Dionysus, who was also known as Bacchus to both the Greeks and the Romans, was the ancient Greek god of wine, theatre, madness and wild frenzy, merriment, and vegetation. Like most other Greek deities, Dionysus had many dalliances with gods, demi-gods and mortals alike including the goddess Aphrodite and the titan goddess of the breeze, Aura, the nymph Nikaia, and the princess Pallene just to name a few. Dionysus’ best-known partner, though, is Ariadne, the mortal princess of Crete and daughter of King Minos. After being abandoned on Naxos by the Greek hero Theseus, she was discovered by Dionysus.
A common story Dionysus is involved in, and one that is found frequently on Greek pottery, is his role in coaxing the god Hephaestus back to Olympus, probably with the use of wine, after he had trapped his mother Hera in a golden chair. A common image on pottery is Dionysus leading the god of blacksmiths on the back of a donkey.
