Dionysus/Bacchus

Portrayed by: Rhett Hanenkratt

Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, ecstasy, madness, festivals, and theatre. He is the son Zeus and the mortal Semele. He is the husband of Ariadne, daughter of King Minos. His attributes were the vine, grapes, leopards, jaguars, panthers, and a Thyrsus, a staff wrapped in ivy and vines, topped with a pinecone. His roman equivalent is Bacchus.

Appearence
Dionysus is depicted as being a beautiful youth, usually naked or half naked. When he is clothed, it is usually in the skin of a leopard. He has long, curly hair that is often adorned with vines, leaves, and sometimes live snakes. He is described as being almost womanish in his looks.

Birth
Dionysus was the son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele, one of Zeus' many mortal lovers. Hera, enraged by this treachery, sought revenge on her husband and Semele. When Semele was pregnant with Dionysus, Hera came to her in the disguise of an elderly woman. Semele revealed to Hera that though Zeus told her that he was indeed a god, he had never shown her his true form. Hera advised Semele to ask Zeus to love her as he would a god. Semele, unfortunately, listened to this advice and eventually asked Zeus to come to her as his true form. Zeus, reluctantly, agreed and came to her in the form of lightning, setting her aflame. Zeus was able to quickly retrieve the still unborn Dionysus from Semele's belly, and, to hide him from Hera, hid the child within his own thigh. He sewed up the spot with thread, and Dionysus' life as then watched over by the Fates as he grew within his father's thigh.

Infancy and Childhood
After freeing the now infant Dionysus from his thigh, Zeus gave the child to his son Hermes. There are several different versions of Dionysus and his upbringing. One version says that Hermes took Dionysus to King Athamas and his aunt Ino, asking them to raise Dionysus as a girl so he may stay hidden. Another version has him being raised by the rain nymphs of Nysa, while others have him being taken care of by either Rhea, Zeus' mother, or Persephone, Queen of the Underworld.

After growing into adolescence, Dionysus learned the process of extracting wine from grapes, until Hera struck him with a fit of madness. He wandered the world until he arrived in Phrygia, where Cebele, the patron goddess of the city, cured him. He continued to learn the ways of the vine and traveled through Asia, announcing his new position as a god. As he traveled, he amassed a large group of followers, consisting mostly of female maenads and male satyrs. He rode in a chariot pulled by lions, leopards and other beasts, accompanied by his old schoolmaster Silenus (Mavromataki, 1997).

Growth and Worship
One famous story concerning the adult Dionysus is the story of Pentheus, king of Thebes. Dionysus arrived in Thebes with his followers, with himself disguised as a priest of Dionysus. Pentheus, nephew of Dionysus's mother Semele, rejected the new god, declaring him unfit for worship. As punishment, Dionysus caused all the women of the city to become infected with a madness that caused them to run wild in the hills and valleys as his followers. These women included Pentheus' mother Agave and his other aunts, who had also rejected Dionysus. Still disguised, Dionysus urges Pentheus to disguise himself as a woman to go and spy on the god maddened women. Disguised as a woman, Pentheus climbs a tree to spy, but Dionysus gives the king' position away. The women brutally attack Pentheus, and he is torn to shreds by his own mother. Agave, infected with madness, thinks she has killed a vicious mountain lion. Her father Kadmos, former king of Thebes, reveals what she has done and she wails in anguish. Dionysus, avenged, changed Agave and Kadmos into snakes that would help pull his chariot across the rest of Asia.

Another famous story by Homer starts with Dionysus sitting by the sea one day. A ship full of pirates passes by, and they mistake the attractive Dionysus as a prince. They eventually force him onto their ship, attempting to hold him for ransom or sell him into slavery. They try several times to tie him to the mast, but ropes are unable to hold him. Dionysus then changes himself into a lion and summons other beasts on board, and begins to attack and kill a few of the pirates. The ship is overtaken with ivy and the surviving pirates are infected with bacchanal madness and they throw themselves overboard. In mercy, Dionysus changes them into dolphins. The only surviving crew member is the helmsman Acoetes, who had realized that Dionysus was a god and had begged his crew mates to stop (Buxton, 2004).

Dionysus eventually made his way to Olympus, scaling it's heights and arriving at Pantheon, the meeting hall of the gods. Zeus welcomed his son with open arms, despite the protests of Hera. Unfortunately, the hall had only room for twelve gods, as there were only twelve thrones. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, eventually gave up her throne to allow Dionysus to join them. And so, Dionysus became one of the Olympians.

In Myths
Dionysus is featured in the myth of Midas and the Golden Touch. At one point, Silenus wandered away from Dionysus' train and stumbled into the palace of King Midas. Midas, taking pity on the satyr, allowed Silenus to stay in his home and kept him safe from harm. Dionysus, grateful, came to the palace, and told Midas he would reward him by granting any wish he desired. Midas wished for the power to turn anything he touched into gold. Dionysus' warned Midas about the consequent of this, but he granted it nonetheless. Initially, Midas was overjoyed with his new gift, but soon found that food, drink, and his own daughter were turned to good when he touched them. Begging for the touch to be removed, Midas was told by Dionysus to go to the river Pactolus and to wash his hands in it. Midas obeyed, and the power was washed out of him and into the sand of the river. Everything Midas had touched was cured, including his daughter (Ovid, trans. Kline, 2000).

One myth tells of how King Lycurgus of Thrace imprisoned Dionysus' maenads when the god was passing through. Enraged, Dionysus first struck the city with a drought, then he caused Lycurgus to go insane and chop his own son into pieces, thinking he was a patch of ivy. An oracle informed the city that the drought would last as long ad Lycurgus lived, and so the people had the king drawn and quartered. Dionysus eventually lifted the curse (Astma, 2014: Lycurgus).

Dionysus was also the cause of the death of Orpheus. After failing to save his bride Eurydice from the Underworld, Orpheus wandered the globe only playing sad songs and paying no tributes to any god except Helios, the sun god. Dionysus was enraged by this and sent some of his followers, the vicious Bassarides, to punish Orpheus. They tore Orpheus to shreds and scattered his remains, which were eventually collected by the Muses and buried. His body was then changed into the constellation Lyra.

The story of the Minyeias sisters from Ovid's Metamorphoses is another one of the more famous to feature the wine god. The story tells of a town that celebrates the festival of Dionysus, but a trio of sisters merely lock themselves in their house, scorn the god, and continue to work at their spinning. They work and tell each other stories to pass the time (specifically the stories of Pyramus and Thisbe, and Hermaphorditus) all the while mocking Dionysus. Eventually, the air is filled with the sound of music and the scent of grapes and myrrh. The house is overtaken by flames and the power of Dionysus. He then changes the three sisters into bats (Ovid, trans Kline, 2000).

Children
Dionysus was married to the lovely Ariadne, though he had many female lovers, and a large amount of children. From Ariadne, Dionysus had twelve children, some of whom went on to become kings.

From Aphrodite, Dionysus had six children. The first four were The Graces: Pasithea (relaxation), Euphrosyne (Joy), Thalia (Good Cheer) and Agalea (Splendor). There was also Priapus, the god fertility, bees, erections, and the male genitalia. Lastly there was Hymenaios, the god of wedding feasts and ceremonies.

From Nyx, goddess of Night, Dionysus had Phthonus, the god of envy and jealousy in love. He was the god responsible for instilling the rage of jealousy within Hera whenever she found Zeus had been cheating on her.

From the mortal Althea, Dionysus had Deianeira, the second wife of Heracles.

From the witch and magic goddess Circe, Dionysus had Comus, a minor god of festivities and revels. He served as a cup bearer for Dionysus (Astma, 2014: Dionysus)

Metamorphoses
In Mary Zimmerman's adaptation of Ovid's epic, Dionysus appears under his roman name of Bacchus in the myth of King Midas. After Midas looks after the drunken Silenus, Bacchus appears to reclaim his lost follower. Grateful that Midas looked after him, he offers to grant Midas one wish. Midas wishes that anything he touches turns to gold, but Bacchus cautions him against it. Soon, Midas realizes the gift is more of a curse when he accidentally turns his own daughter to gold. Midas begs Bacchus to lift the curse, and Bacchus says the only way for Midas to remove the touch is if he washes his hands in "a pool that reflects the stars at night". At the end of the play, Midas discovers this pool and follows Bacchus' directions. Because of this, the curse is lifted and Midas' daughter is restored to life. Bacchus is played by the Fifth Man (Zimmerman, 2002).