The central panel in the Sepphoris mosaic (above) shows Dionysus in the midst of a drinking bout with Heracles (Hercules), while the flutes of his cousin Pan are played between them. In a panel northwest of this (right) we see the outcome: Heracles is on the floor, while Dionysus, inverting the cup to show he has drunk it all, retains control. There we have the principle of Dionysus. His rivals and his devotees may fall on their faces, but the god himself never loses control. He is the epitome of abandon and control, such that one can say: the more wildness, the more form. It is the paradox of all great art, of which this god is patron.

A "Homeric Hymn" to Dionysus shows that he could transform things to wine by a touch. And now, thanks to recent archaeological discoveries, we can see how strong his worship was in Galilee, famous for its many wines. Not only do we have this mosaic floor, but we find him in grand style at Scythopolis: he was the patron of that mighty city. When Jesus was growing up, Dionysus must have been a powerful presence throughout the area. That would have been the context for the first of the signs in the Gospel of John (John 2:1-11). Jesus and his mother attend a wedding at Cana, probably Khirbet Kana just across the valley from Sepphoris (perhaps he had met the future bridegroom while both were workmen here). There Jesus does the "Dionysus-thing," out-Dionysusing Dionysus in Dionysus-land.

A Homeric Hymn to Dionysus

I will tell of Dionysus, the son of glorious Semele,

how he appeared on a jutting headland by the shore of the

fruitless sea, seeming like a stripling in the first flush of

manhood: his rich, dark hair was waving about him, and on his

strong shoulders he wore a purple robe.  Presently there came

swiftly over the sparkling sea Tyrsenian (30) pirates on a well-

decked ship -- a miserable doom led them on.  When they saw him

they made signs to one another and sprang out quickly, and

seizing him straightway, put him on board their ship exultingly;

for they thought him the son of heaven-nurtured kings.  They

sought to bind him with rude bonds, but the bonds would not hold

him, and the withes fell far away from his hands and feet: and he

sat with a smile in his dark eyes.  Then the helmsman understood

all and cried out at once to his fellows and said:

`Madmen!  What god is this whom you have taken and

bind, strong that he is?  Not even the well-built ship can carry

him.  Surely this is either Zeus or Apollo who has the silver

bow, or Poseidon, for he looks not like mortal men but like the

gods who dwell on Olympus.  Come, then, let us set him free upon

the dark shore at once: do not lay hands on him, lest he grow

angry and stir up dangerous winds and heavy squalls.'

So said he: but the master chid him with taunting

words: `Madman, mark the wind and help hoist sail on the ship:

catch all the sheets.  As for this fellow we men will see to him:

I reckon he is bound for Egypt or for Cyprus or to the

Hyperboreans or further still.  But in the end he will speak out

and tell us his friends and all his wealth and his brothers, now

that providence has thrown him in our way.'

When he had said this, he had mast and sail hoisted

on the ship, and the wind filled the sail and the crew hauled

taut the sheets on either side.  But soon strange things were

seen among them.  First of all sweet, fragrant wine ran streaming

throughout all the black ship and a heavenly smell arose, so that

all the seamen were seized with amazement when they saw it.  And

all at once a vine spread out both ways along the top of the sail

with many clusters hanging down from it, and a dark ivy-plant

twined about the mast, blossoming with flowers, and with rich

berries growing on it; and all the thole-pins were covered with

garlands.  When the pirates saw all this, then at last they bade

the helmsman to put the ship to land.  But the god changed into a

dreadful lion there on the ship, in the bows, and roared loudly:

amidships also he showed his wonders and created a shaggy bear

which stood up ravening, while on the forepeak was the lion

glaring fiercely with scowling brows.  And so the sailors fled

into the stern and crowded bemused about the right-minded

helmsman, until suddenly the lion sprang upon the master and

seized him; and when the sailors saw it they leapt out overboard

one and all into the bright sea, escaping from a miserable fate,

and were changed into dolphins.  But on the helmsman Dionysus had

mercy and held him back and made him altogether happy, saying to

him:

`Take courage, good...; you have found favour with my

heart.  I am loud-crying Dionysus whom Cadmus' daughter Semele

bare of union with Zeus.'

Hail, child of fair-faced Semele!  He who forgets you

can in no wise order sweet song.

[Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Loeb Classics # 57.]