Page 95 [95]
DIONYSUS AND HIS DOPPELGÁNGERS IN JOHN LYDUS
ee
ANNA JUDIT TÔTH
ABSTRACT
The De mensibus by John Lydus contains a problematic sentence stating
that Dionysus had two epithets: Dimétor and Dithyrambus, and both or
one of these names mean(s): “the one who has two paths of procession, the
one, from the east toward the south, in winter, and the other, from the north
toward the west, in summer.” This sentence can be explained with the help of
Mithraic theology as it is summarized in Porphyry’s De antro nympharum.
In Mithraic cosmology, the alter egos of Mithras, Cautes and Cautopates are
associated with the same directions and seasons as in the text by Lydus. The
Dionysiac triad in the De mensibus can be read, thus, as an interpretation
and adaptation of a Mithraic cosmology. The close analogy suggests that in
the imperial era of Rome, similar stellar theologies were adapted for mystery
cults with independent origins.
Pagan theology of Late Antiquity has become a popular subject in recent
decades, and not only among philosophers.’ In the field of religious
studies, more and more scholars have recognized that these sources, which
were written in a Christian empire, contain valuable data unknown from
earlier ages. In the following pages, I would like to focus on one author of
the sixth century, John Lydus. His most important and complete work on
the magistrates of the Roman Empire has many modern editions and
translations,” while his other monograph on the Roman calendar has been
! The research leading to these findings was made possible through funding from
the Hungarian Fund for Academic Research (OTKA) under the project number K 101503.
? Editions of the De magistratibus: R. Wuensch (ed.), Joannis Lydi De magistratibus populi
Romani libri tres. Leipzig, Teubner, 1903; T. F. Carney, Bureaucracy in Traditional
Society. Romano-Byzantine Bureaucracies Viewed from within, 3 vols., Lawrence, Kansas,
Coronado Press, 1971, with English translation; Anastasius C. Bandy, Joannes Lydus on
Powers or the Magistracies of the Roman State. Introduction, Critical Text, Translation,
+ 93 +
Daréczi-Sepsi-Vassänyi_Initiation_155x240.indb 93 6 2020. 06.15. 11:04:15