Dionysus, God of Wine and Festivity

Dionysus using the Azalea's Warrior Maker

Dionysus was the God of Wine, Vegetation, Pleasure and Festivity. He also caused people to go into a crazed frenzy. He is the youngest of the 12 olympians.

His Roman Name is Bacchus.

He was the son of Zeus and the mortal princess Semele as his second birth. While pregnant with him his mother was tricked by Hera into making Zeus reveal his true godly form which killed her but Zeus saved him. I mention second birth because there are some myths that state him being born earlier and after looking through them I've estimated that he was first born during the titan war and was the son of Zeus and Demeter and was the other Zagreus and he was meant to be Zeus' heir and he was more powerful than his current form but less than his father and several unnamed titans during the war tried to get him on their side but he refused and what they did was have him look in a mirror and they shattered it fracturing his power and then tore him apart and ate him but Zeus stopped them before they ate his heart and Zeus gave the heart to Rhea for safekeeping until he found the right person and he found Semele and he fed her the heart which made her pregnant thus the second birth part, but as he was still premature Zeus had him sown into his thigh until he was of term and he was delivered from Zeus' thigh and Zeus gave him to Semele's sister Ino to raise until Hera made her husband go insane and tear his sons apart and chase him and Ino and her son and Dionysus was taken to Mount Nysa to be raised while Ino and her son Melicertes were made immortal by Zeus. On Mount Nysa he learned to grow wine until Hera struck him with madness but Rhea cured him and he began to travel to get people to worship him, after he ascended to Olympus and Hestia gave up her seat on council of 12 to him.


On his travels when he came upon the island of Naxos he discovered the Creten Princess Ariadne who had been abandoned or accidently left behind by Theseus, he fell in love with her and he made her his immortal wife. By her he is the father of the younger charities, and several mortal kings,
1. Eurymedon Lord of Phlios in Sicyon,
2. Keramos Lord of the Keramaikos district of Athens,
3. Oinopion King of the island of Khios,
4. Peparethos King of the island of Peparethos,
5. Phanos an Argonaut from the island of Thasos,
6. Philiasos a Lord of Phlios and an Argonaut,
7. Staphylos King of Bubastos in Karia or the island of Thasos,
8. Thoas King of the island of Lemnos.
9. Enyeus, King of Skyros
10. Maron, Priest in Kikonia, Thrace
11. Eunathus
12. Latramys
The Younger Charities resided over the many pleasures of life including play, relaxation, parties, banquets, general happiness and amusement, all were attendants to Aphrodite
1. Eudaemonia - Goddess of Happiness, Prosperity and Opulence.
2. Paidia - Goddess of Play and Amusement
3. Pandaisia - Goddess of the Complete Banquet
4. Pannykhis - Goddesss of Night Festivals.

Other Children
Divine
By Unknown Goddess'
1. Hymenaeus - God of the Wedding Hymn
2. Thysa - Goddess of the wild frenzy of the Bacchic orgy
3. Phales - God of adultery
4. Komus - God of Merrymaking and Festivity

By Naiad Nymph
1. Priapos - God of Garden Fertility

By the Nymph Kronois
1. Methe - Goddess of Drunkeness

By the Titanis Aura
1. Iakkhos - God of the Eleusinian Mysteries, he carried the torch

By the Nymph Nikaia
1. Telete - Goddess of initiation into the Bacchic Mysteries

Mortal Children
By Physcoa
1. Narcaeus, The first Priest of Dionysus in Elis (in Southern Greece).

By Queen Althaea of Aitolia, Sister to Leda. She also had a child with Ares
1. Deianeira, wife of Hercules (shares dual paternalship with Althaeas husband Oeneus)


He later decended to the underworld and retrieved his mother and made her a Goddess.

Some myths he is known for is the tale of Midas.

He is also the father of several others including mortals. He also had many immortal followers called Bacchantes including three daughters Telete, Methe and Thysa and the Nysiads, his nymph nurses. Aristaeus was also a companion, he was the god of bee-keeping.

Some of his children were Iacchus (Iakkos) by Aura, Priapus by a nymph, Telete by Nicaea, Thysa, Methe and Phales by unknown women.

When he was an infant he was given to the Nysiad nymphs to care for, they were nymphs that resided on Mount Nysa and were his nurses as well as his first followers known as the Bacchantes, their names were: Ambrosia, Arsinoe, Bromie, Erato, Eriphia, Eudora, Kisseis, Coronis, Nysa, Pedile, Phyto, and Polyxo. The Hyades were also his nurses as well as the Naxiain nymphs who lived on Mount Drios on Naxos

He had many followers, his mortal female followers were called the Maenads. Some of his other followers was his daughter Thysa, Seilenos, The Satyroi, Comus, Aristaeus and The Thyads as well as the Nysiad Nymphs.

Allong with followers he had a festival dedicated to him called the Bacchanalia



The areas of his worship in Southern Greece were Attica, Megaris, Aigina, Korinthia, Sicyonia, Argolis, Lakonia, Messenia, Elis, Achaia, and Arcadia. In Central Greece were Boeotia, Phocis, and Aitolia. In Northern Greece was Macedonia. North of Greece was Thrace. In the Greek Aegean was the islands of Naxos, Andros, Lesbos and Rhodes. In Anatolia the towns of Teuthrania, Lydia, Karia, and Byzantion. The ancient region of Skythia, in Africa Lybia and Gaul in Southern France.

Plants that were associated with him was the Grape-vine, Ivy, Bindweed and Silver Fir. Animals that were sacred to him was the Leopard, Lynx, Tiger, Serpent, Bull, Goat and Donkey. Also sacred Icon items to him was the Throses (a pine cone tipped staff) grapes, Ivy wreath and Leopard.

Interesting enough if he had existed then his date of birth would roughly be 1415 BCE. I got curious and using the date stated for Theseus' rule of Athena I did some calculations and this is the date he would have born, while his mother would have been 1438 BCE.


Link to Ariadne: fav.me/d4tjlu6
Link to Greek Princesses: tffan234.deviantart.com/art/Gr…
Link to Greek God Kings: fav.me/d5d375r
Link to Younger Charities: tffan234.deviantart.com/art/Th…



All credit goes to Doll-Divine and Azalea's Dress Up Doll Warrior Maker.

azaleasdolls.com/warrior.html