Dionysus was born in Thebes, the son of Zeus and Semele, a Theban princess. Hera was very jealous of her philandering husband, Zeus, much to the woe of Semele. Zeus was so madly in love with Semele that he swore by the river Styx that he would do anything she asked. Hera put it into Semele’s mind to tell Zeus that she wanted most of all to see him in his full splendor as King of Heaven and Lord of the Thunderbolt. No mortal could live after seeing him that way, but because Zeus had sworn the oath he had to do it. When he came to her in his full burning glory, Semele died. It was near time for their son to be born so Zeus took the fetus from her and stitched it to his side away from Hera until time for the baby to be born. The child was taken by Hermes to the nymphs of Nysa to be cared for. Thus Dionysus, or Bacchus as he was sometimes called, was born of fire and nursed by rain.

A late Hymn by Homer tells a story of Dionysus and a pirate ship. One day this pirate ship came close to where Dionysus was sitting in his purple robe. The pirates thought he would bring a huge ransom because he must be the son of rich parents. Immediately the pirates went ashore, seized the youth and took him back to the ship. On board they attempted to bind him but the ropes would not hold him. He just sat there looking at them with a smile on his face.

The helmsman knew that the youth was a god and told them he should be set free. The captain didn’t believe the old man and instructed the crew to hoist the sail. To their amazement, even though the sail was filled by the wind, they didn’t move. And to their wonderment, streams of wine ran down the deck of the ship. Too late they told the helmsman to put in to land, but the god became a lion. When he roared the crew jumped overboard and were changed into dolphins. Dionysus held the helmsman back and told him that the god had found favor in him.

Dionysus wandered to different places. In one of those places he met Ariadne, the princess of Crete. She had been abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus, an Athenian prince whose life she had saved. Dionysus rescued her and fell in love with her. He took a crown he had given her and, when she died, placed it among the stars.

Having never seen his mother, Dionysus wanted so badly to see her that he descended into the lower world where she was. When he found her, he defied Death who yielded and let Dionysus take her away. The gods on Olympus consented to receive her and, although a mortal, she was worthy to live with them since she was the mother of a god.

As the God of the Vine, Dionysus had a double nature. On the one hand he was man’s benefactor and on the other hand he was man’s destroyer. He made his worshipers feel they could do anything they thought they could. The confidence passed away once they became sober.

In addition to his being a reveler, a hunter and an inspirer, he was also a sufferer. Because he was the vine, he died during the winter and was reborn in the spring. However, his death was a cruel one since he was torn apart like the vine being pruned. The other side of this was that death is not the end. Those that worshiped him believed that his death and resurrection showed that the soul lives on after the body dies.