To the Greeks and to many primitive peoples the rites of birth,
marriage, and death were for the most part family rites needing little
or no social emphasis. But _the_ rite which concerned the whole tribe,
the essence of which was entrance into the tribe, was the rite of
initiation at puberty. This all-important fact is oddly and
significantly enshrined in the Greek language. The general Greek word
for rite was _tělětē_. It was applied to all mysteries, and sometimes to
marriages and funerals. But it has nothing to do with death. It comes
from a root meaning "to grow up." The word _tělětē_ means _rite of
growing up_, becoming complete. It meant at first maturity, then rite of
maturity, then by a natural extension any rite of initiation that was
mysterious. The rites of puberty were in their essence mysterious,
because they consisted in initiation into the sanctities of the tribe,
the things which society sanctioned and protected, excluding the
uninitiated, whether they were young boys, women, or members of other
tribes. Then, by contagion, the mystery notion spread to other rites.

* * * * *

We understand now who and what was the god who arose out of the rite,
the _dromenon_ of tribal initiation, the rite of the new, the second
birth. He was Dionysos. His name, according to recent philology, tells
us--Dio_nysos_, "Divine Young Man."

When once we see that out of the emotion of the rite and the facts of
the rite arises that remembrance and shadow of the rite, that _image_
which is the god, we realize instantly that the god of the spring rite
_must_ be a young god, and in primitive societies, where young women are
but of secondary account, he will necessarily be a young _man_. Where