Dionysus, also commonly known by his
Roman name
Bacchus, appears to be a god who has two distinct origins. On the one hand, Dionysus was the
god of
wine,
agriculture, and
fertility of nature, who is also the patron god of the Greek
stage. On the other hand, Dionysus also represents the outstanding features of mystery
religions, such as those practiced at
Eleusis:
ecstasy,
personal delivery from the daily world through physical or spiritual
intoxication, and initiation into secret rites. Scholars have long suspected that the god known as
Dionysus is in fact a fusion of a local Greek nature god, and another more potent god imported rather late in Greek pre-history from
Phrygia (the central area of modern day
Turkey) or
Thrace.
Note: the Dionysian state is one of the few if not only that Nietzsche found acceptable as following the form of natural morality.