The god of wine, the theater, agriculture, the fertility of nature, and mysteries, he is usually seen with grape vines, ivy, or a panther. Unlike most Greek gods, who are normally portrayed as bright creatures of the light, Dionysus is mysterious and shadowy. His followers revel in mad behavior, drunkenness, and death. Because of his differences, Dionysus may have been a melding of Greek and Asian attributes.
He was the patron of the Maenads, wild women who worshipped him and roamed the mountains shouting and hunting wild animals. He was also the patron of mystery cults, of which we know very little today. The greatest mystery associated with Dionysus is that at one point he was believed slain, but then reborn, a very unusual circumstance for an immortal god.
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