Bacchus redirects here. For other uses, see Bacchus (disambiguation). This article is about the Greco-Roman deity. Dionysus (/daɪ.əˈnaɪsəs/; Greek: Διόνυσος, Dionysos) is the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness, fertility,[2][3] theatre and religious ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name, thought to be a theonym in Linear B tablets as di-wo-nu-so (KH Gq 5 inscription),[5] shows that he may have been worshipped as early as c. 1500–1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks; other traces of the Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete.[6] His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian, others as Greek.[7][8][9] In some cults, he arrives from the east, as an Asiatic foreigner; in others, from Ethiopia in the South. He is a god of epiphany, the god that comes, and his foreignness as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his cults. He is a major, popular figure of Greek mythology and religion, and is included in some lists of the twelve Olympians. Dionysus was the last god to be accepted into Mt. Olympus. He was the youngest and the only one to have a mortal mother.[10] His festivals were the driving force behind the development of Greek theatre. He is an example of a dying god.[11][12] Bacchus/ Dionysus was also born on December 25th. The same date that the Roman church designated as the date of celebration of the birth of Christ. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 21:14:07 +0000
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