Greek God Dionysus Mythology
Dionysus is a mythological Greek god of wine and grapes. He is also the god of merriment and festivities and all kinds of vegetation. Dionysus is the half brother of Apollo. People of ancient Greece believed that he was the son of Zeus and Semele. Dionysus was considered twice born because he was born twice. He was once conceived in the womb and then in a thigh. |
The legend says that Hera, the queen of the gods, was very jealous of her husband’s roving eye and usually avenged the woman whom he slept with. Zeus visited Semele in a human form. However, he claimed to her that he is a god. However, Semele could not believe and she said that she would need more than his word to believe he is a god. Zeus knew that semele cannot withstand his original form and feeling helpless he had to reveal himself. The brightness of his original being killed Semele and she was burnt to ashes. Zeus removed his unborn child from her womb and attached the fetus to his thigh and Dionysus was there until he was born. That is why Dionysus is called the Twice Born.
The Romans also worshipped Dionysus but called him Bacchus or Liber. Almost all depictions of Dionysus show him holding grapes and a wine chalet and also he has a beard. Some of the rare depictions show him without a beard. He is also shown with the wine, ivy, panthers and leopards. He sometimes wears an ivy or a leopard skin.
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