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Dionysus holding a cup. Red-figure Amphora, by the Berlin Painter, c. 490-480 B.C.
Dionysus holding a wine cup (kantharos). Red-figure Amphora, by the Berlin Painter, c. 490-480 B.C.
Courtesy of Bibi Saint-Pol at Wikipedia.
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Dionysus Resources

SemeleTheater of DionysusBirth of Dionysus

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Dionysus - Greek God Dionysus

From N.S. Gill,
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Who Is Dionysus?:

Dionysus is the god of wine and drunken revelry in Greek mythology. He is a patron of the theater and an agricultural/fertility god. He was sometimes at the heart of frenzied madness that led to savage murder. Writers often contrast Dionysus with his half-brother Apollo. Where Apollo personifies the cerebral aspects of mankind, Dionysus represents the libido and gratification.

Occupation:

God

Family of Origin:

Dionysus was the son of the king of the Greek gods, Zeus, and Semele, the mortal daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia of Thebes [see map section Ed]. Dionysus is called "twice born" because of the unusual manner in which he grew: not only in a womb, but also in a thigh.

The queen of the gods, Hera, jealous because her husband was playing around -- again, took revenge in her characteristic way: She punished the woman; in this case, Semele.

Zeus had visited Semele in human form, but claimed to be a god. Hera persuaded her that she needed more than his word that he was the king of the gods. Zeus knew the sight of him in all his splendor would prove fatal, but he had no choice, so he revealed himself. The lightning brightness that was his divinity killed Semele, but first, Zeus took the unborn from her womb and sewed it inside his thigh. There it gestated until it was time for birth.

Roman Equivalent:

The Romans often called Dionysus Bacchus or Liber.

Attributes:

Usually visual representations, like the vase shown, depict the god Dionysus sporting a beard. Other attributes of Dionysus are thyrsus, wine, vines, ivy, panthers, leopards, theater

Powers:

Ecstacy -- madness in his followers, sexuality, drunkenness

Dionysus Stories:

The following are some of the stories from Greek mythology featuring Dionysus (Bacchus), as re-told by Thomas Bulfinch:

Also see: Orpheus and Pentheus

Sources:

Ancient sources for Dionysus include: Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, Euripides, Hesiod, Homer, Hyginus, Nonnius, Ovid, Pausanias, and Strabo.

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