysos, pervasive
inthemysteries.55
When Nonnos furthercomparesthe"bellower" (pUKr~top)
rhombos to
therumbling ofthunder,56he is notinventing anythingnew,sincethe
samecombination ofsound-images occursinAeschylus'Edonians(fr.
57. 8-11 Radt):
travp6pOoyyoi
6' U6Topi)UKOvrat
rtoOEv&cp Plipot
avo30qpop3Epol
rlupTivou5' EiKLwVWoO'6Uroyaiou
ppovriqcptpEzcuaPpUappl3qS.57
frightening
mimeswithvoiceslikebullsbellowinresponse
fromsomewhere soundlikethatof
unseen;anda terrifying
thedrumrollsas ifitwasan underground
thunder.
Thesubjectofthetrilogyis Lykourgos'
violenceagainstDionysos,58
andseveralparticulars
ofthisdescription
reappear inEuripides Bacchae,
the bull,the earthquake,
including and thedisorientating effectof
54 Fr.355,cf.Arkhilokhos
120.2.
55 Dionysos isbothdescribedandaddressed
as a bull(Plutarch Graecae
Questiones 299b
ina hymn
[C'1eMOripE toDionysos
sungbywomen ofElis],
Euripides 1017)and
Bacchae
worshippedas 3ouyEvtiv
inArgos
(PlutarchDeIside 364).IntheDionysiac
etOsiride thiasoi
thereareboukoloi,
including [OUK6Xot
XopEiGoaVTES intwoPergamene inscriptions
(IG
Rome 4.386,
Friinkel Theterm
1890:95n486). occursinnumerousinscriptions,
theearliest
ofwhichdatetothereign
ofAugustus(Radt andinother
1988:199-200), initiation-related
texts, theGurob
including (P.Gurob
papyrus 1.25)andtheOrphichymns (OH1.10,31.70).
Thefirst
literary
mention inconnection
ofboukolos withDionysosisEuripides
Antiopefr.
'Av0pconoppafosrlq
1,37 (Snell).OntheislandofTenedos,Dionysos receiveda sacrifice
strangely ofthe"Orphic"
reminiscent calf,
a new-born
myth: whose
mother hadbeen
asa woman
treated wasdressed
delivery,
after upinbuskins
andthen withanaxe
killed
(AelianNA12.34;seeHenrichs
1981:222).
56Nonnos41.81 36pp,at22.134,
(cf.puKilToplo which tothunder).
alsorefers
57SeeBerard
1974:83onthispassage
andtheeffects
ofbull-roarers.
58Scholia
onAristophanesThesmophoriazousai
134.
182 OlgaLevaniouk
Dionysos'noisymadness.59Thunderandlightning featureprominently
inthemyths ofDionysos,andenactments ofthemmight havebeenpart
ofmystic as suggested
initiations, bySeaford.60Likethebull-imitators
inEdonians,therhombos wasdoubtlessusedto frightentheneophytes,
itseffect
augmented bythefactthatwhenitis inmotion, thestartling
soundoftherhombos seemsto comeoutofnowhere, E( dpcavouo,
like
Fear
thunder. andconfusion in generalare a well-attested
featureof
Plutarch
initiations. testifies
toexperiencing things,
"allkindsoffearful
and sweatand wonder"(z& 6Etv&xiv~ra,<ppfKrl
terrorandtrembling Kai
Tp6poq KCaiSptdq
Kal0Oap3ORq,
fr.178),whileProklosdescribes
theiniti-
as
ates being of
full astonishmentand fear: Oat
KaTaiXTjTTEr 5
6ElplTwv
OEiwVtX4PEsqyIyvopEvouq (on Republic
2.108.21-22).61
WhenEuripidesdescribesthe whirlingof the rhombos as KUKXIOq
Evooq'aiOEpfa,"rotatingearthquakein the air" (Helen1361-1362),the
veryparadoxofthisexpressionmayrepresent thelanguageofthe
mysteries.
AsSeaford
hasargued,Polyphemos inEuripides'
Cyclops
has
a mystic
visionofskyconfusedwiththeearth(578-580),reminiscent
bothofthe"earthquakeintheair"(EvoaotaiOEpia)andofitsopposite
59 Seaford1996:195-197on the epiphanyofDionysosin Bacchae,and 26-27 on Bacchae

and Edonians.
60 Seaford1996:196-197.In threeof the Orphicgold lamellaefromThurii(Al, A2,A3),
thedeceasedis saidtobe struck Zuntz(1971:316)
bylightning. andRohde(1925:448n54)
thoughtthattheselamellaebelonged killedinthisway,butitismore
to peopleactually
likely
thattheclaimhasdeepersignificance,
as arguedbyGraf Beingstruck
1993:253-254.
bylightning bothoftheTitansintheOrphicmyth(see note2 for
is a fatereminiscent
references)
andofDionysos' Semele(e.g.PindarOlympian
mother, Apollodoros
2.24-30,
3.4.3,DiodorusSiculus3.64.3,5.52.2).Additionalevidenceis collectedand discussedby
Bernab62001:148-155. he notesthata versionofOrpheus'
In particular, deathinvolves
lightning(Alkidamas, 24,Pausanias 9.30.5,DiogenesLaertios1.5),just as a more
Odysseus
widespread ofhisdeathinvolves
version Westobserves
sparagmos. thatzigzagincisions
on bonetablets
from Olbiamayrepresentlightning
(West1982:19).Onlightning inthe
Orphiclamellae
andas an instrument see alsoEdmonds
ofapotheosis, 2004:73-75.The
initiates
chorusofCretan Cretans
inEuripides' maymention thunder(ppovrwq)
inconnec-
tionwiththe"night-wanderingZagreus"andbecoming a mystis
anda bakkhos (fr.472
Kannicht= 79Austin),
buttherearetextualproblemsinline11(seealsoCollard, Cropp,
and Van Looy2000:323,CantarellaF3).
and Lee 1995:58,Jouan
61Onterrifying
apparitions
in themysteries
andon demonsandotherpowerswho
tryto frighten
and impedethe initiate,see Johnston1999:129-139,esp. 133-136.On the
confrontation
initiates' withthepowersoftheunderworld
intheOrphic see
goldtablets,
Edmonds2004:55-109.
number, thunder undertheground(I6noyafouv inAeschylus'

ppovrfi),
Edonians (fr.57.1Radt10-11).Sinceanallusiontothemysteriesishighly
probableinall threecases,itis likely
thatthunder andearthquake had
someconcretereferential meaningfortheaudiencefamiliar withthe
rites.In thiscase,therhombos-symbolon couldevokespecificpartsof
thecodeofthemysteries: theinitiate's thebellowing
fear, bull,thunder
andlightning, earthquake,and cosmicconfusion. IntheEdonians,the
raup6<poyyo pipot"mimeswithvoiceslikebulls"appearintheimme-
diateproximity oftheearthquake, whileintheBacchae itis precisely
whentheearthquake shakesthehouseofPentheus, andSemele'stomb
ignitesas ifbylightning,thatPentheus beginstoconfuse
first Dionysos
witha bull(618-624).62Ifthiscombination ofthunder,earthquake,and
thebull'sappearancewas partofthemysteries, thentherhombos is
likelytohavebeenusedatthisstageofthetelete andtopointbackto it
as a symbolon.
Bound(1082-1088)thunderis againcomparedto the
In Prometheus
bellowingofcattle,theearthquakes,andthecontext is precisely
the
maniaafflicting therhombos
thebovineIo. Although is notmentioned,
therearestromboi("whirlwinds"),
partofa suddenandfearful storm
whichsignalstherenewed attackofmadness a
after brief reprieve:
KalPilV EpyLP KOUOKE~t pUOy
XOva aEYaEduat"
3pvXifa npapuKaKTar
5' ilX T
ppovtfiq,EXLKEq 5' KXaplTnovct
UTEporCfiq d6xvpot, acrp6oppol
6 K6vIV
eiMiaaouaGv aKtpri06'-cvawv
nvEpaacra TdavtCOwvEiq&UX7UXa
avrtTVOUV
aortatv o ToA5ELKVlupEva,
ouvtETarpaKatl 6' aiO)ipn6vo-
no longerjust in word,theearthis rocking.
In reality, The
soundofthunder inresponse,
thedeepbellows
from fiery
62Cf.Bacchae
6-8,whereDionysos
points
outSemele's
grave
andtheruinsofher
andemitsmoke.
stillsmolder
housewhich death
Semele's isassociated
bylightning with
apotheosis(PindarOlympian
2.27, Diodoros 5.52.2,OH 44.4-5;cf.Hesiod Theogony
940-
942).
184 OlgaLevaniouk
coilsoflightning up,andwhirlwinds
flare The
thedust.
swirl
blastsofthewindsleap,allblowingindiscord each
against
other,andtheskyismixed withthesea.
AsPadelhasshown,meteorologicalmetaphorsarefundamental
totheGreekunderstanding
ofmadness andfitinwiththecontempo-
rary andbiological
medical ideasaboutfluids
(orfloods)
and"breaths"
(orwinds).63
Thesemantic
fieldofthespinning withthis
toysoverlaps
meteorological
metaphor, andbothstrombos andstrobilos
candesignate
a whirlwind.64
Thewhirlwind combines twofeaturesofmania,storm
andcircularmovement, intoa singleimage,andthisimagecanbe
evoked
directly bythespinning toys.
Justaspandemonium andstorm aretelltale sotoois
signsofmania,
theimpetuousmotionofitsvictims.InPrometheusBound,
thewindsare
saidtojump(oKlprT),
andtheexpression thepoeticdescription
recalls
ofmaenads,whoalsoleap,jump,run,andwhirl, sometimesunderthe
of"breaths,"'
influence as intheBacchae(1094-1095):
C E XEIPCIppou
6t1 vnfrlý
t' rSIctwv8Eo0Tvoaroiv aPPXVEIý.65
4ypcOv
ravineand cliff
acrossa wintry theyleapedcrazedwiththe
breathsofthegod.
featureofsuchmotionis itslackofdirection:
A distinguishing a
maenadinthegripofmaniarunsneitherto norawayfromanything
butinsteadis compelledbya mysterious
definable, intoxicating
force
thatovertakesherwholeperson.Asa result,themotionassociatedwith
maniais oftencircular.
In theBacchae,
for example, themaenadsare
describedas iXoao6pEva"whirling"(569),justas theyaremuchlater
63 Padel1992:81-88.
64 strombos:AeschylusPrometheus Bound1084,fr.195.3;strobilos:
e.g. AristotleDe Mundo
395a7,EpicurusEpistulae2.47,Menanderfr.536.4,LucianToxaris19.
65 cf.e.g. EuripidesBacchae324 (KWxovaiyEtTaX6nouvOtKlppTipa~ol ciKXa) and 446
(oKtprzoa).The same kindofmovementis typicalofothersafflicted by divinemadness,
Dionysiacor otherwise,fromIo (Prometheus Bound765-766: ppGavEoGKlptlpctTqlGooov)
to objectsofHellenisticeroticspells (e.g. cSadoraclarilytjv iK tavrTqcT65Iou
EKTxrl6floa
Kal TdoriqOiKiaqSupplementum Magicum42.37-38,cf.PGMXIXa.50-55,PGMXXXVI.69-70,
Supplementum Magicum 40.18,45.46.)
in Nonnos (44.275), and maddened Io in Prometheus

Bounddescribes
herself
as oiorpo56ivlroq byanoistros"
"setspinning (589).
Circular
motionisthequintessential ofboththebull-
characteristic
roarerand whippingtop.Justas maenadsare Xtaoo61PEVac,
so is the
rhombos 1361).In Theokritos2.40-41theactionof
in Helen(XtocaopivVa,
therhombos
is described
bytheverb5tvo:
XWC q 'Ayppo5iarC
slVELP'O E b6P3oq6 XacXKEo ,
q tljvoq6SvoiroTroO' O6patoiv.
&aEpiCpatal
as thisbronzerhombos
iswhirled
bythepowerofAphrodite
so lethimwhirltomydoor.
Here,in an enactment ofan eroticspell,Simaithawantsto bindthe
treacherousDelphisto a circularpaththatwillalwaysbringhimback
to herdoor.Themagicalactionthatis supposedtoeffect thisresultis
thewhirling oftherhombos.66
A similarcombination of images,including madnessand forced
motion,is reflectedin Pindar's Pythian4.213-219,where Aphrodite
teachesJasonhowtousea iynx-bird
as a love-charm
forthefirst
time:
En6rvta
5' 6~vr&Tov
I3EhXWV
'ivyyc(a
totoKXav rTEpcKVapoVOOXulrt6OEV
pacvd6'
6pvtvKunpoy~vEa
q(PPEV
pacvd6'6pvtv
Kunpoy~vEaq(PPEV
npGWrov XITciq' `taoti5&
&vOpmotoIyAI
ooyqbv Aiaovi5av
KL5tSxOKrlYEV
&p~XOtr'ai&X
&opa MqSEiaqRTOKELOV nOEwvM&
5'
'EXX&Rq
cwaCv
nrIEto00.67
SOVE~opdaroyt
Ev qpaci KMcOpEVav
66 Cf.theappearances
oftherhombos
inPGMIV.2291,
whichsuggests
thattherewasno
sharpdivision
betweenitsuseinmysteries
andinmagic:i6tppov
aoprptWo
oo, KUp43awV
o0x inhropat.
Thepairingofrhombos
and kymbala ofthemysteries;
is reminiscent cf.
IV.673and IV.2329-2333, is used as partofa orlaPEiov.
whererhombos Cf.also PGMXII.116,
XIXa.4.
67Johnston(1995)analyzesPindar'siynx
as a magicaldevicewhichaffected
peopleby
meansofsoundanddiscusses itsfunctions
withinthelargerframeofthepoem.Faraone
(1993)hasarguedthattheiynx-bird
isheretortured toa stationary
bybeingaffixed wheel,
a common formoftorture.Fora critiqueofhisargument, seeJohnston 1995:178-180.
186 OlgaLevaniouk
AndKyprogeneia, the mistressof the sharpestarrows,

brought
from Olympos tomortals timethebirdof
forthefirst
madness,thedappledwryneck havingyokedit,four-
(iynx),
to an inescapable
spoked, wheel,andtaughtthewisesonof
Aisonprayersandspells,so thathe mightdepriveMedeaof
forherparentsand so thatlonged-for
respect Hellasmight
speedheron,burninginherheart, witha whipofpersuasion.
Theverb6ovEow used herebyPindardenotesrandom(although
not specificallycircular)motion,68 and createsthe same impres-
sionconveyed elsewhere bycircularity,thatis,agitatedand involun-
tarymovement, whichMedea's eroticmaniashareswithDionysiac
madness.69
Thevictimsofmaniaaredriven, andthecompelled or compulsive
qualityoftheirmovement is capturedbytheimageofa whipora goad
lashingthemon.In Pindar'sPythian 4,Medeais compelled bya "whip
of persuasion"(pdantytIHEt00o ),7Oin Prometheus Bound(682-683), Io
envisagesthegadfly (oistros) whichstingsheras a whip(pa'oityt
OEiq
yfivrtpbyf Xacvopat, "I am drivenwitha divinewhipfromlandto
land"),andinIliad6.135thenursesof"madDionysos" runandscatter
undertheblowsofa cow-whip orgoad(OEIV6aPEVaI
Poutfiyt).
The bull-roarerand the whippingtop bringto mindbothfast,
circularmotionand the whippingeffect, but thereis a difference
betweenthetwotoys:whilethe rhombos whips,thetop suffers the
whipping.Likethemaenadsandthecrazedcows(suchas Io),thewhip-
68 Braswell(1988 ad loc.) translates5oviot as "setsherawhirl" andSegal(1986:87)as
"setsherheartwhirling," whileFaraonetranslates 5oviotas "mightstrike"(1993:3).As
faras I cansee,thisverbnevermeanssimply "tostrike"butalways"tosetin motion,"
circular orotherwise. Thereareplentyofexamples wherethisverbclearlydoesdenote
a circular movement (as,e.g.,inHerodotos 4.2.9,wheretheScythians stirmilkto sepa-
ratecream, andcf.Nemean 6.55-57,whereSovdois echoedby iaooao), andthereare
alsomanyexamples wherethisverbdenotesagitation thatis notspecifically
circular.
Johnston (1995:181-182)suggests "excite"or"arouse"as suitable totheeroticcontext of
Pindar's poem.
69Thesameverbcanbe usedtodescribe themovement oftherhombos (Hesykhioss.v.
56p~PoP" oi .fintra
(vuriptov, xai v aiýrezEXraiT
T6omxapriov,
K ESovEiro,
va o01gj).
70 Thiscomplicated mayreferdirectly
expression to theleatherthongbymeansof
whichtheiynx whilemetaphorically
isrotated, alsoconveying thenotionofcompulsion
andevenviolence Medea,as suggested
usedagainst byJohnston 1995:189-191.
pingtopis hitand sentspinning, andtheactionofdriving it can be

describedbytheverb rXau'vw, also usedofdriving
cattle.71
Theimage
ofthetopthusseemsto invitethethought ofwhipping.InBirds(1460-
1464),forexample,an informerwhowishestoacquirethe"swift wings
Athensandthe
ofa hawkor kestrel"(so thathe can shuttlebetween
othercities, foreigners
cheating outoftheirproperty)
compares himself
to a whippingtop (bembix)because ofitsspeed.Oncethecomparisonis
thewhipappearsatonce:
introduced,
EUKopoVTwrl" ncvT' )XE'q"
oU6'v6tayrppEIV
PI3eitKOq 6Ei.
rIE10taipoq, pGavOrvo
rv Afa,
KXipijv cripot,,vi T
13EI31Kc.
KXXlatorKopKup'iarotaUri TsEpdc.
EUKOYavrT1qC OiyPOl,
TdXaq,paOrty')XEs".
Youunderstand
Informer: Youhavetobe no
mecompletely.
different
froma whipping
top.
Peisetairos:I understandwhatyoumeanbya "whippingtop."
Andin factI have,byZeus,themostexcellent
Korkyraian
wingsofjustthiskind.
Ohno,youhavea whip!
Informer:
Similarly,
inPs.-Lucian's
Onos(42.20)thenarrator,
turned intoan ass,is
beatenbycanesandcompares himselftoa spinning
top:
Xa3p6vrEq yap noXXoLrITv v5ov xKrTpicaq lTEpticravra
(q oijX6pvW5a,cafouavw
pE Kal pflTnpoG6oKrflYavra, &0p6a
tfjXEpi,6aOTEPEI6n6Tfiq 6anEparp64ppov
TrXATyiq iýanCvrl
arp&pEaOai.
Formanyofthoseinsidetookup canes and,withoutmy
theystruckme with
expectingit,forI couldsee nothing,
incessantblowsstandingaroundme,so thatI suddenly
begantospinundertheirblowslikea top.
Epigram1.12,wheretwoboyswhiptheir
71 E.g.Kallimakhos tops(B13ELPlKE),
sayingto
eachother,"Driveyourown!":ti"vKaarc
oautvv xa.
188 OlgaLevaniouk
Likethoseaffected bymania,the ass cannotescape:he is caughtin

theclosedcircleofhistormentors, andtheresultis a frantic circular
motion,likethatof a top.
Themetaphorical description ofmaniaas beingdriven bya whiphas
itscounterpartinactualwhipping orbeatingas partofthemysteries.7
Ritualbeatingis suggested bya terminHesykhios: 0upoopnXfiyE" oi Ev
toiRBaKXEI{OUEVOEac6p1EVOI "thyrsos-struck:
those transported during
Bacchicrevelry" Thewingedfigure ontheVillaoftheMysteries fresco
raisesa rodovera woman'sbaredback,"and womenwereflogged
(paa~nryoovscayuvacKEq) at the Skiereia,a festivalofDionysoscele-
bratedinArcadian Alea(Pausanias8.23.1).Clement, in hisinterpreta-
tionofthemysterious line(ascribedbyhimto "somepoet") vy 6pEtT6
KpulptOV,3ouK6OXo, 6TK~wvpov "inthemountain thecowherd [carries?]
a secretgoad" (Protreptikos
2.16.3),associatesthe thyrsos, ifnot directly
with beatingduringinitiation,then at least with the parallel theme
of cow beating.He takes kentronin this line to referto the narthex.In
depictionsofhis death,Pentheusis sometimesstruckby maenads
withtheirthyrsoi,
possibly
a mythicanalogueto ritualflagellation,
as
suggestedbySeaford,whopointsoutthatflagellationis alsoa partof
theinitiatory
proceduresatthealtarofArtemis Flagellation
Orthia.74 in
themysteriesmaylurkbehindthecompetitivewhipping thatDionysos
and Xanthiasundergoin Aristophanes'Frogs(643),wherebothare
struckinturn nap
(nXqy1lyv whileearlierintheplay(618)
-rAnyrjv),75
Xanthias suggeststhat Dionysos be beaten with a "pricklywhip"
(6irptXiX5).
Xanthias torments
fanciesexaggerated forhismaster,
but
72 On ritualflagellationin the mysteries,see Merkelbach1962:33-34and 1988:113-114

and Vermaseren1959:749-750.An ordealor torturewas partofmanyinitiations(see e.g.
Brelich1969:31-32, Burkert1987:102-104).Pseudo-Nonnos39.18mentionstortureunder-
gonebyMithraic andcf.depictionsand descriptionofErotesbeatingandburning
initiates,
Psyche(ref.in Merkelbach1962:34)and ApuleiusMetamorphoses 6.9-10,wherePsycheis
whipped(flagellis 9.3)and otherwisetortured.Strepsiadesassociatestorturewith
afflictam,
initiationsinClouds439-442,justas Socratesand Ktesipposin Plato'sEuthydemos 285c.On
Xanthias'suggestionsfortorturing Dionysos(Frogs618-622),see Lada-Richards1999:73.
73 Maiuri1947:156-161, tab.X-XIand fig.46.
74 Seaford1981:262. Lada-Richards(1999:74)pointsout thatthe flagellationin the cult
ofOrthiais a "resistancetest,"as is the floggingofDionysosand Xanthiasin Frogs(both
pretendto feelno pain,634-639).
75 See Lada-Richards 1999:74on thisepisode.
some kindof ritualbeatingmusthave been a commonenoughproce-

dure.Beatingis certainlywhat Congrioin Plautus'Aulularia(408-409)
expectsfromthe "Bacchants":
Neque ego umquam,nisihodie,ad Bacchasveniin

Bacchanalcoquinatum,
Ita me miserumet meos discipulosfustibusmale
contuderunt.
I have never,apartfromtoday,gone to cook forBacchantsin
a Bacchanal.Whata terriblebeatingwithcanes theygave to
poor me and to mydisciples!
Finally,whippingat themysteriesis clearlyimpliedin the wordsof

Kleitophonin AkhilleusTatios(5.23.6):76
y 6W5 TEp ~pazEvu piy Prd0'
rlj6~vfjEiv, otnPq
6
avepwoq AJv yET[UTEV,6tonrTE6oaq8
pri' o' X0plV 6ET1KaKiV
(X6E50KE1V
EIVca aP6IvaaOcL, KLrOt 6UV(PEVOq.
But I, as ifin a mystery

rite,knewnothing,neitherwho this
personwas, nor whyhe struckme,but suspectingsome evil
I was afraidto defendmyself, eventhoughI was capableofit.
The comparisonwithmysteriesis herebased notonlyon themerefact

of beating,but also on Kleitophon'sconfusion:"as in a mysteryrite"
(6WOaEp v pLUorprP
ip) he does notunderstandwho is hitting himor why.
The unexpectednessofthe attackis a salientfeatureofthe mysteries-
plot,presentin the mythsof Dionysosand Kore,and emphasizedin
bothcases by theirinnocentplay immediately beforedeath.The same
suddenness and unpredictability is a hallmarkof Dionysos' manic
power.Kleitophon'sunexpectedbeatingsuggeststhatsome sort of a
pointedlysudden attackon the initiateswas stagedat the mysteries.
It is noteworthythat in Ps.-Lucian(42.20) the ass is blindfoldedand
does not knowthat he is surrounded,so thatthe caningtakes himby
surprise(pil npoo6oKjlOaVTa).77Not beingable to tellwherethe blows
76 See the commentsofMerkelbach1962:143.

77 cf.thecorresponding
sceneinApuleius
Metamorphoses
9.11.Theasshasstrong
asso-
190 OlgaLevaniouk
arecoming from,hespinslikea top,andthepictureingeneralisrather

reminiscentofthefamiliarimageofa confusednovicesurrounded and
observedbyhisinitiators.In thesameway,Dionysosstandscloseby
and quietlyobservesas Pentheus,pantingand drippingwithsweat,
struggles
throughhis ponoi(Bacchae618-622).
Butiftheass,surrounded byhistormentors, is reminiscentofan
so is thetop.Onewayofplayingwitha whipping
initiate, topis for
severalplayersto standin a circleand drivethetopbackandforth
acrosstheplayspace.78 Suddenly whipped intomotionandspedonand
onbyfurther blows,thetopneverescapesthecircleofplayers, andis
almostcomically likethefranticneophyte subjectedto ordealsbyhis
calminitiators. Asa symbolonofthemysteries, then,thetopcaptures
notonlythewhipping andcircularmotion, butthesuddenness ofthe
attack,theconfusion, fear,and painoftheneophyte, and eventhe
contrastbetween thecalminitiatorsandthefrantic novices.Thespin-
ningandwhipping aretypicalofmaniaingeneral, butas a symbolonof
themysteries, thetoppointsmoreconcretely to manicexperiences as
seenthrough andemotional
thevisual,acoustic, codeoftheteletai.
Another partofthiscode,andyetanotherimageofmania,is the
oistros,
ormyops, thegadfly,whichalsohasmanypointsofcontact with
spinningtoys.79 Thestingofthisinsectis typically
compared toa whip,
andthewordmyops caninfactmean,literally,"goad"or"whip."80 The
gadflyis a standardfeaturein descriptions ofmadness-sostandard
withDionysos,
ciations thekamos,
andthemysteries. Xanthias'
remark atFrogs159('ycd
yoNv 6voq&y puvacrjpoa)
remains butsuggests
unclear, thattheass hada specific
roleto
Thebestevidence
playinthemysteries. foritis theGurobpapyrus,where6voýappears
in line 19 (578F Bernabe,OF31 Kern).
78 As described, e.g.inVergil
Aeneid7.375-381,cf.depiction
ofthegameona Baltimore
kylix Chiusi(ARVI
from 445.251). waystoplaywiththetop,inantiquity
Onvarious andin
modernSicily,
see Caputo1933,esp. 187-191,and Daremberg-Saglio
1877-1919:541.
79Thefollowingdiscussion
ofoistros
is ofnecessity
veryreductive.
Fora fuller
discus-
sion,including andpoisonanditsstrong
aboutoistros
speculation tiestoHeraand"cow-
see Padel 1992:120-122.
sexuality,"
80 E.g.XenophonEquites8.5,Theophrastoscharacters
21.8,Kerkidas8.2,etc. One rele-
ofthisusageis intheScholiaon Iliad6.131,thestoryofDionysos
vantattestation and
Lykourgos.
CitingtheEuropiaofEumelosofKorinth, the ScholiasaythatLykourgos
droveDionysos
outofthecountry witha goad(lpownm)whilebeingdrivenbythewhipof
madness(0Erl)Xd'6'XaUvv6pEvoq Schol.Hom.Z 131,PEGBernabe
pdortyt): 11[10 K].
thatthewordoistros itselfcomesto mean"madness"81and produces

severalderivativeswiththismeaning.In Euripides'
Bacchae(32-33),
Dionysosspurs(literally thewomenoutoftheirhouses(iK
"gadflies")
6aorpoa'yw1pavicatq)
56pWcov andthecrowdofwomenis describedas
byhim(oiorpqOEiq
"gadflied" Atov6ocp,
119).Themaenadsthemselves
are describedas oiorpoXfiyaq,"oistros-struck"
(Bacchae979,1229),just
and oiarpo6fivroq
as Io is bothoiorponhiXrj "oistros-spun"
in Prometheus
Bound(589,681).
According theoistros
to Hesykhios, is an insectthatattackscows
morethananyotheranimal,andthereare numerous referencesto
Whenattackedby theoistros,
cowslosingcontrolunderits sting.82
cattlewillrununcontrollably,
andyettheycanneither shakeitoffnor
locatethecauseoftheirsuffering,
becausetheoistros
canclingtoa cow
or even get into its ear.83In Oppian'sHalieutika(521-531),a parasite,
also calledoistros,
clingsto thefinsoftuna,making
themgo wildand
dance unwillinglyunder its "roamingwhip" (508): <portaxn pianoyt
XopEUIPIEV.
Invisible to its victims, inescapable, whipping,buzzing, and
maddening,the oistrosis a perfectinstrumentof mania. It is also
remarkablyreminiscentofspinning toys,especiallyoftherhombos,
a comparison
whichcirclesabovetheplayer'sheadlikea giantinsect,
in factmade in poetry.In an epigramin the Anthology (AP 6.165.1),a
womannamedEuanthededicatesto Bakkhosherrhombos, describedas
"the twined gadfly(myops)of theBacchicthiasos":
otpEitz6vpcaactaplKOD
6pP3ov0tdooto
6 p6owna.This unusual expression underscores the
symbolicpotentialof the rhombos to evoke the whole range of expe-
riences associated with the myopsand oistros.84
It is verylikelythat
81 E.g.SophoclesAntigone 1002,EuripidesOrestes
791,Bacchae665,IphigeniainAulis548;
cf.Herodotos2.93,EuripidesHippolytos 1300,PlatoRepublic577e,AP11.389etc.
82 E.g. Hesykhios(s.v.puo4w),Scholia on Odyssey 10.85,22.299,Eustathioson Odyssey
1.368.18.The oistrosis also the instrumentof the "bovine" Hera (Apollodoros2.112,
AeschylusPrometheus Bound589-593).
83 Eustathioson Odyssey 2.282.39.
84 Therhombos is not the onlyspinningtoythatis assimilatedto an insect.One ofthe
wordsforwhippingtop, bembix,is also used to designatean insect,no doubt because
of its buzzing; but there is an additionallikenessbecause, likethe oistros,this insect
stings:ol6ciye pitV ppdaooaaOata&htXa totio ohWov,I old TEp K 1i tIPKOC 6pEOzpOU Ali
192 OlgaLevaniouk
oistros/myops inthediscourseofthemysteries,
featured bothbecause
it is sucha basicmetaphor formaniain general,and becauseoistros
occursrepeatedly intheOrphicHymns. Twicein theHymnsa prayer
concludes fromoistros
witha requestto freetheworshipper (H-IavtKxv
EKnIsTyWovoiarpovEnit~rppara ycarl "send the oistrosof Pan to the
ends oftheearth"OH11.23; uivXiEKnIEIPTElV
oorUpov EntiTpCPar yaf[ri
"sendtheoistros
ofthesoulto theendsofthe earth"OH71.11),and
thereareseveralotherreferences
to it (OH32.6,70.9).
Thespinning toyspointnotonlytowhatisenactedinthemysteries,
butalsotohowitisenacted. Inparticular,theypointtomimetic dance,
a partofthe
itself central rites. plainly
Lucian states
that itis impossible
to findan initiation
without a dance,8'anda numberofauthors imply
thepossibility ofrevealingthemysteries notonlyin words,butalso
through danceorgesture.86 Thedanceseemsto standforthetotality
oftherites,as itdoesformaenadsintheBacchae whopunishPentheus
forspyingon theirsecretdances(xopoiqKpxpc(pioUq).87
specifically It
seemsthatthemimimata in themysteries were,in general,likelyto
taketheformofa dance.Plato(Laws815a3-6),at anyrate,describes
themimetic performances at "purifications
and initiations" as "a type
of dance" (6px(ioE"q bTyEvoq).In short,the dances are themselves
ofthemysteries,
symbola perhapsthemostimportant symbola.
Theimportance in thecomplexofideasassociated
ofplayfulness
withthemysteries wasprobably inthenatureofsomeofthese
reflected
as itisreflected
dances,just inthepresence for
ofthetoys.Itis striking,
example,howmanyoccurrences oftheverbnai4t arepackedintothe
chorusofinitiatesinAristophanes' whoarehappilydancingina
Frogs,
peXiaMoor
(Nikandros 805-806).
Theriaka Onbeesandbee stingsas imagesofpassionand
mania(especiallyeroticpassion),see Padel 1992:122-123.
85 OnDance15: ~C XAyEIV,
6islTEXETiv os6epiav pXarav EoTv pelypEIv
&vEu6pxrjooEq.
86 LucianAngler33: fkayope6ovTa
(Tiv OEaivtr& dt6pprta Kai
d opXo6pEVOv; cf.Lucian
OnDance 15, Sopatros8.115.11 (pl'ip0ydvepOq, Pi AX6yov y oxqlparT
eiltWV,pl 5rlX6oaqc
'lv rTEXerr~v).
Cf.ArrianEpictetiDissertationes
3.21.16,AkhilleusTatios 4.8.3,Alkiphron
411.25.
3.36.1,P.Oxy.
87 Bacchae1108-1109.Cf.the chorusof mystaiin AristophanesFrogs(354-356),who
prohibit
jokingly fromtheirdancesthosewho"neither
sawnordanced(pljT'EI5EV
Plr'
themysteries
EX6pEuoev) oftheMuses:'
meadow. Moreover,just as athurmais usedofthetoys,so in Laws(796

b6-c2)Platousestheverb&0i6pothewayntaiwis commonly used,to
dancing,
designate and the danceinquestionis alsodescribed
as nat&cl
"play.":88
Butwhileplayfuldance maycorrelatewiththechildishplayof
Dionysosand Persephoneand the eventualblissofthe mystai, it is the
ecstaticdance, mimeticof mania,thatis broughtto mind mostclearly
bythespinningtoys.Such danceswerefastand exuberant,and at least
some ofthem involvedwhirlingand movingin circles.Lawler,in her
studyof maenadic dance on Atticred-figure vases, has foundthat of
those"maenads"that seem to be dancersin performance (as opposed
to maenads "as described in literature"),almost half are "turning
in place." About one tenthof the moremythic-looking maenads also
seemto be turningin place, and manyothersare interpreted byher as
runningin circles.89
Theexuberant danceoftheKouretesis also circular-theydance
aroundthechildtheyguard,sometimesZeus,sometimes Dionysos,90
to thedancearoundtheseatedinitiate
andthisseemsto correspond
ceremony,
duringthethronismos
inthemysteries, as describedbyDio
12.33.6):
(Orations
Chrysostom
E~tR [Ei] KaLTEp EiwO(alV V T' KaXOUPVi) Opoviop
Ka0ioc(VrEq roUb pUOUp~VOUq oi TEXOUVT:EKUKXy ITEpIXop-
EUEIV.91
just as in the so-calledthronismos

ceremony,whenthe initia-
torsseat those who are beinginitiatedand dance in a circle
aroundthem.
88 On the significanceof naitriv and on dance as play,see Henrichs1996:35-38,Bierl

2001:86-96.More generallyon thissubject,see Lonsdale1993.On tail(EtV as used in the
chorusofFrogs,see Dover 1991:174-193,who showsthatit reflectsboth ideas aboutthe
afterlife ofthecomicchorus.
ofthe initiatesand the self-referentiality
89 Lawler1927:87-88.As Lawlerpointsout,spinningis not easy to depictnor,conse-
quently,to recognizeon vases. PossibledepictionsofspinningmaenadsincludeLIMCs.v.
Mainades13,15,20, 27,29,30,33,43, 136,144,145.
90 KallimakhosHymn1, 52, ClementProtreptikos 2.12.The chorusin the Bacchaesees a
linkbetweentheirown dance and thatoftheKorybantes (Bacchae120-125).
91 cf.how the chorusofFrogscalls theinitiatesintothe"sacredcircle"(442).
194 OlgaLevaniouk
As theydance,the Kouretesclash theirarmor,shakerattles,beat

tympana, and-at leastin theOrphicHymns-whirl rhomboi:here(OH
31.1-2)Kouretes aredescribed as rhombos-wielders('oplqrzai).
It comesas no surprise
thatin theScholiato Clement therhombos
andthekanos arethemselves defined as typesofdance,Ei 60pXjaEoq.92
As faras I know,thisis theonlyattestation oftherhombos as dance,
and accordingly it couldbe seenas suspect.Butevenifthescholiast
is stretching
histerminology, he maybe rightin detecting a connec-
tionbetween thedancecharacteristic ofthemysteries andthecircular
movement oftherhombos. Strobilosis certainlyusedas thenameofa
dance,andthisdanceisecstatic." Aclearillustrationistheapogealexit
scene ofAristophanes'Wasps(1529-1530),wherethe sons ofKarkinos,
at theheightofa drunken are urgedtowhirland
dancecompetition,
makethemselves intobembikes, tops:
whipping
KU6KXKal yclrploov
asp6PE,nIap~pactvE aEaUT6V,
iiTuEG
aKX0 Obpodviovo'
PEpP3KEq 'yEVEaOLWV.
Whirl,goina circleandpunchyourself
inthestomach!
kickupyourfeettothesky!Turnyourselvesintospin-
ningtops!
In the Peace (864),the same dancers are describedas strobiloi.
The
spinning mayhavephysiological effectssimilarto head-tossing andis
suitedto orgiastic
particularly rites,"andit is likelythatthiseffect
is
evokedina Hellenistic
epigram wherea maenad'stossedhairisreferred
toas Poi3rltoCb
ITXoKaiOUq (AG6.219.2).Herean adjectivederived from
rhombos notonlydescribes thewoman'shair,butsuggests thewayshe
moves,herproximity to Dionysos,herphysicaland emotional state,
andeverything thatgoeswiththeritualandmythic complexofideas
signaledbyrhombos.
Inconclusion, illustration
a concisebuttelling ofthenexusbetween
maniaandthespinning toyscomesfromVergil,whodrawstogether
manyofthevariousstrandsofmania-discourse in hisdescriptionof
92 Scholiaon Protreptikos
2.17.
93 AristophanesPeace864,Athenaios14.630a.
94 Bremmer1984:278-279.
QueenAmata'smadness.Playandwonder, a top,and a whip

children,
ofAmata'sfrantic
all appearin a description roaming,whichis then
compared toBacchicfrenzy inline385:
Tumveroinfelix, excitamonstris,
ingentibus
immensamsinemorefurit
lymphata perurbem:
ceu quondamtortovolitans turbo,
subverbere
vacuaatriacircum
quempuerimagnoingyro
ludoexercent;ille actushabena
intenti
spatiis;stupetinsciasupra
fertur
curvatis
impubesquemanus,miratavolubile buxum;
dantanimosplagae:non cursusegniorillo
permediasurbesagiturpopulosque
feroces.
Quinetiamin silvas,simulato Bacchi,
numine
maiusadortanefas,maioremque
orsafurorem
evolat...
Aeneid7.376-387
Andthentheunfortunate woman,stirred up byenormous
ragesmadall overthevastcity,
prodigies, as a spinning
top
doessometimes, backandforth
flying underthetwisted lash,
whenboysintenton theirgamedriveitin a largecircleall
throughan emptycourtyard, andit,drivenonbythewhip,
speedson its curvedcourse.The ignorant childishcrowd
leansoverit,stupefied,amazedat thewhirling boxwood.
Theblowsanimateit.No sloweronhercourse,sheis driven
throughthemidstofbothcitiesandsavagepeoples.Indeed,
attempting a greatercrimeand launchinginto greater
madness,she evenfliesto thewoods,as ifunderthepower
ofBacchus...
As symbolaof the mysteries, the toysofDionysosare partof a
coherent symbolicsystem.By virtueofbeingtoys,theybringto mind
boththe child-god'sinitialplayand theeventualaftermath ofthe
whileintensifying,
initiation, bycontrast,theterrifyingcentralact
oftheritual.Beyondthisgeneralfunction ofathurmata,
thespinning
toyshaveadditionalsymbolic Because
values. of peculiar
their features
(eerysound,spinning, and whipping) theklnosandthe rhombosare
196 OlgaLevaniouk
indexicalofDionysiacmania,bothas it is imaginedand as it is enacted

in the mysteries.
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Department of the Classics, Harvard University

The Toys of Dionysos

IN A MYTH ASSOCIATEDWITH HIS MYSTERIES,2the Titanskilltheinfant

Thetoysofmyth correspondtoa setofritualobjects-theso-called

I. "TOYS" IN THE MYSTERIES

Thepapyrusis fragmentary, a ritualcentered,

7 Smyly1921:no. 1,Hordern2000,OF578F Bernabe(31 Kern).

z& y&pAtov6oou vprTpita EX tc, &TndvOpona" 8"vEiaoTL

Forthe mysteries ofDionysosare completelyinhumane:

11 OF307FBernab6(34 Kern)= ClementofAlexandriaProtreptikos 2.17-18.

111.14(OF209),Prokloson Plato's Timaios33b (OF209),NonnosDionysiaka6.165-169,Ps.-

Etiamnecuiquammirum videripotest,cui situllamemoria

whethertheyare thingsor wordsor actions,buttheyseemto encapsu-

one oftheinitiatory experience, theritual,themyths, andthehieroi

20Onhieroilogoisee Henrichs 2003.AsHenrichs shows,thetermimpliessecrecy,but

26 cf.a similaruse of&6'pPaxa in Sapphofr.63.4.

siac mysteries,Dionysos' playingwiththe toys makes the violence

II. SPINNING TOYS

Beyondtheirgeneral function,specifictoyshave additionalassocia-

31 Cf.Anakreon'sEr6s: darpaydXat6' "Epwro EiolvPayviat TEKai Ku6otpOi (fr.398

Okythoa (dedicated)fourknuckle-bones, top,a

argumentis dependenton Horace,Epode17.6,and is moreconvincing forRomanpractice

Hesykhios andtheScholiato Clement(Protreptikos 2.17.2)definethe

Adegree offluidityinthemeaning ofrhombos,however, underscores

conclusionthatancientscholarship is wrongon thispoint,in contrastto Eitrem

Elsewhere, itis oftenpairedwiththetympana as a characteristicpart

spinning on a themeandthatthisthemeis impor-

III. SPINNINGTOYS AS SYMBOLA

Noise,spinning,andwhipping are all partoftheDionysiac mysteries.

drumsand cakes,rhombosand basket,workedwool and

49 See Bremmer1984:277-280with references;on the "pandemonium"of Dionysos,

59 Seaford1996:195-197on the epiphanyofDionysosin Bacchae,and 26-27 on Bacchae

number, thunder undertheground(I6noyafouv inAeschylus'

in Nonnos (44.275), and maddened Io in Prometheus

AndKyprogeneia, the mistressof the sharpestarrows,

pingtopis hitand sentspinning, andtheactionofdriving it can be

Likethoseaffected bymania,the ass cannotescape:he is caughtin

72 On ritualflagellationin the mysteries,see Merkelbach1962:33-34and 1988:113-114

some kindof ritualbeatingmusthave been a commonenoughproce-

Neque ego umquam,nisihodie,ad Bacchasveniin

Finally,whippingat themysteriesis clearlyimpliedin the wordsof

But I, as ifin a mystery

The comparisonwithmysteriesis herebased notonlyon themerefact

76 See the commentsofMerkelbach1962:143.

arecoming from,hespinslikea top,andthepictureingeneralisrather

thatthewordoistros itselfcomesto mean"madness"81and produces

meadow. Moreover,just as athurmais usedofthetoys,so in Laws(796

just as in the so-calledthronismos

88 On the significanceof naitriv and on dance as play,see Henrichs1996:35-38,Bierl

As theydance,the Kouretesclash theirarmor,shakerattles,beat

QueenAmata'smadness.Playandwonder, a top,and a whip

indexicalofDionysiacmania,bothas it is imaginedand as it is enacted

J.,and E. Handley,eds. Aristophane:

Edmonds, R.1999."Tearing AparttheZagreusMyth: AFewDisparaging

Henrichs,A. 1972. Die Phoinikikades Lollianos:Fragmente

Pettazzoni,R. 1997.I misteri:

Simon,E. 1962."Zagreus:Ober orphischeMotivein Campanareliefs."

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