Dionysus - God of Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. We often here references to the ancient Greeks and their love of wine. On today's program we will briefly explore the mythological God of Wine Dionysus. The Greek God Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus, is a mythological god whose characteristics seemed to grow and change as time went on. It begins with the affair between Zeus and the mortal Semele, who becomes pregnant by Zeus. Zeus' wife Hera gets wind of this and tricks the girl into insisting that Zeus reveal himself to her. And, since mere mortals will die if they see a god, she died. But, the baby she is carrying is half god and he survives. When he, Dionysus, is grown, he discovers the fruit of the vine and the art of winemaking. Soo ... legend tells us that the rich gift of winemaking was given to mankind by Dionysus. As time goes by Dionysus becomes known as the god of wine and intoxication as well as sensuality, rebellion and above all drama. But myth or not it is a traditional story now and we have stars named for all of the characters that took part in the gift of wine to mankind. This autumn look to the sky and send a nod to Icarus – the star named after the peasant who Dionysus gave that wine making information to. Well he gets killed in the story too. It sounds as though it was one big soap opera! and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.