DIONYSUS, in Greek mythology originally a nature god of fruitfulness and vegetation, especially of the vine ; hence, dis tinctively, the god of wine. [Gr. Atovvaos, Accwvvaos; Thracian, Zonnyxos ; Phrygian, Diounsis : etymology doubtful ; ?dio-, name of Thraco-Phrygian sky-god resembling Zeus ; nys-, possibly akin to Lat. nurus, Gr. vvos, and may mean "child" or "son" ; hence perhaps "son of God." The names Bacchus (BhKXos, in use among the Greeks from the 5th century), Sabazius, and Bassareus, are also Thracian names of the god. All are of doubtful significance ; for various interpretations of these and other cult-titles see 0. Gruppe, Griechische Mythologie, ii. pp. 1408, 1532, especially the notes.] There seems little doubt that he is a Thraco-Phrygian deity, introduced into Greece from Thrace or possibly from both Thrace and Phrygia, and, blending with native gods of similar character, e.g., Iacchus at Eleusis. In Homer, notwithstanding the frequent mention of the use of wine, Dionysus is never mentioned as its inventor or introducer, nor does he appear in Olympus ; Hesiod is the first who calls wine the gift of Dionysus. On the other hand, he is spoken of in the Iliad (vi. 13o f oll.) , as "raging," an epithet that indicates that already the orgiastic character of his worship was recognized. In his native country his worshippers sought to become possessed by or assimilated to him by wild dancing and perhaps the use of intoxicants ; in Greece this was much toned down. According to the usual tradition, he was born at Thebes and was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. Before the child was mature, Zeus appeared to Semele, whose name is simply the Phrygian for "earth" (Zemelo), at her request in his majesty as god of lightning, by which she was killed, but the infant was saved from the flames by Zeus (or Hermes).
Zeus took him up, enclosed him within his own thigh till he came to maturity, and then brought him to the light, so that he was twice born; an allusion to this was found in the word dithyrambos, a name of the god and of a hymn in his honour, which perhaps is really to be connected with Phrygian dithrera, a tomb. (See Calder in Class. Rev., xxxvi., p. i1. ff. xli. p. 161 ff.) Dionysus was then conveyed by Hermes to be brought up by the nymphs of Nysa, a purely imaginary spot. As soon as Dionysus was grown up, he started on a journey through the world, to teach the cultivation of the vine and spread his worship among men. While so engaged he met with opposition, even in his own country, as in the case of Pentheus, king of Thebes, who opposed the orgiastic rites introduced by Dionysus among the women of Thebes, and, having been discovered watching one of these ceremonies, was mistaken for some animal of the chase, and slain by his own mother. A similar instance is that of Lycurgus, a Thracian king, from whose attack Dionysus saved himself by leaping into the sea, where he was kindly received by Thetis. Lycurgus was blinded by Zeus and soon died, or became frantic and hewed down his own son, mistaking him for a vine. At Orchomenus, the three daughters of Minyas refused to join the other women in their nocturnal orgies, and for this were transformed into birds. (See AGRj0aIA.) These and similar stories may point to the vigorous resistance offered to the introduction of the mystic rites of Dionysus or to some ceremony in which the god, or a priest representing him, was killed and probably brought to life again. See below. On the other hand, when the god was received hospi tably he repaid the kindness by the gift of the vine, as in the case of Icarius of Attica (see ERIGONE).
The worship of Dionysus continued to flourish in Asia Minor, particularly in Phrygia and Lydia. His cult is closely associated with that of numerous Asiatic deities, as Sabazius (q.v.), and from the time of Alexander, he appears as conqueror of India. The other incidents in which he appears in a purely triumphal character are his transforming into dolphins the Tyrrhene pirates who attacked him, and his part in the war of the gods against the giants. The adventure with the pirates occurred on his voyage to Naxos, where he found Ariadne abandoned by Theseus. At Naxos Ariadne (probably a Cretan mother-goddess) was asso ciated with Dionysus as his wife, and their marriage was annually celebrated by a festival. Having compelled all the world to rec ognize his divinity, he descended to the underworld to bring up his mother. Like most deities connected with vegetation, Dionysus, at least in Thrace, died and rose again. This is reflected principally in Orphic mythology, not in normal Greek belief. Zeus had by Persephone a wonderful child Zagreus. He was brought up secretly, watched over by Curetes ; . but the jealous Hera dis covered where he was, and sent Titans to the spot, who, finding him at play, tore him to pieces, and cooked and ate his limbs, while Athena gave his heart to Zeus. This myth is probably to be connected with the savage rite of omopliagia (eating of raw flesh) in the worship of Dionysus, in which a victim, perhaps originally human in some cases, incarnating the god, was torn in pieces and sacramentally eaten raw. It is variously reconciled with the tale of Semele. (See also TITANS.) Dionysus further possessed the prophetic gift, and at Delphi was received by the priesthood of Apollo on almost equal terms. His followers included spirits of fertility, as the satyrs, and in his ritual the phallus was prominent. He often takes bestial shape, and is associated with the panther, the lion, the snake, the tiger, the ass, the goat, and sometimes also the dolphin. His personal attributes are an ivy wreath, the thyrsus (q.v.), and the kantharos, a large two-handled goblet. His later representations in art show a youth of soft, nearly feminine form, occasionally an infant, but the earlier type is a bearded man. His title Dendrites ("he of the tree") arises most probably from his functions as a god of the productivity of nature ; not of the vine only. For the connection of Dionysus with Greek tragedy see DRAMA.