Dionysus was the god of wine．He was the son of Zeus by Semele． When his mother was burnt to death in the glory of Zeus ．He was still a helpless infant．His father trusted his upbringing to some mountain fairy maidens ．They tookthe GREatest care of him． Under the tutorship of Silennus，the Satyr， he was introduced to all the secrets of nature and the culture of the wine． He travelled far and wide in his carriage drawn by wild beasts． He was said to have been to India and Ethiopia ．Wherever he went， there was music and song and revelling．Hisattendants，known as the Bacchantes， were noted for their noiseand disorder．A most wild，noisy crow，they drank，danced andsang in a careless way．The women Bacchantes were infamous for their excessive immodesty and disgraceful excitement ．In their madness and intoxication they committed cruel violence. They tore Orpheus，the gifted musician，limb from limb．King Pentheus of Thebes，for frowning on the worship of Bacchus in his kingdom， suffered the same treatment at the hands of a band of these fanatical women，of whom his own mother was the leader．

狄俄尼索斯是酒神，他是宙斯和塞梅萊的兒子。當他的媽媽被宙斯的璀璨之焰燒死時，他還只是個孤弱的嬰兒。他的父親將他寄托在山中仙子們那里，他們精心地哺育他長大。在森林之神西萊娜斯的輔導下，他掌握了有關自然的所有秘密以及酒的歷史。他乘坐著他那輛由野獸駕駛的四輪馬車到處游蕩。據說他曾到過印度和埃塞俄比亞。他走到哪兒，樂聲、歌聲、狂飲就跟到哪兒。他的侍從們，被稱為酒神的信徒，也因他們的吵鬧無序而出名。他們肆無忌憚地狂笑，漫不經心地喝酒、跳舞和唱歌。侍從中的婦女也因極端粗野、得意起來有失體面而臭名昭著。當她們瘋狂或是極度興奮時，她們使用殘忍的暴力。她們曾把俄爾浦斯這位才華橫溢的音樂家的手足撕裂。就連底比斯國王，僅因為在本國崇拜巴克斯（狄俄尼索斯的別名）問題上皺了皺眉頭，也遭受了同樣的懲罰。而帶領這群狂熱的女人胡作非為的就是狄俄尼索斯的母親。