Dionysus

Dionysus is one of the 12 major gods in Greek mythology. He is similar to the roman Bacchus. He is most widely known as the god of wine. He is the only one of the 12 major gods to have a mortal mother. He is frequently called “twice born” because of the circumstances surrounding his birth.

According to myth, Bacchus is the son of the god Zeus and a mortal princess and priestess, Semele. Out of jealousy, the goddess Hera disguised herself and Convinced the pregnant Semele to ask Zeus to show himself in his true form, knowing she could not do this and survive. Semele asked Zeus to grant her a wish, and he agreed, without knowing what it was. When she made her request, he tried to convince her to change her wish. Hera had made her suspicious and she refused. Zeus made himself appear as the smallest lightning bolt possible, but Semele was still burnt to cinders. Zeus could not save her, but he did mange to save his unborn child, which he placed in his thigh until the child was ready to be born. Dionysus was the result of this.

Zeus knew what Hera had done and protected the child from her wrath by sending him to Semele’s sister. When Semele’s sister was killed, he was given to forest nymphs to raise.

Dionysus was taught the secret of the grape by Silenus. With this knowledge, he traveled, teaching men how to make wine. He was worshipped for this and was soon adored by a large group of drunken, dancing followers.

Because he had brought so much joy to mankind, Zeus decided to give him a throne on Olympus. There were only twelve thrones so Hestia voluntarily gave up hers, and instead took her place by the hearth, where she said she belonged anyway.

Dionysus sits at the right hand of Zeus. This meant Semele was now the mother of a god of Olympus. Dionysus, who had always longed for his mother, was allowed to take her from Hades to live on Olympus.
Dionysus represents the both the good and ill effects of wine. He is a god of fertility, rebellion against the norm, the wild, and travel. While he is considered to be wild, and according to myth, destroyed those that opposed him, he was not chaotic and had some compassionate qualities. He was once kidnapped by a group of pirate that saw him sleeping on a shore and assumed he was a rich human that they could hold for ransom. He told them who he was and they laughed at him. He made the sea sprout grapevines that twined over the ship and its oars. The terrified pirates threw themselves into the sea. Dionysus felt sorry for them and saved them from drowning by changing them in to dolphins.


Links and References
Dionysus
Dionysus-God of Wine
Dionysus
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