#King Bacchus

[seanastinhopeunquenchable]

Sean Astin on the Ellen Show, February 17, 2005.

[nerditoutwithbooks]

[alwayscaskett810]

[neptunesize]

𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓮

a dionysus and ariadne playlist

✦ Bedroom Hymns - Florence and the Machine

✦ Glitter & Gloss - Skott

✦ Fool - Børns

✦ Is Everybody Going Crazy - Nothing but Thieves

and more! listen here!

[crashhole]

The Ghost of Christmas Present is the King of Pentacles

Wealth, Abundance, Prosperity

The third of the four ghosts to visit Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, the Ghost of Christmas Present is a massive and burly spirit of celebration and plenty. Bridging the resemblance between the Roman god of wine and agriculture, Bacchus, and our modern depiction of Santa Claus, the Ghost of Christmas Present reminds us to make the most of now, because it won’t last forever.

[helpmeimblorboing]

Imagine the scene after Theseus died. Like, to the left is the god whose wife he tried to steal, to the right is the wife he tried to steal. Right ahead, the guy meant to be judging him, is Minos, the guy he fucked over. Depending on your interpretation of the Dionysian myths, his ex’s new boyfriend is there as well

All I’m saying is that the tension would’ve been thick enough to choke on

[deansraspberrypie]

Bonus 😘

👑💖 King Jensen Ross Ackles 💎👑

🍰 Tag list: @avanatural @undisputedchick @jranutter @fortheloveof-jackles @kazsrm67 @muchamusedaboutnothing @breath-of-snow-and-ashes @bluedragonflylady @mrsjenniferwinchester @unabashed-lover-of-fictional-men 🥧

[found--family]

he's the princess 👑

[ivyblossom]

I'm still at it, fyi.

I'm not going to say this is my best chapter ever, it kind of got away from me and it roams around all over the place as if it doesn't know what it's there for, but that's what fanfiction is allowed to be, right? Fun times for the werido writing it? I had a week, I needed the indulgence, to be honest with you.

There was more that was meant to go in there, but I'm going to put that into the next chapter instead, there's enough in here, but it's clearly a set up for the next set of dominoes to come crashing down, because a) where does one locate their first orgy in an English boarding school? and b) sometimes teachers get mad at unruly boys in 1946, but is it even a good idea to cane a god? Probably not. But that doesn't mean someone won't try it just in case it feels great, I dunno.

In sum, rugby is probably a lot like an orgy when you think about it, but don't think about it, or it will become an orgy, and then everyone will get into trouble, because it's 1946 and homosexuality is illegal.

And then Bacchus wreaks vengeance on (TRIGGER WARNING) a man aiming to abduct and kill a small girl. Why did I put these themes together? There is a throughline, there is, it's Bacchus the Narnian god's power set in England and how bizarre that is, and also because he is a god of pleasure and he senses and controls desire, but is also A WAR BEAST and will DESTROY THE ENEMY in some pretty brutal and creative ways. His vengeance is swift, dramatic, and deeply confusing to all who witness it, and the little girl is unscathed. She has an encounter with a god that changes her life and makes her a little extra cool forever. She's a little Maenad now, and I wish her well.

[twinklecupcake]

Shifting Flames as C1 and Mystic Muse as B4 PLEASE!!!!!!! ✨️💖🥺💖✨️

Dadaaaan~!

[todayisafridaynight]

every day i mourn my wife (edo period mack) who was lost to the war ('''''unnecessary fanservice''''')

[thevibrationofatoms]

HEY ROME. WHAT???

[sensitivehandsomeactionman]

@jensenackles-daily For your anon who was asking about this post of a fan mentioning DeanxCassie

@JensenAckles I hope you get to see this: 1. You MADE MY NIGHT/LIFE! I can’t believe I ran into you last night! You are as charming and caring as you are on @cw_spn  2. I’m so happy I got to tell you how much I love @cw_spn and how it was the first show I watched where the heartthrob falls for a black woman (S1: Episode 666 - Cassie) It made me feel more secure in my skin  Thank you 3. But I forgot to thank you being Dean Winchester for 15 seasons! Your passion for the role really made the show special. And I also wanted to thank the rest of the #SPNFamily for all the hard work everyone puts into this show  [x]

[a-little-revolution]

Haven't posted little people in art in a while:

This is Eugenia Martinez Vallejo, a Spanish court dwarf owned by King Charles ll and put on regular display due to her height and weight. She is painted here in The Monster Clothed by Juan Carreno de Miranda.

"In Eugenia’s case, the painter goes as far as to refer to her as a monster. Indeed, the paintings are known as The Monster Clothed and The Monster Undressed. The latter portrait shows Eugenia posing naked and deprived of her humanity like a mythological creature. This often leads the painting to be subtitled Bacchus, who is the Roman God of wine, festivity, and insanity. In the other portrait, Eugenia wears a red and white dress which transforms Eugenia’s body into a grotesque shape. While the portraits are praised by art historians for presenting her with dignity, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, the paintings are very hard to look at and it is impossible to deny the darker reality which is so obviously at play. In the portraits, Eugenia appears highly sad and uncomfortable." (1)

Eugenia's story is one of objectifying humiliation, and her longstanding popularity reminds us of our ableist history.

Her nearly life-sized statue etches her unique size and uncommon beauty. In straying from The Monster Undressed we attempt to return dignity to Eugenia and break the stigma that caused so much strife to her life. She died in the 17th century at 24. (2)

(1): The Story of Eugenia Martinez Vallejo, Claire Rochet, Girl Museum Inc 2021

(2): Sculpture of Eugenia Martinez Vallejo, Atlas Obscura 2021

[boymanmaletheshequel]

Symbolism of Dionysus

🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷

The dual-sided god of pleasure, of wine making, festivity, homosexuality and madness, sometimes depicted as a wise and burdened elder, sometimes as a careless, effeminate youth, Dionysus is a god of many facets of human nature, both good and bad, perhaps the most human of all the gods of Olympus in his personality, and his unusually relatable legends. Let’s go over some of the divine symbolism that he is represented by shall we?:

• 🌈 Colors:

- Purple: A god who is defined by his duality, of both elder wisdom, and nonsensical youthful madness, as well as his notable libido, and penchant for wine and the festive habit of drunkenness, there is one color above all others that generally seems to fit with all of these themes: purple, or lavender. A color associated with grapes, wisdom, homosexuality, and innocence!

• 🐴 Animals:

- Leopard: leopards are fierce, wild, roaming, violent cats, a perfect reflection of lord Dionysus, and he is often depicted in Ancient Greek artworks either riding or wearing the wild cat. In a poem by Oppian of Amea, it is said that the leopards were the incarnations of his past lovers who, after Pentheus offended the god, asked to be turned into leopards so they could tear him apart! It is also believe that he would sometimes take the form of wild cats like leopards.

- Tiger: during his journey through Egypt, the king of gods Zeus is said to have gifted Dionysus a mighty tiger which helped him to cross the mighty Tigris river, they became widely associated with him as a result of this great feat. Like leopards as well, many claim he often took the form of the tiger as well.

- Bull: bulls are an animal widely associated with themes of raw sexuality, and sexual aggression, as well as aggression in general, all themes of which fit the god of madness and violence, and of lust and drunkeness quite fittingly. They are also the key plot device in the Greek story of Dionysus and the sacred bull.

- Serpent: in the feats of Dionysus, the gods last feat was the feast of Dionysus, a meal which took place on a pirate ship he had hired to carry him to Naxos. The men tricked him however, so he turned the oars of the ship into serpents.

• 🌸 Plants and Flowers:

- Ivy: one of Dionysus’s key sacred symbols, Ivy is a vining plant that has long been associated with poison, and yet also claimed to be able to cure intoxication, representative of the sometimes dangerous or stark duality of Dionysus’s character and personality. It is said that his cult would wear wreaths and crowns fashioned out of the plant, and the leaves were utilized in his rituals.

- Khalanchoe: also called the paddle plant, khalanchoe is a plant which harkens back to the most ancient roots of Dionysus cults, back when he was not yet known as Dionysus, but rather the much older Greco-Roman god of Bacchus, from which his character derives, who was a god of vegetation and prosperity, who was often associated with this plant.

- Pine: In ancient Greece, the pine was particularly sacred to Dionysus and his worshippers. In the ancient city of Corinth, the Corinthians were ordered by the Delphic Oracle to worship the pine along with Dionysus as a god. In the ancient Greek culture, pine was long associated with fertility, one of the key attributes of the libido and festival stricken Dionysus, he is often portrayed in Romanesque and Ancient Greek artworks holding a staff topped with a pinecone.

- Grape blossom: perhaps the most obvious choice here, grape are synonymous with Dionysus’s character, emblems of his drunkenness, of his celebration, wisdom, femininity, and also of his vigor and fertility. Grape blossoms, and leaves, as well as obviously the grape itself, are unmistakable symbols of the lord Dionysus.

• 🍗 Food:

- Grapes: perhaps the most sacred symbol of Dionysus and his influence, the grape is the perfect metaphor for the god, and all he represents. It can represent fertility, with its plump and plentiful fruit, yet also infertility, as it can be used to make alcohol capable of ending a pregnancy. It is a symbol of innocence, a delicate fleshed fruit that is sweet and simple, yet also of wisdom, a fruit that is said to be the source of many secrets and stories. Grapes are Dionysus personified.

- Figs: similarly to grapes, figs have long been associated with drunkeness and foolishness, a fruit that is known to ferment much faster and more potently than most others fruits, and in Ancient Greek times, would have likely been one of the most accessible ways to get drunken! It’s seedy nature is also representative of fertility.

- Wine: of course, you can’t have Dionysus without a glass of wine to accompany him. Long s sign of royalty, festivity, and sexual promiscuity, Dionysus was truly the original wine mom gay, a chaotic manwhore, lovable, but almost always at least a little bit drunk off of the coveted crimson liquid.

• 💎 Crystals and Gemstones:

- Garnet: long associated with the crimson color of a fine wine, as well of a stone said to be imbued with strength and sexuality, garnets, particularly of the almandine or rhodolite variety, are great symbolic stones of lord Dionysus and his strong sexual nature.

- Amethyst: in Ancient Greek apothecary, it was believed by many that amethyst had anti-intoxicant properties, and in fact, some of the highest of Greek royalty drank from wine glasses carved purely from amethyst! At the time, the vast quarries of amethyst of South America hadn’t yet been discovered, and it was still considered to be a truly precious gemstone, often reserved only for royalty, royalty like Dionysus.

- Grape agate: a recent discovery from Asia, one of the many lands that Dionysus was said to have roamed and adventured in during his many great feats, grape agate is a variety of botryoidal cryptocrystalline amethyst (excuse the geologist nerd talk) that almost perfectly resembles a cluster of juicy grapes! I don’t think I need explain further why this stone is PERFECT for modern Dionysus devotees!

• 🪐 Planets: although Dionysus Is not traditionally associated with any of the planets in the Milky Way galaxy, (though some modern hellenists associate him with Jupiter) there are a number of celestial objects and bodies that have since been named for him: most notably perhaps, is the binary asteroid Dionysus 3671, discovered in the aptly named Olympus system in 1984!

• ☄️ Astrology: Dionysus is almost definitely a Taurus, his dual personality which can manifest as either playful or predatory is a trait that is shared by many a Taurus (as someone who knows a Taurus who can be both very fun and very terrifying, I can confirm this is quite accurate!)

• 🍇 Other symbols:

- Mental health: perhaps unsurprisingly, the many different facets of Dionysus’s ancient personality, the drunkeness, the madness, the torrential mood swings, the struggle of chaos he is often depicted of dealing with, has led to him being celebrated by many modern hellenists as the patron god of mental illness, and the neurodiverse! His dual personalities are a clear allegory for personality disorders, his mood swings and “madness” line up closely with modern understandings of ADD, ADHD, as well as autism and even major psychological disorders like schizophrenia. He is undoubtedly a god who is very closely related to his human worshippers, perhaps more than any other god on Olympus!

🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷🍇🍷

Like my posts? Consider giving me a follow if you wish to learn more about the gods of Hellen with me, and explore the many stories and Mythos of the Greek mythological universe! Blessed be your day 💙🏛️💙

[winterspellsfrozenkit]

Theory as to Why Disney's Hades Wanted to Overthrow Zeus

So, I was thinking recently about why Hades tries to overthrow Zeus in Disney's Hercules. The reason that the Muses give us is because he "thought the dead were dull and uncouth", but that feels super flimsy to me as an excuse. Especially when we see Hades say this:

He points out the scheme's been around for 18 years, which means that Hades had set up the hostile takeover scheme right around Hercules's birth, but he hadn't checked with the Fates until the day Zeus had that party for Hercules on Olympus. How do we know he hadn't checked before? Clotho tells Lachesis they are not supposed to tell anyone the future. I doubt she'd argue if they'd already told Hades the future of his plans before.

Also, while Hades may not like his job, his job makes him the most powerful king because EVERYONE will eventually become his subject. Why would he even want to rule over the living if he thinks the dead are so dull and uncouth? It's not like being dead robs you of intelligence or good manners... So why then would he want to rule Olympus and overthrow Zeus?

Well, I noticed this in the song "One Last Hope".

The song has Fall and Winter. If you've studied Greek Mythology, you know that means Hades is married because Fall and Winter happen in Greek mythology when Persephone is in the Underworld. We actually do see Persephone and Demeter in several shots on Olympus in the movie.

On top of that, Hades says this when he's offering his deal to Hercules.

I think that Hades decided to overthrow Zeus because he was angry that Persephone had to spend Spring and Summer with her mother, rather than being his wife and Queen all the time AND on top of that, he had to take the rap for Demeter causing a mass famine over her daughter's marriage to him. Here's why I think this.

When Hades shows up, he tries to break the ice with a joke, but we see the party glaring at him. You know who we don't see? Demeter, who by all accounts, SHOULD be there and the ANGRIEST with him. After all, in Greek myth, he kidnapped his wife. But she's noticeably ABSENT.

The ones glaring at him are Ares, Athena, Poseidon, Dionysus/Bacchus, and Aphrodite. All people who were likely massively affected by the massive famine Demeter put in place. Wars and tactical strategies don't go well if the people are starving to the point of death, repopulation drops if there's not enough food, if there's no grapes growing, there's no wine or drunken madness, and besides the ocean, Poseidon is also over horses and many horses likely died due to lack of plant growth. But they don't seem to be mad at Demeter, given Poseidon is chatting with her earlier in the scene.

Instead, all the ire seems to be directed at Hades, who, as far as we know, hasn't DONE anything to warrant that reaction. All he did was tell a poor joke, but everyone is looking at him like he caused a major problem by being there. Hades brushes their reactions off and starts trying to play nice and then Zeus grabs him and says, "You finally made it!" And notice Hades's face here:

Hades looks so uncomfortable with Zeus trying to make small talk, but he's trying to hide his negative emotions. He's forcing a smile and when Zeus asks how things are in the Underworld, he responds with this:

Hades, then focuses on Hercules, and doesn't seem to have a problem with him until he crushes his finger, but the point where Hades drops the mask and shows his ire is when Zeus says "Join the celebration!"

He says, "Hey! Love to, babe, but unlike you gods lounging about up here, I, regrettably, have a full-time gig, that you, by the way, so charitably bestowed on me, Zeus. So, can't. Love to but can't." He then quickly leaves.

I hear this as Hades subtly reminding Zeus that he has a taxing job that he can't be away from too long, especially now that the one person who SHOULD, by all means, be there to help him with the load of running the Underworld, can't be there half the time to help him get the excess work under control. Persephone, unlike the rest of the wives in the Greek Pantheon, has EQUAL power to Hades, which means that if she'd been able to be with him all year, they'd likely get the work done faster and could do things other than work.

Zeus makes a joke about Hades working himself to death, a few of the Olympians laugh, but again, Demeter and Persephone are missing from the scene.

Hades, however, is very upset at the joke at his expense and he mutters, "If only... If only..." when Zeus says he kills himself. Back in the Underworld, Hades says this about Zeus.

Now, we just saw Zeus be super welcoming to Hades at the party for Hercules. Why on Earth would Hades call Zeus "Mr. High and Mighty, Mr. "Hey, you, get off of my cloud"? I think Zeus behaved this way when Hades argued against the summons for Persephone to return to Demeter. Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld, and in myth, the reason Hades kidnapped Persephone? Her father, ZEUS, told him to do so.

Zeus is the reason for Persephone's kidnapping and marriage. Hades was following the law of Ancient Greece at the time. Ancient Greece was cool about many things, but women's rights? Not one of them. Greek men, if they wanted to get married, arranged it with the father of the bride. The mother and the bride herself had little to no say. So, in actuality, the one at fault when Demeter caused a mass famine? Zeus. The famine was actually targeting Zeus, because if all humans died, he'd get no more sacrifices, and all the dead become Hades and Persephone's subjects.

So I think that Zeus realized how ENRAGED Demeter was and made Persephone return to her mother, but Hades tried to argue against it because Persephone was his partner is a very demanding job and he'd gotten Zeus's permission, but Zeus used his title as King to force Hades to comply. As in, "I already decided, so we're done talking about it. Now, leave and go home." That would explain also why Hades says this:

Another thing I see as a hint to Hades attempting to overthrow Zeus because he's mad about the Persephone situation? When he's in the mortal world, Hades only destroys a few things. One is the statue of lovers that he uses as a throne when he's questioning Meg about Hercules's weakness, another is the vases of Hercules because he's mad that he can't beat him, but the other two? Plant life.

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the main source for the Hades and Persephone myth, it's Demeter who brings back spring and plant life because she's happy about Persephone's return to her, not Persephone herself making the plants grow. While this could just be Hades taking out his frustrations on his surroundings, I find it interesting that he DECIMATES a grove of trees because Hercules is alive and could muck up his plans and that he burns a flower when he figures Hercules's weakness, which are often a sign of Springtime. It's almost like he's taking out his anger at Demeter's famine costing him his wife by destroying the plant life that Demeter creates as some small way to vent his frustrations. And speaking of Hercules's weakness, once Meg points out that monsters haven't been working against Hercules, Hades says this:

Now, given by this point, we KNOW due to "One Last Hope" that Hades and Persephone are married. I think this played into him figuring out to use Meg against Hercules. On top of that, Hades says this when Hercules is worried about innocent people getting hurt because of the deal:

I think Hades might have the same mentality about overthrowing Olympus. Having his wife back is more important to him than the ire of the rest of Olympus. Having his wife back is more important than keeping the Titans locked away. Having his wife back is worth being hated by all of Greece. Given the short time frame of his plot and all these other little things in his behavior, I really do think the reason that Hades decided to overthrow Zeus was so he could reverse the order for Persephone to spend half the year with him and half the year with her mother. But that's just my little theory/headcanon.

TLDR: I think the reason Hades tried to overthrow Zeus in Disney's Hercules was because he was angry he could only be with Persephone half the year.