What can you tell me about the Greek God Dionysus?

Question

Please Don't use Wikipedia to tell me about him, I have already read the Wikipedia page.

Thank You!

Answer 1

God of wine, ecstasy and vegetation.

Answer 2

Dionysus was once thought to be a new addition to the pantheon of Greek mythology, but now there is evidence that he was one of the first. His name appears in Cretan Linear B tablets. He was the patron god of one of the most important festivals in the Ancient Greek world - the Theatre Dionysia in Athens.

One interesting element of Dionysus is the possibility that he was a Hittite god and perhaps not fully Greek in origin. There are many examples of this in Greek religion. His sanctuaries can be found all over the Greek world and any theatre would have been dedicated to him.


The maenads were drunken female attendants of the god and represent Greek views on women. They believed that women were mad for alcohol and would drink to excess given the chance. The same was said of sex.

In theatre, he was a common subject given his connection to the arts. Check out ancient playright Euripides' work, The Baccahae for an example.


From the Oxford Classical dictionary: Dionysus (Linear B Diwonusos, Homeric [Delta]o, Aeolic oo, Attic [Delta]oo) is the twice-born son of Zeus and Semele. His birth alone sets him apart. Snatched prematurely from the womb of his dying mother and carried to term by his father, he was born from the thigh of Zeus. Perceived as both man and animal, male and effeminate, young and old, he is the most versatile and elusive of all Greek gods. His myths and cults are often violent and bizarre, a challenge to the established social order. He represents an enchanted world and an extraordinary experience. Always on the move, he is the most epiphanic god, riding felines, sailing the sea, and even wearing wings. His most common cult name was Bakch(e)ios or Bakchos, after which his ecstatic followers were called bakchoi and bakchai. Adopted by the Romans as Bacchus, he was identified with the Italian Liber Pater. Most importantly, while modern scholars regard Dionysus inevitably as a construct of the Greek imagination, in the eyes of his ancient worshippers he was a god—immortal, powerful, and self-revelatory.

Hope this helps! He's a huge subject.

Answer 3

Why don't you look up books on Greek Mythologies ? Or google it and not look at wiki? Off the top of my head, Dionysus is the god of wine and pleasure, one of the ones sitting in Olympia, and in philosophy, he's juxtaposed against Apollo. Nietzsche the philosopher wrote in depth about this Apollo vs. Dionysus dynamic, and literary theories also discuss this quite a bit. By the way, Apollo vs. Dionysus also symbolizes the rational vs. irrational, the light vs. dark, responsibility vs. hedonism/pleasure.. not sure if you want the 'biographical' aspects of the god, or the implications of his status on culture (which is what I provided). I'm sure the biographical part is all on wiki anyway ...

Answer 4

Here's an interesting article on Dionysus:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dionysus.html
And here's another:
http://www.loggia.com/myth/dionysos.html

There are many more:
http://www.ask.com/web?q=Dionysus&search=&qsrc=0&o=312&l=dir

It's been a long time since I delved into Greek mythology. I've been reading more Egyptian mythology lately.

Answer 5

Want to know about Dionysus read the Bacchae here I found it for you online :)

Answer 6

the Greek god of wine, He was also known as Bacchus,He is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater.He was also known as the Liberator. freeing one from ones normal self, by madness, ecstasy, or wine.He is described as being womanly or "man-womanish".

Answer 7

I think the wiki has most everything. Good job doing research first though before asking for more information!

Answer 8

i think he was the greek god of wine and partying. i think he was zues's son. sorry i cant give u more info, but i lost my notes on the subject and im not such a great listener ;-)!

Answer 9

He was the god of wine and wasn't very important.

Answer 10

That wolf is scary.