In this case, Semele. Zeus had visited Semele in human form but claimed to be a god. Hera persuaded her that she needed more than his word that he was divine.
Zeus knew the sight of him in all his splendor would prove fatal, but he had no choice, so he revealed himself. His lightning brightness killed Semele, but first, Zeus took the unborn from her womb and sewed it inside his thigh. There it gestated until it was time for the birth. The Romans often called Dionysus Bacchus or Liber. Usually, visual representations, like the vase shown, depict the god Dionysus sporting a beard.
He is usually ivy-wreathed and wears a chiton and often an animal skin. Other attributes of Dionysus are thyrsus, wine, vines, ivy, panthers, leopards, and theater. Ecstasy -- madness in his followers, illusion, sexuality, and drunkenness. Sometimes Dionysus is associated with Hades. Dionysus is called the "Eater of Raw Flesh". Dionysus is usually shown in the company of others who are enjoying the fruit of the vine.
Silenus or multiple sileni and nymphs engaged in drinking, flute-playing, dancing, or amorous pursuits are the most common companions. Depictions of Dionysus may also include Maenads, the human women made mad by the wine god. Sometimes the part-animal companions of Dionysus are called satyrs, whether meaning the same thing as sileni or something else. The development of Greek Theater came out of worship of Dionysus in Athens.
The major festival at which the competitive tetralogies three tragedies and a satyr play were performed was the City Dionysia. This was an important annual event for the democracy. However, in later images the god is show to be a beardless, sensuous, naked or semi-naked androgynous youth. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele, making Dionysus semi-device or a hero.
The most common origin given for Dionysus was that he was the son of Zeus and Semele. Zeus seduced and impregnated the beautiful princess of Thebes, but then a jealous Hera tricked Semele into demanding that Zeus reveal his true form to her. Zeus managed to rescue the unborn Dionysus by sewing him into his thigh. Once Dionysus was grown, he learned to cultivate grapes and became the first to turn them into wine. He then wandered across Asia teaching mortals the secrets of winemaking.
After his long sojourn, Dionysus ascended Mount Olympus and became the last-arriving of the twelve Olympians. Because Dionysus was the only Olympian with a mortal mother, because he was raised on the mythical Mount Nysa which was believed to be either far to the south or the east , and because he wandered Asia before arriving in Greece, Dionysus was seen as an outsider.
This was an inherent part of his cult, which often focused on the more subversive elements of his nature. He was represented as a god of chaos and the protector of misfits. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.
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Read more on our privacy policy here. Cookie Settings Accept All. Resistance Myths are stories about men or women who try to resist the worship of a particular god or goddess. There are a number of Resistance Myths attached to Dionysus, more than for any other god or goddess. The most famous Resistance Myth connected with Dionysus occurred in his city of origin, Thebes, with his cousin Pentheus. After Semele died, her sisters, most notably Agave, spread the rumor that Semele had lied about the paternity of her child and Zeus had punished her for it with his thunderbolt.
As a result, no one in Thebes believed that Dionysus was divine. He was a very young man, perhaps only about twenty or twenty-one when he became King of Thebes. Dionysus came to Thebes to introduce his worship to his homeland, but Pentheus forbade any of the Theban women to worship him. A third reason may have been that Pentheus felt that this was a good opportunity to establish his authority.
At any rate, Pentheus did not allow the women of Thebes to worship Dionysus. Dionysus, however, caused all the women of Thebes to go mad and run away from home. They all left their fathers and husbands and ran away to Mount Cithaeron, where they became maenads, singing, dancing, drinking wine, and worshipping Dionysus. Pentheus was upset at this behavior and tried to imprison Dionysus, who had disguised himself as a priest of Dionysus.
Dionysus extensively traveled around the world. While he was traveling to India, one of his older satyrs, Silenus when referred to in the plural, sileni , they are a group of older and prophetic satyrs, and Silenus is usually considered their leader , wandered away from the group and as he was a little drunk he fell into a deep sleep.
While he was sleeping, he was captured by a group of Phrygians, who sent Silenus to their king, Midas. Midas cared for Silenus until Dionysus came to collect him. Dionysus was grateful and offered Midas any wish he desired as thanks. Midas asked for the ability to turn anything he touched into gold and being unable to dissuade Midas from this wish, Dionysus granted it.
Midas was initially thrilled, but before too long it became apparent that he could not eat or drink because anything he tried to place in his mouth turned to gold. Midas begged Dionysus to take the gift back, but once a god gives a gift, it cannot be taken back.
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