# From David Fleming's Lean Logic Both Dionysius and Jesus: - Had a father-god and a mortal mother - Enjoyed wine and meat - Were healers - Were popular with women but, it seems, had no sexual partners - Were lovers of peace - Defended the poor - Turned water into wine - Were dismissive of the citizen-virtues of work and planning ahead - Were worshipped with ecstatic dance which could bring people to a state of the deepest communion and bliss # From Robert Johnson's Ecstasy > "The Antioch chalice, a famous Christian chalice, shows Christ engaged in one of Dionysus’s favorite activities— swinging on a seat of grapevines, poised between two worlds. This is a clear reference to the Dionysian precedent. We should not be surprised at the many parallels between Jesus and Dionysus. No matter how we try to suppress them, the archetypes that dwell within us all will look for avenues of expression. If we shut the door, they will come in the window. If we force them to take off one disguise, they will reappear in another. > > > Jesus and Dionysus are both sons of divine fathers and mortal, virgin mothers. Christ harrowed hell, Dionysus emerged from the underworld. Semele ascended to Olympus as Thyone, the Virgin Mary ascended to heaven. Dionysus and Jesus were both hailed as the King of Kings. At Eleusis the followers of Dionysus celebrated his “Advent” with a newborn baby placed in a winnowing basket—the forerunner of baby Jesus in the manger. > > Both Jesus and Dionysus die—Jesus on the cross, Dionysus at the hands of the Titans; and both are reborn, symbolizing the life that does not end. Dionysus ascends to Olympus, Jesus to heaven, and both sit at the right hand of their father. > > Like Jesus, Dionysus was usually not believed when he claimed to be the son of God. Both suffered at the hands of local political authorities; both had retinues comprising outcasts and women of questionable repute; and both showed a disregard for the established modes of worship. > > And, of course, the wine. One of Jesus’ miracles was turning water into wine, something Dionysus can be said to do on a regular basis: One waters the vine, grows the grape, and turns it into wine. Eucharist is a ceremony of ex stasis—drinking the wine, the blood of God, and transcending time and space to become for a moment divine. So we have tried to kill the god, to extinguish the ecstatic experience. But he always returns, and with each return he seems to gain strength and power. We dethrone Dionysus, tear him to bloody bits, boil him in a pot, and he returns as Jesus. We crucify Jesus, and he is reborn."