Chapter 10 discusses Dionysus, a baffling, yet extremely important deity in the Greek pantheon. His cult involves nature fertility and promises its initiates a direct experience with the divine.

After this chapter, you should:

• Know the standard account of his birth and his childhood adventures.
• Be able to recount the myths describing his gradual migration into the Greek world and what happened to those who resisted his cult.
• Be able to summarize Euripides's Bacchae.
• Be able to describe Dionysus's trip to the underworld.
• Understand how his cult can be interpreted.
• Be able to discuss the role Dionysus played in the history of classical Greek theater.