Dionysus

"My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot."

- Mr. D

Dionysus (Διόνυσος in Ancient Greek) is the Greek god of grape-harvest, wine, ritual madness, and ecstasy as well as theater. He is also known as Mr. D, the camp director of Camp Half-Blood. He was placed as the director by his father Zeus as punishment for chasing after an off-limits nymph. His Roman counterpart is Bacchus. Dionysus is portrayed by Luke Camilleri in The Lightning Thief (film).

History
Dionysus was often called the 'twice born' because of the two myths around his birth. The most common is that his mother was a mortal woman named Semele, who was a daughter of the King of Thebes, and his father was Zeus. This makes him the only Olympian to have a mortal parent, and according to some traditions the only one to have been born a mortal.

As with most of Zeus' acts of infidelity, Hera became jealous when she found out that Semele was pregnant with Zeus' child. She disguised herself as a nurse (or old crone in some stories) and made Semele begin to doubt that it was truly Zeus. While in disguise; Hera convinced Semele to ask Zeus to reveal his true form and, to make sure that he would do it, to swear on the River Styx, which is sacred to the Greek Gods and an unbreakable oath. Zeus tried to get around the promise, but in the end swore on the River Styx, and Semele asked to see his true form. Unable to go back on the promise, he did so, and she was burned to ashes. Zeus managed to save the infant, sewing him into his thigh until he was born a few months later as a full grown baby on Mount Pramnos in Ikaria. He was born a demigod, like Hercules and Perseus.

In his early life Zeus sent Dionysus off with Hermes. Again here, there are two versions of the story. In one version, Hermes took Dionysus to King Athamas and his wife Ino, who was Dionysus' Aunt. Hermes had them raise Dionysus as a girl to hide him from Hera's scorn. The second story is that the boy was taken to the rain nymphs of Nysa. They raised him through infancy and childhood, and in reward for their care, Zeus placed them as the Hyades in the stars. When he grew up, he discovered the vine, and extracted the juice. He was struck with madness by Hera at this point, and ended up wandering various parts of the world. Rhea cured him, and taught him her religious rites, and he wandered through Asia teaching about cultivating the vine.

He was very handsome as a young man, eager for challenges. Dionysus later said he was good at nothing in his human life but cultivating wine. The people in his village mocked him, not knowing of his heritage, of his father, or knowing his future, and what he would one day become. When Dionysus was invited late to the Mount Olympus, it was Hestia who graciously offered him her golden chair to prevent any conflict or embarrassment. Hestia was a goddess known for her warmth and kindness. Dionysus then rescued his mother from Hades, and she became a goddess on Mount Olympus, with the new name Thyone, presiding over the frenzy inspired by her son Dionysus. When Theseus abandoned Ariadne sleeping on Naxos, Dionysus found and married her. When she died, he went to the Underworld and rescued her, taking her up to Mount Olympus, where he made her immortal. He was disguised as a mortal on the seashore once, and a few sailors spotted him. They thought he was a prince, and tried to kidnap him and hold him for ransom or to sell into slavery. They tried to tie his hands behind his back, but no ropes would hold him to the pole. Some ideas are that the material they were made of then was similar to the vines, and would refuse to hold him. At this point Dionysus turned into a lion and let a bear loose on board. It killed those it came in contact with, and those who jumped off the ship were turned into dolphins as an act of mercy. The only one to survive was the helmsman Acoetes, who had recognized him as a god, and tried to stop his comrades from the beginning.

Camp Half-Blood
After chasing after an off-limits wood nymph twice, Zeus punished him by putting him in charge of Camp Half-Blood for 100 years. During this time, he is not allowed to drink wine (so instead swallows down several liters of Diet Coke) or grow wine grapes, even though he did use his powers on other plants such as strawberries. It is hinted that the first time he did caused the Prohibition era. After The Last Olympian, Zeus decides to make Dionysus work at Camp Half-Blood for only fifty more years, as a reward. He appears to have the fewest demigod children out of all the gods, not including the Big Three or the virgin goddesses- only having two sons, his twins, Pollux & Castor- possibly due to his hatred of heroes or his strong dedication to his immortal wife Ariadne on Olympus. He does care for his sons, as proven in The Battle of the Labyrinth & The Last Olympian when he is shown being depressed after the death of his son, Castor, and after becomes discreetly protective of his only remaining child, Pollux.

The Lightning Thief
Dionysus is introduced as Mr. D and is called by this throughout the series by Percy. Dionysus is first seen playing pinochle with Chiron, described by him as one of the best games (along with Pac-Man and gladiator fighting) invented by humans. He is not impressed by Percy upon meeting him, and upon his return to camp makes fun of him.

The Sea of Monsters
Dionysus, during The Sea of Monsters, does not play a large part. He is shown to dislike Tantalus, and is said to miss Chiron, saying there is no one to play pinochle with. He does nothing to prevent Percy, Annabeth and Tyson from leaving camp to rescue Grover, though it may be because Hermes was shielding them from Dionysus' eyes.

The Titan's Curse
Dionysus is indifferent about Annabeth's supposed death, and Percy almost hits him, but is stopped by Chiron. Percy then confronts him about his lack of love for the Campers, and Dionysus says nothing. After that, Nico di Angelo meets Dionysus, calls him the "wine dude", and excitedly tells him that he is his favorite game card, but also annoys him with his chattering. Later, when Percy follows Zoë, Thalia, Bianca and Grover, riding Blackjack, Dionysus stops him by binding him and Blackjack at the top of the Chrysler Building with vines while they were flying through the air, as shown on the cover.

Dionysus confronts Percy about leaving camp without permission, and Percy angrily demands the reason why Dionysus hates him so much. Dionysus then tells him he hates all heroes, because they are all the same. He then proceeds to tell him the story of Theseus, and Ariadne, and how he (Dionysus) later married Ariadne after Theseus abandoned her. He mentions that Zoe has a bad history with heroes. However, Dionysus lets Percy go, knowing that two demigods are doomed to die, and he is hopeful Percy will be one of them. If not, then Dionysus promises Percy that he will one day prove him right, by acting like all the heroes before him. This could also explain his lack of demigod children.

Later on in the book, Dionysus is sent an Iris message by Percy. He then says that they could say please to him and that he would save them from Dr Thorn. Percy prays for Dionysus' help and Dionysus makes Dr Thorn's guards mad and wraps grapevines around Dr Thorn, killing him. He also uses Percy's real name which Percy then points out and Dionysus denies.

Later at the winter solstice, Dionysus votes for both Percy and Thalia to be executed, and is seen at the party afterwards with a very beautiful woman on his arm, Ariadne. It is mentioned that this was the first time Percy had ever seen Dionysus happy.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Dionysus is seen very briefly. He is mentioned early in the novel as being on a mission, checking up on all the minor gods and making sure they aren't going to join arms against Olympus. Later in the book, he enters Camp Half-Blood after the battle, looking very upset, saying that he just learned his son Castor is dead (this may be the only time in the series when he's shown with sympathetic or sad emotions). He dissolves the committee, and later talks to Percy, saying Percy "always managed to annoy him". He tells Percy things are not looking good for Olympus, and that he supposedly should thank Percy and Annabeth for saving camp. He then shows Percy that he cured Chris Rodriguez from the madness inflicted on him while he was in the labyrinth. Percy is shocked by this, knowing that Dionysus didn't do nice things very often. Dionysus took offense by that, and proceeds to go on about how he is nice, even describing himself as "oozing with niceness". Chris deserved a second chance. Dionysus does not fail to see Clarisse's happiness at Chris' healing, and tells Percy that sometimes the little changes can make the most difference in the end.

The Last Olympian
During the final book, The Last Olympian, he is one of the gods fighting Typhon, although he is knocked out in the Appalachian Mountains, and summons Percy to him, where he is at a party, playing Pac-Man and cursing Blinky. Dionysus asks Percy to save Olympus and make sure that his son Pollux survives the battle, calling him by wrong names throughout the conversation. Dionysus annoys Percy by repeatedly asking him to get him a Diet Coke. He also tells Percy that gods need heroes, although they would never admit it.

He is later seen at the end when he comments that Percy might not be so bad after all but was still going to make life difficult for him. He states that Percy probably saved the world through his expert training, for which the god was responsible. He also adds that due to his bravery in the war, Lord Zeus had shortened his 'rehabilation sentence' at Camp Half-Blood from a 100 years to only 50. This statement amused Percy and he tries to imagine what it would be like to put up with Dionysus for 50 more years (assuming he lived till then).

The Lost Hero
After Zeus closed Olympus and forbade the gods to have any contact with their children, Dionysus was recalled as the camp director to return to Olympus. He left many mementos of himself at the Big House though; these include a living leopard head named Seymour (this was due to the leopard being his sacred animal and he was horrified by its condition), a Pac-Man Game, party masks, and grape-vines with grapes on them.

The Son of Neptune
Dakota is his roman counterpart, Bacchus' son. Like his father, Dakota is addicted to a red drink (Kool-Aid)

Personality
Dionysus enjoys calling people by incorrect names, especially Percy Jackson who he often calls "Peter Johnson" and "Perry Johanssen" (sometimes he says his real name by accident). He sometimes does this with campers who have been at camp for a long time, such as Annabeth Chase who he calls "Annie Bell" (this shows his hatred for heroes) right after she was captured. His hatred for heroes stems back to how Theseus abandoned Ariadne, and thus is why he has the fewest shown demigod children among the major gods.

Dionysus stresses the fact that he cares little for the campers, except his own sons Castor and Pollux. He normally doesn't show any fondness towards anyone, though he dislikes Tantalus (who had been treating the campers badly), and is happy to send him back to the Fields of Punishment, he finds humor in his attempts to grab food. He is no kinder to Chiron, but never threatens him like he threatens the campers. Dionysus also tells Percy he is one of the nice gods because he cured Chris Rodriguez from his madness when he came back out of the Labyrinth. Dionysus has been known to enjoy parties (likely because he his the god of festivals).

However, despite the impression he tries to give, deep down, Dionysus cares about his campers quite a bit, and is willing to send help using his godly powers when a camper is in danger and desperately needs help. For example, in The Titan's Curse, when the manticore was attacking Percy Jackson, Thalia and their friends, he sent grape vines to ward off the enemies and caused several to descend into madness, saving Percy's life.

Dionysus doesn't like to be known as 'the wine dude". The first time is when Nico call him that after the orientation video, Dionysus is not pleased but tones down his anger when Nico starts complimenting him in his excitement. The second time this happens is when Dionysus catches Percy as he chases after Zoe, Thalia, Grover and Bianca. Blackjack yells "God alert, it's the wine dude" and Dionysus becomes exasperated and threatens to stick the next person (or horse) who calls him that in a bottle of Merlot.

Appearance
Dionysus has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He normally has watery, blue, bloodshot eyes from drinking. He is usually described as wearing tiger-striped (or leopard-spot) Hawaiian shirts and purple running shoes (even though he has never run once in his immortal life). He is described by Percy as a cherub who had grown up in a trailer park. Anyone can tell he's no stranger to wine just by looking at him.

Bacchus
Dionysus can change into his Roman counterpart of Bacchus. As Bacchus, he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. He has children like Dakota and possibly descendants at Camp Jupiter near San Francisco.

Abilities

 * He presumably has the standard powers of a god
 * He can control and summon plants, or grape and strawberry vines
 * He can transform people into dolphins or anything wine related
 * He can induce or cure madness
 * He can conjure drinks

Immortal Children

 * Thoas
 * Oenopion
 * Staphylus
 * Peparethus
 * Comus
 * Iacchus
 * Phthonus

Greek Demigods

 * Pollux
 * Castor (deceased)

Roman Demigods

 * Dakota

The Lightning Thief
Dionysus is played by Luke Camilleri. He does not have a major part and does not appear as the camp director. Instead, Chiron is the camp director. He is shown at the Olympian Council along with the rest of the gods.

Percy Jackson
Dionysus doesn't like Percy Jackson because he's a hero, and a son of Posiedon, like Theseus, and he has no love for heroes. But he seems to show him more respect later on in the books.

Ariadne
He has a good relationship with Ariadne. When Theseus abandoned her on a island, Dionysus found her and made Ariadne his immortal wife on Olympus when she died. This is one of the reasons why he hates heroes very much.

Zeus
Zeus is his father. Dionysus works with Zeus when the Titans or the Giants threaten to destroy Olympus.

Chiron
He has a good relationship with Chiron and they enjoy playing pinochle together.

Trivia

 * Bacchus, a white wine grape, was named after the Roman Counterpart of Dionysus.
 * All his Half-blood children are known only by their first names.
 * He is the only Olympian to be born to a god and a mortal, making him an immortal demigod.
 * He has one demigod child at Camp Half Blood and one more in Camp Jupiter.