Hey there, tiktakers! We bet many of you were missing our Mythological Sundays, huh? Well,
today we start off an entire week dedicated to love, since Saint Valentine's day is just around
the corner! And because of that, today we'll be talking about a very special deity: Dionysus.
Also known as Bacchus in ancient Rome, he is the god of fertility, wine, madness, and theater.
Many say that Dionysus represents emotions, chaos, and disorder. He
was the one in charge of teaching humans how to cultivate grape vines and produce wine,
and according to his cult, Dionysus would die each winter and resurrect each spring,
along with the fruits of the earth. Because of that, he is known as the protector of agriculture.
It is also said that he used to be good and kind to those who worshiped him,
but would frequently turn insane those who rejected him.
It is believed that his name "Bacchus" originated from the screams that this god
used to be worshiped with at parties organized in his name, known as bacchanals. At first,
only women would participate in these parties, where they would dance, drink, and talk about
their secrets. Later on men were allowed to participate too, thus increasing their popularity.
And due to the debauchery that resulted from these parties, the Roman senate forbade them in the year
186 B.C. But despite that, it is believed that bacchanals kept being celebrated for a long time.
Dionysus is the son of Zeus and the mortal Semele, daughter of Cadmus king of Thebes.
When Semele was pregnant with Dionysus, Hera, Zeus' wife, learned about that infidelity,
and exploded in rage! As revenge, she disguised herself as an old lady,
and convinced Semele that the man going after her was not the real Zeus, but an impostor.
Semele believed her, and with six months of pregnancy, forced Zeus to present himself
to her with all his might. This resulted in her death, since she was just a mere mortal.
Fortunately, they managed to save the child that was in her womb.
Hermes took little Dionysus out of his mother's insides, and sewed him into Zeus' thigh,
where he would spend three more months. Thus, Dionysus was known as the god who was born twice.
Another version of Dionysus' story says that he was the son of Zeus and Persephone, the queen
of the Greek underworld. Once again, Hera's jealousy made her try to kill baby Dionysus,
this time around sending the titans to do it.
It is said that they tricked baby Dionysus with toys to be able to devour him…
however, they didn't manage to devour him entirely: When they were about to devour
his heart, Zeus turned them into dust with his lightning attacks. And then, this version of the
story can have two different endings: On one hand, some say that Zeus sewed Dionysus' heart to his
own thigh, resulting in Dionysus resurrecting. And on the other hand, others say that Zeus gave
the heart to Semele for her to eat it, and thus conceive Dionysus in her womb.
Whichever version of the story you prefer, Dionysus became a very followed god after his
rebirth. It also wasn't clear who were the ones in charge of taking care of Dionysus when he was
little. Some believe it was Hermes, while others believe it was King Athamas and his wife Ino,
sister of Semele. Others also say that he was taken care of by the Nysiads or the Hyades,
the nymphs of the rain. They were with him all his life, and Dionysus thanked them by
turning them young again, and placing them in the heavens as the Hyades constellation.
His legend also says that he discovered wine culture thanks to Ampelos, who might have also
been his first love. However, Hera discovered them, and ended the life of his friend,
thus fulfilling part of her revenge. From Ampelos' dying body dripped blood which
turned into the first grapevine. And thus, Dionysus went on to develop wine harvesting.
From then on, Dionysus started teaching his knowledge wherever he went. Everything that
surrounded him was pure hedonism, so he wasn't liked by absolutely everyone. He would move around
using a carriage pulled by leopards or panthers, and was always joined with extravagant people.
Huge parties, filled with lots of wine and lust, were part of his day to day life.
Dionysus is almost always depicted as a very attractive, jovial and festive guy,
wearing the skin of a goat or a panther. Ivy and grapevines are usually present too,
and some say he was a pretty effeminate man. In any case, in more than one occasion
his incredible beauty resulted in people wanting to kidnap him to sell him as a slave.
In the many legends around Dionysus is the character of King Midas. Dionysus discovered that
his former teacher and adoptive father, Silenus, was missing. Thus, King Midas took care of him
and protected him for a while, and thus, Dionysus wanted to thank Midas for that. He asked the king
what was his wish, and the king said he wanted the power of turning anything he touched into gold.
The king was ecstatic with his newfound ability… until he turned his own daughter
into gold! Regretful, he wanted to revert his wish, and Dionysus told him to go wash his hands
at the Pactolus River. That's what he did, and ended up converting the river's sand into gold.
And legend says that for this reason, the Pactolus River is so rich in this valuable material.
So, as you can see tiktakers, this god had a life filled with adventure and excéss,
and it's clear that he had a pretty good time. What do you think about Dionysus?