#Dionysos

[wanderingmind867]

Bacchus calls Jason John Green (i wonder how the real John Green felt about that. Complimented?). And we get references to a time Jason helped Bacchus with a missing leopard in Sonoma. If we ever do get a Camp Jupiter prequel series, I need to hear about Jason's adventure with Bacchus in Sonoma. The same way I need to hear about the time Jason met Aeolus while hunting a Sea Monster. We get references to all these things Jason did, but we never get any elaboration. I know that was a conscious choice to keep the story moving, but come on! We need to revisit all these things! We need a five book prequel series about Jason at Camp Jupiter, and there's so many reasons why!

We could humanize Octavian, maybe make him and Jason friends. We could show Reyna arriving at Camp Jupiter! We can see Jason helping Bacchus in Sonoma! We can see him hunting a Sea Monster and running into Aeolus. We can see more of Dakota and Gwen at Camp Jupiter! We can maybe meet Ceres, or Mercury, or Neptune or Minerva! So much we could see! I'll repeat again: we need a five book prequel series about Jason at Camp Jupiter! Jason Grace and Dii Consentes, that's a title that works! And that's the story I'd really push Rick Riordan to be writing.

[amymor-theend]

I'm finally done✨(love to draw these dudes)🍻🏺🍷

[superkooku]

I found those pretty Dionysus dividers on @sister-lucifer's blog. Anyways, here's a credit. And thank you 😊

I'll use them on the other segments of my essay, if it's fine.

Dionysus' iceberg (part 2)

Here's part 1 :

Yes, I know, I took my time with this one 😅. But part 2 is finally here on Tumblr !

And, since there's a lot to say about Dionysus, I'll probably need to do a third one... yes he's that interesting.

In this part, I'll talk about Dionysus' connections to theater, nature and vegetation.

Despite Apollo being the god of the arts, theater is one of Dionysus' domains.

1. Theater 🎭

In fact, his theatre (in Athens) is considered the first in the world! Dionysus is like an entertainer, not only through parties, but also through a performance on the stage.

Okay, more seriously: one of his festivals, the Dionysia, even had five days dedicated to drama. In fact, theater plays are said to be set in competitions honoring Dionysus himself.

This festival in and of itself is quite complex, as it's divided in two categories (rural and city festivals) and has quite a history. So, I'd highly recommend reading more about it.

Even the idea of theater masks come from there ! They were parts of disguises actors (always men) wore to play the roles of women or gods.

I'm gonna stop a bit with the informations to talk about two interesting things :

It's actually really cool that the god of theater is a good actor.

I say that because he managed to fool Pentheus and a WHOLE pirate crew into thinking he's some inoffensive boy. And then, dramatic plot twist : he's not.

Another cool thing : he appeared both in a comedy and tragedy. Probably in other lost plays too. It's part of his duality, which I'll talk about more in part 3.

Anyways, ancient Greek theater, the ancestor of our modern plays, is very closely tied to Dionysus.

2. His link to satyrs

This bearded man is Silenus, son of Hermes and one of the satyrs. The baby he's holding is an infant Dionysus, who was forced to go in hiding because of Hera's wrath.

Edit : forgot to complete this part. So, Silenus is considered Dionysus' tutor, kinda like Chiron and Asclepius, but wilder.

Like Dionysus, he appears to be a funny drunkard, but in reality, he can be very wise too. Heck, he even has some prophecy powers when intoxicated. How cool is that ? I like this little duality.

He notably appears in Midas' myth. Silenus was found by peasants and given to the king. Since Midas took good care of him and showed a lot of hospitality, Dionysus decided to reward him. And we all know how the story goes at that point.

Another important satyr (in the Dionysiaca, for example) is Ampelos/Ampelus. He was a young satyr who could very well be Dionysus' first love. What's so interesting about him is that, after his death (R.I.P), Dionysus transformed him into the first grape vine 🍇 !

(this time, not a flower, unlike Hyacinthus and Crocus).

Yes, if you drink wine, you're technically drinking Ampelos' blood.

In general, the satyrs, along with the maenads, are Dionysus' companions. We all know what satyrs are, but it's not surprising to see two symbols of sexuality, drunkenness and wilderness so closely tied.

Also, coming back to theater, there was something called "satyr plays", a mix between tragedy and comedy that were played during the Dionysian festival.

3. A god of nature and vegetation

There are many other nature gods. They each show their connection to nature in their own unique way.

Of course, there's wine and grapes (and Ampelos), but also a lot more stuff.

Dionysus was said to live his youth on Mount Nysa, in the nature, among nymphs and other satyrs. So those ties would come from very early on in his life.

He's not only the god of grapes, but fruits and plant life in general. It's interesting to see the same domains shared by multiple gods (here with Demeter).

The multiple water and wind gods are another proof of that.

And yes, he can grow vines as much as he pleases, like when he punished the thyranean pirates.

4. A fertility god

Yeah, don't listen to LO, male fertility gods exist too 😂.

He's not even the only one, since there's Priapus as well. And he's often (not always) considered his son, with Aphrodite as the mother.

It's honestly not surprising to see a god of nature and fruits, but also one known for his orgies, being associated with fertility.

So...

There aren't many myths about it, so I'll just include that one because it's interesting.

I went through these informations pretty quickly, in order to keep this post at a normal length. I'd love to see you complete on these particular aspects.

In part 3, I'll talk about Dionysus' duality, but also his link to madness, mortals (like Semele and Ariadne), and other gods.

Part 3 will be the longest, since I'll include a lot more references (to myths like the war against India, the Bacchae and more infos about his cult and stories)

[winedarkgod]

[namarikonda]

I remade Dionysus' design from Hades II 🏺🍇🌿

[cameron-possibly]

ἥκω Διὸς παῖς τήνδε Θηβαίων χθόνα Διόνυσος, ὃν τίκτει ποθ᾽ ἡ Κάδμου κόρη Σεμέλη λοχευθεῖσ᾽ ἀστραπηφόρῳ πυρί

"I have come, the child of Zeus, to this land of Thebes. I, Dionysus, whom Semele the daughter of Cadmus once bore, brought forth by the fire of lightning."

Bacchae - Euripides

[fabledfoxglove]

ꕥ ᴅɪᴏɴʏsᴜs • ɢᴏᴅ ᴏғ ᴡɪɴᴇ, ᴠᴇɢᴇᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ, ғᴇʀᴛɪʟɪᴛʏ, ғᴇsᴛɪᴠɪᴛʏ, ʀɪᴛᴜᴀʟ ᴍᴀᴅɴᴇss, ʀᴇʟɪɢɪᴏᴜs ᴇᴄsᴛᴀsʏ, ᴍᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ʜᴇᴀʟᴛʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇᴀᴛᴇʀ ꕥ

[slobzsloth]

[benvoolioo]

hey girl, um, we were having a bacchanal and we kinda tore your boyfriend to shreds. yeah, ripped his head clean off. sorry about that :/

[dantealighierienjoyer]

Digital offering for Lord Apollon and Lord Dionysos, my beloved patrons<3

[beatingdrumspouringwine]

Advice for beginner Hellenists

This isn't necessarily a post where I include a list of Gods, epithets, resources, and offerings for said Gods, but rather, hopefully soothing the worries of those of us who are starting the journey into the religion. As someone who was once in a religion that made other religions sound like something absolutely terrifying, my journey into Hellenism was once which was also... pretty terrifying, and this fear was mostly just from my own mind.

Anyways, my list of Advice:

You can literally just start praying. If you want to get more formal, you can absolutely get more formal, but you very much don't have to. I've definitely had my first prayers to some Gods be "hello, [God or Goddess's name], I want to worship You! Please lead me in my journey. Thanks!" I can promise you, the Gods are much kinder and more understanding than any of us fully know.

You can also just start worshiping in general. I feel like I've seen on occasion people worried about the Gods not "calling" to them. This is definitely not something that needs to happen pre-worship. If you find them interesting enough to pray to, then that in and of itself is enough.

In a similar vein, I wouldn't be too concerned about the idea of "signs". I feel like there's a tendency for folks to be incredibly worried about everything when first starting out - the behavior of a candle, the sighting of an animal, a strange dream, all can suddenly seem to take on jarring significance. But I can promise you, the Gods don't constantly give out signs, and frequently, these strange occurrences can be attributed to the mundane. When something comes from the Gods, you will know, trust me!

You don't have to worry too much about the idea of cleanliness, be it spiritual or physical. Khernips are cool, and I'd definitely recommend integrating them into your practice sooner or later. Hygiene is cool too! But if I'm being honest, we in the modern day are far more physically clean, and a lot less likely to regularly encounter the type of pollution that would have been encountered in ancient Greece.

The Gods will be at varying distances over the course of your worship. Sometimes, They will feel close, joyfully, burningly so. And sometimes, They will feel far, and prayers may even feel a bit futile. Both of those are perfectly okay, and neither of those will be permanent.

And, once again in a similar vein, you will likely not find yourself having constant, close mystical experiences with the Gods (i.e., conversations, visions, etc.). These experiences are rare and far between, and I would advise that you not make them a central part of your worship. They will come when the Gods deem you're ready for them, and you definitely won't be expecting it. Focus on the little things!

My final thing (for now) is that you also shouldn't put undue pressure on yourself to be doing some sort of big offering to the Gods. If that's what you can afford, that's great! But if not, fresh water, a small wildflower that you came across and picked*, or a small bit of a meal also count as a good offering!

And with that, my (much longer than I was previously planning on) list of things for beginners to keep in mind! A lot of this list is made up of things which I picked up along the way, and a lot of it is also made from my own personal hindsight being 20/20. I hope this is helpful to someone, and that it maybe soothes some of the (incredibly common) worries which so often accompany those who are venturing into the world of Hellenic polytheism!

[josephinecarttanneur]

✨🍇DIONYSUS🍆💃🏻

[winedarkgod]

something about Dionysus' leopards being depicted eating grapes in contrast to the maenads who tear apart animals (and people)

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Head of a statue of Dionysos.

Culture: Greek

Period: Late Hellenistic

Date: 150–50 B.C.

Place of origin: Nubia (Sudan), Meröe (Begrawiya), Pyramid N 5

Medium: Bronze, silver, shell

[rongrii]

Dionysus!!

He was very fun to draw, I really like to use combination on yellow and purple :]

Drew him with horns as a reference to his older versions throughout the history

[prosymnusfaunus]

Head from the Statue of the Young Bacchus

First half of 1st century A.D.

Dionysos, the god of wine, wears an ivy wreath hung with leaves and berries. This head is all that survives of what was once a life-size bronze statue of the god. The silvered whites of the eyes originally held inlaid irises. The dreamy, slightly unfocused gaze, as well as the slightly parted lips, conveys sensuousness and sexual ambivalence, characteristics frequently found in depictions of the god.