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Dionysos




Alias: Zagreus


Place of birth: Thebes


Race: Greek gods


Occupation: God of wine, agriculture, and fertility of nature, also the patron god of the Greek stage
Known relatives: Zeus (father)
Semele (mother)
Persephone (mother)
Pentheus (cousin, deceased)
Herakles (half-brother)
Base of operations: Mount Olympus


Story: There are two versions of the origin of Dionysos:

1: Dionysos was the son of Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele. Semele was killed by Zeus' lightning bolts while Dionysos was still in her womb but Dionysos was rescued and underwent a second birth from Zeus after developing in his thigh. After giving birth to Dionysos, Zeus then gave the infant to some nymphs to be raised. Hence, as in the earlier account, Dionysus is also called "twice born."

2: Dionysos (named Zagreus in this story) was the son of Zeus and Persephone. He was lured away by the Titans with toys, and then ripped to shreds eating everything but Zagreus' heart, which is saved by either Athena, Rhea, or Demeter. Zeus remade his son from the heart and implanted him in Semele who bore a new Dionysus Zagreus. The latter account formed a part of the Orphic religion's religious mythology.

Dionysus rescued Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus. Dionysus also saved his mother from the Underworld, after Zeus showed her his true nature as storm god and consumed her in lightning.


Continuity: Greek Mythology
Country of origin: Greece Greece


Related links/characters:
- Herakles
- Pentheus
- Persephone
- Semele
- Zeus