The myth of Dionysus’ drunken revenge - Iseult Gillespie
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زیرنویسها (76 segments)
DownloadAcoetes of Maeonia was in too deep.
He’d been roped into serving as the navigator for a band of pirates;
an unpredictable position that had him worried for his life.
And now the pirates had kidnapped a sleeping youth.
As they laid their victim’s body on the ship,
Acoetes felt the pit in his stomach deepen even further.
The pirates hadn't noticed, but their new captive was a slumbering god.
Acoetes tried to warn his shipmates,
but they laughed off his concerns and set sail for the mainland.
Soon, the youth awoke and demanded to be returned to his island.
While Acoetes tried to oblige,
his crewmates only rowed harder in the opposite direction.
But with each row, the sea grew thick and muddy.
Tendrils of ivy unfurled across the deck,
and garlands of berries burst through the sails.
Growing stronger, the youth conjured a fennel staff and a crown of grapes.
With a dark thrill, Acoetes recognized Dionysus:
god of wine-making, festivity— and excess.
The pirates prepared to fight, but it was too late.
Their spines began to arch, their skin grew slippery,
and their noses lengthened and curved.
Soon, the deck was covered in a pile of frenzied dolphins.
Watching his captors meet this strange fate,
Acoetes didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
But with a sly wink Dionysus reassured the sailor,
welcoming him to the god’s inner circle.
Back on Dionysus’ island, Acoetes discovered a new world.
Every night, the god and his followers participated in dazzling rituals
of drinking, debauchery, and animal sacrifice.
When he awoke, Acoetes only half-remembered the revels.
But his excitement for the next evening grew stronger each day.
Fully in the god’s thrall, the sailor would have happily partied his life away.
Dionysus, however, was ready for a change.
Years earlier, he'd visited Thebes, the homeland of his mother,
the princess Semele.
Semele had died before Dionysus was born, leaving Zeus, the god’s father,
to carry Dionysus to term in his thigh.
But when the god of revelry returned to his ancestral home,
he was met with scorn and derision.
His mortal family refused to recognize his divine status,
leading Dionysus to storm out of Thebes in a fury.
Now, with his new family of worshippers, the god was ready for a grand homecoming.
The ruler of Thebes was King Pentheus, Dionysus’ cousin.
Pentheus was dedicated to law and order, and had banned the worship of Dionysus.
But when the god and his followers streamed into the city,
people grew giddy and carefree.
Even Pentheus’ aunts, and his mother Agave, couldn’t resist the festivities.
Disgusted, Pentheus ordered his last remaining soldiers to capture Dionysus,
only for them to return with a single tipsy worshipper.
Pentheus threw Acoetes in the dungeon, vowing to stop the party himself.
Yet, when he stormed out, the dungeon doors magically flew open.
Buoyed by the favor of Dionysus,
Acoetes giddily followed the king to the revels.
When they arrived, the party had descended into chaos.
The royal women were slipping in and out of reason,
overcome with pleasure and lust.
Pentheus hid behind a tree, waiting for his moment to strike.
But Dionysus was fully in control.
He showered the royal women with more music and wine.
Agave in particular was entranced by hallucinations.
Suddenly, she saw a wild animal lurking in the trees.
She and her shrieking sisters attacked the beast,
striking its neck and pulling its limbs.
Horrified, Acoetes waited for his patron to intervene
and prevent the grisly murder.
But Dionysus only laughed and laughed.
Consumed in a debaucherous frenzy,
the Theban women tore Pentheus limb from limb,
and his own mother struck the final blow.
For the first time, Acoetes saw the festivities clearly.
These revels weren’t an escape from fear and despair,
but from reason itself.
And his god was no plucky savior,
but a cruel trickster who would not tolerate dissent.
His new companions were even more dangerous and unpredictable than the last,
and no divine intervention would save him from their taste for deadly excess.
Key Vocabulary (50)
toward
"Go to school."
belonging
"Cup of tea."
also
"You and me."
inside
"In the house."
Used to show who is intended to have or use something, or to explain the purpose or reason for an action. It is also frequently used to indicate a specific duration of time.
A preposition used to indicate that something is in a position above and supported by a surface. It is also used to indicate a specific day or date, or to show that a device is functioning.
A preposition used to indicate that people or things are together, in the same place, or performing an action together. It can also describe the instrument used to perform an action or a characteristic that someone or something has.
A pronoun used to refer to a male person or animal that has already been mentioned or is easily identified. It functions as the subject of a sentence.
A conjunction used to compare two things that are equal in some way. It is most commonly used in the pattern 'as + adjective/adverb + as' to show similarity.
A coordinating conjunction used to connect two statements that contrast with each other. It is used to introduce an added statement that is different from what has already been mentioned.
This word is used to show that something belongs to or is associated with a male person or animal previously mentioned. It functions as both a possessive determiner used before a noun and a possessive pronoun used on its own.
Used to indicate the starting point, source, or origin of something. It can describe a physical location, a point in time, or the person who sent or gave an item.
A third-person plural pronoun used to refer to two or more people, animals, or things previously mentioned. It is also commonly used as a singular pronoun to refer to a person whose gender is unknown or to someone who identifies as non-binary.
An is an indefinite article used before singular countable nouns that begin with a vowel sound. It functions to indicate a non-specific person or thing, similar to the number one.
A modal verb used to talk about imagined situations or to express things that are not certain. It is also commonly used to make polite requests, offers, or to describe habits in the past.
ثبتنام کن و همه امکانات رو باز کن
پیشرفتت رو دنبال کن، واژگان رو ذخیره کن و تمرین کن
Description
Dig into the Greek myth of Dionysus, the god of winemaking and excess, and his journey to his ancestral home in Thebes. -- Acoetes of Maeonia had been roped into serving as the navigator...
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