In Greek mythology, Dionysus is the god of wine, vegetation, peace and the arts of civilization. He was born to Zeus, the King of the Gods, and a mortal woman named Semele and was the only god who was not completely divine in his origins. In Roman mythology, he was identified with the Roman god, Bacchus.
The cult of Dionysus was the most important cult of the ancient world. Greeks worshipped him in the Oprhic mystery cult and at the festival of Dionysus in Athens. The rites of worship quite often involved wild and ecstatic celebrations by the frenzied and intoxicated followers on mountaintops and in forests.
According to the legends of Greek mythology, it was Dionysus who introduced the fruit of the vine to mankind and taught them how to make wine from the grapes. He held the dual qualities of being able to bring freedom and joy as well as that or weakness and brutality. Thus he was one of the gods with a double nature. To those who followed his cult and carried out the rituals, he was gentle and kind, but he punished unbelievers with death. Some of those who were believed to have been punished in this manner include Pentheus, the King of Thebes and Lycurgus, the King of Thrace.
One of the Greek myths recounts the story of Dionysus's love for Ariadne, who was a princess of Crete. After having been abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus, Dionysus rescued her and married her. In another myth Dionysus was the husband of Aphrodite and they were the parents of Priapus, the god of fertility.
The ancient Greeks believed that Dionysus died each year during the winter months and was reborn in the springtime when the grapes started to ripen on the vine. This was death and resurrection to his followers and his rebirth gave them the promise of immortality. The worship of this god brought an element of ecstasy and mysticism into the Greek religion.
The festivals for worshipping Dionysus became events at which poetry was recited and there were dramatic presentations. Greek dramatists, such as Sophocles and Euripides, wrote many of theur great works for such occasions.
In works of art, Dionysus is often represented as a young man wearing panther skins for clothing or a long robe with a crown of vine leaves on his head for a crown. In his had he holds the thyrsus, which is a reed covered in ivy and having a pine cone on the top. Such representations were common adornments for vases and sculptures.