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Dionysus: God of Wine
Dionysus, in Greek mythology, god of wine and vegetation, who showed mortals how
to cultivate grapevines and make wine. He was good and gentle to those who honored
him, but he brought madness and destruction upon those who spurned him or the
orgiastic rituals of his cult. According to tradition, Dionysus died each winter and was
reborn in the spring. To his followers, this cyclical revival, accompanied by the
seasonal renewal of the fruits of the earth, embodied the promise of the resurrection
of the dead.
The yearly rites in honor of the resurrection of Dionysus gradually evolved into the
structured form of the Greek drama, and important festivals were held in honor of
the god, during which great dramatic competitions were conducted. The most
important festival, the Greater Dionysia, was held in Athens for five days each spring.
It was for this celebration that the Greek dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, and
Euripides wrote their great tragedies. After the 5th century BC, Dionysus was known
to the Greeks as Bacchus.