Dionysus, God of Wine and Fertility
Dionysus,
the son of Zeus and a mortal named Semele, was the God of
Fertility and Wine. One might say that the wine led to the
fertility of some. He personofied both sides of wine's effects on
mortals, passion and rage. Dionysus invented wine and tought
mortals how to tend the grapes needed to make it.
Dionysus also is known as a patron to the arts. In part, this is because the first Greek plays were performed at the Festival of Dionysus. This was the time in the Spring when the grape leaves began to reappear on the vines which had been harshly cut back the year before. For this reason Dionysus and wine are often associated with rebirth. This aspect of Dionysus' myth is also because Hera, angry at Zeus' infidelity, convinced the Titans to rip Dionysus to shreds, but Rhea took pity on him and brought him back to life.
Dionysus also brought his mother, Semele, back from
the underworld after Hera tricked Zeus into revealing himself to
her in all his Godly Glory and frying her to a crisp. Mythology
tells us that Zeus had impregnated Semele while invisible and
that when Hera found out she visited Semele and told her she
should ask her invisible lover to grant her one wish, and that
the wish should be to see her lover in his true form. After Zeus
turned her to ash, he managed to save Dionysus and sew him into
his own leg until his birth. This is why even though he was
concieved of a mortal mother, Dionysus is a full God.
Dionysus in Art
Picture of Dionysus astride a panther is from the House of Masks in Delos, second century B.C., mosaic floor panel.
The Dionysus Episode
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Season 1: "The Festival of Dionysus"
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Picture of Dionysus astride a panther scanned from A History of Architecture by Spiro Kostof.
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