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La pantera, abile cacciatrice, seducente e feroce è spesso presente nelle raffigurazioni di Dioniso e delle Menadi.
Infatti è molto stretto il legame del dio e delle sue seguaci con questo felino.
Come Dioniso, anche la pantera è seducente.
The panther, skilled hunter, seductive and fierce is often present in depictions of Dionysus and the Maenads.
In fact there is a very tight binding between the god, his followers and this feline.
As Dionysus, the panther is also seductive.
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| MITOliberty |
Il dio viaggiava nei paesi mediterranei e in Asia in testa al corteo dei suoi seguaci, attratti dalla sua vitalità, dai suoi divini poteri e dal suo inebriante dono. E della pantera si diceva che avesse l'alito profumato con il quale attirava verso di sé altri animali.
La pantera caccia con astuzia, ha il mantello maculato, mimetico, grazie al quale si nasconde ed inganna le sue prede.
Così Dioniso, nelle sue avventurose vicende, spesso si trasformava, soprattutto per ingannare e punire coloro che non accettavano il suo culto, come è ben raccontato da Euripide nella tragedia delle Baccanti (altro nome delle Menadi)
The god traveled through the Mediterranean countries and Asia leading the procession of his followers, who were attracted by his vitality, his divine power and his inebriating gift. And Panther was said to have fragrant breath attracting other animals.
Panther hunts with guile, has spotted mimetic coat, whereby hides and tricks its prey.
So Dionysus, in his adventure stories, often transformed, especially to deceive and punish those who did not accept his cult, as it is well told by Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae (an other name for Maenads)
The god traveled through the Mediterranean countries and Asia leading the procession of his followers, who were attracted by his vitality, his divine power and his inebriating gift. And Panther was said to have fragrant breath attracting other animals.
Panther hunts with guile, has spotted mimetic coat, whereby hides and tricks its prey.
So Dionysus, in his adventure stories, often transformed, especially to deceive and punish those who did not accept his cult, as it is well told by Euripides' tragedy The Bacchae (an other name for Maenads)
Ma, se la leggenda dice che la pantera seduce con il profumo del suo alito, la leggenda dice anche che la pantera è attratta dai profumi inebrianti, in particolare da quello del vino.
But, if the legend says that the panther seduces with the scent of his breath, the legend also says that the panther is attracted by the scents, in particular that of the wine.
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| Dioniso abbevera la pantera in un mosaico romano nelle "Domus dell'Ortaglia" a Brescia |
Come le pantere, erano attratte dall'ebrezza del vino offerto da Dioniso e lo seguivano e si abbandonavano ai suoi riti notturni e segreti nelle foreste dove, invasate dal dio, pervase dallo spirito vitale della Natura, come pantere cacciatrici, uccidevano e squartavano piccoli animali da sacrificare per rievocare l'uccisione di Dioniso ad opera dei Titani, per poi placarsi, riposare tra gli alberi e serenamente prendersi cura, di cuccioli, fino ad allattarli.
Così racconta Euripide ....
About the Maenads, the women of the Dionysian procession, they are also comparable to panthers.
As the panthers, the Maenads were attracted by the inebriation of wine offered by Dionysus.
They gave themselves to his nocturnal and secret rites in the forests where, possessed by the god, imbued with the life spirit of Nature, they, like panthers, hunted, killed and quartered small animals sacrificed to commemorate the killing of Dionysus by the Titans. Then the Maenads subsided, resting peacefully near the trees and took care of puppies, nursing them.
So Euripides says....
Così racconta Euripide ....
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| MITOliberty |
As the panthers, the Maenads were attracted by the inebriation of wine offered by Dionysus.
They gave themselves to his nocturnal and secret rites in the forests where, possessed by the god, imbued with the life spirit of Nature, they, like panthers, hunted, killed and quartered small animals sacrificed to commemorate the killing of Dionysus by the Titans. Then the Maenads subsided, resting peacefully near the trees and took care of puppies, nursing them.
So Euripides says....
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| MITOliberty |
Questi riti cruenti, propri dei tempi più antichi, si trasformarono col tempo tanto che, in epoca classica, in onore di Dioniso si rappresentava la tragedia, termine che significa "canto per il capro", quel capro che rappresentava il dio negli antichi riti sacrificali.
These bloody rytes of the ancient times were transformed over time so that, in the classical era, in honor of Dionysus was represented the tragedy, a term which means "song for the goat," the goat that represented the god in the ancient sacrificial rites .
