Dionysus

Dionysus (né Bacchus) is the Olympian god of grape-harvest, wine, madness, parties, religious ecstasy, and theater. Born a mortal demigod, Dionysus became immortal due to his Zeus's Dying Wish: give Dionysus immortality, so that he may, one day, avenge his father.

History
Dionysus was often called the 'twice born' because of the circumstances around his birth. His mother was a mortal woman named Semele, daughter of Cadmus, 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 demigod.

As with most of Zeus' acts of infidelity, Hera was enraged when she found out that Semele was pregnant with Zeus' child. She disguised herself as an old woman (or as Semele's nurse 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 have him swear on the River Styx, which is sacred to the Greek gods and an unbreakable oath. The next time Zeus visited her, Semele did as Hera advised, and though he tried to get around it, Zeus was bound by oath and so revealed to her his true divine form. Semele was burned to ashes, but Zeus managed to save the infant, and sewed him into his thigh. The child remained there until he emerged fully-grown a few months later, atop Mount Pramnos on the island of Ikaria. He was born a demigod, like Heracles and Perseus.

Zeus sent the infant Dionysus off with Hermes, who took Dionysus to Athamas, king of Orchomenos, and his wife, Ino, Semele's sister and Dionysus' maternal aunt. Hermes had them raise Dionysus as a girl to hide him from Hera's scorn. When Dionysus was three he was discovered by Hera who disposed of his guardians and their children by inflicting madness upon the household, him only surviving as Zeus turned him into a goat to hide him. The young boy was then taken to the rain nymphs of Mount Nysa; they raised him through childhood, and to reward them for their care, Zeus placed the nymphs into the night sky as a new constellation, the Hyades.

When Dionysus grew up, he discovered the vine, and extracted the juice only to then be struck with madness by Hera who still had a grudge on him. Afterwards, he wandered various parts of the world, making his way through Egypt, Syria, and then Phrygia, a kingdom in central Anatolia; there he was found by the Titaness Rhea, his grandmother, who cured Dionysus and taught him her religious rites. Afterwards, the god set out on a journey across the world, teaching men how to cultivate the vine and inviting them to join in on the mysteries of his new cult.

Dionysus also helped the gods during the Gigantomachy alongside his half-brother Hercules, as a god could only defeat the giants with a demigod fighting along side them.

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 or his future, and what he would one day become. Later, when Dionysus was invited to Mount Olympus, it was Hestia, goddess of the hearth, who graciously offered him her throne to prevent any conflict or embarrassment.

As a newly emerged god, Dionysus would travel around the world recruiting humans and other creatures to join his wine cult and party with him resulting in his group consisting of many wild and crazy maenads and satyrs. Eventually Dionysus came in contact with the Amazons and recruited many of them. After hearing about this, the Amazon queen Otrera was enraged and attacked the god. However, Dionysus and his followers easily defeated them, slaughtered much of the Amazon army and forced them to retreat and chasing them into India. Eventually, Dionysus and his men quit the chase for unknown reasons.

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, at Dionysus' request, Zeus made her immortal.

He was disguised as a mortal on the seashore once when a group of pirates 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. 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.