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Dionysus
General Wine Term
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Dionysus is the Greek name for the god of wine. Although Dionysus is his original name, he is more commonly known as Bacchus, his Roman name.
According the legend, Dionysus was born the son of a mortal mother, Semele, and a divine father, Zeus. In addition to wine, Dionysus was considered to be the god of agriculture, fertile lands, and theater. It is said that Dionysus caused people to exude passion, either towards euphoria or madness; this belief probably rationalized the effects of wine consumption.
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