History of Europe

Dionysus

Dionysus was the god of parties, wine, merriment and theater. His cult was marked by the holding of parties watered with a lot of wine.

Dionysus he was a god of religiosity of the ancient Greeks and recognized as the god of wine, parties, joy, theater. He was the son of Zeus and a mortal, being turned into a god by Hera in gratitude for his freeing her. His cult was popular in Greece, and rituals were marked by wine parties.

Go to also :Apollo — one of the most revered gods of Ancient Greece

Dionysus Summary

  • Dionysus was the god of wine, parties, joy, theater.

  • he was the son of Zeus and a mortal named Semele.

  • he was the only demigod to be turned into a god in Greek mythology.

  • His worship rituals were marked by drinking wine and holding orgies.

  • The Romans knew him as Bacchus.

Who was Dionysus

Dionysus was a god present in Greek religiosity, being thegod of wine , das parties , da joy , do theatre etc. He became known as the only child of a mortal to be turned into a god throughout Greek mythology. He was the son of Zeus with a princess named Sêmele .

Her birth, therefore, was the result of an extramarital relationship with Zeus, who was married to Hera, goddess of marriage and women. Hera was marked by the jealousy she had of her husband and for taking revenge on everyone who got involved with him, and it was no different with Semele.

In disguise, Hera convinced Semele to ask Zeus to wear clothes that showed all her splendor, and so the princess did. Zeus then donned the clothes he wore on Mount Olympus, taking on all the splendor of his form. Immediately, Semele's body turned to ash, as she could not stand the light emanating from Zeus' body.

Dionysus then became an orphan and was given by his father to nymphs , in order that he might be created by them. Other versions of the myth point out that it was created by satyrs or by an old sage named Sileno , later known as one of his most faithful followers.

Originally, Dionysus was a demigod, as he was the son of Zeus and a mortal. However, he was the only case of a demigod who happened to be a god , even being accepted on Mount Olympus. This was because Hera, after being freed from chains by Dionysus, turned him into a deity as a reward. Hera would have been chained by Hephaestus, god of metallurgy.

Dionysus in Greek mythology

In addition to the cases mentioned, Dionysus played a role in a number of Greek myths . One of them speaks of Midas, king of Phrygia (a region that is in present-day Turkey). In this myth, Midas would have found Silenus, Dionysus' mentor, drunk and lost in his realm domains, and would have given him shelter, in addition to having taken care of his recovery. A few days later, the king took Silenus to where Dionysus lived, for which the god was deeply grateful. So Dionysus decided to reward Midas by giving him the right to make a wish.

Midas then asked that everything he touched be turned to gold, and so Dionysus did. This request from Midas was a demonstration of how passionate he was about wealth, but soon the king realized he had made a mistake, as literally everything he touched turned to gold, including food and water.

Midas was desperate, as he would die without eating, and soon he prayed that Dionysus would free him from this power. Dionysus complied with Midas' request and told him that he should bathe in the Pactolus River to do so. Midas obeyed Dionysus' orders, and after bathing in the river, he realized that he no longer turned objects he touched into gold.

In another myth, Dionysus, under the disguise of a boy , was resting on the island of Dia, when went kidnapped by sailors who passed through the island on their way to Delos. The idea was to sell the boy as a slave in Egypt. Of all the sailors, only Acetes was openly against the kidnapping.

It so happens that, during the voyage, Dionysus turned part of the ship into a large vineyard, and the sound of flutes and the smell of wine permeated the vessel. So the frightened sailors threw themselves into the sea, being transformed into dolphins when they touched the water. The only one who was unharmed was Acetes.

Login also :Hades — considered one of the most feared gods in Greece

Dionysus in Greek Religiosity

Dionysus was a god strongly worshiped among the Greeks, being his cult marked by rituals that involved the unrestrained consumption of wines , trances and orgies . The feasts given to this god became known as bacchanals , because Dionysus was named by the Romans as Bacchus .

The cult of Dionysus was well established in Greece, and places like Athens 6th century BC they considered him a very important god. In this Greek city, for example, he had a festival whose name was Dionysia . Actors often participated in festivals and rituals to Dionysus, since he was also the god of the theater.

The city of Athens also had a sanctuary, a temple and a theater dedicated to this god. The cult of Dionysus in Greece is believed to have originated in the period when the Mycenaeans dominated mainland Greece, that is, around the 14th century BC. Another place that had an important shrine to this god was the island from Naxos .

  • Ancient Greece video lesson:religion


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