Dionysus

Dionysus (Greek: Διονύσιος, Dionysios; Latin: Dionysus; Hebrew: דיוןיסוס, Dionisus) is the god of the vine, grape-harvest, winemaking, wine, fertility, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre in ancient Greek religion and myth. He is also known as the god of the epiphany, which is derived from his name. Dionysus is often depicted as an effeminate, long-haired male figure, wearing a wreath of ivy or grape leaves and holding a thyrsos, a staff tipped with a pine cone and wrapped in ivy. In Roman mythology, he is known as Bacchus (Latin: Bacchus). The cult of Dionysus was also spread to the area of Phrygia, where he was worshipped as Sabazios (Greek: Σάβαζιος, Sabazios). His festivals were the Anthesteria and the City Dionysia, in which his theatrical competitions fostered the development of Greek tragedy and comedy. Dionysus is unique among the Olympian gods in that he was a foreigner; his origins are likely to be found in the Thracian and Phrygian god of wine, and he is the only one of the Olympians to have a mortal mother, Semele. His festivals were the first to include women alongside men, and the cult of Dionysus was strongly associated with the theater. His worship became increasingly important in Athens from the late sixth century BCE and remained a major religion there in the following centuries, before declining during the Roman Imperial period.