Definition: fufluns

Dionysus, born from Jupiter's thigh and god of wine
Gloria Lurati - © RomanDuVin 2005
Wine has had a strong influence on human life since ancient times. Indeed, the grape is the only fruit of Nature whose product, wine, had the honour of a god all to itself. Called Fufluns by the Etruscans, Dionysus by the Greeks and Bacchus by the Romans, the god of wine has many names, but one figure stands out, that of the Greek Dionysus.
According to the most widely accepted legend, Dionysus was born from an affair between Zeus and the beautiful Semele. Zeus's wife, Hera, driven by jealousy, planted the suspicion in Semele's mind that Zeus was in fact a horrible monster. Semele then begged her lover to reveal himself in all his splendour. But the poor mortal could not bear the sight of the lightning surrounding her lover and began to burn like a torch. Zeus managed to save the baby Dionysus from his mother's womb. He enclosed the child inside his own thigh to protect him until the day of his birth. Three months later, Dionysus came into the world fully formed. For this reason, he was also called "the twice-born".
To escape Hera's wrath, Dionysus was first disguised as a woman, then Hermes transformed him into a stag. He grew up in the wild, surrounded by nymphs on Mount Nysa, and it was there, while walking, that he saw a strange plant with clusters of berries hanging from it. An idea came to him: he pressed them, let them ferment and drank the liquid. In this way, he discovered the art of making wine and was worshipped and celebrated everywhere. Dionysus means "Zeus of Nysa".
As an adult, Dionysus travelled the world, achieving numerous military successes. During his travels through Egypt, India, Syria and Greece, Dionysus spread the vine and established a new cult. This was celebrated throughout Greece. In every city, there was a temple dedicated to the god of wine. The most important celebrations took place in December (the month of Poseidon) and were called the Lesser Dionysia. These were rural festivals during which the god was thanked for the harvest and offered all kinds of gifts: figs, wine and a goat to be sacrificed. After the sacrifice, people dressed up in costumes and staged performances mimicking the origins of the god and the vine. It seems that these performances, which initially were nothing more than improvised farces in which masks represented the gods of the earth and fertility, were the origin of both classical tragedy and comedy.
During the month of Artemis, Elaphebolos (better known today as the month of March), important celebrations were also held in honour of the god of wine: the Great Dionysia or City Dionysia, which lasted six days. These celebrations marked the god's triumph over winter and the birth of spring, which brought the flowering of the vine. During these processions, choirs sang dithyrambs composed especially for the occasion by the most famous poets. During the festivities, actors performed new plays before a crowd of Greeks and foreigners.
But Dionysus was not the only one honoured during the Dionysia. The Greeks began their dinner with an aperitif, during which they drank flavoured wine from a large communal cup, and ended the meal with the Symposium, which included a libation to Dionysus. Before the Symposium, a master of ceremonies was chosen, who was responsible for setting a topic of conversation and determining how much wine could be drunk.
The most common representation of Dionysus is that of a bearded, well-built god of wine, wearing a cloak. He wears a crown of vine leaves and holds a thyrsus (a staff entwined with ivy and vine leaves), a patera (a type of cup used for libations) or, more simply, a bunch of grapes. He is often depicted riding a goat or a donkey, but sometimes he amuses himself by playing with a tame panther. This image is found mainly in the Archaic period. Later, Dionysus was preferred to be depicted as a young, beardless ephebe or even as a child.

A site to visit: