Κάδμον μὲν γάρ φασι τὸν Ἀγήνορος ἐκ Φοινίκης ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποσταλῆναι πρὸς ζήτησιν τῆς Εὐρώπης, ἐντολὰς λαβόντα ἢ τὴν παρθένον ἀγαγεῖν ἢ μὴ ἀνακάμπτειν εἰς τὴν Φοινίκην. ἐπελθόντα δὲ πολλὴν χώραν, καὶ μὴ δυνάμενον ἀνευρεῖν, ἀπογνῶναι τὴν εἰς οἶκον ἀνακομιδήν· καταντήσαντα δʼ εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν κατὰ τὸν παραδεδομένον χρησμὸν κτίσαι τὰς Θήβας. ἐνταῦθα δὲ κατοικήσαντα γῆμαι μὲν Ἁρμονίαν τὴν Ἀφροδίτης, γεννῆσαι δʼ ἐξ αὐτῆς Σεμέλην |καὶ Ἰνὼ καὶ Αὐτονόην καὶ Ἀγαύην, ἔτι
δὲ Πολύδωρον. τῇ δὲ Σεμέλῃ διὰ τὸ κάλλος Δία μιγέντα καὶ μεθʼ ἡσυχίας ποιούμενον τὰς ὁμιλίας δόξαι καταφρονεῖν αὐτῆς· διόπερ ὑπʼ αὐτῆς παρακληθῆναι τὰς ἐπιπλοκὰς ὁμοίας ποιεῖσθαι ταῖς πρὸς τὴν Ἥραν συμπεριφοραῖς.
τὸν μὲν οὖν Δία παραγενόμενον θεοπρεπῶς μετὰ βροντῶν καὶ ἀστραπῶν ἐπιφανῶς ποιεῖσθαι τὴν συνουσίαν· τὴν δὲ Σεμέλην ἔγκυον οὖσαν καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῆς περιστάσεως οὐκ ἐνέγκασαν τὸ μὲν βρέφος ἐκτρῶσαι, ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦ πυρὸς αὐτὴν τελευτῆσαι. ἔπειτα τὸ παιδίον ἀναλαβόντα τὸν Δία παραδοῦναι τῷ Ἑρμῇ, καὶ προστάξαι τοῦτο μὲν ἀποκομίσαι πρὸς τὸ ἄντρον τὸ ἐν τῇ Νύσῃ, κείμενον μεταξὺ Φοινίκης καὶ Νείλου, ταῖς δὲ νύμφαις παραδοῦναι τρέφειν καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς ἐπιμέλειαν αὐτοῦ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ἀρίστην.
διὸ καὶ τραφέντα τὸν Διόνυσον ἐν τῇ Νύσῃ τυχεῖν τῆς προσηγορίας ταύτης ἀπὸ Διὸς καὶ Νύσης. καὶ τὸν Ὅμηρον δὲ τούτοις μαρτυρῆσαι ἐν τοῖς ὕμνοις ἐν οἷς λέγει ἔστι δέ τις Νύση, ὕπατον ὄρος, ἀνθέον ὕλη, τηλοῦ Φοινίκης, σχεδὸν Αἰγύπτοιο ῥοάων.
The Greek account of Dionysus runs like this: Cadmus, the son of Agenor, was sent forth from Phoenicia by the king to seek out Europê, under orders either to bring him the maiden or never to come back to Phoenicia. After Cadmus had traversed a wide territory without being able to find her, he despaired of ever returning to his home; and when he had arrived in Boeotia, in obedience to the oracle which he had received he founded the city of Thebes. Here he made his home and marrying Harmonia, the daughter of Aphroditê, he begat by her Semelê, Ino, Autonoê, Agavê, and Polydorus. Semelê was loved by Zeus because of her beauty, but since he had his intercourse with her secretly and without speech she thought that the god despised her; consequently she made the request of him that he come to her embraces in the same manner as in his approaches to Hera. Accordingly, Zeus visited her in a way befitting a god, accompanied by thunder and lightning, revealing himself to her as he embraced her; but Semelê, who was pregnant and unable to endure the majesty of the divine presence, brought forth the babe untimely and was herself slain by the fire. Thereupon Zeus, taking up the child, handed it over to the care of Hermes, and ordered him to take it to the cave in Nysa, which lay between Phoenicia and the Nile, where he should deliver it to the nymphs that they should rear it and with great solicitude bestow upon it the best of care. Consequently, since Dionysus was reared in Nysa, he received the name he bears from Zeus and Nysa. And Homer bears witness to this in his Hymns, when he says:
There is a certain Nysa, mountain high,
With forests thick, in Phoenicê afar,
Close to Aegyptus’ streams.
τραφέντα δʼ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν νυμφῶν ἐν τῇ Νύσῃ φασὶν εὑρετήν τε τοῦ οἴνου γενέσθαι καὶ τὴν φυτείαν διδάξαι τῆς ἀμπέλου τοὺς ἀνθρώπους. ἐπιόντα δὲ σχεδὸν ὅλην τὴν οἰκουμένην πολλὴν χώραν ἐξημερῶσαι, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τυχεῖν παρὰ πᾶσι μεγίστων τιμῶν. εὑρεῖν δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ ἐκ τῆς κριθῆς κατασκευαζόμενον πόμα, τὸ προσαγορευόμενον μὲν ὑπʼ ἐνίων ζῦθος, οὐ πολὺ δὲ λειπόμενον τῆς περὶ τὸν οἶνον εὐωδίας. τοῦτο δὲ διδάξαι τοὺς χώραν ἔχοντας μὴ δυναμένην ἐπιδέχεσθαι τὴν τῆς ἀμπέλου φυτείαν.
περιάγεσθαι δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ στρατόπεδον οὐ μόνον ἀνδρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ γυναικῶν, καὶ τοὺς ἀδίκους καὶ ἀσεβεῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κολάζειν. καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὴν Βοιωτίαν ἀποδιδόντα τῇ πατρίδι χάριτας ἐλευθερῶσαι πάσας τὰς πόλεις, καὶ κτίσαι πόλιν ἐπώνυμον τῆς αὐτονομίας, ἣν Ἐλευθερὰς προσαγορεῦσαι.
After he had received his rearing by the nymphs in Nysa, they say, he made the discovery of wine and taught mankind how to cultivate the vine. And as he visited the inhabited world almost in its entirety, he brought much land under cultivation and in return for this received most high honours at the hands of all men. He also discovered the drink made out of barley and called by some zythos, the bouquet of which is not much inferior to that of wine. The preparation of this drink he taught to those peoples whose country was unsuited to the cultivation of the vine. He also led about with himself an army composed not only of men but of women as well, and punished such men as were unjust and impious. In Boeotia, out of gratitude to the land of his birth, he freed all the cities and founded a city whose name signified independence, which he called Eleutherae.
στρατεύσαντα δʼ εἰς τὴν Ἰνδικὴν τριετεῖ χρόνῳ τὴν ἐπάνοδον εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν ποιήσασθαι, κομίζοντα μὲν λαφύρων ἀξιόλογον πλῆθος, καταγαγεῖν δὲ πρῶτον τῶν ἁπάντων θρίαμβον ἐπʼ ἐλέφαντος Ἰνδικοῦ.
καὶ τοὺς μὲν Βοιωτοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας καὶ Θρᾷκας ἀπομνημονεύοντας τῆς κατὰ τὴν Ἰνδικὴν στρατείας καταδεῖξαι τὰς τριετηρίδας θυσίας Διονύσῳ, καὶ τὸν θεὸν νομίζειν κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ποιεῖσθαι τὰς παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπιφανείας.
διὸ καὶ παρὰ πολλαῖς τῶν Ἑλληνίδων πόλεων διὰ τριῶν ἐτῶν βακχεῖά τε γυναικῶν ἀθροίζεσθαι, καὶ ταῖς παρθένοις νόμιμον εἶναι θυρσοφορεῖν καὶ συνενθουσιάζειν εὐαζούσαις καὶ τιμώσαις τὸν θεόν· τὰς δὲ γυναῖκας κατὰ συστήματα θυσιάζειν τῷ θεῷ καὶ βακχεύειν καὶ καθόλου τὴν παρουσίαν ὑμνεῖν τοῦ Διονύσου, μιμουμένας τὰς ἱστορουμένας τὸ παλαιὸν παρεδρεύειν τῷ θεῷ μαινάδας.
κολάσαι δʼ αὐτὸν πολλοὺς μὲν καὶ ἄλλους κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην τοὺς δοκοῦντας ἀσεβεῖν, ἐπιφανεστάτους δὲ Πενθέα καὶ Λυκοῦργον. τῆς δὲ κατὰ τὸν οἶνον εὑρέσεως καὶ δωρεᾶς κεχαρισμένης τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν διά τε τὴν ἡδονὴν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ποτοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸ τοῖς σώμασιν εὐτονωτέρους γίνεσθαι τοὺς τὸν οἶνον πίνοντας, φασὶν ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον, ὅταν ἄκρατος οἶνος ἐπιδιδῶται, προσεπιλέγειν ἀγαθοῦ δαίμονος· ὅταν δὲ μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον διδῶται κεκραμένος ὕδατι, Διὸς σωτῆρος ἐπιφωνεῖν. τὸν γὰρ οἶνον ἄκρατον μὲν πινόμενον μανιώδεις διαθέσεις ἀποτελεῖν, τοῦ δʼ ἀπὸ Διὸς ὄμβρου μιγέντος τὴν μὲν τέρψιν καὶ τὴν ἡδονὴν μένειν, τὸ δὲ τῆς μανίας καὶ παραλύσεως βλάπτον διορθοῦσθαι.
καθόλου δὲ μυθολογοῦσι τῶν θεῶν μεγίστης ἀποδοχῆς τυγχάνειν παρʼ ἀνθρώποις τοὺς ταῖς εὐεργεσίαις ὑπερβαλομένους κατὰ τὴν εὕρεσιν τῶν ἀγαθῶν Διόνυσόν τε καὶ Δήμητραν, τὸν μὲν τοῦ προσηνεστάτου ποτοῦ γενόμενον εὑρετήν, τὴν δὲ τῆς ξηρᾶς τροφῆς τὴν κρατίστην παραδοῦσαν τῷ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Then he made a campaign into India, whence he returned to Boeotia in the third year, bringing with him a notable quantity of booty, and he was the first man ever to celebrate a triumph seated on an Indian elephant. And the Boeotians and other Greeks and the Thracians, in memory of the campaign in India, have established sacrifices every other year to Dionysus, and believe that at that time the god reveals himself to human beings. Consequently in many Greek cities every other year Bacchic bands of women gather, and it is lawful for the maidens to carry the thyrsus and to join in the frenzied revelry, crying out “Euai!” and honouring the god; while the matrons, forming in groups, offer sacrifices to the god and celebrate his mysteries and, in general, extol with hymns the presence of Dionysus, in this manner acting the part of the Maenads who, as history records, were of old the companions of the god. He also punished here and there throughout all the inhabited world many men who were thought to be impious, the most renowned among the number being Pentheus and Lycurgus. And since the discovery of wine and the gift of it to human beings were the source of such great satisfaction to them, both because of the pleasure which derives from the drinking of it and because of the greater vigour which comes to the bodies of those who partake of it, it is the custom, they say, when unmixed wine is served during a meal to greet it with the words, “To the Good Deity!” but when the cup is passed around after the meal diluted with water, to cry out, “To Zeus Saviour!” For the drinking of unmixed wine results in a state of madness, but when it is mixed with the rain from Zeus the delight and pleasure continue, but the ill effect of madness and stupor is avoided. And, in general, the myths relate that the gods who receive the greatest approval at the hands of human beings are those who excelled in their benefactions by reason of their discovery of good things, namely, Dionysus and Demeter, the former because he was the discoverer of the most pleasing drink, the latter because she gave to the race of men the most excellent of the dry foods.
μυθολογοῦσι δέ τινες καὶ ἕτερον Διόνυσον γεγονέναι πολὺ τοῖς χρόνοις προτεροῦντα τούτου. φασὶ γὰρ ἐκ Διὸς καὶ Φερσεφόνης Διόνυσον γενέσθαι τὸν ὑπό τινων Σαβάζιον ὀνομαζόμενον, οὗ τήν τε γένεσιν καὶ τὰς θυσίας καὶ τιμὰς νυκτερινὰς καὶ κρυφίους παρεισάγουσι διὰ τὴν αἰσχύνην τὴν ἐκ τῆς συνουσίας ἐπακολουθοῦσαν.
λέγουσι δʼ αὐτὸν ἀγχινοίᾳ διενεγκεῖν, καὶ πρῶτον ἐπιχειρῆσαι βοῦς ζευγνύειν καὶ διὰ τούτων τὸν σπόρον τῶν καρπῶν ἐπιτελεῖν· ἀφʼ οὗ δὴ καὶ κερατίαν αὐτὸν παρεισάγουσι. καὶ τὸν μὲν ἐκ Σεμέλης γενόμενον ἐν τοῖς νεωτέροις χρόνοις φασὶ τῷ σώματι γενέσθαι τρυφερὸν καὶ παντελῶς ἁπαλόν, εὐπρεπείᾳ δὲ πολὺ τῶν ἄλλων διενεγκεῖν καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἀφροδισιακὰς ἡδονὰς εὐκατάφορον γεγονέναι, κατὰ δὲ τὰς στρατείας γυναικῶν πλῆθος περιάγεσθαι καθωπλισμένων λόγχαις τεθυρσωμέναις.
φασὶ δὲ καὶ τὰς Μούσας αὐτῷ συναποδημεῖν, παρθένους οὔσας καὶ πεπαιδευμένας διαφερόντως· ταύτας δὲ διά τε τῆς μελῳδίας καὶ τῶν ὀρχήσεων, ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐν παιδείᾳ καλῶν ψυχαγωγεῖν τὸν θεόν. φασὶ δὲ καὶ παιδαγωγὸν καὶ τροφέα συνέπεσθαι κατὰ τὰς στρατείας αὐτῷ Σειληνόν, εἰσηγητὴν καὶ διδάσκαλον γινόμενον τῶν καλλίστων ἐπιτηδευμάτων, καὶ μεγάλα συμβάλλεσθαι τῷ Διονύσῳ πρὸς ἀρετήν τε καὶ δόξαν.
Some writers of myths, however, relate that there was a second Dionysus who was much earlier in time than the one we have just mentioned. For according to them there was born of Zeus and Persephonê a Dionysus who is called by some Sabazius and whose birth and sacrifices and honours are celebrated at night and in secret, because of the disgrace resulting from the intercourse of the sexes. They state also that he excelled in sagacity and was the first to attempt the yoking of oxen and by their aid to effect the sowing of the seed, this being the reason why they also represent him as wearing a horn.
But the Dionysus who was born of Semelê in more recent times, they say, was a man who was effeminate in body and altogether delicate; in beauty, however, he far excelled all other men and was addicted to indulgence in the delights of love, and on his campaigns he led about with himself a multitude of women who were armed with lances which were shaped like thyrsi. They say also that when he went abroad he was accompanied by the Muses, who were maidens that had received an unusually excellent education, and that by their songs and dancing and other talents in which they had been instructed these maidens delighted the heart of the god. They also add that he was accompanied on his campaigns by a personal attendant and caretaker, Seilenus, who was his adviser and instructor in the most excellent pursuits and contributed greatly to the high achievements and fame of Dionysus.
καὶ κατὰ μὲν τὰς ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις μάχας ὅπλοις αὐτὸν πολεμικοῖς κεκοσμῆσθαι καὶ δοραῖς παρδάλεων, κατὰ δὲ τὰς ἐν εἰρήνῃ πανηγύρεις καὶ ἑορτὰς ἐσθῆσιν ἀνθειναῖς καὶ κατὰ τὴν μαλακότητα τρυφεραῖς χρῆσθαι. πρὸς δὲ τὰς ἐκ τοῦ πλεονάζοντος οἴνου κεφαλαλγίας τοῖς πίνουσι γινομένας διαδεδέσθαι λέγουσιν αὐτὸν μίτρᾳ τὴν κεφαλήν, ἀφʼ ἧς αἰτίας καὶ μιτρηφόρον ὀναμάζεσθαι· ἀπὸ δὲ ταύτης τῆς μίτρας ὕστερον παρὰ τοῖς βασιλεῦσι καταδειχθῆναι τὸ διάδημά φασι.
διμήτορα δʼ αὐτὸν προσαγορευθῆναι λέγουσι διὰ τὸ πατρὸς μὲν ἑνὸς ὑπάρξαι τοὺς δύο Διονύσους, μητέρων δὲ δυοῖν. κεκληρονομηκέναι δὲ τὸν νεώτερον καὶ τὰς τοῦ προγενεστέρου πράξεις· διόπερ τοὺς μεταγενεστέρους ἀνθρώπους, ἀγνοοῦντας μὲν τἀληθές, πλανηθέντας δὲ διὰ τὴν ὁμωνυμίαν, ἕνα γεγονέναι νομίσαι Διόνυσον.
τὸν δὲ νάρθηκα προσάπτουσιν αὐτῷ διά τινας τοιαύτας αἰτίας. κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εὕρεσιν τοῦ οἴνου μήπω τῆς τοῦ ὕδατος κράσεως εὑρημένης ἄκρατον πίνειν τὸν οἶνον· κατὰ δὲ τὰς τῶν φίλων συναναστροφὰς καὶ εὐωχίας τοὺς συνεορτάζοντας δαψιλῆ τὸν ἄκρατον ἐμφορησαμένους μανιώδεις γίνεσθαι, καὶ ταῖς βακτηρίαις ξυλίναις χρωμένους ταύταις ἀλλήλους τύπτειν.
διὸ καὶ τινῶν μὲν τραυματιζομένων, τινῶν δὲ καὶ τελευτώντων ἐκ τῶν καιρίων τραυμάτων, προσκόψαντα τὸν Διόνυσον ταῖς τοιαύταις περιστάσεσι τὸ μὲν ἀποστῆσαι τοῦ πίνειν δαψιλῆ τὸν ἄκρατον ἀποδοκιμάσαι διὰ τὴν ἡδονὴν τοῦ ποτοῦ, καταδεῖξαι δὲ νάρθηξι χρῆσθαι καὶ μὴ ξυλίναις βακτηρίαις.
And in the battles which took place during his wars he arrayed himself in arms suitable for war and in the skins of panthers, but in assemblages and at festive gatherings in time of peace he wore garments which were bright-coloured and luxurious in their effeminacy. Furthermore, in order to ward off the headaches which every man gets from drinking too much wine he bound about his head, they report, a band (mitra), which was the reason for his receiving the name Mitrephorus; and it was this head-band, they say, that in later times led to the introduction of the diadem for kings. He was also called Dimetor, they relate, because the two Dionysi were born of one father, but of two mothers. The younger one also inherited the deeds of the older, and so the men of later times, being unaware of the truth and being deceived because of the identity of their names thought there had been but one Dionysus.
The narthex is also associated with Dionysus for the following reason. When wine was first discovered, the mixing of water with it had not as yet been devised and the wine was drunk unmixed; but when friends gathered together and enjoyed good cheer, the revellers, filling themselves to abundance with the unmixed wine, became like madmen and used their wooden staves to strike one another. Consequently, since some of them were wounded and some died of wounds inflicted in vital spots, Dionysus was offended at such happenings, and though he did not decide that they should refrain from drinking the unmixed wine in abundance, because the drink gave such pleasure, he ordered them hereafter to carry a narthex and not a wooden staff.
ἐπωνυμίας δʼ αὐτῷ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πολλὰς προσάψαι, τὰς ἀφορμὰς ἀπὸ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ἐπιτηδευμάτων λαβόντας. βακχεῖον μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν συνεπομένων βακχῶν ὀνομάσαι, Ληναῖον δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πατῆσαι τὰς σταφυλὰς ἐν ληνῷ, Βρόμιον δʼ ἀπὸ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ γενομένου βρόμου· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ πυριγενῆ διὰ τὴν ὁμοίαν αἰτίαν ὠνομάσθαι.
θρίαμβον δʼ αὐτὸν ὀνομασθῆναί φασιν ἀπὸ τοῦ πρῶτον τῶν μνημονευομένων καταγαγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς στρατείας θρίαμβον εἰς τὴν πατρίδα, τὴν ἐξ Ἰνδῶν ποιησάμενον ἐπάνοδον μετὰ πολλῶν λαφύρων. παραπλησίως δὲ καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς προσηγορίας ἐπιθετικὰς αὐτῷ γεγενῆσθαι, περὶ ὧν μακρὸν ἂν εἴη λέγειν καὶ τῆς ὑποκειμένης ἱστορίας ἀνοίκειον. δίμορφον δʼ αὐτὸν δοκεῖν ὑπάρχειν διὰ τὸ δύο Διονύσους γεγονέναι, τὸν μὲν παλαιὸν καταπώγωνα διὰ τὸ τοὺς ἀρχαίους πάντας πωγωνοτροφεῖν, τὸν δὲ νεώτερον ὡραῖον καὶ τρυφερὸν καὶ νέον, καθότι προείρηται.
ἔνιοι δὲ λέγουσιν ὅτι τῶν μεθυόντων διττὰς διαθέσεις ἐχόντων, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἱλαρῶν, τῶν δὲ ὀργίλων γινομένων, δίμορφον ὠνομάσθαι τὸν θεόν. καὶ Σατύρους δέ φασιν αὐτὸν περιάγεσθαι, καὶ τούτους ἐν ταῖς ὀρχήσεσι καὶ ταῖς τραγῳδίαις τέρψιν καὶ πολλὴν ἡδονὴν παρέχεσθαι τῷ θεῷ.
Many epithets, so we are informed, have been given him by men, who have found the occasions from which they arose in the practices and customs which have become associated with him. So, for instance, he has been called Baccheius from Bacchic bands of women who accompanied him, Lenaeus from the custom of treading the clusters of grapes in a wine-tub (lenos), and Bromius from the thunder (bromos) which attended his birth; likewise for a similar reason he has been called Pyrigenes (“Born-of-Fire”). Thriambus is a name that has been given him, they say, because he was the first of those of whom we have a record to have celebrated a triumph (thriambos) upon entering his native land after his campaign, this having been done when he returned from India with great booty. It is on a similar basis that the other appellations or epithets have been given to him, but we feel that it would be a long task to tell of them and inappropriate to the history which we are writing.
He was thought to have two forms, men say, because there were two Dionysi, the ancient one having a long beard because all men in early times wore long beards, the younger one being youthful and effeminate and young, as we have mentioned before. Certain writers say, however, that it was because men who become drunk get into two states, being either joyous or sullen, that the god has been called “two-formed.” Satyrs also, it is reported, were carried about by him in his company and afforded the god greatest delight and pleasure in connection with their dancings and their goat-songs.
καθόλου δὲ τὰς μὲν Μούσας τοῖς ἐκ τῆς παιδείας ἀγαθοῖς ὠφελούσας τε καὶ τερπούσας, τοὺς δὲ Σατύρους τοῖς πρὸς γέλωτα συνεργοῦσιν ἐπιτηδεύμασι χρωμένους, παρασκευάζειν τῷ Διονύσῳ τὸν εὐδαίμονα καὶ κεχαρισμένον βίον. καθόλου δὲ τοῦτον τῶν θυμελικῶν ἀγώνων φασὶν εὑρετὴν γενέσθαι, καὶ θέατρα καταδεῖξαι, καὶ μουσικῶν ἀκροαμάτων σύστημα ποιήσασθαι· πρὸς δὲ τούτοις ἀλειτουργήτους ποιῆσαι καὶ τοὺς ἐν ταῖς στρατείαις μεταχειριζομένους τι τῆς μουσικῆς ἐπιστήμης· ἀφʼ ὧν τοὺς μεταγενεστέρους μουσικὰς συνόδους συστήσασθαι τῶν περὶ τὸν Διόνυσον τεχνιτῶν, καὶ ἀτελεῖς ποιῆσαι τοὺς τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐπιτηδεύοντας. καὶ περὶ μὲν Διονύσου καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτοῦ μυθολογουμένων ἀρκεσθησόμεθα τοῖς ῥηθεῖσι στοχαζόμενοι τῆς συμμετρίας.
And, in general, the Muses who bestowed benefits and delights through the advantages which their education gave them, and the Satyrs by the use of the devices which contribute to mirth, made the life of Dionysus happy and agreeable. There is general agreement also, they say, that he was the inventor of thymelic contests, and that he introduced places where the spectators could witness the shows and organized musical concerts; furthermore, he freed from any forced contribution to the state those who had cultivated any sort of musical skill during his campaigns, and it is for these reasons that later generations have formed musical associations of the artists of Dionysus and have relieved of taxes the followers of this profession.
As for Dionysus and the myths which are related about him we shall rest content with what has been said, since we are aiming at due proportion in our account.
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