Dionysus was the god of wine. His mother was Semele and his father was Zeus. Hera took the form of Semele's attendant and told Semele, in order to prove her lovers divinity, to make Zeus swear by Styx to give her anything she asked and then to ask to see his true self. This she did, although Zeus tried to persuade her to ask for something else. Semele would not be swayed with anything else and he did. In his total godliness she was consumed in flame. Zeus took her unborn child and sewed it in his thigh for the rest of the gestation. Then Zeus gave him to Hermes and he gave him to the Maenads or Thyiads
Dionysus also was the god of theaters. Alot of the festivals are in his name. The Maenads, when made drunk turn into mad women, chase down animals and eat them alive.
Dionysus eventually brought his mother back to life but had to stay in the underworld for half of the year. Demeter and Dionysus are said to be the earth gods. Both die, or with Demeter her daughter goes to the underworld and the earth dies when she does. And then in the spring both return. Both gods are important to mankind.
