Bacchus and panther

myminifactory

Dionysus or Bacchus is the deity revered for his control over the grape harvest, winemaking, and wine in ancient Greek and Roman religion and myth, also governing ritual madness, fertility, theater, and spiritual ecstasy. Established as a prominent figure by the seventh century BC, he may have been worshipped earlier by Mycenean Greeks around 1500-1100 BC; remnants of Dionysian-type worship have been unearthed in ancient Minoan Crete. His origins are unclear, with his cults taking various forms; some accounts portray him as Thracian, while others describe him as Greek. In certain rituals, he emerges from the east, arriving as a foreign Asiatic deity; in others, he comes from Ethiopia in the south. He is a god of revelation, "the god who arrives," and his identity as an outsider-god may be fundamental to his cults. As a central figure in Greek mythology and religion, Dionysus's importance grows over time, earning him a place on lists of the twelve Olympians, with the distinction of being the last addition and the only deity born from a mortal mother. His festivals serve as the driving force behind the development of Greek theater.