Bacchus
By: Sydney Rogers
Bacchus the Wine God
Bacchus is known as the wine God. He worships Delphi. He is also known as Dionysus. He is referred to more as Dionysus. Bacchus became more popular over the years and gained more worship and respect.
Festival for Bacchus
The Bacchanalia were Roman Festivals of Bacchus. The festival is celebrated on March 16th and 17th. The Romans made such a big deal out of this festival as though they thought he was a good influence on the young children. During the festival he was characterized by simple, old-fashioned rites; the Lenaea, which included a festal procession and dramatic performances; the Anthesteria, essentially a drinking feast; the City, or Great, Dionysis, accompanied by dramatic performances in the theatre of Dionysus, which was the most famous of all; and the Oschophoria (“Carrying of the Grape Clusters”).
Statue of Bacchus
The statue of Bacchus is a marble over life size figure of him. His pose shows a drunken state. Bacchus is displayed with rolling eyes, his body almost falling off the rocky platform on which he stands. Standing behind him is a child, who eats the bunch of grapes Bacchus is holding in this left hand. With its swollen torso, the Bacchus figure suggested to both the slenderness of a young man and the fleshiness and of a woman.
Childhood of Bacchus
Bacchus was the son of Zeus and Semele (a mortal woman). Hera found out about Zeus and Semele before Bacchus was born. She was so mad. In disguise, she went to Semele and said that Hera got to see Zeus in all of his splendor, so why shouldn't Semele get to see him also? Seeing a god or goddess in his/her true form was deadly to mortals, but Semele did not know that. The next time Semele met Zeus she told him that if he truly loved her, he would swear that he would do any favor that she asked. Zeus gladly agreed, but once he heard her request he was very dismayed, for she had asked to see him as he truly was. He had to do it, because he swore on the river Styx, but in doing so he killed her. However, Zeus took Bacchus, unborn, out of her womb while she was dying and put him in his thigh until he was ready to be born. This time spent in Zeus made Dionysus immortal.
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