Dionysus(Bacchus)Greek God of the vine
Dionysus is the ancient Greek god of fertility and wine, later considered a patron of the arts. He was the inventor of wine and spread the art of tending grapes. He was known to have a dual nature and was capable of bringing joy and divine ecstasy. But he could be brutal, angry,unthinking. The Greek god of the vine is the son of Zeus and Semele. He is the only god to have a mortal parent. He is a late comer to the Olympian gods and his divine nature is the topic of question in Euripides' play the Bacchae. He was also known as and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia. He is the patron deity of agriculture, along with Demeter, and the theater. He was also known as the Liberator, freeing one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine. His divine mission was to mingle the music of the aulos and to bring an end to care and worry. Scholars have discussed his relationship to the "cult of the souls" and his ability to preside over communication between the living and the dead.
Birth and origins of DionysusZeus disguised himself as a mortal to have an affair with the daughter of Cadmus, Semele. Hera found out and in her jealousy she disguised herself as an old woman and persuaded Semele to ask her lover to reveal himself to her. Semele first persuaded Zeus to grant her whatever she wished and once he had done so she told him of her wishes. Reluctantly Zeus followed through with his promise. He revealed himself to her and she was burned to ash by his splendor. Their unborn child was not destroyed, due to his divine nature. Zeus saved his son by sewing him up in his thigh until he could be born at a proper time. His birth from Zeus alone conferred immortality upon him. The legend goes that Zeus gave the infant boy to Hermes. One version of the story is that Hermes took the boy to King Athamas and his wife Ino, Dionysus' aunt. Hermes asked the couple to raise the boy as a girl, to hide him from Hera's wrath. Another version is that Dionysus was taken to the rain-nymphs of Nysa, who nourished his infancy and childhood, and for their care Zeus rewarded them by placing them as the Hyades among the stars. Other versions have Zeus giving him to Rhea, or to Persephone to raise in the Underworld, away from Hera. Alternatively, he was raised by Maro. Like all of the Greek gods, the stories are many. When he grew up he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice; but Hera struck him with madness, and drove him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In Phrygia the goddess Cybele, better known to the Greeks as Rhea, cured him and taught him her religious rites, and he set out on a progress through Asia teaching the people the cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of his wanderings is his expedition to India, which is said to have lasted several years. Returning in triumph he undertook to introduce his worship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes who dreaded its introduction on account of the disorders and madness it brought with it. As a young man, he was exceptionally attractive. Once, while disguised as a mortal sitting beside the seashore, a few sailors spotted him, believing he was a prince. They attempted to kidnap him and sail him far away to sell for ransom or into slavery. They tried to bind him with ropes, but no type of rope could hold him. Dionysus turned into a fierce lion and unleashed a bear onboard, killing those he came into contact with. Those who jumped off the ship were mercifully turned into dolphins. The only survivor was the helmsman, Acoetes, who recognized the god and tried to stop his sailors from the start. In a similar story, Dionysus desired to sail from Icaria to Naxos. He then hired a Tyrrhenian pirate ship. But when the god was on board, they sailed not to Naxos but to Asia, intending to sell him as a slave. So Dionysus turned the mast and oars into snakes, and filled the vessel with ivy and the sound of flutes so that the sailors went mad and, leaping into the sea, were turned into dolphins. Dionysian LinkagesDionysus is often linked with the bull, the serpent, the ivy and wine, and he is strongly associated with satyrs, centaurs, and sileni. He is often shown riding a leopard, wearing a leopard skin, or in a chariot drawn by panthers, and may also be recognized by the thyrsus he carries. Besides the grapevine, the toxic ivy plant was sacred to him, and the fig was also his symbol. The pinecone that tipped his thyrsus linked him to Cybele, and the pomegranate linked him to Demeter. The Dionysia and Lenaia festivals in Athens were dedicated to Dionysus. Initiates worshipped him in the Dionysian Mysteries, which were comparable to and linked with the Orphic Mysteries, and may have influenced Gnosticism. Orpheus was said to have invented the Mysteries of Dionysus. LinksDionysus
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