Dionysus (also called Baccus) was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Semele. His tale is one of tragedy that has many different variations depending upon who is telling the story. Zeus was not known for his fidelity and in the case of Semele, he was no exception. Semele was soon with child which sent Zeus’s wife, Hera, into a jealous rage. Hera persuaded Zeus to appear to Semele as he had appeared to her- amid a chariot with lightning bolts and a powerful storm. Unfortunately the lightning in his appearance brought about the death of Semele. Zeus then took the unborn Dionysus as a fetus and sewed him into his own thigh until it was time for him to be born. When it was time Zeus cut open his thigh and Dionysus entered the world a second time thus earning the name pyrigenes, merorrphaphes and diplogennemenos (fireborn, thigh-sewn and twice-born). Zeus knew that Hera would come for Dionysus eventually, so he place Dionysus in care of Semele’s sister Ino, who was the wife of king Athamas of Boeotia. Hera still came for Dionysus so Zeus changed Dionysus into a goat and placed him in the care of Hermes. With the help of the Nymphs, Hermes raised Dionysus in a cave on Mt. Nysa which was abundant with vegetation and vines. As Dionysus grew older, he was driven mad by Hera and was cursed to wander from place to place. Eventually his wanderings took him to Phrygia where Rhea cured him and taught him the rites that would later be performed in his honor. Dionysus then resumed wandering and spread the knowledge of his rites wherever he travelled. Dionysus’s rites were viewed as both blessing and curse where he travelled to. He spread knowledge of wine and frenzy and received the names Lysius (that liberates us from troubles) and Catharsius (that cleanses our souls). Often chaos would follow in his wake as those who would receive him were rewarded with the gift of sweet wine, and those who shunned him were punished by going into a frenzy which caused them to commit acts of savagery. Dionysus’s rites eventually became a cult of celebrations that spread throughout Greece.