Modern acting and entertainment has its roots in the ancient culture of greece.
The entire modern acting world is essentially based on the worship of the greek god Dionysus.
It's interesting to note that in the bible, wine is a symbol of doctrine. What doctrine did Dionysus represent? What practices did the cult of Dionysus have?
Dionysus was often visited by Cupid or Eros, (from which we get words such as erotic) becoming infatuated with a multitude of lovers. What is not often know of Cupid is that his arrows did not discriminate. Not only did they make heterosexual couples fall in love but homosexuals as well.
Dionysus became drunk on love that was awakened by the ethereal Eros. This is not agape love as the bible describes but the unwise sexual urges of the carnal mind. Dionysus represented both the male and female sexualities in one person and so the dual masks not only represent drama; tragedy & comedy but sexual exploitation and perversion. The mythologies of ancient Greece are rampant into today's society in everything from Hollywood, to psychology and even religion and politics. Is it any wonder that there is such a large alternative lifestyle under current within professional and amateur theater? Jesus calls the popular, easy path to destruction the Broadway.
During his ministry, Christ pointed out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders by calling them hypokrites or actors. The level of fame of Greek stage actors in that time was based on how well they channeled or were possessed by the gods they portrayed, much in the same way that modern movie stars like Denzel Washington, Oprah, Robin Williams, Keanu Reeves and Heath Ledger plus countless others invite spirits to control them during their performances.
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the gods of the Greeks which they sacrificed to and therefore the acting inspiration of many is not merely an ideology but something far more sinister.
Jesus will one day return and separate those whom He loves who have learned the song of the lamb, from those whom have learned the "goat song".
"The theatre of Ancient Greece, or ancient Greek drama, is a theatrical culture that flourished in ancient Greece between c. 550 and c. 220 BC. The city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political and military power during this period, was its centre, where it was institutionalized as part of a festival called the Dionysia, which honored the god Dionysus. Tragedy (late 6th century BC), comedy (486 BC), and the satyr play were the three dramatic genres to emerge there. Athens exported the festival to its numerous colonies and allies in order to promote a common cultural identity. Western theatre originated in Athens and its drama has had a significant and sustained impact on Western culture as a whole."
"The word 'tragedy' means 'goat song' and comes to us from from Indo-European 'Tragos', 'Goat' and 'wed-2', 'To speak'. According to The encyclopedia of Indo-European Culturea goat entrails were used as a part of a Greek funeral ceremony as sops for the Greek canine of the underworld Cerberus. So the goat seems to be associated with the dead. It has also been said that the goat is quite friendly to the shepherd and so his death seems tragic. Goats are also associated with the god Dionysus.
Drama came to us from religious worship. Specifically it came from the worship of Dionysus, not Athene, not Zeus, and not Poseidon. The transition from religious worship occurred some time in the sixth century BCE. The conviction of the religion of Dionysus, that the worshipper can not only worship, but can become, can be, his god, is essentially dramatic."- http://www.fjkluth.com/gdrama.html
The entire modern acting world is essentially based on the worship of the greek god Dionysus.
"Wearing a mask pays homage to Dionysus, the god of carnavals and masquerades, by allowing you to free yourself from secret desires and buried regrets. Dionysos is the god who regularly conceals both his identity and his power, as we all must do, in the course of polite everyday interaction with others...Ancient masks were made from clay, wood or linen with the attached wig covering the entire head and they had wide open mouths for easier speaking. The traditional "Comedy Tragedy" masks are used now as a universal symbol for drama, and also represent the two sides of Dionysus, as well as the two effects of wine: joyous, Bacchic revelry, and a dark, sorrowful harvest " - http://www.carnaval.com/mask/birthofmasks.htm
It's interesting to note that in the bible, wine is a symbol of doctrine. What doctrine did Dionysus represent? What practices did the cult of Dionysus have?
"The Dionysian Mysteries were a ritual of ancient Greece and Rome which used intoxicants and other trance-inducing techniques (like dance and music) to remove inhibitions and social constraints, liberating the individual to return to a natural state. It also provided some liberation for those marginalized by Greek society: women, slaves and foreigners. In their final phase the Mysteries shifted their emphasis from a chthonic, underworld orientation to a transcendental, mystical one, with Dionysus changing his nature accordingly (similar to the change in the cult of Shiva). By its nature as a mystery religion reserved for the initiated, many aspects of the Dionysian cult remain unknown and were lost with the decline of Greco-Roman polytheism; our knowledge is derived from descriptions, imagery and cross-cultural studies." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysian_Mysteries
"We may recall that Dionysus is mainly a god of women his cult was mainly a women's preserve though he is male and phallic there is no misogyny in this structure of consciousness because it is not derived from its own femininity Dionysus in one of his appelations is "man and woman" in one person and Dionysus was bisexual in the first place, not nearly in the effeminate later portrayals...Dionysus is one where female is not added to or integrated by male but neither, the image shows in androgynous consciousness where male and female are primordially united." - Myth & Analysis by James Hillman pg. 258James Hillman, was an archetypal psychologist, meaning that he included greek mythology into theories of psychology.
"Archetypal psychology is a polytheistic psychology, in that it attempts to recognize the myriad fantasies and myths that shape and are shaped by our psychological lives. The ego is but one psychological fantasy within an assemblage of fantasies. To illustrate the multiple personifications of psyche Hillman made reference to gods, goddesses, demingods and other imaginal figures which he referred to as sounding boards "for echoing life today or as bass chords giving resonance to the little melodies of daily life" [2] although he insisted that these figures should not be used as a 'master matrix' against which we should measure today and thereby decry modern loss of richness. [3] Archetypal psychology is part of the Jungian psychology tradition and related to Jung's original Analytical psychology but is also a radical departure from itin some respects."
Dionysus was often visited by Cupid or Eros, (from which we get words such as erotic) becoming infatuated with a multitude of lovers. What is not often know of Cupid is that his arrows did not discriminate. Not only did they make heterosexual couples fall in love but homosexuals as well.
"Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and the mysteries), he is one of the primordial gods involved in the coming into being of the cosmos. But in later sources, Eros is represented as the son of Aphrodite whose mischievous interventions in the affairs of gods and mortals cause bonds of love to form, often illicitly. Ultimately, in the later satirical poets, he is represented as a blindfolded child, the precursor to the chubby Renaissance cupid - whereas in early Greek poetry and art, Eros was depicted as an adult male who embodies sexual power. [3][4]"- http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eros
Dionysus became drunk on love that was awakened by the ethereal Eros. This is not agape love as the bible describes but the unwise sexual urges of the carnal mind. Dionysus represented both the male and female sexualities in one person and so the dual masks not only represent drama; tragedy & comedy but sexual exploitation and perversion. The mythologies of ancient Greece are rampant into today's society in everything from Hollywood, to psychology and even religion and politics. Is it any wonder that there is such a large alternative lifestyle under current within professional and amateur theater? Jesus calls the popular, easy path to destruction the Broadway.
During his ministry, Christ pointed out the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders by calling them hypokrites or actors. The level of fame of Greek stage actors in that time was based on how well they channeled or were possessed by the gods they portrayed, much in the same way that modern movie stars like Denzel Washington, Oprah, Robin Williams, Keanu Reeves and Heath Ledger plus countless others invite spirits to control them during their performances.
"Few people realize the dark spiritual side of acting going all the way back to the Greek theater. The best actors in Greek theater were believed to be literally possessed by the entities they sought to portray on stage. Many occultists, like Aleister Crowley,taught that acting and assuming the role of a particular demon was the fastest way to come into contact with a demonic entity. " http://goodfight.org/a_v_ledger_heath.html
The Apostle Paul makes it clear that the gods of the Greeks which they sacrificed to and therefore the acting inspiration of many is not merely an ideology but something far more sinister.
"What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils." 1Cor. 10:19-20The devils in the bible are fallen angels that are bent on bring ruin upon mankind. The doctrine which is being presented is not that of Christ but of an Anti-Christ, one that seeks to replace Jesus and his dual natures with a counterfeit. The gnostic philosopher Nietzsche believed that Dionysus was against Jesus, and ultimately he wanted to replace the Lord with Dionysus. This is no surprise since Dionysus was almost a carbon copy of Jesus. Dionysus was identified with the lamb, and called "King of Kings," "Only Begotten Son," "Savior," "Redeemer," "Sin bearer," "Anointed One," the "Alpha and Omega."
Jesus will one day return and separate those whom He loves who have learned the song of the lamb, from those whom have learned the "goat song".
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." Matt. 25:31-33
 |
| Notice that the image of Dionysus is between two eyes. |
