Dionysus was Zeus’s love child and the later was aware of Hera’s jealousy towards the infant. Hermes was the fun loving trickster God and the herald of the Olympians. Finally Dionysus was born from Semele as the reincarnation of the son Persephone had born. He then put the surviving heart into a potion and gave it to one of his mortal lovers, Semele. An enraged Zeus struck the Titans with lightning, and they were consumed by fire. However, Athena (Goddess of wisdom and warfare) managed to save the child’s heart and gave it to Zeus. With her assistance, the Titans finally managed to accomplish the task and the infant Dionysus was torn apart and eaten. This was not acceptable to Hera, who in her jealousy incited the Titans to kill the child. The child was a favorite of his father who despite his infancy was able to climb onto the throne of Zeus and brandish his lightning bolts, making him in many ways the successor of Zeus. According to myth, Zeus seduced Persephone in a cave in the form of a serpent and the union resulted in the birth of Dionysus. In what was not uncommon among the Greek Gods, Persephone was simultaneously Zeus’s daughter, niece and sister-in-law. Death of Semele – Painting by Peter Paul RubensĪccording to Orphic legends (based on the stories of Orpheus), Dionysus was the child of Zeus and Persephone (Queen of the Underworld and daughter of Zeus and Demeter). In certain myths, Semele was later rescued by her son Dionysus from the underworld and ascended to Olympus to live with her son. Dionysus was thus born twice and gained immortality from being born from Zeus’s thigh.
Zeus however managed to save the unborn Dionysus from the flames and sewed the baby inside his thigh, where it gestated until it was time for birth. The mortal Semele as a result was consumed by flames and turned to ash. A crestfallen Zeus had no option but to comply. Finally when Zeus submitted out of his love, Semele wished to see him in all his glory. In suspicion and curiosity, Semele decided to ask Zeus for a wish, making him take an oath on the river Styx that he would grant her anything. The Goddess then convinced Semele to witness the divine form of Zeus. Hera disguised herself and befriended Semele and when the princess confided in her about her affair with Zeus, Hera cast some doubts over the claim. Knowing that no mortal could see him in his true form, Zeus had been visiting Semele in a human form. A jealous and enraged Hera thus planned her revenge on Semele. In time Semele became pregnant with Zeus’s child Dionysus, and Hera (Zeus’s wife) found out about her husband’s affair. Zeus thus pursued Semele and was soon involved in an affair with the princess. Once while performing a sacrifice of a bull on the altar of Zeus, Semele caught the fancy of the King of the Olympian Gods. Semele was the princess of Thebes, daughter of the Phonetician hero Cadmus and the Goddess Harmonia. #2 Orphic legend of Zeus and Persephone.Know more of the Greek God of wine through the 10 most famous myths featuring Dionysus. The cult of Dionysus was also a “cult of the souls” where his maenads fed the dead through blood-offerings, and Dionysus acted as a divine communicant between the living and the dead. It is said that he wandered the world spreading his cult and was usually accompanied by a troop of satyrs (half-human, half-goat creatures) and maenads, wild female devotees flush with wine and draped with a fawn skin. In myth Dionysus is often referred to as a foreigner and is portrayed as an effeminate, long-haired youth. He was frequently depicted with bull horns and riding a panther. Dionysus’s attributes included the thyrsos (a pine-cone tipped staff), a drinking cup and a crown of ivy. His festival held during the spring time was in fact the initial driving force behind the development of Greek and Roman theater. Known as Bacchus or Liber (free) among the Romans, Dionysus was also later associated with art forms and considered as the patron of artists. Orphic legends (based on the stories of Orpheus), however claim him to be the son of Zeus and Persephone (Queen of the Underworld). According to the common tradition, Dionysus is the son of Zeus (King of the Olympian Gods) and the mortal Semele, daughter of the Phonetician hero Cadmus of Thebes. With wine being an integral part of ancient Greek culture and festivity, Dionysus was among the more popular deities, and his cults were the main religious focus during the production and consumption of wine. He is the God of viticulture and grapes, connected to the growth and harvest of the fruit. In Greek mythology, Dionysus is the Olympian God of fertility, wine, wine-making, madness and festivity.
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