Dionysus was an androgynous god who presided over some of the most secret mystery rites in ancient Greece. He was also often characterized as asexual or being “indifferent” to women. This is appropriate - for as the Greeks who practiced them knew, the ecstatic dances that characterized Dionysian worship were not sexual in nature (nor are most experiences of collective joy or effervescence, contrary to what many hegemonic powers would like to have us believe). Worship of Bacchus (the Roman version of Dionysus) was later sexualized by propaganda of the Roman state.
I’m reading a book now that discusses how the Dionysian Mysteries influenced Christianity. It’s weird how the god of wine came to be seen as a divine savior, but Jesus had several associations with wine as well. (Just don’t tell the teetotal Christians.)
