Jun 9, 2014
Διόνυσος
He was the god of fertility and wine, later considered a patron of the arts. He invented wine and spread the art of tending grapes. He has a dual nature - on the one hand bringing joy and divine ecstasy, on the other, brutal, unthinking, rage - thus, reflecting both sides of wine's nature. If he choses, Dionysus can drive a man mad. No normal fetters can hold him or his followers. He is also called Eleutherios ("the liberator"), whose wine, music and ecstatic dance frees his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subverts the oppressive restraints of the powerful.