DIONYSUS, PAN, ECHO, AND NARCISSUS 295Dionysus with Satyrs and Mae-
nads. Athenian black-figure
amphora, sixth century B.c.;
height 183 /4 in. Dionysus,
wreathed with ivy, holds
a horn-shaped wine cup in his
left hand and looks back at the
satyr on the left carrying off a
maenad, who is playing a
double-flute. A second satyr
on the right carries off a mae-
nad with castanets, who raises
her arms and looks back at the
god. Vine leaves and bunches
of grapes trail in the back-
ground and frame Dionysus.
(British Museum, London. Re-
produced by permission of the
Trustees.)
god's forgiveness for his sin and release from his accursed power. Dionysus took
pity and ordered the king to cleanse himself of the remaining traces of his guilt
in the source of the river Pactolus, near Sardis. Midas obeyed, and the power of
transforming things into gold passed from his person into the stream, whose
sands forevermore were sands of gold.
DIONYSUS AND THE PIRATES
In the Homeric Hymn to Dionysus (7) the god is abducted by pirates who mistake
him for a mortal. (See Color Plate 2.) The ensuing events aboard ship offer a
splendid picture of Dionysus' power and majesty and remind us of funda-