- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies part 1
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part II)
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part III)
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part IV)
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part V)
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part VI)
- Bob Dylan: Cooking Up More Mythologies (Part VII)
by Larry Fyffe
The mythologies of Lambia and of Lilith have roots that go way back in time.
The female followers of Dionysus, the God of the Vine and of Wine from Roman/Greek mythology, can be thought of as screech-owl Liliths.
Seeking union with the spirit of the corn-and-apple-growing demigod Dionysus (fathered by Zeus, who impregnates princess Semele), these forest ‘Bacchanals’ drink and dance and sing themselves into a frenzy in an effort to escape their earthly bodies that are clothed in animal skins:
"They sing, O Bacchanals come Oh, come Sing Dionysus Sing to the timbrel The deep-voiced timbrel Joyfully praise him Him who brings joy Holy, all holy Music is calling To the hills, to the hills Fly, O Bacchanal Swift of foot On, O joyful, be fleet" (Edith Hamilton: Mythology, Timeless Tales Of Gods And Heroes)
Like the Dionysus regenerative myth is akin to the Osirus/Horus myth, the imagery above is retained in the following song lyrics though the mythology be humorously somewhat re-arranged; it’s a bit corny:
Fly away, little bird Fly away, flap your wings Fly by night Like the early Roman kings All the early Roman kings In the early, early morn Coming down the mountain Distributing the corn Speeding through the forest (Bob Dylan: Early Roman Kings)
Oh, but what fun it is to go riding in an open sleigh – through the satirical snow – with a domesticated Bacchanal:
Winterlude, Winterlude, my little apple Winterlude by the corn in the field Winterlude, let's go down to the chapel Then come home, and cook up a meal (Bob Dylan: Winterlude)
According to mythology, Dionysus is disrespected by Pantheus who does not believe that the grainman has godly powers. Not a good idea on the part of the King of Thebes (who is the son of Semele’s sister).
Dionysus shows him who is really the king; he drunks up the Bacchanals; see the earthly king they do as a mountain lion, and they tear him into bloody pieces, limb from limb.
There’s no fooling with the Dionysus of today, according to the double-edged song lyrics quoted beneath – best not be one of those who puts him or herself on the wrong side of the real god of music:
Ding dong daddy You're coming up short Going to put you on trial In a Sicilian court I've had my fun I've had my flings Gonna shake'em all down Like the early Roman kings (Bob Dylan: Early Roman Kings)
*King Pentheus