Dionysus The Peoples God

A detailed Summary of Dionysus The Peoples God

Dionysus was one the most influential of the Greek Gods. Even though he didn't arrive in Greece until approximately 800 BC, the impact from his followers is still felt in the world we live in today. Dionysus was a demi-god meaning that he was only a half god, which makes his rise to Mount Olympus even more amazing. Dionysus represented everything that the people could relate with. He was looked upon as a god of Life bringing water and viability to plant, animal and man. Dionysus was also the lone God of Wine, which was a common drink in ancient Greece. Finally he was a god that could grant ecstasy or madness in reward or punishment. Due to these three concepts that Dionysus represented, he was considered to be a god of the people who was fimiliar with the lifestyle of man.

To begin to learn how Dionysus affected the Classical Greeks one must first know of his origin. Dionysus was the offspring between Zeus, King of the Gods, and Semele, a princess of Thebes. Hera was jealous of Semele and convinced her to make Zeus show Semele his true form, only knowing that this would kill her and her baby. When Semele is burned to death Zeus saves his unborn son and transplants the fetus into his leg.

The God of Wine, Dionysus, also served another purpose during the large consumption, ecstasy. During many festivals, including Anthesteria, the people did not drink for the purpose of being social but to relieve themselves from reality. As historian, Louis Dyer, put it, "Wine belonged to Dionysus as the good gift that freed man's soul from man's self and made way for the power of the god to speak his will." Dyer is pointing out that Dionysus did not give man wine for everyday use, but it was a gift for the worship of the God of Wine and a way for man to contact the god. Twentieth century wine drinkers wonder how alcohol intoxication could actually make people believe that they could communicate with a god. Though what is different between the wine now and the wine in Classical Greece is the ingredients. If wine in Classical Greece was consumed without dilution, the drinkers could receive brain damage or even death as a consequence. The wine was diluted 20:1 proportionately to reduce the chance of death caused by the harsh wine. The alcohol percentage was not the toxic ingredient in the wine. The Classical Greeks added caps of poisonous mushrooms to their wine to act as a hallucinogen. This hallucinogen allowed the Bocchie to fall into a nocturnal trance and stay up all night. It is said that the hallucinogen also took the worshippers minds to a primal state, like an animal. This also incorporates another aspect of the effect that Dionysus had on Classical Greek culture, madness.

The cult of Dionysus was a cult that the average Greek could understand, participate in and believe. Dionysus was first the God of Trees and of Nature. He then progressed to the God of Fertility. All of these traits of Dionysus were useful to the people of Classical Greece who embraced him as one of their Olympians. Dionysus then brought wine to Greece where the people used this substance to relieve them selves from the every day pressures of life. As wine spread across the country, Dionysian cults changed once again to one that revolved around the mental state created by a large consumption of wine. His cults progressed even farther to include all night orgies to communicate to the god himself. The one aspect of all of these transformations to the cult of Dionysus is that they all represent the average persons needs and hopes for life. The Greeks looked to Dionysus to help simplify their lives anyway possible. This is why Dionysian cults are still around in the world today and may never disappear.

By being a God of Life and Rejuvenation Dionysus did not only think of his role as a natural one but in all aspects of life. Many historians believe that he was the God of Democracy. The Greeks believed this because of his outlook on life and especially his closeness to the everyday man. This is related to being a god of life because he brought life to a new f

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Approximate Word count = 1950
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts