Summarized Myth

Due to my delicious grape vines I have gained many followers. They are called Maenads. They rejoice in the woods and celebrate the wonderful sensation that my wine gives them. They get to release all of their energy with no worries. All of the stress disappears and their dreams all come true.  The craziness of their actions just shows how much potential they have. When someone tries to intrude on their traditions it never ends well. When the King of Thebes traveled to the forest to observe the Maenads he was terrified by their manly behavior. This trip cost him his life and his reputation.

Resolution of the Conflict

The only way to get out of all of the affair issues going on someone had to go. This person just happened to be Semele. No matter how hard she tried to argue her side, she was never going to win. After coming to a resolution Zeus decided to kill Semele with his lightning bolt. He soon struck her with lightning and watched her turn into ashes while he found his baby son and saved his life.

Climax of the Conflict

As soon as Hera attempted to persuade Zeus into killing Semele was defiantly the climax of the conflict. This is because no matter how much she tried to hide it she was behind all of the problems. Even though she was being cheated on she did not need to trick Semele by disguising herself as a nurse to make her hate Zeus. Due to the affair there was no way anyone was going to get out alive, or happy. Maybe killing Semele was the only was to make things fair again, even with hers and Zeus's unborn child.

Resolving the Crisis

As my journey continues and I attempt to spread pleasure to whomever I am able to, but it gets tough. No matter what situation I am put through there is always an alternative to make things better. When my parents became completely separated it was hard and I didn't know how to deal with it. I became a better person due to it because all I desired to do was make people happy. It made me the mad/god I am today. Another hardship I have to overcome is when my followers try and rejoice with my wine by having secret ceremonies in the forest outside of the palace. By sending the King up into the forest to investigate the scene, I had to deal with the consequences. Even though my mother was one of them, I did not appreciate losing the life of a loved one due to my crazed wine addiction.

Character Description

My mother Semele was not only unique in many ways, but was a mortal. She helped my gain and learn about my human side. With her help I was able to travel Earth as part human and pass off as the everyday man. My father, Zeus transported Semele to another mind set where she would fall in love with him. The deadly trap caused there to be many difficulties with my birth and Earth visits. While I was growing up my mother was forced to go to Hades, where I had to save her from. She was sent to Hades due to when she convinced Zeus to show her his lightening bolts. No one except other gods are aloud to see his lightening bolts, and that is why Semele was deported to Hades. Eventually Semele found out that hers and Zeus's love was being cheated and he had disguised himself to fall in love with her. When Hera found out about the love affair she went behind Zeus's back and began tormenting Semele. After Semele's death Zeus seek help in Hermes to help him with her passing. This is when they decided to transport me into Zeus's thigh to where I would be birthed from.

Setting

As I walk through the town I smell fresh roses and ripe grape vines. My mothers and I home town, Thebes, was a delightful and elegant place for children to run free and live life to the fullest. I chose to be kind to others and think before I speak. Although I enjoy traveling, I stay in the boundaries of my palace, and take the occasional trip to the forest. The pine needles blow down to the palace floors as I imagine was goes on when I am not around. Are my followers enjoying themselves? Or is it just a causal get together? The world may never know, I keep to myself and the beautiful land forms around me.

3 Cultural Connections

Dionysus appears in several cultural pieces throughout history. He is apart of the book The Birth of Tragedy. He stars as himself and shows his powers as the god of wine. This book was published in 1872 by Nietzsche, who lived in Germany. Dionysus also appears in a painting named "Bacchus," painted by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. In the painting he models a hairpiece with grapes and vines wrapped around his head. The painting is suppose to represent a comedic element where Dionysus stars as a half-drunken teenager posing for a painting. The last cultural connection is when Dionysus stars in a 1960 film by Brian De Palma. This film provided evidence that Dionysus really exhisted and was eventually awarded in the 20th Berlin International Film Festival.

The Wanderings of Dionysus

Dionysus was part of a strict cult that made him go around and teach his followers how to cultivate vines. While he was on his journey traveling back to Thebes, Greek he was spotted by Pirates. The Pirates saw him as a rich young man and decided to capture him.  The pirates then attempted to tie Dionysus to their ship, but every time a rope touched him, it fell apart. Confused, the pirates ordered the crew to set sail, but the ship would not move. Dionysus was using his powers as a god to grow vines and tie the ship down. Dionysus then turned into a lion and chased the crew members overboard where they all turned into dolphins. He then continued on to Thebes staying along the shore line and spreading his religion along the way. When Dionysus and his followers reached Thebes they refused him and his celebrating soldiers because they were too loud and imprisoned them all. Dionysus proved to Pentheus that he was right and that he was a god and this showed enough evidence to get his followers released. To revenge Pentheus Dionysus and his followers saw him as a mountain lion and ripped his head off along with his limps.

Dionysus Description

         I am Dionysus, I am the son of Zues and Semele, who was a mortal. Ever since I was born I have been the god of the grape harvest, wine and winemaking. All of my culture and background has been taught to me by Greek Mythology. When my father cheated on my mother with another women to have me things did not go so well. I was transferred into my father to be born. When I was born no one wanted, or needed me, so my genius "mom" decided to get other gods to tear me to bits, but to save me from that I was forced to turn into a girl, and then a ram.