The myth of Dionysus, the happy and fatal god

The myth of Dionysus, which is the same as Bacchus in Roman mythology, tells us about a vital, happy demigod always ready to celebrate.. He was considered the god of fertility and wine, and also the inspirer of ritual madness and ecstasy. There are two basic versions of the origin of it and both are very beautiful.

The first version of the origin of the myth of Dionysus indicates that he was the son of Zeus, god of gods, and Persephone, the queen of the World of the dead.

Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, just wanted to kill the child. To achieve this he used the titans, who attracted the little boy by showing him some toys. He went after them and then the Titans killed him, dismembered him, cooked him and swallowed him.

Zeus, who dearly loved this son, launched his lightning bolt against the Titans. He noticed that Dionysus’s heart had not been devoured and so he revived him from that organ.

From the ashes of the Titans man was born. As they had devoured Dionysus in part, humans carry within themselves the Dionysian and the titanic..

“Wine is the friend of the wise man and the enemy of the drunk. It is bitter and useful like the philosopher’s advice, it is allowed to people and prohibited to imbeciles. Push the stupid into darkness and guide the wise to God”.

-Avicenna-

The Fall of the Titans by Rubens

Another version of the myth of Dionysus

The second version of the myth of Dionysus, perhaps the most popular, states that There was a very beautiful princess named Semele.

Zeus fell in love of her as soon as he saw her and took human form to be able to frequent her. He thus conquered her and then seduced her. Then she became pregnant and Zeus confessed to her who he really was.

Here again the jealousy of Hera, the wife of Zeus, appears. When she learned of her husband’s infidelity, she also took human form and appeared before Semele in the form of a nurse. Using tricks, she managed to get the princess to confess who the child’s real father was. Hera then hinted that Zeus might not be who he said he was. In this way, she sowed tares.

To clear up any doubts, Semele asked Zeus to appear before her as a god, not as a mortal. The god of Olympus had promised her that he would always please her every wish and, therefore, she could not refuse her request. Thus, It turned into lightning and thunder, for which the princess was charred to death. Dionysus, who was in her womb, was saved. Zeus put it on his leg and after a while, Dionysus was born.

a happy god

The myth of Dionysus notes that Zeus entrusted his son to the care of Ino, who was the sister of the dead princess, and her husband. However, Hera, who was still jealous, used tricks to try to drive these adoptive parents crazy. Zeus then decided to turn Dionysus into a goat and entrusted him to Hermes, who, in turn, gave him to the nymphs to educate him..

Dionysus grew up thanks to the care of the nymphs and Silenus, a kind old man who spent a lot of time drunk, but had the gift of prophecy. Together with him, the nymphs, the satyrs and the maenads, Dionysus became a man.

He was a beautiful young man, very happy and dynamic. It was he who discovered the cultivation of vines and wine. He then traveled to many places teaching the secrets of the art of wine.

During his travels, Dionysus lived great adventures. The best known occurred when he was on the coast and some pirates kidnapped him, because they thought he was a prince. They wanted to ask for a ransom for him. However, they did not imagine what was going to happen to them.

Dionysus and the cult of fun

When the pirates tried to tie Dionysus up, no ropes worked. The god turned into a lion and then imitated the sound of many flutes. This drove his captors crazy, who in panic threw themselves into the sea. Then Dionysus turned them into dolphins. These animals are actually repentant pirates and that is why they help the shipwrecked.

Dionysus married Ariadne, after she was abandoned by Theseus on an island. The god took pity on her and married her. He also appears in countless stories of mythology and among the Greeks he was a highly appreciated god. When he finished his work of teaching men the process of wine, he asked to go to Olympus..

The wish was granted, but Before going to meet the other gods, the myth of Dionysus tells that he went down to the underworld to get his mother, Semele, out of there., who ended up becoming a constellation in the sky. Dionysus is associated with parties, fun, states of ecstasy, theater and pleasures.

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