Greek Mythology · deity
Dionysus
Διόνυσος
also: Bacchus (Roman)
deitywineecstasytheaterfertilitythe vinetransformation
God of wine, ecstasy, theater, and fertility; the only Olympian born of a mortal mother (Semele).
The account
Who they are
Dionysus (Bacchus) is the god of wine, vine, ecstasy, theater, and fertility — a liminal, dual-natured god whose festivals (the Dionysia) were central to Athenian civic and religious life [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext. He is the only Olympian born of a mortal mother: his mother Semele, a mortal princess, was persuaded by Hera to demand proof of Zeus's divinity (a bolt of lightning), and was destroyed by it; Zeus saved the unborn child by sewing him into his thigh until he was ready to be born [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text. (This is the standard account; a variant gives a double birth.) [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text He is the patron of the theater — the great tragedy and comedy festivals at Athens were in his honor [S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext. He is a god of transformation and ecstasy, and his followers (the Maenads) are in a state of divine frenzy [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
Worth knowing
- Only Olympian born of a mortal mother (Semele) [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
- Patron of the theater — the Athenian Dionysia celebrated him [S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
- God of wine, ecstasy, and transformation [S4]S4 · Homeric Hymnsc. 700–300 BCEtext[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Uncertainties & variants
- A 'double birth' (Semele then Zeus's thigh) is one account; we note the variant [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Relationships (3)
Connections
2 rows · 3 recorded edges — identical notes are grouped
Local graph
Their corner of the divine world
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Overlays
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Depictions
