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Dionysus: the gender fluid god

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Figure 1- Tetradrachm, Thasos, 149- 90 BCE. Obverse: bust of Dionysus, r (photograph by author)

Introduction

The beautiful ancient coin in Figure 1 is from the Greek island of Thasos. You would be forgiven if you wondered whether the figure depicted, with an elaborate headdress and flowing locks, was a male or a female. This is the Greek god Dionysus (or Dionysos). The Roman equivalent is called Bacchus. In the ancient mythical world, Dionysus invented wine in their youth and later became the god of wine and intoxication. Dionysus was thus referred to as a ‘joy for mortals’. Dionysus was also considered to be the god of ritual madness, theatre and the afterlife. In antiquity Thasos was famed for its wine production and Dionysus would have been an important deity.

Background

Conceived by Zeus and Semele (a mortal princess of Thebes), Dionysus was snatched prematurely from the womb of the dying Semele and carried to term in their father’s thigh.  Having been identified as a male at birth, Zeus attempted to conceal his baby from the wrath of his wife, Hera. Dionysus was given to King Athamas and his wife Ino to rear, with instructions to dress Dionysus as a girl in order to conceal their identity. When this deception was discovered, Dionysus was then passed to the Nymphs of Nysa. On reaching adulthood, Dionysus underwent a temporary period of insanity induced by Hera. When Dionysus recovered from this, they discovered the vine and its uses and established a cult of mainly women who followed them on their travels. On arriving in Naxos, Dionysus encountered Ariadne, who had been abandoned there after helping the Greek hero Theseus escape from the Minotaur in her home in Crete. Dionysus married Ariadne and they had several children; a happy marriage despite the fact that Dionysus had many lovers, both male and female (Grimal, 1991; theoi.com, n.d.).

The very existence of Dionysus had therefore caused a major gender upset: their father Zeus, the most macho and patriarchal of the gods, was forced into adopting the ultimate in feminine roles of pregnancy and childbirth. Dionysus continued to upset the normative balance, being perceived as man and animal, male and effeminate, youthful and mature, and their cult subsequently became violent, bizarre, and a threat to the social order. This ancient cult was represented by wine and ivy, with female attendants participating in ecstatic forms of worship whilst holding snakes and flowers. Dionysiac festivals were ubiquitous throughout the ancient world and every Greek theatre was built in honour of Dionysus. However, actual temples dedicated to them are rarely found and they are thought to have been worshipped in small sanctuaries. Women in Ancient Greece led severely restricted lives, only being allowed out of the home for religious events and not generally being allowed to drink wine. Dionysaic worship therefore allowed women to defy their constrained lives by abandoning their homes to drink wine and practice the outrageous activities associated with the cult of Dionysus. In a society where females rarely attended male gods, Dionysus was attended by female priestesses (Kraemer, 1979).

Visual Representations

Dionysus is frequently represented on Greek pottery as a youth with shoulder length hair, looking like an unmarried girl and frequently wearing the same clothing as their female worshippers (Fig. 2). They could also be portrayed as a mature bearded man (Fig. 3). In Greek drama, such as Bacchae by Euripides and Frogs by Aristophanes, their female form was continually referenced, with Aeschylus referring to them as a ‘girlie-boy’ (Cole, 2007; Hornblower & Spawforth, 2014).

Figure 2- Attic red figure kylix c. 200 BCE. A hunter dancing in front of Dionysus, Staatliche Antikensammlungen, Germany (photograph by Wikimedia Commons)
Figure 3- red figure bell krater with Dionysaic scenes circa 440 BCE, Walters Art Museum (photograph by Wikimedia Commons)

Otherness

Dionysus has a somewhat unique position as a Greek god; they had a mortal mother yet still attained divine status, which was unusual in that progeny from god and mortal would typically have been either exceptional mortals or demi-gods at most. The ‘born twice’ origins of Dionysus set them apart from the other gods, this origin imbuing them with a sense of ‘otherness’. Dionysus’s early history of being disguised as a girl and being brought up by nymphs can be considered to have fostered their feminine identity. A further aspect of their otherness is their treatment of Ariadne. Male gods were deeply misogynistic and would generally seduce (or rape) mortal girls with impunity before casting them aside. However, Dionysus’ treatment of Ariadne was caring and respectful. This would have been seen as a departure from the accepted vision of masculinity as appreciated by this patriarchal Greek society; treating women with respect was viewed as very much a feminine trait. Dionysus therefore freely crossed gender boundaries in the ancient world.

Modern Reception

In modern times, Dionysus continues to be celebrated as a transgender god, and was mentioned in the 2002 Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Culture. Representations of Dionysus in popular culture have been attempted with varying success. The 1992 movie The Crying Game, written by Neil Jordan, is loosely based on Euripides’ Bacchae, and explores themes of identity and theatricality. Dionysus can be understood initially as Jody, the god of transformation and leader of the dance, who sets Fergus up for the deception and fall, and later as Dil, arousing desire in Fergus as an onlooker and forcing him to confront his own ideas of identity (McDonald, 2011) (Fig. 4).

Figure 4- The Crying Game (1992) Dil (Jaye Davidson) and Fergus (Stephen Rea) (Photograph by Alamy)

The 2024 Netflix series Kaos is a dark comedy created by Charlie Covell which explores a modern reception of Greek mythology and the underworld. The series has much to recommend it. Olympus is portrayed as an LA mansion, with Jeff Goldblum as a superbly comedic gangster- styled Zeus in a designer tracksuit. Eddie/ Suzy Izzard as one of the Fates and Billie Piper as Cassandra are similarly impressive. Unfortunately, Nabhaan Rizwan as the bisexual Dionysus, although zany and funny, is somewhat disappointing in terms of any representation of gender fluidity. A further series was cancelled by Netflix so any character development and relationship with Ariadne will unfortunately not materialise (Fletcher, 2024; Mellor, 2024) (Fig. 5).

Figure 5- Nabhaan Rizwan as Dionysus in Kaos 2024 (photograph by Alamy)

Summary

In summary, the Dionysus of the ancient world was unique amongst the gods. This ‘girlie-boy’ was marked out by their otherness, their cult involving the most repressed of society in a wild celebration of wine, theatre and the afterlife. In modern times, Dionysus has been difficult to pin down in terms of a convincing popular representation. However, they continue to be viewed as the outlier who found their tribe and became the cool, polyamorous, transgender god of wine, parties and theatricality. What’s not to like?

With thanks to Alex Blanchard.

Please join me next time, when I’ll be discussing the reverse of this beautiful ancient coin from Thasos- The Madness of Hercules.

Figure 6- Dionysos, marble statue, 2nd. century CE, Louvre Museum (photograph by Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography

Primary sources

Secondary scholarship

One response to “Dionysus: the gender fluid god”

  1. Big Katie avatar
    Big Katie

    Beautiful written, as always 🥰

    Reply

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Hello,

I’m Catherine

Welcome to my Classics blog. I am a recent MSc Classics and Ancient History graduate from the University of Glasgow and will be publishing posts on the ancient world. My main interests include Myth, Reception Studies and Numismatics. I also have a medical degree which brings a different perspective to topics around the ancient world.

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