Sample Essay – Greek God (Dionysus) for Hollywood Movie
Dionysus is Perfect for Hollywood
If any of the Greek gods is suited for a Hollywood movie, Dionysus, the god of wine and
revelry, is surely one of the most exciting of them all. He has all of the necessary traits to make
a successful Hollywood movie. His life involves romance, parties, fun, wine and song, and even
violence. Dionysus, or Bacchus to the Romans, is a character perfect for Hollywood.
Dionysus was born of romance. His father was Zeus, the king of all gods. Although
Zeus was married to Queen Hera, he fell in love with Semele, a beautiful mortal princess. Hera
became so angry the she tricked Semele into asking to see Zeus in all his glory as a god. This
was not allowed, and when Zeus came to her as his real self, Semele burned up. She was
pregnant with the unborn Dionysus, so Zeus saved the baby by sewing him into his own leg,
where the baby grew until ready for birth. Dionysus was then raised by nymphs in an idealistic
setting; he played with tigers and leopards as he grew up. He was a happy boy, and he later
married his sweetheart, the princess Ariadne.
Dionysus has the looks of a happy, carefree young man. In the movies, he should either
be dressed in leopard skins or purple robes. Sometime he should wear a crown of ivy or grape
leaves. At times, he should be seen holding a goblet of wine in one hand and an ivy-covered
staff in the other. Because he drank wine a lot, his cheeks were rosy. He should sometimes be
driven around in a chariot led by leopards. Besides being with his wife, he should sometimes be
seen surrounded by nymphs and Maenads. These Maenads were rather crazy women who
worshipped him. They would drink and dance and, according to Megan Bryant in Oh My Gods!,
sometimes even “rip apart and devour live animals” (46). Dionysus and his followers will look
good on the big screen.
Dionysus had two-sides to his personality. At times he was kind and helpful and funloving. He taught people how to harvest grapes, which they could use as food and wine, and
they could trade the wine with other countries around the Mediterranean Sea. He was often
happy and liked to celebrate, and he could make other people happy. He inspired people to write
poetry and plays. The other side of his personality, however, is that he could become cruel and
cause suffering. Dionysus and those under his influence would often make fun of people and
even tear them apart, limb from limb. But generally, Dionysus was kind and sympathetic.
One story that demonstrates these two sides of his personality is the story of when he was
kidnapped by pirates. This story began one day when he rested on the beach of an island. He
had been traveling from island to island, teaching people how to grow grapes and create wine.
He was in a deep sleep when pirates passed the island and noticed his fine clothes. They decided
he must be a rich prince. They kidnapped the sleeping god, thinking they could get a large
ransom from his wealthy family. They took him far out to sea on their ship. When he finally
awoke from his deep slumber, Dionysus first tried to calmly convince the pirates that he was not
really a prince. His patience grew thin when they laughed at him and refused to release him.
Now angry, Dionysus grew huge. He made giant grape vines rise from the ocean floor and wrap
themselves around the boat and its oars and mast. “Blood red wine dripped down the sail and the
air filled with the sound of roaring tigers” (D’Aulaire, 66). The grape vines continued to grow
and squeeze the ship until the boat began to break apart. Horrified, the pirates jumped into the
sea, where they would drown. Although Dionysus was justified in feeling anger, he took pity on
the humans and turned the pirates into dolphins so they would not drown. Even today, dolphins
travel near ships and have human-like qualities. That is because they descended from those
greedy pirates.
Dionysus had a personality that is well suited to movies, and some of the myths about
him would make for exciting scenes. Hollywood would do well to use Dionysus in the movies.
With romance, wine, violence, and yet love, he’s perfect for Hollywood. Picture Jeff Bridges,
Seth Rogan, or Chris Rock playing the part of this wild but good god. Dionysus is a rising star.