Dionysus By Leigh Hubler

Who was he?  Dionysus was a popular Greek god of fertility, wine, and ectasy.  Being the god of fertility, he was closely linked with the crops, the harvest, and the changing of the seasons.

God of Wine and Ecstasy  He played to very different roles in greek mythology. Aside from being the god of fertilty, he was the god of wine and ecstasy. As the god of wine and ecstasy, he was associated with drunkenness, madness, and unrestrained sexuality.  His nature had a productive, life giving side and a destructive side.

His Birth  He was the son of zues and of Semele. Hera, zues’s jealous wife, wanted to know the identity of the childs father. Hera disquised herself as a nurse and went to visit semele. When semele told her zeus was the father, Hera challenged her to prove her claim by having Zeus appear in all his glory. Semele did so. When zues appeared, his power was to much for a human and semele turned to ashes.

Continued  Before semele died, zues pulled dionysus out of her womb. Zues cut open his thigh and placed the unborn child inside. A few months later zues opened his thigh and the baby was born. Dionysus was left with semeles sister ino who disguised him as a girl to protect him from hera. Hera drove ino and her husband insane as a consequence of helping dionysus.

Things he did  Some legends say that hera drove him insane. Dionysus wandered the world accompanied by his teacher, Silenus, bands of satyrs, and his women followers, who were known as maenads. Dionysus traveled to egypt and introduced the cultivation and grapes and the art of wine making. He traveled to libya and established an oracle in the desert. Lastly, he traveled to india where he conquered all those who opposed him and brought laws, citites, and wine to the country.

Drunkenness and Madness  Drunkenness and madness are elements that appear in many of the stories about Dionysus. In one myth, Dionysus disguised himself as a young boy and got drunk on an island near Greece. He was found by pirates who said they would take him home to naxos. However, the pirates decided to sell the boy into slavery. Only one of them, Acoetes, objected to the plan. When the pirates sailed away from Naxos, the wind died. Suddenly, a tangle of grapevines covered the ship. The oars turned into snakes, clusters of grapes grew on Dionysus's head, and wild animals appeared at his feet. Driven to madness, the pirates jumped overboard. Only Acoetes was spared. He sailed the ship to Naxos, where Dionysus made him a priest of the cult.

Cured of his Madness  Dionysus grew up being insane as a result of Heras punishment. On his way back to greece after traveling the world, he met his grandmother, the earth goddess Cybele. She cured him of his madness and taught him the mysteries of life and resurrection.

Dionysia Festivals  Dionysus's influence over fertility extended beyond crops to animals and humans as well. Festivals were held to celebrate this greek god of wine and fertility. Women flocked to his cult because of its association with the female responsibilities of childbearing and harvesting. They wore animal skins and carried wands called thyrsi, made of fennel stalks bound together with grapevines and ivy. The thyrsi were symbols of fertility and reproduction and also of intoxication.

The Dying and Rising God.  Because crops die in winter and return in spring, Dionysus was seen as a symbol of death and resurrection.