DIONYSUS

BIOGRAPHY

PERSONAL DATA

Aliases: Dionysos; Bacchus; The Twice-born Boy
Occupation: Greek god of wine, fertility and drama
Status: Active
Place of Birth: Mount Pramnos, Ikaria, Greece
Citizenship: Greek
Known Relatives: Zeus (father); Semele (mother, deceased); Cronus (grandfather); Rhea (grandmother, deceased); Hera (stepmother); Hestia (aunt); Demeter (aunt); Hades (uncle, deceased); Poseidon (uncle); Persephone (sister); the Muses (sisters); Hebe (sister); Hephaestus (brother); Ares (brother); Ilythia (sister); Apollo (brother); Artemis (sister); Hermes (brother); Pallas Athena (daughter); Herakles (brother); Perseus (brother); Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark) (sister); numerous other siblings throughout the years
Base of Operation: Olympus
Group Affiliation(s): Olympian Gods
Gender: Male
Hair: Gray/purple
Distinguishing Features: Dionysus has sometimes been depicted as having purple skin, as if dyed by too much red wine

OVERVIEW

Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, fertility and drama. In ancient days, his followers were known as the Bacchantae, a group of savage, intoxicated women.

HISTORY

According to Greek mythology, Dionysus is the Greek god of wine, fertility and drama. He is also known as the Twice-born Boy because of the unusual circumstances surrounding his birth. His father was Zeus, the ruler of the Olympian Gods, and his mother the mortal princess Semele. Embittered by yet another affair and an illegitimate child, Zeus' wife Hera disguised herself and persuaded Semele to try to gaze upon the true form of Zeus. In doing so, the pregnant Semele was incinerated. The fetus was miraculously still alive, so Zeus carried the boy full-term inside his own thigh. Thus was Dionysus born twice.

Being a demigod, Dionysus was eventually accepted into Olympus and elevated into the status of the Olympian god of wine. He seems to have spent a fair share of his time on Earth, and is said to have gifted mankind with the knowledge of wine-making, which is most likely a hyperbole. Dionysus is a god of merriment and parties, but also of ecstasy and chaos. This dangerous combination is made flesh in his entourage and his followers. He is sometimes accompanied by Satyrs, unpredictable nature spirits in the form of man-goats. Other times, Dionysus is joined by naked, intoxicated women called the Bacchantae. Roaming the countryside on their own, the Bacchantae sometimes turned savage and killed every man who came into their way. Such a fate befell Orpheus, the bard and human son of Dream of the Endless.

According to myth, it was Dionysus who gave King Midas the curse of the golden touch.

Nowadays, Dionysus is generally seen as harmless drunkard, sipping wine in the halls of Olympus.

POWERS AND WEAPONS

The full extent and nature of Dionysus' powers remain unknown. He is said to have gifted mankind with the knowledge of wine-making, which is most likely a hyperbole. He seems to be able to withstand high levels of intoxication, probably as a result of his superhuman physique as well as millennia of practice.

As a demigod, he is immortal or near immortal.

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Dionysus in chronological order click here