The Return of Dionysus

Ancient-Future Christianity Cutting Down the God of Wine and Madness

Introduction

A while back, I read Jonathan Cahn’s The Return of the Gods, where he argued that the old gods have returned to the modern world under new names. While I agree with some of his points, others make me a bit uncomfortable due to his charismatic leanings. Nonetheless, I believe he is correct in asserting that the old gods have re-emerged, a notion I have supported since at least 2020.

There’s a particular god that I think has quietly returned, yet no one is discussing it: the old Greco-Roman god Dionysius, or Bacchus.

Observing the world today, a discernible pattern of madness and breakdown emerges—patterns historically associated with Dionysus in Greece and Bacchus in Rome. While attributing these patterns to an ancient god may be uncomfortable for some, it provides meaningful insight. It highlights that the pattern of immorality in the world today is spiritual in nature.

Many believe the problem with the West is its loss of religion. The reality is that the West hasn’t lost its religion entirely; rather, it has replaced the Christian faith, centered on Christ's death and resurrection, with the ethos of Dionysius. The West has adopted the patterns of the old pagan gods, which we are not familiar with. Consequently, we fail to recognize the spiritual pattern before us, often dismissing it as mere "secularism."

A Dionysian Revival

In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. Known also as Bacchus—a name later adopted by the Romans—Dionysus was associated with the frenzied state called baccheia that he could induce in his followers.

As Dionysus Eleutherius (The Liberator), his wine, music, and ecstatic dance liberated his followers from self-conscious fear and worry, challenging the oppressive restraints of the powerful.

Dionysus's origins are uncertain, with his cults taking various forms across different regions. Ancient sources describe some of these cults as Thracian, while others are considered Greek. In Orphic traditions, he is depicted as a son of Zeus and Persephone, a chthonic aspect of Zeus, or the twice-born son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. In the Eleusinian Mysteries, he is identified with Iacchus, the son or consort of Demeter. Most accounts agree that he was born in Thrace, traveled extensively, and arrived in Greece as a foreigner. His characteristic of "foreignness" as an arriving outsider-god is fundamental to his cults, reinforcing his role as a god of epiphany, often referred to as "the god who comes."

Wine was central to the worship of Dionysus, representing his earthly incarnation. It could alleviate suffering, bring joy, and induce a state of divine madness. Festivals dedicated to Dionysus included sacred dramas that reenacted his myths, playing a crucial role in the development of Western theatre. Additionally, the cult of Dionysus was known as a "cult of the souls," where his maenads (female followers) provided blood offerings to the dead, establishing him as a divine mediator between the living and the dead. He is sometimes categorized as a dying-and-rising god.

The Romans identified Bacchus with their own Liber Pater, the "Free Father" celebrated in the Liberalia festival, who was the patron of viniculture, wine, male fertility, rituals, and freedoms associated with coming of age and citizenship. However, the Roman state viewed the independent, popular festivals of Bacchus (Bacchanalia) as subversive, partly because these celebrations involved the free mixing of classes and genders, which violated traditional social and moral norms. Consequently, the celebration of Bacchanalia was criminalized, except in its subdued forms and under strict state supervision. Over time, the festivals of Bacchus were merged with those of Liber and Dionysus.

Dionysus is also linked to the imagery of the "Green Man," often depicted adorned with a crown of foliage and grapes. This iconography highlights his deep connection to nature and vegetation. Additionally, there are significant connections between Dionysus and Pan. Pan, a member of Dionysus's retinue, was the master piper who played music for the inebriated revelers. He was also revered as a god of the wild and fertility. Both Dionysus and Pan embody extremes: love and destruction, merriment and madness, and the blending of genders and social classes.

Ultimately, it’s best to understand these gods as symbols of time, or as I prefer to call it, chaos. In Matthieu Pageau’s work, The Language of Creation, time (or chaos) is described as what occurs when heaven and earth are not in harmony. This stands in contrast to space (or order), which represents the alignment between the heavenly pattern and earthly matter, resulting in order. When this alignment fails, the result is a breakdown of order and thus, meaning.

This concept explains why these gods are depicted in vegetation or as "green men." When order dissolves, nature reclaims everything, and foliage takes over, symbolizing a return to chaos. This imagery also ties into their association with the cycles of dying and rising, reflecting the perpetual, cyclical nature of the seasons.

It's no surprise that in recent years, as Western civilization has been turned upside down, these gods have re-emerged as potent symbols. In my essay on The Symbolic World about Green Men in the Church, I discussed the resurgence of Green Man imagery. I wrote:

“Over the last hundred years or so, the symbol of the Green Man has had somewhat of a resurrection.

Aleister Crowley, Thelemic occultist, declared his “Hymn to Pan” to be the “most powerful enchantment ever” and traveled to various places doing dark rituals to the deity. In 2007, Dan Dutton produced a film called The Faun, which centered on the myth of Pan that culminated in a re-staging of the opera in Elkhorn City, Kentucky that was used for the purposes of artistically invoking Pan. Season Two of the paranormal docu-series Hellier ends with a ritual in a cave system in Pulaski County, Kentucky to invoke Pan. The symbol of the Green Man has also found renewed usage in environmental circles as a symbol for our connection to the land. Most recently, the Green Man made an unexpected appearance on the coronation invitation of King Charles III, who is said to have an interest in Perennialism.”

My thoughts are as follows: We are experiencing a Dionysian Revival. The resurgence of Dionysian symbolism is not a coincidence; it has emerged with purpose, conveying a specific message. We have returned to our old gods, much like a dog returning to its vomit. Consequently, we are now living through a modern Bacchanalia, where traditional social and moral norms are turned upside down. Dionysus, long dormant, has been resurrected and his influence is once again palpable in our society.

This is the spirit at work in Pride Month. This is the spirit manifesting in the societal madness we witness today. It’s the same spirit that was active in the Greco-Roman world. It’s the same spirit the Corinthians followed with their chaotic worship, described as “clanging cymbals.” It’s the god that Christ symbolically defeated at Caesarea-Philippi in Banias. It’s the same deity that Dionysius the Areopagite abandoned when Paul preached at Mars Hill.

A Revival of Ancient Christianity for the Future

Lately, I’ve been writing extensively about the need for an Ancient-Future Christian Culture. To achieve this, it is essential to familiarize ourselves with the past. By doing so, we discover that our predecessors in the faith explicitly condemned the kind of Dionysian madness we see today. We can build upon their work to address present and future challenges.

While contemplating the revival of Dionysian influences, I wondered if there had been any council that explicitly condemned such practices. To my surprise, historical records confirm that the Council in Trullo, also known as the Quinisext Council, held in 691-692 AD in Constantinople, did indeed ban several pre-Christian and pagan practices, including those related to transvestism during Dionysian wine-making rituals. Canon 62 of this council decreed:

“The so-called Calends, and what are called Bota and Brumalia, and the full assembly which takes place on the first of March, we wish to be abolished from the life of the faithful. And also, the public dances of women, which may do much harm and mischief. Moreover, we drive away from the life of Christians the dances given in the names of those falsely called gods by the Greeks whether of men or women, and which are performed after an ancient and un-Christian fashion; decreeing that no man from this time forth shall be dressed as a woman, nor any woman in the garb suitable to men. Nor shall he assume comic, satyric, or tragic masks; nor may men invoke the name of the execrable Bacchus when they squeeze out the wine in the presses; nor when pouring out wine into jars [to cause a laugh], practicing in ignorance and vanity the things which proceed from the deceit of insanity. Therefore, those who in the future attempt any of these things which are written, having obtained a knowledge of them, if they be clerics, we order them to be deposed, and if laymen to be cut off.”

This is the kind of resolve that Ancient-Future Christian Culture needs. Dionysian influences will be eradicated from the church. Clerics who perpetuate these practices will be deposed, and laymen participating in them will be excommunicated. We will uphold order and meaning, ensuring that all corrupting influences are removed from the Garden of God.

There are no debates to be had. There are no committees to be assigned. It’s as simple as that. This is not an act of destruction, but an act of creation — differentiating, ordering, and naming is always an act of creation. Those perpetuating such practices are agents of destruction, and thus become dead branches that need to be cut off.

A fitting patron for the month of June is Saint Boniface, who famously hewed down Thor’s Oak and transformed it into a chapel dedicated to the true and living God. Boniface, guided by the Spirit of God, cut off Thor just as the Quinisext Council cut off Bacchus. Ironically, today, June 5th, is Saint Boniface’s Feast Day — a fact I discovered while researching for this essay, which I find both surprising and providential.

In this era of profound upheaval, the new Men of the West stand as bastions of resilience and guardians of sacred order. Embodying the virtues of their forebears, we commit to preserving the sanctity of tradition while courageously confronting the encroaching chaos. With unwavering resolve, we sever the corrupting tendrils of modern Bacchanalia. The redeemed sons of Adam strive to restore balance and meaning in a world teetering on the brink. As we stand resolute, we cast out the serpents of deception and immorality, reaffirming our devotion to a nobler future. This is the dawn of a new epoch, where the Men of the West rise to reclaim their rightful place as the architects of a just and enduring order.