\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 The stories of Dionysus, who was also called\cf15 \cf7 Bacchus by both the Greeks and Romans, are extremely complicated since th
ey combine elements borrowed from a variety of cults, some of them of Oriental, or at least Anatolian and Syrian origin.\par
In the classical era, Dionysus was the god of the productive force of the earth and, in particular, of wine, the vine, and mysti
cal ecstasy. The son of \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and the Theban princess \b \cf15 \ATXht11906 Semele\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , he was known as Dithyrambos, the "twice-born", because, taken prematurely from his mother's womb, he was incubated in hi
s father's thigh until he was ready to enter the world. To preserve him from the jealousy of \b \cf15 \ATXht3 Hera\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , Zeus took him far away from Greece, to the country called Nysa (which may be the source of the name Dionysus), identifie
d by some as Asia and others as Ethiopia. Here Dionysus was raised by the local nymphs who were later rewarded with a place in heaven as the constellation of the\b \cf0 \ATXht10822 \cf15 Hyades\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
\par
He was already full-grown and
had invented wine when he was stricken with madness by Hera. In the grip of his delirium he wandered for a long time through Egypt and Syria, and then followed the coasts of Asia as far as India, where he was welcomed by the goddess\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10335 Cybele\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who purified him of his madness and initiated him into the rites of her cult. During these travels Dionysus taught the cultivation of the vine to the inhabitants of the regions he passed through and, at the same time, laid the
foundations of civilization. On his return to Europe he went to Thrace and, then, his native \b \cf15 \ATXht12006 Thebes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , where he asserted his power. King\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11616 Pentheus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who tried to oppose him, wa
s harshly punished. At\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10135 Argos\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , his next destination, Dionysus displayed his power in a similar way, driving King\b \ATXht11635 \cf15 Proetus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 daughters along with all the women of the countr
y mad, causing them to devour their children. \par
\par
The god then decided to visit \b \ATXht11403 \cf15 Naxos\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and boarded a Tyrrhenian pirate ship. The treacherous crew, who set sail for Asia with the intention of selling their il
lustrious passenger into slavery, found themselves witnesses to an extraordinary prodigy, and all the sailors were changed into dolphins. After gradually imposing his cult in this way, the divine nature of Dionysus was recognized by all and the god was a
ble to ascend into heaven and take his place among the Olympians. One of his first acts as a god was to abduct\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10137 Ariadne\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , abandoned on Naxos by \b \cf15 \ATXht12010 Theseus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who became his bride.
There is also a tale of his love affair with \b \cf15 \ATXht2 Aphrodite\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , to whom \b \cf15 \ATXht11634 Priapus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 was born.\par
\par
In the oldest legends, Dionysus is accompanied by the \b \cf15 \ATXht10318 Charities
\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 or Graces, but very soon the frenzied\b \ATXht10200 \cf15 Bacchantes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , also known as\b \ATXht11300 \b0 \ATXht0 Maenads, and \b \cf15 \ATXht11908 Sileni\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 began to appear at his side during his exped
itions and long journeys. In the later, stories\b \ATXht11909 \cf15 Silenus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 was the tutor of Dionysus who kept him company on all his travels. King\b \ATXht1042 \cf15 \ATXht11314 Midas\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 ' kindness to him was rewarde
d by Dionysus with the gift of the golden touch.\par
Not very widespread in Homeric Greece, the cult of Dionysus grew stronger in the Hellenistic era, roughly in the period following Alexander the Great's expedition to India. In Rome it assumed more unr
estrained and orgiastic aspects, leading the Senate to prohibit celebration of the Bacchanalia in 186 BC. However, the cult was preserved by the mystic sects that celebrated the Dionysian Mysteries.
