Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #Dionysos
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As promised earlier, this is a thread about #Dionysos, one of my favourite gods. I recently saw claims that he was born of a virgin on 25 December. This is not true. While the date of his birth is uncertain, the ancient Greeks did usually celebrated the birthdays of their gods. 
So I'm sure the birthday of #Dionysos was celebrated too, possibly on different dates depending on the polis.
In the most common tradition, the mother of Dionysos is Semele. She definitely wasn't a virgin bc she was impregnated by Zeus during an affair that went on for months.
In the most common tradition, the mother of Dionysos is Semele. She definitely wasn't a virgin bc she was impregnated by Zeus during an affair that went on for months.
Persephone, Demeter, Dione & Selene are also potential mothers, none of which are virgins. It's possible the word is supposed to mean "young girl" instead of "virgin". But Dionysos was famously born a second (or third) time from the thigh of Zeus, who most definitely is neither.
