Dionysus, the God of Wine

Dionysus was probably one of the more interesting of the Olympian gods.  He surely had the most unusual birth!  Zeus had fallen in love with Semele, a mortal woman, which of course made Hera jealous yet again.  Everything was going swimmingly between Zeus and Semele until one day Hera whispered to Semele that Zeus never appeared to her in his true form, and that actually he was a horrifyingly ugly monster.  This of course got Semele thinking that maybe Zeus WAS indeed an ugly monster (so easily was she tricked).  The next time she and Zeus saw each other she said that she wanted to see what he really looked like.  Zeus told her that that would be a very bad idea, but Semele had been so hoodwinked by Hera that she absolutely insisted.  Zeus warned her one last time; in a temper, Semele screamed that she wanted to see exactly what he looked like, and Zeus finally, in anger, revealed his true self ....
     And she was instantly vaporized.  For the gods are actually pure light that the human eye cannot withstand.  However, the child that she was carrying, Dionysus, was not ready to be born, so the god Hermes, who happened to be close by, snatched him up before he fell to the ground, sliced open Zeus's thigh, and sewed him into it.  After another 3 months or so, Dionysus was ready to be born, so he came out of Zeus's leg!  Hence, like Athena, who also had two mothers (both Metis and Zeus), so too did Dionysus, both Semele and Zeus!  Only could this happen in the strange world of the gods.
     Each year, at the harvest of the grapes, Dionysus would throw a huge party, to which he would always invite the Maenads (Roman Bacchantes, as the Roman name for Dionysus was Bacchus).  After having had a little two much wine, the Maenads would get a little crazy and start chasing around Dionysus, waving their thyrsi, which were wands wrapped in ivy leaves and dripping with honey.  Dionysus would run off; after the Maenads wouldn't give up, they would finally catch up, and proceed to tear him to pieces, chop him into little bits, and stamp his remains into the earth!
     End of Dionysus?  Are you kidding?  Remember, the gods are immortal.  The next spring, when the vine leaves would once again come back to life, Dionysus would reappear, fresh and young as ever.  The next fall, when the grapes were harvested again, Dionysus would promptly throw a party, invite the Maenads, and yet again be torn apart, having forgotten all about what had happened the year before.  Such was the yearly life of the god of wine.
    The best friend of Dionysus was Silenus, an old satyr, or 1/2 man, 1/2 goat.  One day Silenus went missing, was found by Midas, who returned the old faun (Roman for satyr) to Dionysus.  Dionysus was so happy to see his best friend again that he offered King Midas anything that he wanted, and he opted to have everything that he touched turned to gold.
      But that's another day and another story!
     
    
*Interesting Fact*  The difference between jealousy and envy is this:  you can be jealous about another person, but you are only envious about things that other people possess.  Thus, jealousy has more to do with relationships between people, whereas envy would have more to do with not having that smart phone that your friend has. 

*Interesting Fact*  The word divinity, another word for a god, means "that which shines with its own light."  Divine beings are inherently self-shining, that is, the immortals shine with their own light, whereas mortals, like us humans, are not capable of generating light by ourselves.  So, when the goddess Aphrodite walks into a dark room, she literally "lights it up."

*Interesting Fact*  The female counterpart to Dionysus was the goddess Cybele, who was also a little on the wild side.  She had a chariot that was pulled by a lion and a lioness: Hippomenes and Atalanta.

**Book Nook**   Rick Riordan fan?  Check out Demigods and Monsters, a book of fun essays about the Percy Jackson series.  All the inside information is here!

Cheers!  Mr. Brunner


 
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