Born from the thigh, twice-born I am called,
These nymphs that follow, be not ye appalled.
Come, and find yourself enthralled.
Oh! these nymphs, sublime!
Not me, just my wine.
In wine, there is wildness,
In wine, there is madness.
In wine, there is love,
So drink, ye beloved.
Dionysus, the Olympian god of wine, the god
of vegetation, and fertility, the god of pleasure,
festivity, merriment, and wild frenzy.
He who had a dual nature; who brought joy,
and divine ecstasy on one hand; or wild and
blinding rage on the other hand.
The giver of wine, the master of the arts
of viticulture.
Dionysus was the son of Zeus, and the mortal
princess of Thebes, Semele. when the jealous
queen of the gods, hera, learned that the
mortal princess was carrying Zeus' child,
she visitd Semele in disguise, and convinced
her to see who her lover really was, if he
was good-looking, or ugly, if he was really
a god, or a monster.
Semele did as she was told, unaware of what
was about to befall her.
Thus, when the oathbound zeus appeared before
hr in his full glory, she was consumed by
the heat of his lightning-bolts.
Zeus rescued their unborn child from her body,
stitched him up in his own thigh, till he
was ready to be born.
However, Hera, quickly found out that baby
Dionysus was still alive, and called upon
the Titans to kill him.
The Titans indeed, ripped him to pieces; but
the Titaness, Rhea, found his pieces, reasembled
him, and brought him back to life.
Zeus then conferred immortality on the little
god, and gave him to the mountain nymphs to
be raised, away from the eyes of hera.
Dionysus grew up to become an effeminate,
attractive, youthful god, always carrying
a pine-cone tipped staff, a drinking cup,
and a crown of ivy. and is usually accompanied
by a troop of Satyrs and wild female devotees,
called, the Mainades.
Stories tell that he was also one of the very
few deities, who were able to bring a dead
person back from the underworld realm of Hades.
Dionysus would later wander the world, spreading
his worship, and temples, becoming one of
the most loved gods, among men.
