Dionysus

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DIONYSUS

~Greek God of Wine, Festivity, Theatre, and Madness~

In honor of the birthday of one of my best friends I went with Dionysus, the God he reminds me most of and my favorite God.

Son of Zeus and in some stories either Semele, Demeter, or Persephone. He was an Olympian, an Orphic diety, and at times a Chthonic deity. He is most widely known as the God that represented winemaking and wine consumption.

What people often overlook is that he was also a God of Ritual Madness. He has stories of driving people insane as punishment for actions against him. The story that highlights this best might be the time some pirates kidnapped him to sell him into slavery, so he turned into a lion and attacked them, turned the masts of their ship into snakes, and filled the ship with the sound of flutes until the ones still alive went mad and leap into the sea. He then turned those who lept into the sea into dolphins.

My favorite story of him though is the one of him and his wife, Ariadne, who he loved so much that when a nymph once tried to tempt him he refused because he was just so much more into his wife.

The story goes that Ariadne was the princess of Crete, daughter of King Minos, and half-sister to the Minotaur. When Theseus arrived to slay the Minotaur Ariadne fell in love with him. She helped him by giving him a sword and a ball of thread so he could find his way out. Once the Minotaur was slain Theseus took her as a wife and left with her, but quickly lost interest in her and abandoned her on the island of Naxos while she was asleep.

Dionysus discovered her abandoned on the island and fell in love. They were married and when Ariadne died Dionysus placed her wedding crown among the stars as the constellation Corona Borealis. Then he is said to have descended to Hades and brought her back from the dead and took her up to Olympus where she joined him in immortality as a Goddess of weaving.

I just always thought it was beautiful that he loved her so much even death itself couldn't keep them apart.

Dionysus is actually a very old God compared to some of the other Greek Gods. He was mostly worshipped in Mystery cults so the worship practices are often unknown due to the secrecy of those cults.



As for my Dionysian friend we just had his birthday party last night, though from the sound of it he's gonna be getting at least a week's worth of love and attention for it because he's just such a wonderful person to be around. We goofed around, played games, and of course drank. It was a great time.

To be honest I'm kinda in love with the guy. He's such an interesting and fun person to hang out with. His smile just makes you feel warm and happy. Any time I'm around him I feel completely safe. He's just so kind and wonderful. Whatever girl he ends up falling in love with will be the luckiest girl in the world. Though for now, he's very opposed to relationships. I wish it could be me, but I'm at least thankful for his friendship. And at the end of the day, I love him enough that being his friend is still a win.

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FLICKR

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AVATAR CREDITS

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Head: Lilly Bento Head (Catwa)
Body: Lara Body (Maitreya)
Skin: Aiko Catwa Applier [Group Gift] (Boataom)
Body Blush: Shawty so Kawaii (Caise)

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CLOTHING CREDITS

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Hair: Emma - Grayscale (Pr!tty)
Hairbase: Catwa Baby Hairs V2 (Izzie's)
Eyes: Lethe Eyes (Cureless)
Eyeshadow: Royale Makeup Set (Alaskametro<3)
Lipstick: Space Unicorn Makeup Set (Alaskametro<3)
Flower Crown: Nightmare Crown (Luas)
Dress: Sultry Dress & Harness (Caboodle)
Bracelets: Candy Bangles (Ninety)
Rings: Destiny Rings (Vibing)
Fishnets:  Pia Fishnets (Blueberry)
Shoes: Nadia Heels ~ Glitter (Vanilla Bae)
Drink: Pink Champagne (Tentacio)