by Joan Inong

Created on: September 19, 2008

Dionysus is the greek god of wine, grapes, ecstasy, and drunkenness. He is the son of Zeus and Semele. Dionysus was conceived when Semele asked Zeus if she could see his real body. When Zeus appeared (along with his thunder and lightning), Semele was burned up and Dionysus was formed by Zeus from her ashes. Another version of Dionysus's birth records him as the son of Zeus and Persephone. Since Hera did not much favor Zeus's lovers (and especially their children), she sent some Titans to lure the little boy with toys and they rip him up to shreds except for his heart. Either Athena or Demeter saves the heart, and Zeus makes Dionysus from it. Later on, Hera discovered that Dionysus was still alive, and, of course, she was not a happy woman. So, in order to protect the young boy, Hermes turns Dionysus into a man-goat. This did not help him out for long, however. Hera finds out what happened to him, and continues to harass him. Thus, Dionysus goes a little crazy and begins to wander Greece (where he gets the nickname "the wanderer").

Since he was not one of the major Olympian gods, Dionysus was not really worshipped as much as the others, and the Greeks' worship of him only came later from present-day Turkey (Anatolia). Naxos was probably the region which best worshipped him (regions known for wine-making or the cultivation of grapes may still have celebrations today that resemble worship practices for the god of wine centuries ago).

Dionysus is always depicted against the good; in other words, he represents gluttony, laziness, and drunkenness. In illustrations, he is nearly never alone: he is surrounded by partygoers, maenads or women who participated in orgies, and satyrs. He wears a wreath of wine leaves on his head, and is almost always holding a cup or goblet.

He had a major following despite his reputation for wildness. Dionysus's followers were said to participate in "orgies" only because they drank wine excessively and reached a state of ecstasy wherein they said they felt "as one" with Dionysus.

Dionysus is also the god of plays, especially the tragedy. He would have the satyrs sing and play, and the word "tragedy" even means "goat song." The party of friends that followed Dionysus were called Komos, and that is where we get the word "comedy." Dionysus has many epithets, but his most common one is Bacchus, which was used extensively by the Romans.

Learn more about this author, Joan Inong.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.