Dionysus was one the most influential of the Greek Gods. Dionysus was a demi-god meaning that he was only a half god, which makes his rise to Mount Olympus even more amazing. The impact from his followers is still felt in the world we live in today. Dionysus represented everything that the people could relate with. He was looked upon as a god of Life bringing water and viability to plant, animal and man. Dionysus was also the god of Wine, which was a common drink in ancient Greece. Finally he was a god that could grant ecstasy or madness in reward or punishment. Due to these three concepts that Dionysus represented, he was considered to be a god of the people who was familiar with the lifestyle of man.
Dionysus, other than his famed title of God of Wine, was also a god of birth and rejuvenation for all life. One of the major components of the history of Dionysus was that he had multiple births. His first birth was due to the death of Semele, his mother. His second birth was when Zeus removed Dionysus from his leg and exposed him to the world. Due to these events, the Greek people associated Dionysus with birth and revitalization of all living things. His powers in this early stage of his god hood allowed him to use nature to help the people learn valuable moral lessons.
By being a God of Life and Rejuvenation, Dionysus did not only think of his role as a natural one but in all aspects of life. Many historians believe that he was the god of Democracy. The Greeks believed this because of his outlook on life and especially his closeness to the everyday man. This is related to being a god of life because he brought life to a new form of culture, a culture where every man has an opportunity and a voice. This is where he contrasts with his relative Apollo. Apollo was a god of the aristocracy who did not have casual interaction with the everyday people. With the rise of the festivals in the name of Dionysus the common people of Thrace, Thebes, Athens and others had a common bond under a god who gave life to them. Therefore Dionysus, as being a god of life and rejuvenation help unite the people into a formation of a new political life, the democracy.
As well as learning about life and rejuvenation, Dionysus also brought to the Greeks the art of making wine. The God of Wine is Dionysus' most popular title because he held it independently. Even in this day and time Dionysus is still the patron saint of drinkers. In Classical Greece, wine was the drink of the people. Due to the fact that Dionysus was the God of Wine, many festivals were held, all across Greece, in the name of Dionysus.
The god of Wine also served another purpose during the large consumption, ecstasy. During many festivals, the people did not drink for the purpose of being social but to relieve themselves from reality. Twentieth century wine drinkers wonder how alcohol intoxication could actually make people believe that they could communicate with a god. Though what is different between the wine now and the wine in Classical Greece is the ingredient. If wine in Classical Greece was consumed without dilution, the drinkers could result in death as a consequence. The wine was diluted reduce the chance of death caused by the harsh wine. The alcohol percentage was not the toxic ingredient in the wine. The Classical Greeks added ingredients to their wine to act as a hallucinogen. It is said that the hallucinogen also took the worshippers minds to a primal state, like an animal.
In the Dionysian religion they also promote animal sacrifice. The whole point behind the sacrifice was to free the power that was within the animal. When animal sacrifice, drinking, and sex are put together, very crazy festivals are started. When they had these festivals, they usually took place late at night and they included violent and strange acts. This also incorporates another aspect of the effect that Dionysus had on Classical Greek culture, madness.
Another important influence that Dionysus had on Classical Greece was the fear or acceptance of madness. Madness became Dionysus' trademark of both defiance and acceptance. When Dionysus returned to Thebes to start a cult in his name, the people of Thebes refused to worship him. In retaliation to their opposition Dionysus drove the population of Thebes to madness and murder. The madness is similar to both the intoxication of the wine and of primal instinct found in wild beasts. The paradox between worshipping Bacchus and the punishment handed out by Dionysus is that they are both the same. This is because many of Dionysus' followers were women wanting to forget that they were marginalized human beings.
One of the prime factors of Dionysus' madness was represented by sexual urges. Although he seems to be a pretty decent god, he has a very vicious side involved with festivals. His followers show nudity and they go through many things to be his follower. Some think the nudity is either a sense of purity or it is just sexual actions. Most Dionysian celebrations consisted of consumption of a large quantity of wine followed by a nocturnal orgy. With sexual morals as shown above it is obvious to see how many of the Classical Greeks, at first, rejected the ideas of Dionysus. With the combination of wine, hallucinogens, music and dancing, the cults of Dionysus helped poor peasants to forget their everyday problems and have an erotic orgy.
The cult of Dionysus was a cult that the average Greek could understand, participate in and believe. Dionysus was first the god of Trees and of Nature. He then progressed to the god of Fertility. All of these traits of Dionysus were useful to the people of Classical Greece who embraced him as one of their Olympians. Dionysus then brought wine to Greece where the people used this substance to relieve themselves from the everyday pressures of life. As wine spread across the country, Dionysian cults changed once again to one that revolved around the mental state created by a large consumption of wine. His cults progressed even farther to include all night orgies to communicate to the god himself. The one aspect of all of these transformations to the cult of Dionysus is that they all represent the average persons needs and hopes for life. The Greeks looked to Dionysus to help simplify their lives anyway possible. This is why Dionysian cults are still around in the world today and may never disappear.
In a way, today’s religious people might compare Dionysus to the devil. In modern views the devil promotes bad and evil things. He would think sexual promiscuity and orgies are great ideas. He would also think drinking and doing drugs are wonderful. The devil would be very excited by the animal sacrifices because anything evil is good to him. Dionysus condoned all these activities. He thought getting drunk and having sex was the greatest kind of party in the world. Dionysus also loved the thought of sacrifices.
Worshipping Dionysus in the Romans days was the thing to do. Some of the followers were looked down upon, but Dionysus was a god, therefore it was okay to do the kind of things associated with him. In today’s society along with being like the devil, it is kind of like a cult too. In a cult, you would go through initiation and you might drink and do drugs. You might also be forced to have sex with someone or you might willingly have sex with many different people for your cult. Also, in a cult you might sacrifice animals as a form of following your leader. Even though Dionysus has strange views and followings, it is very interesting because some elements of it are comparable to other religions, whereas some of the elements are very different and diverse from other religions. Just like other Greek gods and religions, Dionysus had worshipers, celebrations, and ceremonies. But unlike other Greek gods and religions, the Dionysian religion seemed to be very sexual and vulgar.

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