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This is more complicated than one might think, in part because there was no "official" version of Greek myth, but many different (sometimes conflicting) stories.

The most common, popular answer is that his father was Zeus, king of the gods, and his mother a mortal princess, the youngest daughter of King Cadmus (Kadmos) of Thebes (Thegwai) and his immortal wife, Harmonia (herself a daughter of Aphrodite and Ares who are both, note, children of Zeus ...). Semele was seduced by Zeus, then her jealous elder sisters convinced her (at Hera's trickery) to doubt Zeus's word that he was a god, and demand that her immortal lover show himself to her "in all his glory." So he did. And the mere sight of him immolated poor Semele alive. While pregnant. Zeus secured the unborn 6-month fetus Dionysos from his dead mother's womb and "sewed" him into Zeus's own thigh, from which he was born 3 months later. There are obviously a lot of symbols here. First is the notion that the "full glory" of a divine visage has the power to kill ...recall the Hebrew story of Yahweh only permitting Moses to see his "backside" as a few of Yahweh's face would have killed the mortal Moses. Second, the whole "substitute mother" business. Twice Zeus is a "substitute" mother: first with Athena, and later, with Dionysos. In both cases the misogynistic Greeks want to show that Zeus (the "ultimate" man) can replace the female principle in the generation of the next generation. (When poor Hera tries parthenogenesis, she produced the ugly and lame Hephaistos, suggesting only men are able to be "single parents" whereas women will produce "lesser" offspring without a proper man around.) Last, the "thigh" reference is usually understood to be a euphemism. "Thigh" = "loins." E.g., Zeus sewed Dionysos into his own scrotum, and gave birth to him later from his "loins" just as a woman would from her womb.

There is, interestingly, yet ANOTHER story of Dionysos's parentage, part of the Dionysic/Orphaic mystery cults, wherein his "first" mother was not Semele, but Persephone (wife of Hades). In this tale, Persephone is raped/seduced by her father Zeus (brother of Hades). She gave birth to the child, who was named Zagreus. This child was later murdered and eaten by the Titans (at Hera's entreaty). Athena stole the still-beating heart and, learning of the cannibalism, Zeus sent a thunderbolt to fry the Titans. Humankind was made from these ashes (hence our mix of divine and evil). But the beating heart was taken to Zeus, who "fed" it to Semele in a drink. She thus conceived Dionysos, who was born again.

Thus, Dionysos had the title "Twice-Born" (among many others). Either myth supports it: whether prematurely "born" (ripped) from the dying Semele and then reborn from Zeus, or born as Zagreus, killed, and resurrected/reborn from Semele.

In all versions, his father is Zeus, and he is sometimes called "The Little Zeus" himself for his unique and powerful combination of powers. But depending on mythical version, his mother was either Semele alone, or Persephone and Semele, both/

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12y ago
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7mo ago

Dionysus's parents were Zeus, the king of the gods, and the mortal woman Semele.

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