Dionysus was the central figure in a major cult of the Greek world, a cult that would have a long-term influence in mythology, religion, and literature. Dionysus was a pan-Hellenic god who was widely celebrated throughout the Archaic period and honored at dramatic contests with tragedies and comedies. His was also an orgiastic cult. Dionysus is the god of ecstasy and possession and might be called the patron saint of the drama as well as of various festivals and celebrations.
In Greek mythology, Dionysus was a bastard son of Zeus. The mother of Dionysus is variously named depending on the source, and some have said she was Demeter, or Io, and some Dione, and still others Lethe. The most common story has it that Zeus disguised himself as a mortal and had a secret affair with Semele ("moon"), the daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. Zeus's wife, Hera, was jealous. She disguised herself as an old neighbor and advised Semele to ask her lover to do her a favor by not hiding his identity any longer but to reveal himself to her in his true nature and form. Semele followed this advice, and when Zeus refused to comply, she refused him access to her bed. In anger, he appeared in thunder and lighting, and Semele was consumed. Hermes saved her six-month-old unborn child, however, by sewing him up inside Zeus's thigh to mature for another three months, at which time the child was delivered. Dionysus is therefore called "twice-born" (Graves 55-56).
Edith Hamilton points out that this story of the birth of Dionysus relates to the subject over which he is a god:
So the God of the Vine was born of fire and nursed by rain, the hard burning heat that ripens the grapes and the water that keeps the plants alive (Hamilton 55).
The worshipers of Dionysus were originally all women, and they would act out the parts of the different women associated with the god. They would be seen by outsiders as being in the throes of a form of rage,...