{"id":1799,"date":"2024-07-29T22:20:38","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T22:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=1799"},"modified":"2024-07-29T22:20:38","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T22:20:38","slug":"olympic-officials-claim-a-controversial-scene-was-a-nod-to-dionysus-despite-outcry-from-christians-that-it-mocked-the-last-supper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=1799","title":{"rendered":"Olympic officials claim a controversial scene was a nod to Dionysus, despite outcry from Christians that it mocked the Last Supper."},"content":{"rendered":"

Was the opening ceremony performance a mockery of Christianity, as some are suggesting? Or was it a homage to the Greek god Dionysus, as organizers proclaim?<\/h2>\n
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Friday’s wild\u00a0opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics<\/a>\u00a0put the spotlight on\u00a0influential French metal bands<\/a>,\u00a0famed athletes bearing their nations’ flags<\/a>\u00a0and a triumphant\u00a0return from Celine Dion herself<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The parade down the river Seine featured plenty of eye-catching moments that sparked online fervor \u2013 including one now particularly infamous scene that\u00a0outraged many Christians<\/a>\u00a0who lambasted its resemblance to Leonardo Da Vinci’s famed Last Supper painting.<\/p>\n

In the tableau, a scantily-clad man painted in blue emerged at the center of a table to sing among dancing drag queens.<\/p>\n

Conservative and Christian leaders were quick to condemn the scene as an offensive parody of imagery and symbolism at the center of their faith, despite the insistence of ceremony organizers that they took inspiration from an ancient pagan festival.<\/p>\n

So, was the brief scene a mockery of Christianity, as some are suggesting? Or was it a homage to the Greek god Dionysus, as organizers proclaim?<\/p>\n

2024 Olympic medals:<\/strong>\u00a0Who is leading the medal count? Follow along as we track the medals for every sport.<\/a><\/p>\n

Here’s what to know about the controversial moment, and why some are questioning the performance’s intent.<\/p>\n

Paris Olympics:<\/strong>Top moments from opening ceremony<\/a><\/p>\n

Drag queens dance around Dionysus in opening ceremony performance<\/h2>\n

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The performance featuring Dionysus was one of many\u00a0highlights of the opening ceremony<\/a>\u00a0to this year’s\u00a0summer Olympics<\/a>\u00a0taking place Friday on and along the Seine.<\/p>\n

The tableau, which was broadcast during the ceremony, included a woman wearing a a silver, halo-like crown at the center of a long table flanked by drag queens. The scene is promptly disrupted when a nearly naked man painted blue emerges from a dinner plate surrounded by fruit.<\/p>\n

As he begins singing, the drag queens break out into dance behind him.<\/p>\n

Conservative, Christian leaders say performance mocked ‘Last Supper’<\/h2>\n

It wasn’t long until the scene prompted outcry from Christian and Conservative leaders in the United States who viewed its imagery as a mockery of “The Last Supper.”<\/p>\n

The\u00a0famous mural<\/a>\u00a0by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci depicts Jesus Christ surrounded by his 12 apostles on the eve of his crucifixion.<\/p>\n

As described in the Gospel, Jesus shares bread and wine with his gathered disciples, which he instructs them to eat and drink as his body and blood. The New Testament moment is a cornerstone of the Christian worship, as it is the basis of the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

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Because the Olympic opening ceremony scene so closely resembled the revered painting, several Christian and Catholic organizations publicly denounced it.<\/p>\n

The French Bishops\u2019 Conference, which represents the country’s Catholic bishops,\u00a0said in a statement<\/a>\u00a0that the scene was a “mockery and derision of Christianity.” Influential American Catholic, Bishop Robert Barron of Minnesota,\u00a0said in a video<\/a>\u00a0that it constituted a \u201cgross mockery” of “a very central moment in Christianity.”<\/p>\n

Conservative political leaders and businesses also criticized the piece.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0a post on X<\/a>, formerly known as Twitter, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Saturday said the performance “was shocking and insulting to Christian people around the world.\u201d C Spire, a U.S. telecommunications provider, also\u00a0said on X<\/a>\u00a0that it was pulling its advertising from the Summer Games as a result of the performance.<\/p>\n

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Who is Dionysus, reputed inspiration of ceremony feast scene?<\/h2>\n

But the opening ceremony\u2019s artistic director, Thomas Jolly, has insisted that the scene is not a reference at all to the Last Supper.<\/p>\n

Rather, the performance is a nod to a pagan celebration featuring Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility, wine and revelry.<\/p>\n

Portrayed at the Olympics by French singer and actor Philippe Katerine, Dionysus \u2013 known to the Romans as Bacchus \u2013 has a close tie to France: In Greek mythology, he is the father of Sequana, the Goddess of the River Seine.<\/p>\n

Even the official Olympics account on X\u00a0said on Friday<\/a>\u00a0that the \u201cinterpretation of the Greek God Dionysus makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.\u201d The post did not mention the Last Supper, while others commenting on the post described the performance as a depiction of a Dionysian feast.<\/p>\n

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Following the outcry, Jolly\u00a0said at<\/a>\u00a0the International Olympic Committee’s daily briefing at the Olympic Games on Saturday that the moment was not meant to “be subversive or shock people or mock people.” On Sunday, Jolly appeared on\u00a0French TV station BFMTV<\/a>\u00a0to further insist that “The Last Supper” was “not my inspiration” for the segment.<\/p>\n

“The idea was to have a pagan celebration connected to the gods of Olympus. You will never find in me a desire to mock and denigrate anyone,” he said. “The idea was to create a big pagan party in link with the God of Mount Olympus.”<\/p>\n

What is the Festival of Dionysus?<\/h2>\n

In 5th century Athens, the\u00a0Festival of Dionysus came to be one of the pinnacle events of the year.<\/p>\n

Every year around springtime, playwrights would compete to entertain the masses of Athenian citizenry,\u00a0according to Brown University<\/a>. The festivities also included a procession from outside the city limits in which\u00a0the sacred statue of Dionysus was carried to a theater named for the god near the Acropolis.<\/p>\n

While the Olympic ceremony performance could be said to depict one such celebration, some have even said the scene was reminiscent of not just Da Vinci’s work, but other works as well.<\/p>\n

Among them is \u201cThe Feast of the Gods<\/a>,” a 17th century painting from Dutch artist Jan van Bijlert depicting the Greek gods of Olympus crowded around a long table. At the center of the table is the sun god Apollo, recognizable by a halo of light around his head.<\/p>\n

The painting is among the collection at the Muse\u0301e Magnin in Dijon, France, which\u00a0posted<\/a>\u00a0images of it Sunday on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes this painting remind you of something?\u201d the museum asked with a wink.<\/p>\n

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Ce tableau vous rappelle quelque chose ? \ud83d\ude09
\nEt si vous veniez l\u2019admirer au #Mus\u00e9enationalMagnin<\/a> \u00e0 Dijon ?@jeuxolympiques<\/a> @paris2024<\/a>@Thomajolly<\/a> @DaphneBurki<\/a> #Paris2024<\/a> #ceremoniedouverture<\/a> #Jeuxolympiques<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iUteobd2eb<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mus\u00e9e Magnin (@MagninMusee) July 28, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n