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Dionysus or Dionysos (Ancient Greek: Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman Liber), the Greek god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficial influences. He was also known as Bacchus^[1] and the frenzy he induces, bakcheia. Bacchus is "manifestly non-Greek," Burkert asserts (1985:163). He is viewed as the promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and lover of skeptic — as well as the patron deity of agriculture and the theatre. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine.^[2] The divine mission of Dionysus was to mingle the music of the aulos and to bring an end to care and worry.^[3] There is also an aspect of Dionysus on his relationship to the "cult of the souls", and the scholar Xavier Riu writes that Dionysus presided over communication between the living and the dead.^[4]

In Greek mythology Dionysus is made to be the son of Zeus and Semele; other versions of the story contend that he is the son of Zeus and Persephone. He is described as being womanly or "man-womanish".^[5]

The name Dionysos is of uncertain significance; its -nysos element may well be non-Greek in origin, but its dio- element has been associated since antiquity with Zeus (genitive Dios). Nysa, for Greek writers, is either the nymph who nursed him, or the mountain where he was attended by several nymphs (the Nysiads), who fed him and made him immortal as directed by Hermes. Or both.^[6]

The retinue of Dionysus was called the Thiasus and comprised chiefly Maenads.

Worship

[ e] Greek deities series
Primordial deities
Titans (predecessor ancient dieties overthrown emprisoned and deposed by the Olympian Gods)
Greek sea gods (Aquatic deities)
Chthonic deities
Muses (Personified concepts)
Other deities
Twelve Olympians
Zeus Hera Poseidon Hermes Hestia Demeter Aphrodite Athena Apollo Artemis Ares Hephaestus

The above contradictions suggest to some that we are dealing not with the historical memory of a cult that is foreign, but with a god in whom foreignness is inherent. And indeed, Dionysus's name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as "DI-WO-NI-SO-JO",^[7] and Kerenyi^[8] traces him to Minoan Crete, where his Minoan name is unknown but his characteristic presence is recognizable. Clearly, Dionysus had been with the Greeks and their predecessors a long time, and yet always retained the feel of something alien.

The bull, the serpent, the ivy and wine are the signs of the characteristic Dionysian atmosphere, infused with the unquenchable life of the god. Their numinous presence signifies that the god is near. (Kerenyi 1976). Dionysus is strongly associated with the satyrs, centaurs, and the sileni. Dionysus is often shown riding a leopard, wearing a leopard skin, or in a chariot drawn by panthers and has been called the god of cats and savagery. He may be recognized by the thyrsus he carries. Besides the grapevine and its wild barren alter-ego, the toxic ivy plant, both sacred to him, the fig was also his. 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.

Bacchanalia

Main article: Bacchanalia

Introduced into Rome (c. 200 BC) from the Greek culture of lower Italy or by way of Greek-influenced Etruria, the bacchanalia were held in secret and attended by women only, on three days in the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill, on March 16 and 17. Subsequently, admission to the rites were extended to men and celebrations took place five times a month. The notoriety of these festivals, where many kinds of crimes and political conspiracies were supposed to be planned, led in 186 BC to a decree of the Senate — the so-called Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in Calabria (1640), now at Vienna — by which the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate. In spite of the severe punishment inflicted on those found in violation of this decree, the Bacchanalia were not stamped out, at any rate in the south of Italy, for a very long time. (See: Further Reading below for an ancient description of the banned Bacchanalia)

Dionysus is equated with both Bacchus and Liber (also Liber Pater). Liber ("the free one") was a god of fertility and growth, married to Libera. His festival was the Liberalia, celebrated on March 17, but in some myths the festival was also held on March 5.

Appellations

Dionysus sometimes has the epithet Acratophorus, by which he was designated as the giver of unmixed wine, and worshipped at Phigaleia in Arcadia.^[9][10] In Sicyon he was worshiped by the name Acroreites.^[11] As Bacchus, he carried the Latin epithet Adoneus, "Ruler".^[12] Aegobolus, "goat killer", was the name under which he was worshiped at Potniae in Boeotia.^[13] Another epithet was Bromios, "the thunderer" or "he of the loud shout". As Dendrites, "he of the trees", he is a powerful fertility god. Dithyrambos ("he of the double door") is sometimes used to refer to him or to solemn songs sung to him at festivals; the name refers to his premature birth. Eleutherios ("the liberator") was an epithet for both Dionysus and Eros. Other forms of the god as that of fertility include the epithet in Samos and Lesbos Enorches ("with balls"^[14] or perhaps "in the testicles" in reference to Zeus' sewing the babe Dionysus into his thigh, i.e., his testicles).^[15] Evius is an epithet of his used prominently in The Bacchae. Iacchus, possibly an epithet of Dionysus, is associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries; in Eleusis, he is known as a son of Zeus and Demeter. The name "Iacchus" may come from the iakchos, a hymn sung in honor of Dionysus. With the epithet Liknites ("he of the winnowing fan") he is a fertility god connected with the mystery religions. A winnowing fan was similar to a shovel and was used to separate the chaff from the grain. In addition, Dionysus is known as Lyaeus ("he who releases") as a god of relaxation and freedom from worry. As Oeneus, he is the god of the wine-press.

In the Greek pantheon, Dionysus (along with Zeus) absorbs the role of Sabazios, a Phrygian deity, whose name means "shatterer" and to whom shattered pottery was sacrificed (probably to prevent other pottery from being broken during firing). In the Roman pantheon, Sabazius became an alternate name for Bacchus.

Mythology

Birth

Dionysus had an unusual birth. That evokes the difficulty in fitting him into the Olympian pantheon. His mother was Semele (daughter of Cadmus), a mortal woman, and his father Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus's wife, Hera, a jealous and vain goddess, discovered the affair while Semele was pregnant. Appearing as an old crone (in other stories a nurse), Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her husband was actually Zeus. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind. Curious, Semele demanded of Zeus that he reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his godhood. Though Zeus begged her not to ask this, she persisted and he agreed. Mortals, however, cannot look upon a god without dying. He came to her wreathed in bolts of lightning and she perished in the ensuing blaze. Zeus rescued the fetal Dionysus, however, by sewing him into his thigh (referred as his testicles). A few months later, Dionysus was born. In this version, Dionysus is borne by two mothers (Semele and Zeus) before his birth, hence the epithet dimetor (two mothers) associated with "twice-born".

In another version of the same story, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Persephone, the queen of the underworld. A jealous Hera again attempted to kill the child, this time by sending Titans to rip Dionysus to pieces after luring the baby with toys. Zeus drove the Titans away with his thunderbolts, but only after the Titans ate everything but the heart, which was saved, variously, by Athena, Rhea, or Demeter. Zeus used the heart to recreate him in the womb of Semele, hence he was again "the twice-born". Sometimes people said that he gave Semele the heart to eat to impregnate her. The rebirth in both versions of the story is the primary reason he was worshipped in mystery religions, as his death and rebirth were events of mystical reverence. This narrative was apparently used in certain Greek and Roman mystery religions. Variants of it are found in Callimachus and Nonnus, who refer to this Dionysus under the title Zagreus, and also in several fragmentary poems attributed to Orpheus.

Early life

The legend goes that Zeus gave the infant Dionysus into the charge of Hermes. One version of the story is that Hermes took the boy King Athamas and his wife Ino, Dionysus' aunt. Hermes bade the couple raise the boy as a girl, to hide him from Hera's wrath.^[16] 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 (see Hyades star cluster). 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.

When Dionysus 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. (See King Pentheus or Lycurgus.)

As a young man, Dionysus 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. Others say that Dionysus came on board after these sailors, having leapt ashore, captured him, stripped him of his possessions, and tied him with ropes they had almost succeeded.

Other stories

Topics in Greek mythology
Gods: Primordial gods and Titans Zeus and the Olympians Pan and the nymphs Apollo and Dionysus Sea-gods and Earth-gods
Heroes: Heracles and his Labors Achilles and the Trojan War Odysseus and the Odyssey Jason and the Argonauts Perseus and Medusa/Gorgon Oedipus and Thebes Theseus and the Minotaur Triptolemus and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Related: Satyrs, centaurs and dragons Religion in Ancient Greece

When Hephaestus bound Hera to a magical chair, Dionysus got him drunk and brought him back to Olympus after he passed out. For this act, he was made one of the twelve Olympians.

Pentheus

Euripides wrote a tale concerning the destructive nature of Dionysus in his play entitled The Bacchae. Since Euripides wrote this play while in the court of King Archelaus of Macedon, some scholars believe that the cult of Dionysus was malicious in Macedon but benign in Athens. In the play, Dionysus returns to his birthplace, Thebes, ruled by his cousin, Pentheus. He wanted to exact revenge on the women of Thebes, his aunts Agave, Ino and Autonoe and his cousin Pentheus, for not believing his mother Semele when she said she had been impregnated by Zeus, and for denying that Dionysus was a god and therefore not worshipping him. The female worshippers of Dionysus were known as Maenads, who often experienced divine ecstasy. Pentheus was slowly driven mad by the compelling Dionysus, and lured to the woods of Mount Cithaeron to see the Maenads. When the women spied Pentheus, they tore him to pieces like they did earlier in the play to a herd of cattle. Brutally, his head was torn off by his mother Agave as he begged for his life.

Lycurgus

When King Lycurgus of Thrace heard that Dionysus was in his kingdom, he imprisoned all the followers of Dionysus, the Maenads. Dionysus fled, taking refuge with Thetis. Dionysus then sent a drought and the people revolted. Dionysus made King Lycurgus insane, and he sliced his own son into pieces with an axe, thinking he was a patch of ivy, a plant holy to Dionysus. An oracle then claimed that the land would stay dry and barren as long as Lycurgus was alive, so his people had him drawn and quartered. With Lycurgus dead, Dionysus lifted the curse.

Prosymnus

A better-known story is that of his descent to Hades to rescue his mother Semele. He made the descent from a reputedly bottomless pool on the coast of the Argolid near the prehistoric site of Lerna. He was guided by Prosymnus or Polymnus, who requested, as his reward, to be Dionysus' lover. Prosymnus died before Dionysus could honor his pledge, so in order to satisfy the shade of his Erastes the god fashioned a phallus from an olive branch and sat on it at Prosymnus' tomb.^[17] This tradition was widely known but treated as a secret not to be divulged to those not privy to the god's mysteries. It was the source of the custom of parading wooden phalloi at the god's festivities. ^[18][19]

Ampelos

Another pederastic myth of the god involves his eromenos, Ampelos, a beautiful satyr youth whom he loved dearly. According to Nonnus, Ampelos was killed by the river Pactolus, riding a bull maddened by Ate's gadfly, as foreseen by his lover. The fates granted Ampelos a second life as a vine, from which Dionysus squeezed the first wine.^[20]

Secondary myths

A third descent by Dionysus to Hades is invented by Aristophanes in his comedy The Frogs. Dionysus, as patron of the Athenian dramatic festival, the Dionysia, wants to bring back to life one of the great tragedians. After a competition Aeschylus is chosen in preference to Euripides.

When Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, Dionysus found and married her. She bore him a son named Oenopion, but he committed suicide or was killed by Perseus. In some variants, he had her crown put into the heavens as the constellation Corona; in others, he descended into Hades to restore her to the gods on Olympus.

Callirhoe was a Calydonian woman who scorned a priest of Dionysus who threatened to inflict all the women of Calydon with insanity (see Maenad). The priest was ordered to sacrifice Callirhoe but he killed himself instead. Callirhoe threw herself into a well which was later named after her.

Acis, a Sicilian youth, was sometimes said to be Bacchus' son.

Consorts/Children

1. Aphrodite
2. Charites
3. Aglaea
4. Euphrosyne
5. Thalia
6. Hymenaios
7. Priapus
8. Ariadne
9. Oenopion
10. Nyx
11. Phthonus
12. Unknown mother
13. Acis
14. Althaea
15. Deianeira

In art

Classical

Naturally, the god appeared on many kraters and other wine vessels from classical Greece. His iconography became more complex in the Hellenistic period, between severe archaising or Neo Attic types such as the Dionysus Sardanapalus and types showing him as an indolent and androgynous young man (such as this one).

E. Kessler has theorized that a mosaic appearing on the triclinium floor of the House of Aion in Nea Paphpos, Cyprus details a monotheistic worship of Dionysus.^[21] In the mosaic, other gods appear but may only be lesser representations of the centrally-imposed Dionysus.

Post-classical

Parallels with Christianity

Dionysian mythology had a strong influence on the gospel, as Martin Hengel points out: "Dionysus had been at home in Palestine for a long time". But it was most likely not simply a "borrowed story", but rather a reaction to the commonly known Dionysian culture. There are especially many parallels between Dionysus and Jesus; both were born by a virgin mortal (although virgo was initially a social status, not a biological one), but fathered by the king of heaven, to have returned from the dead, to have transformed water into wine (the wine in antiquity was thicker than today, and usually mixed with water, otherwise it was as thick as blood; the parallels to John 2:8 are eg. Ovidius, Met. 3.690-691, and 6.488: "et Bacchus in auro ponitur" where the god is made identical with the wine) and to have been liberator of mankind. The modern scholar Barry Powell also argues that Christian notions of eating and drinking "the flesh" and "blood" of Jesus were influenced by the cult of Dionysus. Dionysus was also distinct among Greek gods, as a deity commonly felt within individual followers. In a less benign example of possible influence on Christianity, Dionysus' followers, as well as another god, Pan, are said to have had the most influence on the modern view of Satan as animal-like and horned.^[22] Furthermore, it is worth noting that the story of Jesus turning water into wine is only found in the Gospel of John, which differs on many points from the other Synoptic Gospels. That very passage, a Bible commentator suggests, was incorporated into the Gospel from an earlier source focusing on Jesus' miracles.^[23] John might also have referred in the marriage of Kana to Dionysus on purpose, in order to emphasize the legitimacy of Jesus, eg. by saying that Jesus could turn water into wine, which Dionysus never did (who, however, had invented wine pressing in the first place).^[24]

Modern views

• In his book The Birth of Tragedy, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche contrasted Dionysus with the god Apollo as a symbol of the fundamental, unrestrained aesthetic principle of force, music, and intoxication versus the one of sight, reason, form, and beauty represented by the latter. The two remain intrinsically related and dependent upon one another in an endless state of conflict.
• The Canadian rock band Rush also highlight a confrontation between Dionysus and Apollo in the Cygnus X-1 duology. The song details a people who are ruled alternately by the truth-seeking Apollo, who advocates reason and the passion-seeking Dionysus, who advocates love and liberty. The population suffers when following the sole doctrine of either god.
• The Russian poet and philosopher Vyacheslav Ivanov elaborated the theory of Dionysianism, which traces the roots of literary art in general and the art of tragedy in particular to ancient Dionysian mysteries. His views were expressed in the treatises The Hellenic Religion of the Suffering God (1904), and Dionysus and Early Dionysianism (1921).
• Inspired by James Frazer, some have labeled Dionysus a life-death-rebirth deity. The mythographer Karl Kerenyi devoted much energy to Dionysus over his long career; he summed up his thoughts in Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life (Bollingen, Princeton) 1976.
• Dionysus is the main character of Aristophanes' play The Frogs, later updated to a modern version by Stephen Sondheim ("The time is the present; The place is ancient Greece"). In the play, Dionysus and his slave Xanthius venture to Hades to bring a famed writer back from the dead, with the hopes that the writer's presence in the world will fix all nature of earthly problems. In Aristophanes' play, Euripides competes against Aeschylus to be recovered from the underworld; In Sondheim's, George Bernard Shaw faces William Shakespeare.
• Rock star Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors, often compared himself to (and was compared to by others) Dionysus. It was Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek who made the comparison first, and in turn Jim called Ray Apollo. Similarities between Morrison and Dionysus include love of song, wine, women, and a sense of poetry. Dionysus ended up becoming one of Morrison's nicknames.
• In the foreword, Grant Morrison says that the myth of Dionysus provides the inspiration for his violent and explicit graphic novel Kill Your Boyfriend, about a young girl who is seduced by an older boy into killing her boyfriend and running away to Blackpool.
• A nomadic cricket team in London, England is called the Bacchanalians Dricket and Crinking Club, in honour of Dionysus, or Bacchus.
• The first Walt Disney portrayal of Dionysus was in the "Pastoral" segment of Walt Disney's 3rd classic Fantasia. He is portrayed as an overweight drunk man who rides a drunken unicorn; wears a tunic and cloak, and grape leaves on his head; and carries a goblet of wine. He is friends with the fauns and centaurs, and is shown celebrating a harvest festival.
• Dionysus appeared in both the Disney movie and of Hercules. He was depicted as an overweight drunkard as opposed to his youthful descriptions in myths. He has bright pink skin and rosey red cheeks hinting at his problems with alcoholism. He always carries either a bottle or glass of wine in his hand, and like in the myths, wears a wreath of grape leaves upon his head. He is known by his roman name in the series 'Bacchus', and in one episode headlines his own festival known as the 'Bacchanal'.
• In the MMORPG Runescape, the true name of the elusive Wise Old Man is thought to be Dionysus. This is discovered by the player during the Swan Song quest in which the player must recruit the Wise Old Man to help rescue a fishing colony. During this quest, a book may be retrieved from the desk of the leader of the fishing colony which details the exploits of Dionysus, which the fishing colony leader has been reading in search of aid. Also, in certain letters to the Wise Old Man in the monthly newsletter, the Postbag From The Hedge, the Wise Old Man signs his name as D. which could indicate Dionysus is his true name.
• Dionysius (together with Demeter) was used as an archetype for the character Tori by contemporary artist Tori Amos in her 2007 album American Doll Posse. Amos created five personalities for the album, each representing a different Greek god or goddess.
• In Rick Riordan's series of books Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Dionysus apears as a uncaring, childish and spoilt god who as a punishment has to work in Camp Half-Blood.
• In Fred Saberhagen's 2001 novel, God of the Golden Fleece, a young man in a post-apocalyptic world picks up an ancient piece of technology shaped in the likeness of the Dionysus. The technology gives him the appearance and powers of the ancient god, including his ability to summon a chariot harnessed to leopards, create a bacchanalia, and heal. Dionysus is depicted as a relatively weak god in the novel, but a subversive one whose powers are able to undermine the authority of tyrants.

Names with the origin Dionysus

• Denise (also spelled Denice, Daniesa, Denese, and Denisse)
• Denis or Dennis (including the derivative surnames Denison and Dennison)
• Denny
• Nis (as of the Nordic surname Nissen)
• Nils (Nicholas is another origin)
• Dion, Deon, Deion
• Dénes (Hungarian)
• Bacchus (Roman)
• Dionisio, Dionigi (Italian)
• Dionyssios (Διονύσιος, Διονύσης Modern Greek)

Footnotes

References

• Dalby, Andrew (2005), The Story of Bacchus, London: British Museum Press, ISBN 0714122556 (US ISBN 0-89236-742-3)
• Farnell, Lewis Richard, The Cults of the Greek States, 1896. Volume V, cf. Chapter IV, Cults of Dionysos; Chapter V, Dionysiac Ritual; Chapter VI, Cult-Monuments of Dionysos; Chapter VII, Ideal Dionysiac Types.
• Fox, William Sherwood, The Mythology of All Races, v.1, Greek and Roman, 1916, General editor, Louis Herbert Gray.
• Jameson, Michael. "The Asexuality of Dionysus." Masks of Dionysus. Ed. Thomas H. Carpenter and Christopher A. Faraone. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1993. ISBN 0-8014-8062-0. 44-64.
• Kerényi, Karl, Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life, (Princeton: Bollingen) 1976.
• Pickard-Cambridge, Arthur, The Theatre of Dionysus at Athens, 1946.
• Powell, Barry B., "Classical Myth," 5th edition, 2007. ISBN
• Ridgeway, William, Origin of Tragedy, 1910. Kessinger Publishing (June 2003). ISBN 0-7661-6221-4.
• Ridgeway, William, The Dramas and Dramatic Dances of non-European Races in special reference to the origin of Greek Tragedy, with an appendix on the origin of Greek Comedy, 1915.
• Riu, Xavier, Dionysism and Comedy, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers (1999). ISBN 0-8476-9442-9. http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2000/2000-06-13.html
• Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1870, article on Dionysus, http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1052.html
• Sutton, Dana F., Ancient Comedy, Twayne Publishers (August 1993). ISBN 0-8057-0957-6.

Bibliography

• Livy, History of Rome, Book 39:13, Description of banned Bacchanalia in Rome and Italy
• Albert Henrichs, Between City and Country: Cultic Dimensions of Dionysus in Athens and Attica, (April 1, 1990). Department of Classics, UCB. Cabinet of the Muses: Rosenmeyer Festschrift. Paper festschrift18.
• Seaford, Richard. Dionysos (Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World). Oxford: Routledge, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-415-32487-4; paperback, ISBN 0-415-32488-2).

External links

• Theoi Project, Dionysos myths from original sources, cult, classical art
• Iconographic Themes in Art: Bacchus | Dionysos
• Temenos of Dionysos, Hellenic polytheist site
• Thiasos Lusios, pagan Dionysian organization
• Dionysos Links and Booklist (A huge list of links.)
• Mosaic of Dionysus at Ephesus Terrace Home-2

Greek deities series
Primordial deities | Titans | Aquatic deities | Chthonic deities
Twelve Olympians
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