Dionysia

Dionysus was one of the lesser gods, but still very important. He was the god of fertility and wine. He was the creator of wine. Dionysus can either bring extreme happiness and joy or extreme rage and displeasure; “Thus reflecting both sides of wines nature” (Greek Mythology.com). He was also the god of the strange and uncontrollable powers of nature, and later became associated with wine later on (Dionysus).

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Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. Semele was a human woman that Zeus appeared to in the middle of the night in a hidden form. Semele knew that the person she slept with was indeed a god; however, she had no idea which god she had slept with. They slept together, and soon news spread to Hera. She was extremely angry, and so she decided to spite the two lovers. She told Semele that she should insist on seeing who her true lover was. So eventually Zeus came back to Semele because he was madly in love with her. Semele made Zeus swear an oath that he would show her his true form; he did so and the woman died the moment she laid eyes upon him. Thankfully, Zeus knew that Dionysus was inside her and he took him and sewed him into his thigh until he was ready to be born. This granted him immortality. Dionysus is the only god who has a human parent. However, Hera was still despised this child so much because he was not hers, she forced the Titans to kill him. They ripped him to pieces, but he was then brought back to life by Rhea and handed over to the nymphs for protection (Greek Mythology.com). After living with the mountain nymphs he became extremely powerful with nature

This resurrection from death is one of the most important parts of Dionysus’ life, and what made him on the most important gods. This resurrection related Dionysus to many things in Greek life. The first, rebirth after death; his ripping apart by the Titans reflects the ideas of taking care of the vines. The vines must be destroyed during by the winters, but then they are ready to produce the wine that people can drink. The second idea is that under the influence of wine a person can feel possessed by a stronger higher power and would do things that they normally wouldn’t do (Greek Mythology.com).

Dionysia is a major festival that is thrown in Dionysus’ honor. Dionysia consists of two parts, the Rural Dionysia and City Dionysia. There are many festivals that held all over Greece but they all have the same premise and usually encompass all the same festivities. The major characteristic of the festival is merriment and joy. Lots of times people connected Dionysus with nature and the people of the nature such as: nymphs, satyrs, and centaurs. The people at the festival dress up as satyrs, in order for them to break away from their dreary life, and be reborn into something greater. Not only do people dress up as different people, but they cover themselves “with plaster, soot, vermilion, and different sorts of green and red juices of plants” (Schmitz). Other common festivities included drinking and the loud music using flutes, cymbals, and drums (Schmitz). Another important part of Dionysia includes theater. Many of the greatest Greek tragedies and comedies were created and to be performed at Dionysia; anyone who participate in the plays for Dionysus were considered to be his greatest servants at that time (Greek Mythology.com)

The City Dionysia is usually held in the springtime; this is also very important to the meaning of Dionysus and his connections to the lives of the Greeks. More specifically this festival was held from the 9^th to the 13 of Elaphebolion, which is March to April (Goldhill). When spring comes around in Greece, the leaves begin to reappear on the vine, and that promotes the major Dionsyian idea of rebirth (Greek Mythology.com)

"Dionysus." Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013): 1. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

"Dionysus." Greek Mythology.com. Greek Mythology.com, n.d. Web. 21 Feb 2014. <http://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Dionysus/dionysus.html>.

Goldhill, Simon. "The Great Dionysia and Civic Ideology ." Journal of Hellenistic Studies. 107. (1987): 58-76. Print.

Long, H. S. "Dionysus, Cult of." New Catholic Encyclopedia. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 753. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 21 Feb. 2014.

Schmitz, Leonard. "Dionysia." Greek and Roman Religion. LacusCurtius, 30 Jun 2013. Web. 21 Feb 2014. <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Dionysia.html>.