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Dionysus / Bacchus
Greek / Roman

Dionysus was one of the twelve main Greek gods. Nevertheless, his popularity did not survive the Christian period for precisely the same reasons that the Romantics revived him in the 19th century.

Dionysus was the god of wine and celebration. His original rites were orgiastic. He's become a symbol of intoxication and liberation, especially from convention. He's also a general god of fertility and vegetation, and he is a patron of the arts - the result of mental fertility.

He is not, however, all fun and play. Dionysus was a teacher of the secrets of grape cultivation. In the CUEW, he is the eternal student as well. While a resident of Olympus, he is very much still a part of the world, learning and teaching, as opposed to being above it. And, despite what some would like to make him out to be, Dionysus historically believed in responsible drinking. Intoxification, ecstasy, and celebration had their places and were to be wholeheartedly embraced, but to drink away your life, disregard daily responsibilities and generally stupefy yourself to the rest of the world is entirely missing the point.