Dionysos is god of wine, theater, and ecstasy. *

Myth

The story of Dionysos' birth is a dramatic one. His mother, Semele, was a lover of Zeus. Hera discovered the affair, and went in disguise to Semele, urging her to ask Zeus to show himself to her in his true form. Semele did so, and was unable to bear the sight of Zeus in all his godly glory. Semele died, but Zeus rescued the child she was carrying, keeping it safe in his thigh until it was time for him to be born. (Other versions of the god's birth were favored by the Orphics and others; these, however, were much younger stories.)

He is also well-known for his love for and marriage to Ariadne, a mortal woman who he had made immortal, who had been first seduced and abandoned by Theseus (or perhaps she was taken by Dionysos, the myth isn't necessarily clear).

Dionysos was as inclined as any of the gods to seek vengeance for slights. In one story, he was captured by pirates, bound, and taken to sea. His bonds fall off, convincing only the helmsman that he is in fact a god; the other pirates scoff until vines grow through the ship. Dionysos transforms into a lion, and all but the helmsman leap into the sea, turning into dolphins.

Worship

While most of Greek religion supported the community, Dionysian ritual often focused more on the individual, with a greater emphasis on mysticism and transcendent experience. A god very different from the rest of the pantheon, Dionysos was celebrated in a number of festivals**, including the following:

• Anthesteria, a three-day wine-drinking festival. On the first day the jars were opened and the new wine tasted; on the second day, more wine was drunk, and the symblic marriage between Dionysos and the wife of the Basileus (an official in charge of various religious festivals) occurred; on the third day, offerings were made to Hermes on behalf of the dead
• City Dionysia, a festival very much like the Country Dionysia but featuring theatrical tragedies
• Country Dionysia, a festival involving a phallic procession, theatrical comedies, and contests
• Oschophoria, a festival to Dionysos held on the same day as Apollo's Pyanepsia

References

• Burkert, Walter. Greek Religion. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1985.
• Gantz, Timothy. Early Greek Myth, Volumes 1 and 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1993.
• Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks. Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.
• Nilsson, Martin P. Greek Folk Religion. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, 1940.
• Parke, H.W. Festivals of the Athenians. Thames and Hudson, London, 1977.
• Simon, Erika. Festivals of Attica: An Archaeological Commentary. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 1983.