Dionysus

What does he have to do with social justice?

The ancient Greeks got a lot of things right. We have them to thank for timeless philosophies, enduring art that still astounds, and a trade network that was the envy of their time. Their ideas of civic duty and social responsibility were discussed, adopted, and developed further by many of their neighboring civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea. Their pantheon of Gods and Goddesses are still household names, even after all these centuries. Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades, Hekate, Apollo and so many more have been the subjects of movies, books, plays, and music over and over again. Dionysus is among the list of such Olympians, and was was honored as the God of Theater, Fertility, but especially of Wine. He was also patron of all the things that unfold during a drinking binge. Overindulging in food, drunken singing or making a racket, and sexual promiscuousness.

On the surface, this does not sound like a suitable candidate for promoting equal legal standing, civil support, or community diversity. To see those things, you really need to see him as more than just a frat boy. In his heroic legends, he was actually an outsider, a foreign God that arrived on the shores of Greece from a distant land. Without going into a mythological history lesson, he was a champion of the people, liberating them from powerful tyrants and teaching them to grow their own crops and tend personal vineyards. He taught them the miracle of winemaking, and to work together as equals. He liberated populations by empowering the lowest and most marginalized people with a means to escape economic oppression by the ruling oligarchs.

The relevance of Dionysus should now be clear.