Editing Dionysus (section)

==Mythology==
[[File:Roman - Sarcophagus Depicting the Birth of Dionysus - Walters 2333.jpg|left|thumb|350px|Birth of Dionysus, on a small sarcophagus that may have been made for a child ([[Walters Art Museum]])<ref>{{cite web|publisher= [[The Walters Art Museum]]|url= http://art.thewalters.org/detail/16574|title= Sarcophagus Depicting the Birth of Dionysus}}</ref>]]
[[File:Römischer Meister um 20 001.jpg|thumb|The education of Dionysus. Fresco, now in the [[Museo Nazionale Romano]], Rome, {{Circa|20 AD}}]]

Various different accounts and traditions existed in the ancient world regarding the parentage, birth, and life of Dionysus on earth, complicated by his several rebirths. By the first century BC, some mythographers had attempted to harmonize the various accounts of Dionysus' birth into a single narrative involving not only multiple births, but two or three distinct manifestations of the god on earth throughout history in different lifetimes. The historian [[Diodorus Siculus]] said that according to "some writers of myths" there were two gods named Dionysus, an older one, who was the son of Zeus and Persephone,<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#4 4.4.1].</ref> but that the "younger one also inherited the deeds of the older, and so the men of later times, being unaware of the truth and being deceived because of the identity of their names thought there had been but one Dionysus."<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#4 4.4.5].</ref> He also said that Dionysus "was thought to have two forms&nbsp;... the ancient one having a long beard, because all men in early times wore long beards, and the younger one being long-haired, youthful and effeminate and young."<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#5 4.5.2].</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=DIONYSUS – Greek God of Wine & Festivity |url=https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html |access-date=1 April 2023 |website=Theoi Greek Mythology |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Dionysus, marble bust Knossos, 2nd century AD, AMH, 145410.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Marble bust of youthful Dionysus. Knossos, second century AD. [[Archaeological Museum of Heraklion]].]]
[[File:Protome bearded Dionysus early 4 c BC, Prague Kinsky, NM-HM10 7671, 140956.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Wall protome of a bearded Dionysus. [[Boeotia]], early fourth century BC.]]

Though the varying genealogy of Dionysus was mentioned in many works of classical literature, only a few contain the actual narrative myths surrounding the events of his multiple births. These include the first century BC ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' by Greek historian [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]], which describes the birth and deeds of the three incarnations of Dionysus;<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#75 5.75.4], noted by Kerényi 1976, "The Cretan core of the Dionysos myth" p. 111 n. 213 and pp. 110–114.</ref> the brief birth narrative given by the first century AD Roman author [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], which describes a double birth for Dionysus; and a longer account in the form of Greek poet [[Nonnus]]'s epic ''Dionysiaca'', which discusses three incarnations of Dionysus similar to Diodorus' account, but which focuses on the life of the third Dionysus, born to Zeus and Semele.

===First birth===
Though Diodorus mentions some traditions which state an older, Indian or Egyptian Dionysus existed who invented wine, no narratives are given of his birth or life among mortals, and most traditions ascribe the invention of wine and travels through India to the last Dionysus. According to Diodorus, Dionysus was originally the son of Zeus and [[Persephone]] (or alternately, Zeus and [[Demeter]]). This is the same horned Dionysus described by Hyginus and Nonnus in later accounts, and the Dionysus worshiped by the Orphics, who was dismembered by the Titans and then reborn. Nonnus calls this Dionysus [[Zagreus]], while Diodorus says he is also considered identical with [[Sabazius]].<ref name=diodiii/> However, unlike Hyginus and Nonnus, Diodorus does not provide a birth narrative for this incarnation of the god. It was this Dionysus who was said to have taught mortals how to use oxen to plow the fields, rather than doing so by hand. His worshipers were said to have honored him for this by depicting him with horns.<ref name=diodiii/>
[[File:Mascherone di dioniso in bronzo, già attacco di un manico in una situla o simile, 200-100 ac. ca.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Bronze mask depicting Dionysus bearded and horned, c. 2nd century BC, height 21.4 cm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1989-0130-1|title=situla-fitting &#124; British Museum|website=The British Museum}}</ref>]]

The Greek poet [[Nonnus]] gives a birth narrative for Dionysus in his late fourth or early fifth century AD epic ''[[Dionysiaca]]''. In it, he described how Zeus "intended to make a new Dionysos grow up, a bullshaped copy of the older Dionysos" who was the Egyptian god Osiris. (Dionysiaca 4)<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 4. 268 ff (trans. Rouse)</ref> Zeus took the shape of a serpent ("''drakon''"), and "ravished the maidenhood of unwedded Persephoneia." According to Nonnus, though Persephone was "the consort of the blackrobed king of the underworld", she remained a virgin, and had been hidden in a cave by her mother to avoid the many gods who were her suitors, because "all that dwelt in Olympos were bewitched by this one girl, rivals in love for the marriageable maid." (Dionysiaca 5)<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 5. 562 ff (trans. Rouse)</ref> After her union with Zeus, Persephone's womb "swelled with living fruit", and she gave birth to a horned baby, named Zagreus. Zagreus, despite his infancy, was able to climb onto the throne of Zeus and brandish his lightning bolts, marking him as Zeus' heir. Hera saw this and alerted the Titans, who smeared their faces with chalk and ambushed the infant Zagreus "while he contemplated his changeling countenance reflected in a mirror." They attacked him. However, according to Nonnus, "where his limbs had been cut piecemeal by the Titan steel, the end of his life was the beginning of a new life as Dionysos." He began to change into many different forms in which he returned the attack, including Zeus, [[Cronus]], a baby, and "a mad youth with the flower of the first down marking his rounded chin with black." He then transformed into several animals to attack the assembled Titans, including a lion, a wild horse, a horned serpent, a tiger, and, finally, a bull. Hera intervened, killing the bull with a shout, and the Titans finally slaughtered him and cut him into pieces. Zeus attacked the Titans and had them imprisoned in [[Tartaros]]. This caused the mother of the Titans, [[Gaia]], to suffer, and her symptoms were seen across the whole world, resulting in fires and floods, and boiling seas. Zeus took pity on her, and in order to cool down the burning land, he caused great rains to [[Flood myth|flood the world]]. (Dionysiaca 6)<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 6. 155 ff (trans. Rouse)</ref>

====Interpretation====
[[File:Dionysos Indians Massimo.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Mosaic of Dionysus fighting the Indians, [[Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne|Palazzo Massimo]] Rome, 4th century AD]]
In the Orphic tradition, Dionysus was, in part, a god associated with the underworld. As a result, the Orphics considered him the son of Persephone, and believed that he had been dismembered by the [[Titans (mythology)|Titans]] and then reborn. The earliest attestation of this myth of the dismemberment and rebirth of Dionysus comes from the 1st century BC, in the works of [[Philodemus]] and [[Diodorus Siculus]].<ref>Henrichs, p. 61.</ref> Later, Neoplatonists such as [[Damascius]] and [[Olympiodorus the Younger|Olympiodorus]] added a number of further elements to the myth, including the punishment of the Titans by Zeus for their act, their destruction by a thunderbolt from his hand, and the subsequent birth of humankind from their ashes; however, whether any of these elements were part of the original myth is the subject of debate among scholars.<ref>Meisner, pp. 249&ndash;50; Graf and Johnston, pp. 195&ndash;6 n. 7 to p. 65.</ref> The dismemberment of Dionysus (the ''[[sparagmos]]'') has often been considered the most important myth of Orphism.<ref>According to Meisner, p. 238, "[o]ver the last two centuries, many scholars have considered this narrative of Dionysus and the Titans to have been the central, defining myth of Orphism". See, for example, Nilsson, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1508326?seq=1 p. 202], who calls it "the cardinal myth of Orphism", and Guthrie, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-C6wNyrxUO8C&pg=PA107 p. 107], who describes the myth as "the central point of Orphic story". According to Linforth, [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008294699;view=1up;seq=333 p. 307], it is "commonly regarded as essentially and peculiarly Orphic and the very core of the Orphic religion", while Parker 2002, [https://books.google.com/books?id=dsOEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA495 p. 495], writes that "it has been seen as the Orphic 'arch-myth'.</ref>

Many modern sources identify this "Orphic Dionysus" with the god [[Zagreus]], though this name does not seem to have been used by any of the ancient Orphics, who simply called him Dionysus.<ref>According to Gantz, p. 118, 'Orphic sources preserved seem not to use the name "Zagreus", and according to West 1983, p. 153, the 'name was probably not used in the Orphic narrative'. Edmonds 1999, p. 37 n. 6 says: 'Lobeck 1892 seems to be responsible for the use of the name Zagreus for the Orphic Dionysos. As Linforth noticed, "It is a curious thing that the name Zagreus does not appear in any Orphic poem or fragment, nor is it used by any author who refers to Orpheus" (Linforth 1941:[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008294699;view=1up;seq=337 311]). In his reconstruction of the story, however, Lobeck made extensive use of the fifth-century epic of Nonnos, who does use the name Zagreus, and later scholars followed his cue. The association of Dionysos with Zagreus appears first explicitly in a fragment of Callimachus preserved in the Etymologicum Magnum (fr. 43.117 P), with a possible earlier precedent in the fragment from Euripides ''Cretans'' (fr. 472 Nauck). Earlier evidence, however, (e.g., ''Alkmaionis'' fr. 3 PEG; Aeschylus frr. 5, 228) suggests that Zagreus was often identified with other deities.'</ref> As pieced together from various ancient sources, the reconstructed story, usually given by modern scholars, goes as follows.<ref>West 1983, pp. 73–74, provides a detailed reconstruction with numerous cites to ancient sources, with a summary on p. 140. For other summaries see Morford, p. 311; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA35 p. 35]; March, [https://archive.org/stream/March.Jenny_Cassells.Dictionary.of.Classical.Mythology#page/n787/mode/2up s.v. Zagreus, p. 788]; Grimal, s.v. Zagreus, p. 456; Burkert, pp. 297–298; Guthrie, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-C6wNyrxUO8C&pg=PA82 p. 82]; also see Ogden, [https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ2pAK9luwkC&pg=PA80 p. 80]. For a detailed examination of many of the ancient sources pertaining to this myth see Linforth, [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015008294699;view=1up;seq=333 pp. 307–364]. The most extensive account in ancient sources is found in [[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/206/mode/2up 5.562–70], [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/224/mode/2up 6.155 ff.], other principal sources include [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html 3.62.6–8] (= Orphic [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/316/mode/2up fr. 301 Kern]), [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html#64 3.64.1–2], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4A*.html#4 4.4.1–2], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#75 5.75.4] (= Orphic [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/316/mode/2up fr. 303 Kern]); [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0959.phi006.perseus-eng1:6.87-6.145 6.110–114]; [[Athenagoras of Athens]], ''Legatio'' 20 [https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Ante-Nicene_Fathers/Volume_II/A_Plea_for_the_Christians#cite_ref-66 Pratten] (= Orphic [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/138/mode/2up fr. 58 Kern]); [[Clement of Alexandria]], '' [[Protrepticus (Clement)|Protrepticus]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/clementofalexand00clem#page/36/mode/2up 2.15 pp. 36–39 Butterworth] (= Orphic [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/110/mode/2up frs. 34, 35 Kern]); [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' 155, 167; ''[[Suda]]'' s.v. [http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?db=REAL&search_method=QUERY&login=guest&enlogin=guest&user_list=LIST&page_num=1&searchstr=zeta,4&field=adlerhw_gr&num_per_page=1 Ζαγρεύς]. See also [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:7.18.4 7.18.4], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.37.5 8.37.5].</ref> Zeus had intercourse with Persephone in the form of a serpent, producing Dionysus. The infant was taken to [[Mount Ida]], where, like the infant Zeus, he was guarded by the dancing [[Korybantes|Curetes]]. Zeus intended Dionysus to be his successor as ruler of the cosmos, but a jealous Hera incited the Titans to kill the child. Damascius claims that he was mocked by the Titans, who gave him a fennel stalk (''thyrsus'') in place of his rightful scepter.<ref>Damascius, Commentary on the Phaedo, I, 170, see in translation Westerink, ''The Greek Commentaries on [[Plato]]'s Phaedo'', vol. II (The Prometheus Trust, Westbury) 2009</ref>

Diodorus relates that Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and that his birth narrative is an allegory for the generative power of the gods at work in nature.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html#64 3.64.1]; also noted by Kerény (110 note 214).</ref> When the "Sons of Gaia" (i.e. the Titans) boiled Dionysus following his birth, Demeter gathered together his remains, allowing his rebirth. Diodorus noted the symbolism this myth held for its adherents: Dionysus, god of the vine, was born from the gods of the rain and the earth. He was torn apart and boiled by the sons of Gaia, or "earth born", symbolizing the harvesting and wine-making process. Just as the remains of the bare vines are returned to the earth to restore its fruitfulness, the remains of the young Dionysus were returned to Demeter allowing him to be born again.<ref name=diodiii>[[Diodorus Siculus]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html 3.62–74].</ref>

===Second birth===
[[File:Jupiter and Semele by Gustave Moreau.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Jupiter and Semele|Jupiter et Sémélé]]''. Oil on canvas by [[Gustave Moreau]], 1895.]]
The birth narrative given by [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]] ({{Circa|64 BC}} – 17 AD) in ''Fabulae'' 167, agrees with the Orphic tradition that Liber (Dionysus) was originally the son of Jove (Zeus) and Proserpine (Persephone). Hyginus writes that Liber was torn apart by the Titans, so Jove took the fragments of his heart and put them into a drink which he gave to [[Semele]], the daughter of Harmonia and [[Cadmus]], king and founder of [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]]. This resulted in Semele becoming pregnant. [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] appeared to Semele in the form of her nurse, Beroe, and told her: "Daughter, ask Jove to come to you as he comes to Juno, so you may know what pleasure it is to sleep with a god." When Semele requested that Jove do so, she was killed by a thunderbolt. Jove then took the infant Liber from her womb, and put him in the care of Nysus. Hyginus states that "for this reason he is called Dionysus, and also the one with two mothers" (''dimētōr'').<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' CLXVII</ref>

Nonnus describes how, when life was rejuvenated after the flood, it was lacking in revelry in the absence of Dionysus. "The [[Horae|Seasons]], those daughters of the lichtgang, still joyless, plaited garlands for the gods only of meadow-grass. For Wine was lacking. Without Bacchos to inspire the dance, its grace was only half complete and quite without profit; it charmed only the eyes of the company, when the circling dancer moved in twists and turns with a tumult of footsteps, having only nods for words, hand for mouth, fingers for voice." Zeus declared that he would send his son Dionysus to teach mortals how to grow grapes and make wine, to alleviate their toil, war, and suffering. After he became protector of humanity, Zeus promises, Dionysus would struggle on earth, but be received "by the bright upper air to shine beside Zeus and to share the courses of the stars." (Dionysiaca 7).<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 7. 14 ff (trans. Rouse)</ref>

[[File:Sebastiano_Ricci_-_Dionysus_(1695).jpg|thumb|left|''Jove and Semele'' (c. 1695) by [[Sebastiano Ricci]]]]
The mortal princess Semele then had a dream, in which Zeus destroyed a fruit tree with a bolt of lightning, but did not harm the fruit. He sent a bird to bring him one of the fruits, and sewed it into his thigh, so that he would be both mother and father to the new Dionysus. She saw the bull-shaped figure of a man emerge from his thigh, and then came to the realization that she herself had been the tree. Her father Cadmus, fearful of the prophetic dream, instructed Semele to make sacrifices to Zeus.<ref name=":8" /> Semele became a priestess of the god and, on one occasion, she was observed by Zeus as she slaughtered a bull at his altar and afterwards swam in the river [[Asopus]] to cleanse herself of the blood. Flying over the scene in the guise of an eagle, Zeus fell in love with Semele and repeatedly visited her secretly.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' 7.110-8.177 {{Harv|Dalby|2005|pp=19–27, 150}}</ref> The first time he came to Semele in her bed, he was adorned with various symbols of Dionysus. He transformed into a snake, and "Zeus made long wooing, and shouted "Euoi!" as if the winepress were near, as he begat his son who would love the cry." Immediately, Semele's bed and chambers were overgrown with vines and flowers, and the earth laughed. Zeus then spoke to Semele, revealing his true identity, and telling her to be happy: "you bring forth a son who shall not die, and you I will call immortal. Happy woman! you have conceived a son who will make mortals forget their troubles, you shall bring forth joy for gods and men." (Dionysiaca 7).<ref name=":8">Nonnus, Dionysiaca 7. 139 ff (trans. Rouse)</ref>

[[File:Dyonisus Archmus Heraklion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Bust of Dionysus, Archaeological Museum of Heraklion.]]
During her pregnancy, Semele rejoiced in the knowledge that her son would be divine. She dressed herself in garlands of flowers and wreathes of ivy, and would run barefoot to the meadows and forests to frolic whenever she heard music. Hera became envious and feared that Zeus would replace her with Semele as queen of Olympus. She went to Semele in the guise of an old woman who had been Cadmus' wet nurse. She made Semele jealous of the attention Zeus gave to Hera, compared with their own brief liaison and provoked her to request Zeus to appear before her in his full godhood. Semele prayed to Zeus that he show himself. Zeus answered her prayers but warned her that no other mortals had ever seen him as he held his lightning bolts. Semele reached out to touch them and was burnt to ash. (Dionysiaca 8).<ref>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 8. (trans. Rouse)</ref> But the infant Dionysus survived, and Zeus rescued him from the flames, sewing him into his thigh. "So the rounded thigh in labour became female, and the boy too soon born was brought forth, but not in a mother's way, having passed from a mother's womb to a father's." (Dionysiaca 9). At his birth, he had a pair of horns shaped like a crescent moon. The [[Horae|Seasons]] crowned him with ivy and flowers, and wrapped horned snakes around his own horns.<ref name=dion.9/>

An alternate birth narrative is given by Diodorus from the Egyptian tradition. In it, Dionysus is the son of [[Amun|Ammon]], who Diodorus regards both as the creator god and a quasi-historical king of [[Libya]]. Ammon had married the goddess [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], but he had an affair with [[Amaltheia]], who bore Dionysus. Ammon feared Rhea's wrath if she were to discover the child, so he took the infant Dionysus to [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysa]] (Dionysus' traditional childhood home). Ammon brought Dionysus into a cave where he was to be cared for by Nysa, a daughter of the hero [[Aristaeus]].<ref name=diodiii/> Dionysus grew famous due to his skill in the arts, his beauty, and his strength. It was said that he discovered the art of winemaking during his boyhood. His fame brought him to the attention of Rhea, who was furious with Ammon for his deception. She attempted to bring Dionysus under her own power but, unable to do so, she left Ammon and married [[Cronus]].<ref name=diodiii/>

====Interpretation====
[[File:Delos Museum Mosaik Dionysos 05.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[Hellenistic art|Hellenistic Greek]] [[mosaic]] depicting the god [[Dionysos]] as a winged [[daimon]] riding on a tiger, from [[Mosaics of Delos|the House of Dionysos]] at [[Delos]] (which [[History of Delos|was once controlled]] by [[History of Athens|Athens]]) in the [[South Aegean]] [[Administrative regions of Greece|region]] of [[Greece]], late second century BC, [[Archaeological Museum of Delos]]]]
Even in antiquity, the account of Dionysus' birth to a mortal woman led some to argue that he had been a historical figure who became deified over time, a suggestion of [[Euhemerism]] (an explanation of mythic events having roots in mortal history) often applied to demi-gods. The 4th-century Roman emperor and philosopher [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] encountered examples of this belief, and wrote arguments against it. In his letter ''To the Cynic Heracleios'', Julian wrote "I have heard many people say that Dionysus was a mortal man because he was born of Semele and that he became a god through his knowledge of [[theurgy]] and the Mysteries, and like our lord Heracles for his royal virtue was translated to Olympus by his father Zeus." However, to Julian, the myth of Dionysus's birth (and that of Heracles) stood as an allegory for a deeper spiritual truth. The birth of Dionysus, Julian argues, was "no birth but a divine manifestation" to Semele, who foresaw that a physical manifestation of the god Dionysus would soon appear. However, Semele was impatient for the god to come, and began revealing his mysteries too early; for her transgression, she was struck down by Zeus. When Zeus decided it was time to impose a new order on humanity, for it to "pass from the nomadic to a more civilized mode of life", he sent his son Dionysus from India as a god made visible, spreading his worship and giving the vine as a symbol of his manifestation among mortals. In Julian's interpretation, the Greeks "called Semele the mother of Dionysus because of the prediction that she had made, but also because the god honored her as having been the first prophetess of his advent while it was yet to be." The allegorical myth of the birth of Dionysus, per Julian, was developed to express both the history of these events and encapsulate the truth of his birth outside the generative processes of the mortal world, but entering into it, though his true birth was directly from Zeus along into the [[Neoplatonism|intelligible realm]].<ref name=julian>Julian, trans. by Emily Wilmer Cave Wright. To the Cynic Heracleios. ''The Works of the Emperor Julian'', volume II (1913) Loeb Classical Library.</ref>

===Infancy===
[[File:Hermes di Prassitele, at Olimpia, front.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Hermes and the Infant Dionysus]]'' by [[Praxiteles]] ([[Archaeological Museum of Olympia]])]]
According to Nonnus, Zeus gave the infant Dionysus to the care of [[Hermes]]. Hermes gave Dionysus to the Lamides, or daughters of Lamos, who were river nymphs. But Hera drove the Lamides mad and caused them to attack Dionysus, who was rescued by Hermes. Hermes next brought the infant to [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]] for fostering by her attendant Mystis, who taught him the rites of the mysteries (Dionysiaca 9). In Apollodorus' account, Hermes instructed Ino to raise Dionysus as a girl, to hide him from Hera's wrath.<ref>Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Includes Frazer's notes. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4|0-674-99136-2}}</ref> However, Hera found him, and vowed to destroy the house with a flood; however, Hermes again rescued Dionysus, this time bringing him to the mountains of [[Lydia]]. Hermes adopted the form of [[Phanes]], most ancient of the gods, and so Hera bowed before him and let him pass. Hermes gave the infant to the goddess [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], who cared for him through his adolescence.<ref name=dion.9>Nonnus, Dionysiaca 9. (trans. Rouse)</ref>

Another version is that Dionysus was taken to the rain-[[nymph]]s of [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysa]], who nourished his infancy and childhood, and for their care Zeus rewarded them by placing them as the [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]] among the stars (see [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades star cluster]]). In yet another version of the myth, he is raised by his cousin [[Macris]] on the island of [[Euboea]].<ref>Conner, Nancy. "The Everything Book of Classical Mythology" 2ed</ref>

[[File:Giovanni_bellini,_Young_Bacchus.jpg|thumb|left|''The Infant Bacchus'', painting (c. 1505–1510) by [[Giovanni Bellini]]]]
Dionysus in Greek mythology is a god of foreign origin, and while Mount Nysa is a mythological location, it is invariably set far away to the east or to the south. The [[Homeric hymn|''Homeric Hymn 1 to Dionysus'']] places it "far from [[Phoenicia]], near to the [[Nile|Egyptian stream]]".<ref>''Homeric Hymn 1 to Dionysus'' : ‘There is a certain Nysa, mountain high, with forests thick, in Phoinike afar, close to Aigyptos' (Egypt's) streams.’</ref> Others placed it in Anatolia, or in [[Ancient Libya|Libya]] ("away in the west beside a great ocean"), in Ethiopia (Herodotus), or [[Arabia]] (Diodorus Siculus).<ref>''Diodorus Siculus, Library of History 4. 2. 3'' (trans. Oldfather) : "Zeus taking up the child [i.e. Dionysos from the dead body of his mother Semele], handed it over to Hermes, and ordered him to take it to the cave in Nysa, which lay between Phoinikia (Phoenicia) and the Neilos (the River Nile), where he should deliver it to the Nymphai (Nymphs) that they should rear it and with great solicitude bestow upon it the best of care.</ref>
According to [[Herodotus]]:

{{blockquote|As it is, the Greek story has it that no sooner was Dionysus born than Zeus sewed him up in his thigh and carried him away to [[Nysa (mythology)|Nysa]] in Ethiopia beyond [[Egypt]]; and as for [[Pan (mythology)|Pan]], the Greeks do not know what became of him after his birth. It is therefore plain to me that the Greeks learned the names of these two gods later than the names of all the others, and trace the birth of both to the time when they gained the knowledge.|Herodotus, ''Histories'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.146.2 2.146.2]}}

The ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' seems to be following Pherecydes, who relates how the infant Dionysus, god of the grapevine, was nursed by the rain-nymphs, the [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]] at Nysa. Young Dionysus was also said to have been one of the many famous pupils of the [[centaur]] [[Chiron]]. According to Ptolemy Chennus in the Library of Photius, "Dionysus was loved by Chiron, from whom he learned chants and dances, the bacchic rites and initiations."<ref>Photius, ''Library;'' "Ptolemy Chennus, New History" [http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_05bibliotheca.htm#190 Book 4]</ref>

===Travels and invention of wine===
[[File:Bacchus en Ampelos, Francesco Righetti, 1782.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Bacchus and Ampelos'' by [[Francesco Righetti]] (1782)]]
When Dionysus grew up, he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice, being the first to do so;<ref>Bull, 255</ref> but Hera struck him with madness, and drove him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In [[Phrygia]] the goddess [[Cybele]], better known to the Greeks as Rhea, cured him and taught him her religious rites, and he set out on a progress through Asia teaching the people the cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of his wanderings is his expedition to [[India]], which is said to have lasted several years. According to a legend, when [[Alexander the Great]] reached a city called Nysa near the [[Indus river]], the locals said that their city was founded by Dionysus in the distant past and their city was dedicated to the god Dionysus.<ref>[[Arrian]], ''[[Anabasis of Alexander]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/arrian-anabasis_alexander/1976/pb_LCL269.3.xml 5.1.1–2.2]</ref> These travels took something of the form of military conquests; according to [[Diodorus Siculus]] he conquered the whole world except for Britain and [[Ethiopia]].<ref>Bull, 253</ref>

[[File:Alinari - Bacco e Ampelo.jpg|180px|thumb|right|''Bacchus and Ampelus''. Pre-1865 image of a Renaissance (partly Roman) statue in the Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.]]
Another myth according to [[Nonnus]] involves [[Ampelos|Ampelus]], a [[satyr]], who was loved by Dionysus. As related by [[Ovid]], Ampelus became the constellation ''Vindemitor'', or the "grape-gatherer":<ref>Ovid, ''Fasti'', iii. 407 ff. (James G. Frazer, translator).</ref> <blockquote><small>... not so will the Grape-gatherer escape thee. The origin of that constellation also can be briefly told. 'Tis said that the unshorn Ampelus, son of a nymph and a satyr, was loved by Bacchus on the Ismarian hills. Upon him the god bestowed a vine that trailed from an elm's leafy boughs, and still the vine takes from the boy its name. While he rashly culled the gaudy grapes upon a branch, he tumbled down; Liber bore the lost youth to the stars."</small></blockquote> Another story of Ampelus was related by [[Nonnus]]: in an accident foreseen by Dionysus, the youth was killed while riding a bull maddened by the sting of a gadfly sent by [[Selene]], the goddess of the [[Moon]]. The [[Moirai|Fates]] granted Ampelus a second life as a vine, from which Dionysus squeezed the first wine.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/340/mode/2up 10.175–430], [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/358/mode/2up/search/Ampelos 11], [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/396/mode/2up/search/Ampelos 12.1–117] {{Harv|Dalby|2005|pp=55–62}}.</ref>

===Return to Greece===
[[File:Badakshan patera Triumph of Bacchus.jpg|thumb|left|[[Badakshan]] [[patera]], "Triumph of Bacchus" (first–fourth century).<ref>The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity, John Boardman, Princeton University Press 1993, p.96</ref> [[British Museum]].]]
Returning in triumph to Greece after his travels in Asia, Dionysus came to be considered the founder of the triumphal procession. He undertook efforts to introduce his religion into Greece, but was opposed by rulers who feared it, on account of the disorders and madness it brought with it.

In one myth, adapted in [[Euripides]]' play ''[[The Bacchae]]'', Dionysus returns to his birthplace, [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]], which is ruled by his cousin [[Pentheus]]. Pentheus, as well as his mother [[Agave (Theban princess)|Agave]] and his aunts [[Ino (Greek mythology)|Ino]] and [[Autonoe]], disbelieve Dionysus' divine birth. Despite the warnings of the blind prophet [[Tiresias]], they deny his worship and denounce him for inspiring the women of Thebes to madness.
[[File:Death Pentheus Louvre G445.jpg|thumb|right|Pentheus torn apart by Agave and Ino. Attic red-figure ''[[lekanis]]'' (cosmetics bowl) lid, c. 450–425 BC (Louvre)]]

Dionysus uses his divine powers to drive Pentheus insane, then invites him to spy on the ecstatic rituals of the [[Maenad]]s, in the woods of [[Mount Cithaeron]]. Pentheus, hoping to witness a sexual [[orgy]], hides himself in a tree. The Maenads spot him; maddened by Dionysus, they take him to be a mountain-dwelling [[lion]] and attack him with their bare hands. Pentheus' aunts and his mother Agave are among them, and they rip him limb from limb. Agave mounts his head on a pike and takes the trophy to her father Cadmus.

Euripides' description of this sparagmos was as follows:

{{quote|"But she was foaming at the mouth, her eyes rolled all around; her mind was mindless now. Held by the god, she paid the man no heed. She grabbed his left arm just below the elbow: wedging her foot against the victim's ribs she ripped his shoulder off – not by mere force; the god made easy everything they touch. On his right arm worked Ino, ripping flesh; Autonoë and the mob of maenads griped him, screaming as one. While he had breath, he cried, but they were whooping victory calls. One took an arm, a foot another, boot and all. They stripped his torso bare, staining their nails with blood, then tossed balls of flesh around. Pentheus' body lies in fragments now: on the hard rocks, and mingled with the leaves buried in the woodland, hard to find. His mother stumbled across his head: poor head! She grabbed it, and fixed it on her thyrsus, like a lions's, to wave in joyful triumph at her hunt."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eripides |title=Bacchae |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |year=2014 |pages=lines 112-1141 |translator-last=Robertson |translator-first=Robin}}</ref>}}

The madness passes. Dionysus arrives in his true, divine form, banishes Agave and her sisters, and transforms Cadmus and his wife [[Harmonia (mythology)|Harmonia]] into serpents. Only Tiresias is spared.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Bacchae]]''.</ref>

[[File:Lycurgus Cup red BM MME1958.12-2.1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Lycurgus of Thrace|Lycurgus]] trapped by the vine, on the [[Lycurgus Cup]]]]
In the Iliad, when King [[Lycurgus of Thrace]] heard that Dionysus was in his kingdom, he imprisoned Dionysus' followers, the [[Maenad]]s. Dionysus fled and took refuge with [[Thetis]], and sent a [[drought]] which stirred the people to revolt. The god then drove King Lycurgus insane and had him slice his own son into pieces with an axe in the belief that he was a patch of ivy, a plant holy to Dionysus. An [[oracle]] then claimed that the land would stay dry and barren as long as Lycurgus lived, and his people had him [[drawn and quartered]]. Appeased by the king's death, Dionysus lifted the curse.<ref>{{Citation|author=Homer.|title=The Iliad|isbn=978-2-291-06449-7|oclc=1130228845}}</ref><ref>Homer, Iliad 6. 129 ff (trans. Lattimore):

"I will not fight against any god of the heaven, since even the son of Dryas, Lykourgos the powerful, did not live long; he who tried to fight with the gods of the bright sky, who once drove the fosterers of Mainomenos (rapturous) Dionysos headlong down the sacred Nyseian hill, and all of them shed and scattered their wands on the ground, stricken with an ox-goad by murderous Lykourgos, while Dionysos in terror dived into the salt surf, and Thetis took him to her bosom, frightened, with the strong shivers upon him at the man's blustering. But the gods who live at their ease were angered with Lykourgos and the son of Cronus [Zeus] struck him to blindness, nor did he live long afterwards, since he was hated by all the immortals."

[N.B. The reference to the Nyseian hill and the nurses of Dionysus suggests that Homer placed the story in Boeotia while the god was still a child—contrary to subsequent accounts of the myth in which Dionysus is a youth visiting Thrace.]</ref> In an alternative version, sometimes depicted in art, Lycurgus tries to kill Ambrosia, a follower of Dionysus, who was transformed into a vine that twined around the enraged king and slowly strangled him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_mla/t/the_lycurgus_cup.aspx|title=British Museum – The Lycurgus Cup|website=Britishmuseum.org}}</ref>

===Captivity and escape===
[[File:Neptune et les pirates.jpg|thumb|right|North African Roman mosaic: Panther-Dionysus scatters the pirates, who are changed to dolphins, except for [[Acoetes (Bacchic myth)|Acoetes]], the helmsman; second century AD ([[Bardo National Museum (Tunis)|Bardo National Museum]])]]
The [[Homeric hymns|''Homeric Hymn 7 to Dionysus'']] recounts how, while he sat on the seashore, some sailors spotted him, believing him a prince. They attempted to kidnap him and sail away to sell him for ransom or into slavery. No rope would bind him. The god turned into a fierce lion and unleashed a bear on board, killing all in his path. Those who jumped ship were mercifully turned into dolphins. The only survivor was the helmsman, [[Acoetes (Bacchic myth)|Acoetes]], who recognized the god and tried to stop his sailors from the start.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/DionysosWrath.html#Tyrrhenian |title=Theoi.com" Homeric Hymn to Dionysus |publisher=Theoi.com |access-date=29 June 2014}}</ref>

In a similar story, Dionysus hired a [[Tyrrhenians|Tyrrhenian]] pirate ship to sail from [[Icaria]] to [[Naxos (island)|Naxos]]. When he was aboard, they sailed not to Naxos but to Asia, intending to sell him as a slave. This time the god turned the mast and oars into snakes, and filled the vessel with ivy and the sound of flutes so that the sailors went mad and, leaping into the sea, were turned into dolphins. In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]],'' Bacchus begins this story as a young child found by the pirates but transforms to a divine adult when on board.

Many of the myths involve Dionysus defending his godhead against skeptics. Malcolm Bull notes that "It is a measure of Bacchus's ambiguous position in classical mythology that he, unlike the other Olympians, had to use a boat to travel to and from the islands with which he is associated".<ref>Bull, 245–247, 247 quoted</ref> Paola Corrente notes that in many sources, the incident with the pirates happens towards the end of Dionysus' time among mortals. In that sense, it serves as final proof of his divinity and is often followed by his descent into Hades to retrieve his mother, both of whom can then ascend into heaven to live alongside the other Olympian gods.<ref name="corrente2012" />

===Descent to the underworld===
[[File:Nagarjunakonda Dionysus Palace site.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Relief of Dionysus, [[Nagarjunakonda]], Southern [[India]], third century. He has a light beard, is semi-nude and carries a drinking horn. There is a barrel of wine next to him.<ref name=MLV>{{cite book |last1=Varadpande |first1=M. L. |title=Ancient Indian And Indo-Greek Theatre |date=1981 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=9788170171478 |pages=91–93 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JYuJWxLv-U0C&pg=PA91 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Carter |first1=Martha L. |title=Dionysiac Aspects of Kushān Art |journal=Ars Orientalis |date=1968 |volume=7 |pages=121–146, Fig. 15 |issn=0571-1371|jstor=4629244 }}</ref>]]
[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], in book II of his ''Description of Greece'', describes two variant traditions regarding Dionysus' [[katabasis]], or descent into the underworld. Both describe how Dionysus entered into the afterlife to rescue his mother Semele, and bring her to her rightful place on Olympus. To do so, he had to contend with the hell dog [[Cerberus]], which was restrained for him by [[Heracles]]. After retrieving Semele, Dionysus emerged with her from the unfathomable waters of a lagoon on the coast of the [[Argolid]] near the prehistoric site of [[Lerna]], according to the local tradition.<ref name=PausaniasII>Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' book 2</ref> This mythic event was commemorated with a yearly nighttime festival, the details of which were held secret by the local religion. According to Paola Corrente, the emergence of Dionysus from the waters of the lagoon may signify a form of rebirth for both him and Semele as they reemerged from the underworld.<ref name="corrente2012" /><ref name="corrente2019">Corrente, Paola and Sidney Castillo. 2019. "Philology and the Comparative Study of Myths", The Religious Studies Project (Podcast Transcript). 3 June 2019. Transcribed by Helen Bradstock. Version 1.1, 28 May 2019. Available at: https://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/philology-and-the-comparative-study-of-myths/</ref> A variant of this myth forms the basis of [[Aristophanes]]' comedy ''The Frogs''.<ref name="corrente2012" />

According to the Christian writer [[Clement of Alexandria]], Dionysus was guided in his journey by [[Prosymnus]] or Polymnus, who requested, as his reward, to be Dionysus' lover. Prosymnus died before Dionysus could honor his pledge, so to satisfy Prosymnus' shade, Dionysus fashioned a [[phallus]] from a fig branch and penetrated himself with it at Prosymnus' tomb.<ref>Clement of Alexandria, ''Protreptikos,'' II-30 3–5</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Larson |first=Jennifer |date=6 September 2012 |title=Greek and Roman Sexualities: A Sourcebook |publisher=Bloombsbury Publishing |isbn=9781441153371 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lhybtEbfwscC&pg=PA44 |language=en}}</ref> This story survives in full only in Christian sources, whose aim was to discredit pagan mythology, but it appears to have also served to explain the origin of secret objects used by the [[Dionysian Mysteries]].<ref>[[Arnobius]], ''Adversus Gentes'' [https://archive.org/stream/thesevenbooksofa00arnouoft#page/n279/mode/2up 5.28 (pp. 252–253)] {{Harv|Dalby|2005|pp=108–117}}</ref>

This same myth of Dionysus' descent to the underworld is related by both [[Diodorus Siculus]] in his first century BC work ''Bibliotheca historica'', and Pseudo-[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]] in the third book of his first century AD work ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]''. In the latter, Apollodorus tells how after having been hidden away from Hera's wrath, Dionysus traveled the world opposing those who denied his godhood, finally proving it when he transformed his pirate captors into dolphins. After this, the culmination of his life on earth was his descent to retrieve his mother from the underworld. He renamed his mother [[Semele|Thyone]], and ascended with her to heaven, where she became a goddess.<ref>Apollodorus, ''Bibliotheca'' book 3</ref> In this variant of the myth, it is implied that Dionysus must prove his godhood to mortals and then also legitimize his place on Olympus by proving his lineage and elevating his mother to divine status, before taking his place among the Olympic gods.<ref name=corrente2012/>

===Secondary myths===

====Midas' golden touch====
[[File:Titian Bacchus and Ariadne.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Bacchus and Ariadne]]'' by [[Titian]], at the [[National Gallery (London)|National Gallery]] in London]]
Dionysus discovered that his old school master and foster father, [[Silenus]], had gone missing. The old man had wandered away drunk, and was found by some peasants who carried him to their king [[Midas]] (alternatively, he passed out in Midas' rose garden). The king recognized him hospitably, feasting him for ten days and nights while Silenus entertained with stories and songs. On the eleventh day, Midas brought Silenus back to Dionysus. Dionysus offered the king his choice of reward.

Midas asked that whatever he might touch would turn to gold. Dionysus consented, though was sorry that he had not made a better choice. Midas rejoiced in his new power, which he hastened to put to the test. He touched and turned to gold an oak twig and a stone, but his joy vanished when he found that his bread, meat, and wine also turned to gold. Later, when his daughter embraced him, she too turned to gold.

The horrified king strove to divest the [[Midas Touch]], and he prayed to Dionysus to save him from starvation. The god consented, telling Midas to wash in the river [[Pactolus]]. As he did so, the power passed into them, and the river sands turned gold: this [[etiological myth]] explained the gold sands of the Pactolus.
{{clear}}

====Love affairs====
[[File:Antoine-Jean Gros - Bacchus and Ariadne.jpg|thumb|''Bacchus and Ariadne'' (1822) by [[Antoine-Jean Gros]]]]
When [[Theseus]] abandoned [[Ariadne]] sleeping on Naxos, Dionysus found and married her. They had a son named Oenopion, but she committed suicide or was killed by [[Perseus]]. In some variants, Dionysus had her crown put into the heavens as the constellation Corona; in others, he descended into [[Hades]] to restore her to the gods on Olympus. Another account claims Dionysus ordered Theseus to abandon Ariadne on the island of Naxos, for Dionysus had seen her as Theseus carried her onto the ship and had decided to marry her.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} [[Psalacantha]], a nymph, promised to help Dionysus court Ariadne in exchange for his sexual favours; but Dionysus refused, so Psalacantha advised Ariadne against going with him. For this Dionysus turned her into the plant with the same name.<ref>[[Ptolemy Hephaestion]], ''New History'' 5, epitomized in Patriarch [[Photius I of Constantinople|Photius]]'s ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Myriobiblon]]'' [https://topostext.org/work.php?work_id=237#190.35 190.35]</ref>

{{Multiple image
|total_width=300
|image1=Dioniso scopre arianna, da casa dei capitelli colorati a pompei, 9278.JPG
|image2=Affresco con l'epifania di Dioniso a Nasso, da Pompei, I 4, 5 Casa del Citarista . Napoli, Museo Archeologico Nazionale, inv. 9286.png
|footer=Dionysos surrounded by his [[thiasus]] discovers Ariadne asleep at [[Hypnos]]'s side. Frescoes in [[Pompeii]]}}

Dionysus fell in love with a nymph named [[Nicaea (mythology)|Nicaea]], in some versions by [[Eros]]' binding. Nicaea however was a sworn virgin and scorned his attempts to court her. So one day, while she was away, he replaced the water in the spring from which she used to drink with wine. Intoxicated, Nicaea passed out, and Dionysus raped her in her sleep. When she woke up and realized what had happened, she sought him out to harm him, but she never found him. She gave birth to his sons [[Telete]], [[Satyr]]us, and others. Dionysus named the ancient city of [[Nicaea]] after her.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/details/dionysiaca02nonnuoft/page/20/mode/2up?view=theater 16.244–280]; [[Memnon of Heraclea]], ''History of Heraclea'' book 15, as epitomized by [[Photius I of Constantinople|Photius of Constantinople]] in his ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Myriobiblon]]'' [https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/photius_copyright/photius_06bibliotheca.htm 223.28]</ref>

In [[Nonnus]]'s ''[[Dionysiaca]]'', Eros made Dionysus fall in love with [[Aura (mythology)|Aura]], a virgin companion of [[Artemis]], as part of a ploy to punish Aura for having insulted Artemis. Dionysus used the same trick as with Nicaea to get her fall asleep, tied her up, and then raped her. Aura tried to kill herself, with little success. When she gave birth to twin sons by Dionysus, [[Iacchus]] and another boy, she ate one twin before drowning herself in the [[Sakarya River|Sangarius]] river.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca03nonnuoft#page/459/mode/2up 48.470–634 (III pp. 458]–[https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca03nonnuoft#page/491/mode/2up 48.928–936 (III pp. 490, 491)].</ref>

Also in the ''Dionysiaca'', Nonnus relates how Dionysus fell in love with a handsome satyr named [[Ampelos]], who was killed by Selene due to him challenging her. On his death, Dionysus changed him into the first grapevine.<ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' 11. 185 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.):

"[Ampelos the love of Dionysos rode upon the back of a wild bull:] He shouted boldly to the fullfaced Moon (Mene)—'Give me best, Selene, horned driver of cattle! Now I am both—I have horns and I ride a bull!'

So he called out boasting to the round Moon. Selene looked with a jealous eye through the air, to see how Ampleos rode on the murderous marauding bull. She sent him a cattlechasing gadfly; and the bull, pricked continually all over by the sharp sting, galloped away like a horse through pathless tracts. [It threw the boy and gorged him to death.]"</ref>

====Other myths====
[[File:MET DP123380.jpg|thumb|Terracotta head, 4–5th century, [[Gandhara]] (modern Pakistan)]]Another account about Dionysus's parentage indicates that he is the son of Zeus and Gê (Gaia), also named ''Themelê'' (foundation), corrupted into ''Semele''.<ref>Humphreys, S. C. ''The Strangeness of Gods: Historical perspectives on the interpretation of Athenian religion''. Oxford University Press. 2004. pp. 264–265. {{ISBN|978-0199269235}}</ref><ref>Beecroft, Alexander J. "Nine Fragments in Search of an Author: Poetic Lines Attributed to Terpander." ''The Classical Journal'' 103, no. 3 (2008): 225–41. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30037959.</ref>

When [[Hephaestus]] bound [[Hera]] to a magical chair, Dionysus got him drunk and brought him back to Olympus after he passed out.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

During the [[Gigantomachy]], Dionysus killed the giant [[Eurytus]] with his [[thyrsus]].

A third descent by Dionysus to Hades is invented by [[Aristophanes]] in his comedy ''[[The Frogs]]''. Dionysus, as patron of the Athenian dramatic festival, the ''Dionysia'', wants to bring back to life one of the great tragedians. After a [[poetry slam]], [[Aeschylus]] is chosen in preference to [[Euripides]].

Callirrhoe was a [[Calydon]]ian woman who scorned [[Coresus]], a priest of Dionysus, who threatened to afflict all the women of Calydon with insanity (see [[Maenad]]). The priest was ordered to sacrifice Callirhoe but he killed himself instead. Callirhoe threw herself into a well which was later named after her.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Dionysus also sent a fox that was fated never to be caught in Thebes. [[Creon (king of Thebes)|Creon]], king of Thebes, sent [[Amphitryon]] to catch and kill the fox. [[Amphitryon]] obtained from [[Cephalus]] the dog that his wife [[Procris]] had received from [[Minos]], which was fated to catch whatever it pursued.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Hyginus relates that Dionysus once gave human speech to a donkey. The donkey then proceeded to challenge Priapus in a contest about which between them had the better penis; the donkey lost. Priapus killed the donkey, but Dionysus placed him among the stars, above the [[Cancer (constellation)|Crab]].<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''Astronomica'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.23.3 2.23.3]</ref><ref>{{cite book | page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=YKOODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA203 203] | title = Studies in Hellenistic Judaism | first1 = Louis H. | last1 = Feldman | date = 1996 | publisher = Brill | isbn = 90-04-10418-6}}</ref>

===Children===
The following is a list of Dionysus' offspring, by various mothers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! scope="col" style="width: 100pt;" | Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" | Mother
! scope="col" style="width: 55pt;" | Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" | Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
| rowspan="2" | The [[Charites]]
| [[Aphrodite]]
| [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]]
| data-sort-value=24 | 4th/5th cent. AD
| <ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Charites s.v. Charites]; [[Servius the Grammarian|Servius]], Commentary on [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Serv.+A.+1.720&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0053 1.720].</ref>
|-
| [[Coronis (mythology)|Coronis]]
| [[Nonnus]]
| data-sort-value=21 | 5th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#48.548 48.548 ff.]</ref>
|-
| Ceramus
| rowspan="7" | [[Ariadne]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>Grimal, s.v. Ceramus, p. 96; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.1 1.3.1].</ref>
|-
| [[Enyeus]]
|
|
| <ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Enyeus_1 s.v. Enyeus (1)].</ref>
|-
| [[Oenopion]], [[Staphylus (son of Dionysus)|Staphylus]], [[Thoas (king of Lemnos)|Thoas]]
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>Hard, p. 625 n. 188 to p. 179; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:e.1.9 E.1.9]; Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 3.997.</ref>
|-
| [[Euanthes]], Tauropolis, Latramys
| Schol. [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Ap. Rh.]]
| data-sort-value=50 |
| <ref>Hard, p. 625 n. 188 to p. 179; Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 3.997.</ref>
|-
| Peparethus
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:e.1.9 E.1.9].</ref>
|-
| [[Maron (mythology)|Maron]]
| [[Euripides]]
| data-sort-value=7 | 5th cent. BC
| <ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Cyclops (play)|Cyclops]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euripides-cyclops/1994/pb_LCL012.77.xml 141&ndash;145 (pp. 76, 77)].</ref>
|-
| [[Phlias]]
| [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyg.]] ''[[Fabulae|Fab.]]''
| data-sort-value=17 | 1st cent. AD
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=phlias-bio-1&highlight=phlias s.v. Phlias]; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#14 14].</ref>
|-
| Carmanor
| [[Alexirrhoe]]
| [[Pseudo-Plutarch|Ps.-Plut.]] ''[[De fluviis|Fluv.]]''
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Pseudo-Plutarch]], ''[[De fluviis]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0094.tlg001.perseus-eng1:7 7].</ref>
|-
| [[Iacchus]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Aura (mythology)|Aura]]
| [[Nonnus]]
| data-sort-value=21 | 5th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca01nonnuoft#page/n61/mode/2up 1.26–28 (I pp. 4, 5)], [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca03nonnuoft#page/442/mode/2up 48.245–247 (III pp. 440–443)], [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca03nonnuoft#page/484/mode/2up 48.848–968 (III pp. 484–493)].</ref>
|-
| Unnamed twin brother
| [[Nonnus]]
| data-sort-value=21 | 5th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/dionysiaca03nonnuoft#page/480/mode/2up 48.786&ndash;855 (III pp. 481&ndash;485)].</ref>
|-
| Medus
| [[Alphesiboea]]
| [[Pseudo-Plutarch|Ps.-Plut.]] ''[[De fluviis|Fluv.]]''
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Pseudo-Plutarch]], ''[[De fluviis]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0094.tlg001.perseus-eng1:24 24].</ref>
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[Phlias]]
| [[Araethyrea]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.12.6 2.12.6].</ref>
|-
| [[Chthonophyle]]
|
|
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=phlias-bio-1&highlight=phlias s.v Phlias]; ''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Chthonophyle s.v. Chthonophyle].</ref>
|-
| rowspan="3" | [[Priapus]]
| [[Aphrodite]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+9.31.2 9.31.2]</ref>
|-
| [[Chione (Greek myth)|Chione]]
| Schol. [[Theocritus|Theoc.]]
| data-sort-value=50 |
| <ref>''[[Pauly-Wissowa|RE]]'', [https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/RE:Chione_7 s.v. Chione (7)]; [[Scholia]] on [[Theocritus]]' ''Idylls'' 1.21.</ref>
|-
| Percote
|
|
| <ref>[[Hesychius of Alexandria]] s.v. ''Priēpidos''.{{psi|date=October 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Telete]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Nicaea (mythology)|Nicaea]]
| [[Nonnus]]
| data-sort-value=25 | 5th cent. AD
| <ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Telete.</ref>
|-
| [[Satyr]]us, Other unnamed sons
| [[Memnon of Heraclea]]
| data-sort-value=17 | 1st cent. AD
| <ref>[[Memnon of Heraclea]], ''apud.'' [[Photius]], ''[[Bibliotheca (Photius)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://www.attalus.org/translate/memnon2.html#28 223.28] [= ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' 434 F1].</ref>
|-
| Narcaeus
| [[Physcoa]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:5.16.7 5.16.7].</ref>
|-
| [[Methe]]
| rowspan="5" | ''No mother mentioned''
| [[Anacreon]]
| data-sort-value=27 | 6th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Anacreon]], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/anacreontea/1988/pb_LCL143.211.xml fr. 38 Campbell, pp. 210, 211].</ref>
|-
| [[Sabazius]]
|
|
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=sabazius-bio-1&highlight=sabazius s.v. Sabazius].</ref>
|-
| Thysa
| [[Strabo]]
| data-sort-value=17 | 1st cent. AD
| <ref>[[Strabo]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0099.tlg001.perseus-eng1:10.3.13 10.3.13], quotes the non-extant play ''Palamedes'' which seems to refer to Thysa, a daughter of Dionysus, and her (?) mother as participants of the Bacchic rites on Mount Ida, but the quoted passage is corrupt.</ref>
|-
| [[Pasithea]]
| [[Nonnus]]
| data-sort-value=25 | 5th cent. AD
| <ref>[[Nonnus]], ''[[Dionysiaca]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/529#15.86 15.86 ff.]</ref>
|-
| Phanus
| [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollod.]]
| data-sort-value=18 | 1st/2nd cent. AD
| <ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.16 1.9.16].</ref>
|}