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Mother was Semele, a mortal, and father was Zeus, the
most powerful Olympian.
Only god whose parents were not both gods.
God of the Vine.
Zeus was so in love with her that he promised her
anything on the river Styx.
Hera, annoyed that Zeus had fallen in love with yet
another woman, made Semele wish to see Zeus’s
immortal glory.
Semele died because of this wish, but her soon-to-beborn child, Dionysus, was saved by Zeus.
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When Dionysus grew up, he journeyed far ; was
accepted everywhere as a god until he came closer to
Thebes, his mother’s country.
He was spotted on the beach by sailors, who kidnapped
him. All but one refused to believe he was a god.
Possibly fell in love with Ariadne, the princess Theseus
abandoned.
Brought his mother (Semele) back from death to live
amongst the Olympians.
Followers were the Maenads, a group of women who
could either be frenzied or joyful in their worship.
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When Dionysus reached Thebes, the king was so
repelled by the Maenads he refused to accept Dionysus
as a god.
Dionysus and the king’s old prophet calmly insisted the
king relent, but the king never did.
As punishment, Dionysus sent the Maenads, including
the king’s mother and sister, to tear King Pentheus into
pieces.
Dionysus was the god of sorrow and the god of joy.
(Wine makes you drunk, or it gives you courage.)
Also the god who represented that death did not end all.
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The story of two lovers who had a tragic end.
Both lived in Babylon, in houses next to each
other, separated by a wall.
Their parents forbid their marriage, so the two
had to whisper to and kiss each other through a
little crack in the wall.
One day, Pyramus made a plan with Thisbe to
run away, and they decided to meet by a
mulberry tree around a certain grove.
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Thisbe reached the meeting place first, and when
she arrived, there was a lioness who had just
killed an animal.
The lioness had bloody jaws and was approaching
Thisbe, so she threw down her cloak, which the
lioness ripped apart while Thisbe escaped.
When Pyramus arrived, he saw the cloak’s bloody
shreds, and he assumed Thisbe was dead.
He stabbed himself and his blood spurted onto
the then-white berries of the mulberry tree.
Thisbe then found him and the two had one last
moment before she killed herself as well.