Dionysus The Peoples God

Want to read the rest of this paper? Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay and over 50,000 other term papers

into his leg. Once born Dionysus was taken to Semele's sister, Ino the Queen of Orchomenus. To hide the child from Hera, Ino disguises him as a girl. Hera was not fooled, so to punish Ino she drove her to madness. Zeus changed Dionysus into a goat and sent him to live with the Nymphs in Nysa. It was Nysa where Dionysus learned of fertility and wine. When Hera found him she imposed the same madness on him as she did on Ino. Dionysus wandered the earth for many years in a state of insanity. He wandered until he met the Rhea, who cured him of his madness and made him the Olympian god he was destined to be. This brief history of the coming of Dionysus has a great effect on how he rules as a god.
Dionysus, other than his famed title of God of Wine, was also a go of birth and rejuvenation for all life. One of the major components of the history of Dionysus was that he had multiple births. His first birth was due to the death of Semele, his mother. His second birth was ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays. Write better papers. Get better grades. Already a member? Login

Many historians believe that he was the God of Democracy. The Greeks believed this because of his outlook on life and especially his closeness to the everyday man. This is related to being a god of life because he brought life to a new form of culture. A culture where every man has an opportunity and a voice. This is where he contrasts with his relative Apollo. Apollo was a god of the aristocracy who did not have casual interaction with the everyday people. With the rise of the festivals in the name of Dionysus the common people of Thrace, Thebes, Athens and others had a common bond under a god who gave life to them. Therefore Dionysus, as being a god of life and rejuvenation ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library. Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports, and research papers in 2 minutes or less.

CITE THIS PAGE: