Dionysus

**Dionysus**, also known as **Mr. D**, is the Greek god of grape-harvest, wine, orchards, fertility, madness, parties, religious ecstasy, and theater. His Roman counterpart is **Bacchus**.

## History

Dionysus was often called the 'twice born' because of the circumstances around his birth. His mother was a mortal woman named Semele, daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. This makes him the only Olympian to have a mortal parent, and according to some traditions the only one to have been born a demigod.

As with most of Zeus' acts of infidelity, Hera was enraged when she found out that Semele was pregnant with Zeus' child. She disguised herself as an old woman (or as Semele's nurse in some stories) and made Semele begin to doubt that it was truly Zeus. While in disguise, Hera convinced Semele to ask Zeus to reveal his true form and, to make sure that he would do it, to have him swear on the River Styx, which is sacred to the Greek gods and an unbreakable oath. The next time Zeus visited her, Semele did as Hera advised, and though he tried to get around it, Zeus was bound by oath and so revealed to her his true divine form. Semele was burned to ashes, but Zeus managed to save the infant, and sewed him into his thigh. The child remained there until he emerged fully-grown a few months later, atop Mount Pramnos on the island of Ikaria. He was born a demigod, like Hercules and Perseus.

Zeus sent the infant Dionysus off with Hermes, who took Dionysus to Athamas, king of Orchomenos, and his wife, Ino, Semele's sister and Dionysus' maternal aunt. Hermes had them raise Dionysus as a girl to hide him from Hera's scorn. When Dionysus was three he was discovered by Hera who disposed of his guardians and their children by inflicting madness upon the household, him only surviving as Zeus turned him into a goat to hide him. The young boy was then taken to the rain nymphs of Mount Nysa; they raised him through childhood, and to reward them for their care, Zeus placed the nymphs into the night sky as a new constellation, the Hyades.

When Dionysus grew up, he discovered the vine, and extracted the juice only to then be struck with madness by Hera who still had a grudge on him. Afterwards, he wandered various parts of the world, making his way through Egypt, Syria, and then Phrygia, a kingdom in central Anatolia; there he was found by the Titaness Rhea, his grandmother, who cured Dionysus and taught him her religious rites. Afterwards, the god set out on a journey across the world, teaching men how to cultivate the vine and inviting them to join in on the mysteries of his new cult.

Dionysus also helped the gods during the First Gigantomachy alongside his half-brother Hercules, as a god could only defeat the giants with a demigod fighting along side them.

He was very handsome as a young man, eager for challenges. Dionysus later said he was good at nothing in his human life but cultivating wine. The people in his village mocked him, not knowing of his heritage or his future, and what he would one day become. Later, when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus, it was Hestia, goddess of the hearth, who graciously offered him her throne to prevent any conflict or embarrassment.

As a newly emerged god, Dionysus would travel around the world recruiting humans and other creatures to join his wine cult and party with him resulting in his group consisting of many wild and crazy Maenads and satyrs. Eventually Dionysus came in contact with the Amazons and recruited many of them. After hearing about this, the Amazon queen Otrera was enraged and attacked the god. However, Dionysus and his followers easily defeated them, slaughtered much of the Amazon army and forced them to retreat and chasing them into India. Eventually, Dionysus and his men quit the chase for unknown reasons.

Dionysus then rescued his mother from Hades, and she became a goddess on Mount Olympus, with the new name *Thyone*, presiding over the frenzy inspired by her son Dionysus. When Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, Dionysus found and married her. When she died, he went to the Underworld and rescued her, taking her up to Mount Olympus, where, at Dionysus' request, Zeus made her immortal.

He was disguised as a mortal on the seashore once when a group of pirates spotted him. They thought he was a prince, and tried to kidnap him and hold him for ransom or to sell into slavery. They tried to tie his hands behind his back, but no ropes would hold him to the pole. At this point Dionysus turned into a lion and let a bear loose on board. It killed those it came in contact with, and those who jumped off the ship were turned into dolphins as an act of mercy. The only one to survive was the helmsman Acoetes, who had recognized him as a god, and tried to stop his comrades from the beginning.

## Appearance

Dionysus has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He normally has watery, blue, bloodshot eyes from drinking. He is usually described as wearing tiger-striped (or leopard-spot) Hawaiian shirts and purple running shoes. He is described by Percy as a cherub who had grown up in a trailer park. Anyone can tell he's no stranger to wine just by looking at him.

However, this might not be his true appearance, since in *Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods*, he is described as incredibly handsome (more so than a mortal man). During his conquest of India, Dionysus rode in a golden chariot pulled by two centaurs. He wields a pine cone-topped thyrsus rod wreathed in ivy while battling foes, which can "glow with purple fire" when he is agitated.

In *The Tower of Nero*, it is revealed that Dionysus took his current form out of spite for his punishment as director.

## Personality

At first glance, Dionysus seems like a rather displeasing god. He enjoys calling people by incorrect names, especially Percy Jackson, whom he often calls "Peter Johnson". He sometimes does this with campers who have been at camp for a long time, such as Annabeth Chase who he calls "Annie Bell" right after she was captured. He often does this to make the campers think that he cares so little for them, that he will make no effort to remember their names. He even refuses to acknowledge when he calls them by their correct names. This is also because he hates almost all heroes. His hatred for heroes stems back to how Theseus abandoned Ariadne, and thus is why he has the fewest shown demigod children among the major gods. He presented the exterior of a true misanthrope: cruel, intensely bitter, facetious and sarcastic to a fault. He also apparently has a catastrophic temper, as when he confesses himself to not be in a good mood whilst arguing with Silenus, all of the satyrs back down so as not to provoke the god.

Dionysus doesn't like to be referred to as "the wine dude". He is not pleased when Nico calls him that after the orientation video, only to calm down when Nico compliments him, and when Blackjack refers to him as such when alerting Percy, he threatens to place the next person or horse who calls him that in a bottle of Merlot. He can also be quite unforgiving, as Chiron claimed that Dionysus viciously punished Seymour's previous owner for what he did to the animal, to the point that Seymour's current status (a discorporeal head) is much better than the mortal's own.

However, despite the impression he tries to give, deep down, Dionysus cares about his campers quite a bit. For example, while Dionysus stresses the fact that he cares little for the campers (except his own sons, Castor and Pollux) he dislikes Tantalus due to his demeaning attitude and for treating the campers badly (even though he himself is generally disrespectful towards them), he finds humor in his attempts to grab food and is also happy to send him back to the Fields of Punishment. He is no kinder to Chiron, but never threatens him like he threatens the campers, and even admits he misses him during Chiron's exile from Camp Half-Blood (as he was fired by the gods). He asked Percy to look out for his son, Pollux, right after Castor died in the Battle of the Labyrinth, and Percy admitted to being surprised that Dionysus could actually be a loving parent. When Nico and Will return from Tartarus, Dionysus greets Nico with a hug, showing his care and concern for the demigod despite his usually gruff exterior.

Dionysus is also willing to send help using his godly powers when a camper is in danger and desperately needs help. For example, in *The Titan's Curse*, when the Manticore was attacking Percy Jackson, Thalia, and their friends, he used grape vines to kill the Manticore, Dr. Thorn, and caused several to descend into madness, saving Percy's life - he later coldly remarked that it was fun, hinting that he hadn't exerted himself in the act. Also, despite his rude demeanor, he tells Percy he is one of the nicest gods, as he had cured Chris Rodriguez from his madness when he came back out of the Labyrinth, in spite of having previously betrayed them. Both actions proved that he's much more selfless than he appears to be. In stark contrast to his gruffness and bitterness, Dionysus has been known to enjoy parties (likely because he is the god of festivals where there is wine). However, this is mostly because he hates being at Camp Half-Blood, so he is usually in a bad mood.

## Abilities

As a son of Zeus, Dionysus is an extremely powerful god. His heritage as a legacy of Harmonia may have amplified his powers as a mortal, setting the stage for his becoming a god.

* **Prowess in Battle**: Dionysus is known to have fought bravely in the first Gigantomachy (while still a demigod), wielding a pine cone-topped thyrsus rod. He helped Hercules take down Otis and Ephialtes, and also took down Clytius together with Hercules and Hecate. Dionysus also participated in the Olympians' massive battle with Typhon in *The Last Olympian*, though he was defeated and smashed deep into a mountain by the huge Storm Giant.
* **Chlorokinesis**: Dionysus can grow, control, and summon plants, but he prefers grape and strawberry vines.
	+ **Vine Binding**: He can bind and suffocate his enemies with grape vines which are incredibly strong and durable, shown when he killed Dr. Thorn and when he trapped Percy and Blackjack in *The Titan's Curse*.
	+ **Vine Manipulation**: In *The Battle of the Labyrinth*, Dionysus magically creates a throne of grapevines to sit at the Council of Cloven Elders.
* **Madness Manipulation**: As the god of madness, Dionysus is able to both induce and cure it.
	+ **Induced Madness**: He can induce madness, shown in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, when he instantly drove King Lycurgus insane, and in *The Titan's Curse*, when Dionysus did the same to Dr. Thorn's minions.
	+ **Curing Madness**: Dionysus can cure madness, shown in *The Battle of the Labyrinth*, when he quickly cured Chris Rodriguez, whom not even nectar and ambrosia could cure.
* **Alcokinesis**: As the god of wine, Dionysus can manipulate alcohol. However, in the first series he is not allowed to partake in alcohol, with Zeus stripping him of this ability. This ability was, however, apparently finally restored shortly before *The Lost Hero*, when Dionysus was recalled as the camp director to return to Olympus.
	+ **Alcohol Transformation**: He can transform people and objects into anything wine related, as he threatened to do with Percy and Blackjack in *The Titan's Curse*.
	+ **Alcohol Conjuration**: He can conjure any kind of drink, but generally only creates cans of Diet Coke, due to his prohibition to drink any kind of alcoholic beverage.
	+ **Alcohol Immunity**: Dionysus is completely immune to the effects of any amount of alcohol.
* **Partying**: Dionysus can appear anywhere a party is held. According to *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, his parties are wild and infamous.
* **Maenad Curse**: Despite the fact that Dionysus despises the Maenads, he is obliged to curse anybody who either hurts or kills a single one of them, as revealed in *The Demigod Diaries*.
* **Photokinesis** (limited): Dionysus can generate an intense purple aura with his power. In *The Titan's Curse*, the sky was tinged with purple when Dionysus strangled Dr. Thorn.
* **Levitation**: A revealed in *The Titan's Curse*, Dionysus has the ability to levitate, which he did when confronting Percy and Blackjack on the roof of a nine hundred foot tall building. Dionysus later used this ability in *The Battle of the Labyrinth* when "walking" with Percy and conversing with him.
* **Teleportation**: As shown in *The Titan's Curse*, Dionysus can teleport, instantly dissipating and leaving a faint smell of grapes.
* **Pyrokinesis**: As shown in *The Lightning Thief*, Dionysus's eyes glow with a purple fire. And throughout the Percy Jackson series, Dionysus is shown to create purple fire.
* **Granting Powers**: As King Midas mentions in *The Lost Hero*, Dionysus was able to give him his infamous Golden Touch.
* **Forced Transformation**: Dionysus can turn people into animals. This happened in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, when he was kidnapped by pirates by mistake, and he subsequently turned them into dolphins with them later joining Chrysaor's crew. In *The Mark of Athena*, Percy is able to use the Dolphin Warriors lingering fear of Dionysus against them as a result.

## Attributes

Dionysus' attributes are his thyrsus, his silver goblet (which he brought back from his conquest of India), as well as grape vines. His sacred animals are the leopard, panther, goat, and donkey. Dionysus is also the patron god of theater.

## Attendants

Dionysus' loyal attendants are the fierce Maenads, and while he despises them, he is still obliged to curse anyone who either hurts or kills a single one of them. The satyrs at Camp Half-Blood also serve Dionysus, and can be seen sitting with the god at his table in the Dining Pavilion.

## Relationships

### Romance

#### Ariadne

Dionysus has a good relationship with Ariadne. When Theseus abandoned her on an island, Dionysus found her and made Ariadne his immortal wife on Olympus when she died. This is one of the reasons why he hates heroes so much. When he and Ariadne appeared at the Olympian party near the end of *The Titan's Curse*, Dionysus appeared happier than he usually was at Camp Half-Blood.

Dionysus has also shown a surprising amount of loyalty to his marriage to Ariadne as in stark contrast to his fellow Olympians(excluding the Big Three and Virgin Goddesses) Dionysus has the smallest number of Demigod children, having only Castor and Pollux who themselves are twins, thus implying that he has only cheated on her once in the last few decades.

## Trivia

* Bacchus, a white wine grape, was named after his Roman counterpart.
* Dionysus is the youngest of the major Olympians.
* Dionysus received his throne in the Hall of the Gods from Hestia, who willingly gave it up to him.
* His mother, Semele, was a demigod daughter of Harmonia (daughter of Ares and Aphrodite), making Dionysus a legacy of Harmonia. This would also make Aphrodite his great-grandmother and Ares his great-grandfather.
* Dionysus hates heroes, despite the fact that he himself was one, and his grandfather, Cadmus, was one of the first great heroes along with Perseus and Bellerophon. He states that this stems from Theseus abandoning Ariadne on the island of Naxos, only for him to find her, heart-broken, and marrying her after they fell in love. Some versions of the story say he fell in love with Ariadne while she was on the ship and forced Theseus to abandon her.
* He is the only major Olympian to be born to a god and a mortal, making him an immortal demigod.
* All his demigod children are known only by their first names.
* He has one (alive) demigod child at Camp Half Blood.
* As revealed in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, Dionysus is also the patron god of all transgender and intersex individuals, due to him being forced to conceal his true gender in public during his childhood.
* The **Dionysia**, named in honor of Dionysus, was a large festival that celebrated the cultivation of vines.
* Dionysus is the first god that Percy meets personally.
* His Egyptian equivalent is Shezmu.
* Dionysus tends to call heroes the wrong names. For example, he refers to Percy as "Peter Johnson, Perry Johanssan," or "Pierre Jorgensen" and Annabeth as "Annie Bell".
* Curiously, apparently all of his children with Ariadne appear to have been demigods, possibly born before she became a goddess, although all of them became a king of some Greek city.
* His Mayan counterpart is Akan.
* Despite not having myths together and sometimes seen as the same god, it is assumed Zagreus and Dionysus are close; Zagreus being Dionysus' guide in the underworld to bring Ariadne and Semele back.