Dionysus the God of wine (Latin Bacchus) fruitfulness and ecstasy had enormous might. He is the son of Zeus and the Cadmus-Daughter Semele. With enemies who did not honor his Godliness, he had no mercy and took terrible revenge, even so, he is the joy of the world with his gift of the grape-vine and makes the hearts of all people glad. His Mother Semele was persuaded by Zeus's revenge seeking wife Hera, to ask her Lover Zeus to reveal his true self to her. He begged her not to wish such a thing, since he made an oath to fulfill her an unspecified wish and could not break it, but she was insistent. As he then appeared before her as a lightning-bolt, he burned and destroyed the unlucky Theban Kings Daughter, but Zeus rescued his unborn lovechild Dionysus from his mothers ashes and sewed it into his own thigh until it was ready to be born.Therefore is Dionysus sometimes called "the twice-born." Dionysus and his Followers The young Dionysus was raised and cared for by the Nymphs of Nyssa. Later as he sailed to Naxos, his ship was attacked by pirates who captured him with the intent of selling him as a slave in Italy. But suddenly the ship stopped and the shackles fell from his hands, Grapevines and Ivy grew from the ship and climbed up the masts. With horror did the pirates realize that they had made a big mistake by capturing a God and jumped into the sea. As soon as they touched the water, they were turned into dolphins. Dionysus Return Dionysus was celebrated with raunchy festivities by his female followers the Mainades or Bacchantes, dancing wild Dithyrambs through the forests and the hills. Other followers of Dionysus were the Satyrs, boisterous, half human, half animal like beings with flat noses and pointed horse ears. The old baldheaded Zedien Silenos is the best known , because after too much wine he was most times unsteady on his legs and had to leave on a donkey, a sight to behold! Dionysus, Satyrs and the Dogs Constant Celebrations for Dionysus