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The
Dionysiac
Architects
Dionysiac
Architects
The
most celebrated of the ancient fraternities of artisans was that of the
Dionysiac Architects. This organization was composed exclusively of initiates
of the Bacchus-Dionysos cult and was peculiarly consecrated to the science of
building and the art of decoration. Acclaimed as being the custodians of a
secret and sacred knowledge of architectonics, its members were entrusted with
the design and erection of public buildings and monuments. The superlative
excellence of their handiwork elevated the members of the guild to a position
of surpassing dignity; they were regarded as the master craftsmen of the earth.
Because of the first dances held in honor of Dionysos, he was considered the
founder and patron of the theater, and the Dionysians specialized in the
construction of buildings adapted for the presentation of dramatic
performances. In the circular or semicircular orchestra they invariably erected
an altar to Æschylus, the famous Greek
poet, that while appearing in one of his own plays he was suspected by a mob of
angry spectators of revealing one of the profound secrets of the Mysteries and
was forced to seek refuge at the altar of Dionysos. So
carefully did the Dionysiac Architects safeguard the secrets of their craft
that only fragmentary records exist of their esoteric teachings. John A. Weisse
thus sums up the meager data available concerning the order:
"They
made their appearance certainly not later than 1000 B.C., and appear to have
enjoyed particular privileges and immunities. They also possessed secret means
of recognition, and were bound together by special ties only known to
themselves. The richer of this fraternity were bound to provide for their
poorer brethren. They were divided into communities, governed by a Master and
Wardens, and called γυνοικιαι (connected
houses). They held a grand festival annually, and were held in high esteem.
Their ceremonials were regarded as sacred. It has been claimed that Solomon, at
the instance of Hiram, King of Tyre, employed them at his temple and palaces.
They were also employed at the construction of the Temple of Diana at Ephesus.
They had means of intercommunication all over the then known world, and from
them, doubtless, sprang the guilds of the Traveling Masons known in the Middle
Ages." (See The Obelisk and Freemasonry.)
The
fraternity of the Dionysiac Architects spread throughout all of Asia Minor,
even reaching Egypt and India. They established themselves in nearly all the
countries bordering on the Mediterranean, and with the rise of the Roman Empire
found their way into Central Europe and even into England. The most stately and
enduring buildings in Constantinople, Rhodes, Athens, and Rome were erected by
these inspired craftsmen. One of the most illustrious of their number was
Vitruvius, the great architect, renowned as the author of De Architectura Libri
Decem. In the various sections of his book Vitruvius gives several hints as to
the philosophy underlying the Dionysiac concept of the principle of symmetry
applied to the science of architecture, as derived from a consideration of the
proportions established by Nature between the parts and members of the human
body. The following extract from Vitruvius on the subject of symmetry is
representative:
"The
design of a temple depends on symmetry, the principles of which must be most
carefully observed by the architect. They are due to proportion, in ἀναλογία. Proportion is a
correspondence among the measures of the members of an entire work, and of the
whole to a certain part selected as standard. From this result the principles
of symmetry. Without symmetry and proportion there can be no principles in the
design of any temple; that is, if there is no precise relation between its
members, as in the case of those of a well shaped man. For the human body is so
designed by nature that the face, from the chin to the top of the forehead and
the lowest roots of the hair, is a tenth part of the whole height; the open
hand from the wrist to the tip of the middle finger is just the same; the head
from the chin to the crown is an eighth, and with the neck and shoulder from
the top of the breast to the lowest roots of the hair is a sixth; from the
middle of the breast to the summit of the crown is a fourth. If we take the
height of the face itself, the distance from the bottom of the chin to the
under side of the nostrils [and from that point] to a line between the eyebrows
is the same; from there to the lowest roots of the hair is also a third,
comprising the forehead. The length of the foot is one sixth of the height of
the body; of the forearm, one fourth; and the breadth of the breast is also one
fourth. The other members, too, have their own symmetrical proportions, and it
was by employing them that the famous painters and sculptors of antiquity
attained to great and endless renown."
The
edifices raised by the Dionysiac Builders were indeed "sermons in
stone." Though unable to comprehend fully the cosmic principles thus
embodied in these masterpieces of human ingenuity and industry, even the
uninitiated were invariably overwhelmed by the sense of majesty and symmetry
resulting from the perfect coordination of pillars, spans, arches, and domes.
By variations in the details of size, material, type, arrangement,
ornamentation, and color, these inspired builders believed it possible to
provoke in the nature of the onlooker certain distinct mental or emotional
reactions. Vitruvius, for example, describes the disposition of bronze vases
about a room so as to produce certain definite changes in the tone and quality
of the human voice. In like manner, each chamber in the Mysteries through which
the candidate passed had its own peculiar acoustics. Thus in one chamber the
voice of the priest was amplified until his words caused the very room to
vibrate, while in another the voice was diminished and softened to such a
degree that it sounded like the distant tinkling of silver bells. Again, in
some of the underground passageways the candidate was apparently bereft of the
power of speech, for though he shouted at the top of his voice not even a
whisper was audible to his ears. After progressing a few feet, however, he
would discover that his softest sigh would be reechoed a hundred times.
The
supreme ambition of the Dionysiac Architects was the construction of buildings
which would create distinct impressions consistent with the purpose for which
the structure itself was designed. In common with the Pythagoreans, they
believed it possible by combinations of straight lines and curves to induce any
desired mental attitude or emotion. They labored, therefore, to the end of
producing a building perfectly harmonious with the structure of the universe
itself. They may have even believed that an edifice so constructed because it
was in no respect at variance with any existing reality would not be subject to
dissolution but would endure throughout the span of mortal time. As a logical
deduction from their philosophic trend of thought, such a building--en rapport
with Cosmos--would also have become an oracle. Certain early works on magical
philosophy hint that the Ark of the Covenant was oracular in character because
of specially prepared chambers in its interior. These by their shape and
arrangement were so attuned to the vibrations of the invisible world that they
caught and amplified the voices of the ages imprinted upon and eternally
existent in the substance of the astral light.
Unskilled
in these ancient subtleties of their profession, modern architects often create
architectural absurdities which would cause their creators to blush with shame
did they comprehend their actual symbolic import. Thus, phallic emblems are
strewn in profusion among the adornments of banks, office buildings, and
department stores. Christian churches also may be surmounted with Brahmin or
Mohammedan domes or be designed in a style suitable for a Jewish synagogue or a
Greek temple to Pluto. These incongruities may be considered trivial in
importance by the modern designer, but to the trained psychologist the purpose
for which a building was erected is frustrated in large measure by the presence
of such architectural discordances. Vitruvius thus defines the principle of propriety
as conceived and applied by the Dionysians:
"Propriety
is that: perfection of style which comes when a work is authoritatively
constructed on approved principles. It arises from prescription (Greek θεματισμῷ), from usage, or
from nature. From prescription, in the case of hypæthral edifices, open to the
sky, in honour of Jupiter Lightning, the Heaven, the Sun, or the Moon: for
these are gods whose semblances and manifestations we behold before our very
eyes in the sky when it is cloudless and bright. The temples of Minerva, Mars,
and Hercules will be Doric, since the virile strength of these gods makes
daintiness entirely inappropriate to their houses. In temples to Venus, Flora,
Proserpine, Spring-Water, and the Nymphs, the Corinthian order will be found to
have peculiar significance, because these are delicate divinities and so its
rather slender outlines, its flowers, leaves, and ornamental volutes will lend
propriety where it is due. The construction of temples of the Ionic order to
Juno, Diana, Father Bacchus, and the other gods of that kind, will be in
keeping with the middle position which they hold; for the building of such will
be an appropriate combination of the severity of the Doric and the delicacy of
the Corinthian."
In
describing the societies of Ionian artificers, Joseph Da Costa declares the
Dionysiac rites to have been founded upon the science of astronomy, which by
the initiates of this order was correlated to the builder's art. In various
documents dealing with the origin of architecture are found hints to the effect
that the great buildings erected by these initiated craftsmen were based upon
geometrical patterns derived from the constellations. Thus, a temple might be
planned according to the constellation of Pegasus or a court of judgment
modeled after the constellation of the Scales. The Dionysians evolved a
peculiar code by which they were able to communicate with one another in the
dark and both the symbols and the terminology of their guild were derived, in
the main, from the elements of architecture.
While
stigmatized as pagans by reason of their philosophic principles, it is
noteworthy that these Dionysiac craftsmen were almost universally employed in
the erection of early Christian abbeys and cathedrals, whose stones even to
this very day bear distinguishing marks and symbols cut into their surfaces by
these illustrious builders. Among the ornate carvings upon the fronts of great
churches of the Old World are frequently found representations of compasses,
squares, rules, mallets, and clusters of builders' tools skillfully
incorporated into mural decorations and even placed in the hands of the
effigies of saints and prophets standing in exalted niches. A great mystery was
contained in the ancient portals of the Cathedral Of Notre Dame which were
destroyed during the French Revolution, for among their carvings were numerous
Rosicrucian and Masonic emblems; and according to the records preserved by
alchemists who studied their bas-reliefs, the secret processes for metallic
transmutation were set forth in their grotesque yet most significant figures.
The
checkerboard floor upon which the modern Freemasonic lodge stands is the old
tracing board of the Dionysiac Architects, and while the modern organization is
no longer limited to workmen's guilds it still preserves in its symbols the
metaphysical doctrines of the ancient society of which it is presumably the
outgrowth. The investigator of the origin of Freemasonic symbolism who desires
to trace the development of the order through the ages will find a practical
suggestion in the following statement of Charles W. Heckethorn:
"But
considering that Freemasonry is a tree the roots of which spread through so
many soils, it follows that traces thereof must be found in its fruit; that its
language and ritual should retain much of the various sects and institutions it
has passed through before arriving at their present state, and in Masonry we
meet with Indian, Egyptian, Jewish, and Christian ideas, terms therefrom the
supreme ambition of their craft and symbols." (See The Secret Societies of
All Ages and Countries.)
The
Roman Collegia of skilled architects were apparently a subdivision of the
greater Ionian body, their principles and organization being practically
identical with the older Ionian institution. It has been suspected that the
Dionysians also profoundly influenced early Islamic culture, for part of their
symbolism found its way into the Mysteries of the dervishes. At one time the
Dionysians referred to themselves as Sons of Solomon, and one of the most
important of their symbols was the Seal of Solomon--two interlaced triangles.
This motif is frequently seen in conspicuous parts of Mohammedan mosques. The
Knights Templars--who were suspected of anything and everything--are believed
to have contacted these Dionysiac artificers and to have introduced many of
their symbols and doctrines into mediæval Europe. But Freemasonry most of all
owes to the Dionysiac cult the great mass of its symbols and rituals which are
related to the science of architecture. From these ancient and illustrious
artisans it also received the legacy of the unfinished Temple of
Civilization-that vast, invisible structure upon which these initiated builders
have labored continuously since the inception of their fraternity. This mighty
edifice, which has fallen and been rebuilt time after time but whose
foundations remain unmoved, is the true Everlasting House of which the temple
on the brow of Mount Moriah was but an impermanent symbol.
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