Greek Mythology

Dionysus was the god of wine and the theater. His parents were Zeus and Semele, a mortal woman. His symbols were the thyrsus (a pinecone on a stick), the panther, the leopard, the leopard skin, the tiger, and the grapevine. Because Semele was not a god, Dionysus was not always a god. While Semele was pregnant, Hera, Zeus' wife, came up to her disguised as an old nurse and befriended her. Semele told her that the father of the baby was Zeus, and Hera pretended not to believe her. She made her believe that it was not Zeus, and so the next time Semele saw Zeus she persuaded him to appear to her in his true form. Mortals, however, could not look at a god in his or her true form without dying, and Semele died. Zeus rescued Dionysus by sewing him into his leg, and a few months later, Dionysus was born. He later discovered how to make wine. Another time, he was kidnapped by pirates and was going to be sold as a slave, but he turned into a lion and unleashed a bear on board. He turned the people who jumped overboard in fright into dolphins. Once, a king named King Midas found Dionysus' old school teacher and foster father, Silenus, who had been missing. After ten days, he brought Silenus back to Dionysus. Dionysus was so happy that he told Midas that he could have anything he wanted. Midas asked for the ability to turn whatever he touched into gold. He then ordered his servants to make him a feast. After turning his daughter, bread, meat and wine to gold, he prayed to Dionysus to take away his power. Dionysus took pity on him and told him to wash in the river Pactorus. He did, and when he touched the water his power flowed into the river.