[Dionysus] himself is unimaginable without his followers but does not resemble them. He is seldom drunk, seldom mad, never sexually aroused. The relationship with Ariadne, often depicted, is dignified and restrained. Even in grim situations he retains a smiling tranquility which comes suddenly to seem sinister. (Was he a model for Plato’s portrayal of Socrates?) The calmness of the god of madness is a characteristic Dionysian paradox. His followers surrender their individuality in the collective excitement. But they do not achieve union with the source of that excitement, however close they may seem to approach. Dionysus eludes them, and retains his enigmatic smile.