The Wiki + Divine

Dionysus is the god of fertility and wine as well as a major/popular figure in Greco-Roman religion. The earliest reference to his worship appears in the 13th century BCE but his origins are unclear. There are mentions of him in Minoan Crete, Thrace and Greece and he is often portrayed as an Asiatic foreigner or a visitor from Ethopia. This forgieness is also shown in the myth of Dionysus' birth. His mother was Semele, a daughter of Cadmus (King of Thebes). When Zeus' wife Hera found out about the affair she persuaded the pregnant Semele to prove her lover’s divinity by requesting that he appear in his real person. Zeus complied, but his power was too great for the mortal Semele, who was blasted with thunderbolts. Zeus, however, was able to save his son by sewing him up in his thigh and keeping him there until he reached maturity, so he was twice born and a full god but half mortal at the same time. In the comic, he is the newest of the gods and like his mythology seems to be outside the regular pantheon circle while still through his mythically wild parties.