Two Sides of the Same Coin: A Comparative Study of the Worship of Dionysus in the City and the Country

Abstract

Dionysus was one of the main gods worshipped by the ancient Greek peoples. He is most well-known as the god of wine and drunkenness, but there were other aspects to this deity. He was also the god of the vine/fertility, ritual madness, theater, and associated with death in some traditions. Many of the primary sources from ancient Greece are either written or archaeological, and allows a glimpse into the life of these ancient peoples. The ancient Greek peoples acknowledged these different aspects of the god through the myriad festivals and forms of worship in the city setting and the country setting during the 6th and 5th centuries BCE.