Dionysus (Bacchus): The God of Wine and Fertility in Greek Mythology

Introduction to Dionysus

Dionysus was the last god to enter Olympus. Homer did not recognize him. There are no early sources for his story other than some brief allusions in Hesiod, in the eighth or ninth century. A later Homeric hymn, perhaps as late as the fourth century, gives the only account of the pirate ship.

Birth of Dionysus in Thebes

Thebes was the city of Dionysus himself, where he was born the son of Zeus and the Theban princess Semele.

Only in Thebes did mortal women bear immortal gods.

Semele's Tragic Fate

Semele was the most unlucky of all the women Zeus fell in love with, and the reason for her condition was also Hera. Zeus was madly in love with her and told her that anything she asked of him he would do; he swore an oath to her by the River Styx, an oath that not even he himself could break. She told him that what she wanted above all was to see him in all his glory as King of Heaven and Lord of Thunderbolt. It was Hera who put that wish in her heart. Zeus knew that no mortal could see him like that and live, but he could do nothing. He swore by the Styx. He came as she asked, and in front of that terrible glory of flaming light she died. But Zeus took her child, who was about to be born, and hid it in his side, away from Hera, until it was time for it to be born. Hermes then carried him off to be cared for by the nymphs of Nyssa, but no mortal has ever seen Nyssa or knows where it is. Some say that the nymphs are the Hades, which Zeus then placed in the sky as stars, the stars that bring rain when they approach the horizon.
Thus, the god of the vine was born from fire and nurtured by rain, the intense scorching heat that ripens the grapes and the water that keeps the plant alive. After reaching maturity, Dionysus traveled to exotic places.

The gold-rich lands of Lydia, Phrygia too, the sun-baked plains of Persia, and the great walls of Bactria. And the storm-swept Medes.

Artist: Jan Erasmus Quellinus (1634–1715) [wikidata:Q2446857] or Erasmus Quellinus II (1607–1678) [wikidata:Q625228] | Title: Zeus, Semele and Hera | Date: Third quarter of the 17th century | Medium: Painting | Current Location: Unknown | Source/Photographer: Own work

Encounter with Pirates

Everywhere he taught the people the culture of karma and the secrets of his worship, and everywhere they accepted him as a god until he came close to his own country

One day over the sea near Greece, a pirate ship sailed ashore and on the shore they saw a handsome young man whose black hair fell over a purple cloak that covered his strong shoulders. He looked like the son of a king, a young man whose parents could afford to pay a large ransom. The sailors rushed ashore and grabbed him. On the deck of the ship they brought rough ropes to tie him up, but to their surprise they could not tie him up, for the ropes would not hold together and would break when they touched his hands or feet. He sat looking at them with a smile in his black eyes.

The ship's captain alone among them understood and shouted that this must be a god and should be released at once or they would be mortally wounded. But the captain mocked him as a silly fool and ordered the sailors to hurry up and hoist the sail. The wind filled it and the men pulled on the taut sails, but the ship did not move. Then wonder after wonder happened. Fragrant wine flowed in streams on the deck; a vine with many clusters spread over the sail; a dark green ivy plant wrapped around the mast like a hoop, with beautiful flowers and fruits. The terrified pirates ordered the helmsman to head for land. But it was too late: while they were talking, their captive had transformed into a lion, roaring and roaring terribly. The pirates jumped into the sea and immediately turned into dolphins, all but the good helmsman. The god was merciful to him. He grabbed him and told him to take heart, for he had found favor with the one who was already a god - Dionysus.

The Procession of Bacchus Fights Against Sea Creatures | Description: Roman pavement mosaic at the Bardo Museum, Tunis, 2nd century A.D. | Date: 7 June 2007 (Exif data) | Source: Own work | Author: Giorces

Conflict with King Lycurgus

When he passed through Thrace on his way to Greece, the god was insulted by one of its kings, Lycurgus, who strongly objected to this new worship. Dionysus retreated before him and even hid from him in the depths of the sea. He later returned, conquered him and punished him for his wickedness by imprisoning him in a rocky grotto.

But the other gods were not so kind, and Zeus struck Lycurgus, who was blinded and died shortly thereafter.

Dionysus and Ariadne

On one of his wanderings, Dionysus came across the princess of Crete, Ariadne, in utter despair after the Athenian prince Theseus left her on the shore of Naxos and saved her life. Dionysus took pity on her. He saved her and eventually loved her. When she died, Dionysus took the crown he had given her and placed it among the stars.

Descent to the Underworld

He didn't forget his mother, whom he never saw. He missed her so much that he finally dared to make the terrible descent into the underworld to search for her. When he found her, he challenged the power of death to keep her away from him; death gave up. Dionysus took her away, but not to live on earth. He took her to Olympus where the gods agreed to accept her as one of their own, mortal indeed, but the mother of a god and therefore fit to dwell with the immortals.

Dual Nature of Dionysus

The god of wine can be kind and gentle. He could also be cruel and drive men to frightening acts. He often made them insane. The Maenads or Bacchantes, as they were also called, were women who were crazy about wine. They would rush through the forests and over the mountains, letting out shrill screams, waving pine cone-tipped sticks, swept up in a violent euphoria. Nothing could stop them. They would tear the wild creatures they encountered to shreds and devour their bloody remains. They sang,

Oh, sweet upon the mountain The dancing and the singing, The maddening rushing flight. Oh, sweet to sink to earth outworn When the wild goat has been hunted and caught, Oh, the joy of the blood and the raw red flesh!

The Maenads (Bacchantes) and Their Worship

The gods of Olympus loved order and beauty in their offerings and temples. The mad women, the Minades, did not have temples. They went into the wilderness to worship, into the deepest mountains and the deepest forests, as if they were preserving the customs of ancient times before humans thought of building houses for their gods. They left the crowded, dusty city and returned to the pristine purity of the hills and virgin forests.

Life in the Wilderness

There Dionysus offered them food and drink: Herbs, berries, and wild goat's milk. They slept on the soft grass of the meadow, under the densely leafed trees, where the pine leaves fell year after year. They woke up with a sense of peace and heavenly freshness; they bathed in a clear creek. There was so much that was beautiful, good and liberating about this worship under the open sky and the ecstasy of joy it brought in the beauty of the wild world. Yet always present, too, was the terrible, bloody feast.

Ecstasy and Brutality in Dionysian Cult

The cult of Dionysus was centered on these two divergent ideas - the idea of freedom and ecstatic joy and the idea of cruel brutality. The god of wine could grant either to his worshippers. Throughout the story of his life he was sometimes a blessing to man and sometimes his ruin. Of all the atrocities attributed to him, the worst was in Thebes, his mother's city.

Establishing His Cult in Thebes

Dionysus came to Thebes to establish his cult there. He was accompanied, as was his custom, by a caravan of women dancing and singing joyful songs, wearing antelope skins over their robes, waving ivy-covered sticks. They seemed mad with joy. They sang

O Bacchanals, come, Oh, come. Sing Dionysus, Sing to the timbrel, The deep-voiced timbrel. Joyfully praise him, Him who brings joy. Holy, all holy Music is calling. To the hills, to the hills, Fly, O Bacchanal Swift of foot. On, O joyful, be fleet.

Pentheus’s Rejection of Dionysus

Pentheus, king of Thebes, was Semele's nephew, but he didn't know that the leader of this band of enthusiastic, eccentric women was his cousin. Nor did he know that when Semele died, Zeus had saved her child. The raucous dancing, raucous singing, and generally bizarre behavior of these strangers seemed to him highly objectionable and should be stopped immediately. Pentheus ordered his guards to arrest and imprison the visitors, especially their leader, “whose face was flushed with wine, a fraudulent magician from Lydia.” But as he said these words, he heard behind him a solemn warning: “The man you reject is a new god. He is the son of Semele, saved by Zeus. He, along with the divine Demeter, is the greatest on earth for humans.” The speaker was the old blind prophet Teiresias, the holy man of Thebes who knew the will of the gods like no one else. But as soon as Pentheus turned to answer him, Pentheus saw that he was as deceived as a wild woman: A wreath of ivy in his white hair, his old shoulders covered with buckskin, and in his trembling hand a strange pine-headed staff. Pentheus laughed mockingly as he looked at him and then contemptuously ordered him out of his sight. Thus he brought his own doom upon himself, and could not hear when the gods spoke to him.

Dionysus's Revenge on Pentheus

Dionysus led a group of his soldiers before him. They said that he did not try to flee or resist, but did everything they could to make it easier for them to capture and bring him, until they were ashamed and told him that they were acting under orders and not of their own free will. They also announced that the virgins they had imprisoned had all escaped to the mountains. The shackles were no longer fastened, and the doors had opened by themselves. “This man,” they said, ”has come to Thebes with many wonders”

Pentheus by now was blind to everything except his anger and his scorn. He spoke roughly to Dionysus, who answered him with entire gentleness, seeming to try to reach his real self and open his eyes to see that he was face to face with divinity. He warned him that he could not keep him in prison, “for God will set me free.”

“God?” Pentheus asked mockingly. Dionysus answered: “Yes.” “He is here and sees my torment.” “Not where my eyes see him,” said Pentheus. “Not where my eyes see him,” Dionysus replied: “He is where I am.” “You cannot see him because you are not pure.” Pentheus angrily ordered the soldiers to tie him up and take him to prison: “What you are doing to me is an injustice to the gods.” But the prison could not hold Dionysus. He got out, went to Pentheus again and tried to persuade him to submit to what these wonders clearly showed to be divine, and to welcome this new worship of a new and great God. But when Pentheus only insulted and threatened him, Dionysius left him to his fate. It was the most horrible thing possible.

Pentheus went in pursuit of the god's followers among the hills where the virgins had fled when they escaped from prison. Many Theban women joined them; Pentheus' mother and sisters were there. It was there that Dionysus showed his ugliest face. He made them all crazy. The women thought Pentheus was a ferocious beast, a mountain lion, and rushed to destroy him, his mother first. When they pounced on him, he finally realized that he had fought a god and must pay for it with his life. Only then did the god come to his senses, and his mother saw what she had done. The maidens looked at her in her agony, now all sober, and the dancing and singing and wild waving ended and they said to one another

In strange ways it is hard to recognize the gods that come to humans. Many of the things that passed for hope have been realized, and what he was looking for has gone another way. A path we never thought to take that God has found for us. Is this what happened

The ideas about Dionysus in these different stories seem conflicting at first glance. In one he is the god of joy

whose locks are tied with gold, the companion of the Maenads, whose cheerful flame glows. In the other, he is the ruthless, monstrous god who, with a mocking laugh, hunts his prey and drags them to their deaths with his lovers.

Pentheus Torn Apart by Agave and Ino | Description: Attic red-figure lekanis lid, 5th century BC, clay, H. 8.6 cm; D. 25.4 cm. Depicts Pentheus torn apart by Agave and Ino. | Collection: Louvre Museum, Room 39, Case 7 (G 445, S 1456) | Origin: Classical Athens; discovered in Central Italy. | History: Campana Collection, 1861. | Source: Jastrow (2007)

Dual Nature of Wine and Its Impact

But the truth is that both ideas arose very simply and plausibly from the fact that he is the god of wine. Wine is as bad as it is good. It cheers and warms people's hearts, and it also gets them drunk. The Greeks were a people who saw the facts very clearly. They could not close their eyes to the ugly and degrading side of drinking wine and saw only the joyful side. Dionysus was the god of wine, so it was a power that sometimes-made men commit horrible, horrible crimes. No one could defend it; no one could defend the fate that Pentheus suffered. But the Greeks said to each other: Such things really do happen when people are drunk with drink. This fact did not blind them to the other truth, that wine was a “merrymaker,” lighting up men's hearts, bringing them ease, fun, and joy.

Temporary Euphoria and Transformation

Under his influence, courage accelerated, and fear faded, for now anyway. He elevated his servants and made them feel that they could do what they thought they couldn't. All this happy freedom and self-confidence was of course fleeting, as they would either sober up or get drunk, but as long as that was the case, it was like having a power greater than themselves. This is how people felt about Dionysus like they felt about no other god. He wasn't just outside of them, he was inside of them. They could be transformed by him and become like him. The momentary sense of euphoric power that drinking wine could give was only a sign to show that humans had more within them than they knew; “they could become a god themselves.”

Elevation of Dionysus in Greek Worship

Thinking this way was a far cry from the traditional idea of worshipping a deity by drinking enough wine to get drunk. There were followers of Dionysus who didn't drink wine at all. It is not known when the great change occurred that elevated the god who freed humans for a moment through drunkenness to the god who freed them through inspiration, but one very remarkable result of this made Dionysus, in all ages to come, the most important god of Greece.

The Eleusinian Mysteries and Dionysus

The Eleusinian secrets, which were always mainly Demeter's, were indeed of great value. They helped people for hundreds of years, as Cicero said: “to live with joy and die with hope.” But their influence didn't last, likely because no one was allowed to teach their ideas publicly. In the end, only a faint memory remained. It was quite the opposite with Dionysus. What was done at his great festival was open to the whole world, an influence that continues to this day. No other festival in Greece can compare to it.

Dionysian Festivals and Their Cultural Impact

It was held in the springtime when the vine was just beginning to put out its branches, and it lasted for five days. They were days of complete peace and enjoyment. All the business of ordinary life came to a standstill. No one could be put in prison; prisoners were released so that they could participate in the public rejoicing. But the place where people gathered to honor the deity was not a terrifying barren wilderness, nor was it even a temple with arranged sacrifices and priestly ceremonies. It was a theater; the ceremony was a performance. The greatest poetry in Greece was written for Dionysus. The poets who wrote the plays and the actors and singers who participated in them were all considered servants of the god. The performances were sacred; along with the writers and performers, they participated in an act of worship. Dionysus himself was supposed to be present; his priests occupied the seat of honor.

Tragedies and Comedies in Honor of Dionysus

It is clear, then, that the idea of a holy god of inspiration who could fill people with his spirit to write gloriously and act gloriously became far more important than previous ideas about him. The first tragedies, some of the best and most unparalleled plays in existence, were produced in the theater of Dionysus. Comedies were also produced there, but tragedies were far outnumbered, and there was a reason for that.

Dionysus’s Own Suffering and Resurrection

This strange god, the merry reveler, the cruel hunter, was also in pain. He, like Demeter, was in pain not because he was grieving for others, as she was, but because of his own pain. He was the vine that is always pruned as nothing else bears fruit; every branch is cut off, during the winter a dead thing to look at, an old trunk that seems incapable of producing leaves again. Like Persephone, Dionysus died with the coming of the cold. Unlike her, his death was horrible: He was torn to pieces, in some accounts by the Titans, in others by Hera's order. He always came back to life again; he died and rose again.

Belief in Immortality

His worshippers believed that his death and resurrection showed that the soul lives forever after the death of the body. This belief was part of the Eleusis Mysteries. At first it centered around Persephone, who rose from the dead every spring. But as the queen of the dark underworld, she remained, even in the bright world above, suggestive of something strange and terrible. On the contrary, Dionysus was never thought to have power in the realm of the dead. There are many stories about Persephone in the underworld; only one about Dionysus - he saved his mother from him. He, not Persephone, became the center of the belief in immortality.