Dionysus and the Last Supper

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it

Read to the end, I promise you a bit of plot twist…

The tableau depicted at the Olympic Opening Ceremony was an unwelcome sight, but not just for the reason that most people have been giving. There was an immediate and visceral repulsion to the opening ceremony for two reasons: 1) the use of drag queens, a transgender model, and semi-nude singer and 2) the resemblance of this coterie to Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper”.

Putting the issue of drag queens aside, let’s look at the resemblance to the Last Supper. Considering that the opening ceremony is a moving picture, we should take the whole scene, rather than a snapshot. To see what the artist was going for, I think it is worth looking at the final tableau. If you glance at the two side-by-side comparisons below, I think it is abundantly clear that the producer of the show was not referencing Da Vinci… at least not immediately. But he is nonetheless… more on that in a minute.

Instead, they claim to be referencing Jan van Bijlert’s 17th Century “Feast of the Gods.”

“Feast of the Gods” or “Last Supper”

Both images have a large group of individuals behind the same table with one figure prominently in the center. However, the comparisons end there, especially when the singer is wheeled out and is clearly Dionysus. Pay attention the person with arm extended to the right of the focal character at the table. Speaking of the person at the center of the table. She is depicting Apollo (as in the painting), not Jesus. [Note: it has come to my intention since writing this that the actress does think that she was playing Jesus… so, that’s blasphemous and horrendous]. Jesus is certainly well symbolized by the Sun. But I think a more charitable interpretation (as far as the creative director goes) is commensurate with the “Feast of the Gods” more than the “Last Supper.”

I was concerned, at first, that the creative director of the ceremony, Thomas Jolly, was pulling a bait and switch. There was a public outcry, so he said it was always meant to be Dionysian and in no way related to the Last Supper. But the scene has been titled, for weeks, as “Festivity.” It’s the “Feast of the Gods” not the “Last Supper.”

So, am I giving a pass to the Opening Ceremony? NO! The impact of Christianity on the world is clear. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ has “baptized” Greco-Roman culture. And in France of all places, the once-faithful daughter of the Church, I expected something that more prominently reflected the patrimony of that great nation.

The Ancient Olympic Games

But there is a bigger historical problem with the artist’s work at the Opening Ceremony. The ancient Olympic Games were held in honor of Zeus, not Dionysus. To pay homage to Dionysus as the Olympics begin because it’s “Greek” is cheap and ineffective in my mind. Dionysus is the god of wine, fertility, theater, and debauchery. The festivals that honored him were lavish, sumptuous, sexual, and over the top. So… spot on 2024 Opening Ceremony.

However, the Olympic Games are singularly focused on athletic competition, physical excellence, and sportsmanship and the sometimes-brief cessation of violence and war. The Dionysian festivals were held annually and usually included theatrical competitions and had a measurable cultural response in the dramatic arts for the coming year - similar to our theatrical and film festivals today, in that regard.

In line with the Dionysian cult, this display is in line with the creative directors wish of a “big pagan party.”

I think what is upsetting Christians is the use of drag queens, a transgender model, and having a child present in the tableau. It is all debaucherous and distasteful to traditional sensibilities. I think that was the point. But let’s set that aside for the moment. I do not intend to rehash all of the culture wars of the last 8 years or so. Jolly says that the ideas was “more to have a big pagan party linked to the gods of Olympus, Olympian, Olympianism … You’ll never find in me any kind of wish to mock, to denigrate anything at all. I wanted a ceremony that repairs and reconciles.” Let us then, charitably, take him at his word.

Plot Twist - It’s Still “The Last Supper”

Assuming the charitable interpretation that the tabeleau is depicting the Feast of the Gods, let’s look at that painting.

The “Feast of the Gods” by Jan van Bijlert was not mentioned by the creative director, but the resemblance to the tableau vivant of last week is uncanny. So, let’s assume that it is the inspiration behind this creative project in some large measure.

The Magnin Museum (quoted in this Guardian article) which houses this painting acknowledged

“similarities between the work and The Last Supper, which was painted more than a century earlier before the Protestant Reformation, which rejected Catholic art and even destroyed many works.”

They went on to say that:

“In the context of the Reformation … the artist found a strategy for painting a Christ-related Last Supper under cover of a mythological subject matter.”

So, whether explicit or not, the “Feast of the Gods” is depicting a mythological scene from ancient Greece while paying homage to Da Vinci’s “Last Supper.” By extension, and without much effort, it is clear to see that the tableau vivant from the Opening Ceremony is doing the same thing.

If the homage was intentional: then the creative director knew exactly what he was doing and was paying homage to Da Vinci’s masterpiece. Given the religious and cultural depictions on display, I am willing to grant that he did not mean any offense to Christians. It is likely possible that he meant any passing homage in a spirit of reconciliation and repair, as he stated afterwards.

If the homage was not intentional: I find this option even more problematic. If you look at the tableau before the entrance of Dionysus and do not see the “Last Supper” then you are not connected to the artistic tradition of the pre-Modern era. Christians (and especially Catholics) see religious symbolism everywhere because Christianity is an incarnational Faith. And a nation that is as deeply imbued with Catholicism as France was historically, there is no way that someone during the creation, rehearsal, and execution of this ceremony did not think: hmmm, this looks like Jesus and the Last Supper.

Conclusion

I am willing to take the creative director at his word. He meant the ceremony to be focused on repair and reconciliation. However, what we saw instead was a Dionysian cultic display, which should be far from the sensibilities of any serious Christian. We saw men with beards wearing dressing and sequined clothing. We saw a immodestly dressed woman flanked by drag queens as the focal point of the feast. And then on live television, in front of the entire world, a semi-nude singer was presented on a platter. All of this took place with at least one child present. The creative director did not intend the display to be subversive and wanted it to bring people together.

What I think it did is show to the world just how dead Christendom is. There is a new religion that is creating culture.

Christendom is done, but Christianity is not. Jesus deserves to be the focal point. I think God gave us a taste of that message when there was a power outage after the Opening Ceremony in Paris, and stunningly the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus alone was still lit.

Christians, instead of saying “God will not be mocked.” Let us assume that no one was intending to mock anyone, least of all God. But point out, charitably, the broader problem with our world so in need of Jesus and the Catholic Faith.

No, we should not only say “God will not be mocked.” We should say:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5