Who is Dionysus?

Definition of the glossary term Dionysus

Nov 19, 2006 Robin Fowler

Definition of the glossary term Dionysus

Dionysus was the Greek god of wine, hedonism, and partying. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele, and carries the distinction of being born twice (Dithyrambos).

Attributes: The thyrsus (a staff tipped with a pine cone, and intertwined with ivy and grape vines), grapes, goblet, and companions and minions the satyrs, centaurs, and nymphs.

The double birth of Dionysus was known as the dithyrambos. Jealous Hera disguised herself as Semele's nurse, and urged her to ask her lover, Zeus, to show himself in his true god-like form. When she did, he obliged, and his blinding aura consumed the pregnant girl with flames. When ivy coiled around the columns of the palace and provided a screen between the unborn child and the fire, Zeus rescued it (the first birth) and sewed the fetus into his thigh. He later torn open his thigh to deliver the full-term infant Dionysus.

Roman name: Bacchus

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