Festival of the Grape Vines

Festival of the Grape Vines, ancient Greek islands, in honour of Ariadne and Dionysus

In the ancient Greek islands, this was a time for commemorating the deities Ariadne, the fertility goddess of Crete, and Dionysus, the son of moon goddess Semele by Zeus. Dionysus’s followers often went to libertine excesses as he was the god of wine and ecstasy.

Ariadne is also a goddess of vegetation; Dionysus was originally a god of wine and ecstasy, and later of vegetation and warm moisture. Once Dionysus was made mad by the goddess Hera, so he went on a journey to the oracle at Dodona. He crossed a marsh on the back of an ass, which he rewarded by giving it the power of speech.

Categories: goddess, wine, harvest, greek, mythology, folklore