Aidonian's blog

A couple of days ago I saw on twitter someone suggesting that Aidoneos and Dionysos are the same god. It was suggested that the Eleusinian mysteries seem to claim this. I don’t know if its true or not. Its food for thought, hence this blogpost.

Are Aidoneos & Dionysos the same deity?

If we look at mythology, the answer is clearly no. Aidoneos is the real name of Hades or Plouton and He is the son of Kronos and Rheia, brother to Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter & Hestia and husband to Kore-Persephone. Dionysos is the son of Zeus and depending on which source, his mother is either Persephone or Semele. Here we see the first connection with Aidoneos, that He is the stepson of Aidoneos. When the son of Persephone, He was not called Dionysos, but Zagreos. When Zagreos was torn to pieces by the Titans, He was reborn again as Dionysos with Semele, who was tricked by Hera to force Zeus to show his true form. That killed Semele, but not the divine child. Zeus carried Him in his leg. Dionysos was one of the few Gods who was able to cross the barrier between the living and the dead. Granted, I don’t know that much about Dionysos. I will freely admit that. It was through the oracle reading by Sannion that i started to incorporate Him into my worship – which I didn’t do before. I’m glad that I did that. I have learnt new things that I didn’t before. One of the things is that some people today as during antiquity thought that there were at least 5 Dionysos’ and not 1: Zagreos, Dionysos, Bacchos, Liber, and the last one I don’t remember.

2 years ago, I got the diagnosis that I’m on the autistic spectrum. Before that, it was speculated, but I wasn’t sure. Now I know this, I feel at ease and also more at ease to go to Dionysos and try to bond with Him through prayers and sacrifice. Before I was afraid, because I knew He would show the real me. Now I’m more at ease, found solace in a way, I don’t mind at all. While Dionysos is known to be the God of Wine, madness, but He is more than just a party God. He breaks down the barrier of society and shows you who you truly are. This might be the reason why even the Romans at one point during the republic decided to ban his cult. Not that they were against other forms of worship, but that the worship of Bacchus-Dionysos threatened the civil order, the status quo which is why they outlawed it for a time.

What Aidoneos and Dionysos do have in common is that They both break down the civility, civilized part of us. Dionysos shows you the real you, while Aidoneos when arrived in the Hades, in front of the Three Judges, the real you was shown and you were judged on how you acted in life. Your reputation, your goals in life, how you want people to see you, came crashing down in front of them. Does that make them the same God? In my opinion it doesn’t. If you find yourself standing before Aidoneos, you are most likely dead and there is no coming back from it, unless the Moirai decreed otherwise.

I will admit it overlaps, but than again Aidoneos also overlaps with Zeus as Zeus Khthonios and Zeus as Zeus Katakthonios even as Euboleos, Zeus overlaps with both Aidoneos & Dionysos. It took me almost 20 years to establish a connection with Aidoneos as Plouton as He responds with that name rather than with Haides or Aidoneos. Hence the name “Aidonian” or “Ploutonian” as I’m a devotee of Aidoneos/Plouton.

So to come full circle on this. Are Aidoneos and Dionysos the same God? My answer is still no. They overlap in certain areas, that is certain. But in my opinion, they aren’t the same God. given with what I know of Plouton and of Dionysos (granted not so much as other, I will admit that), I can say that Aidoneos and Dionysos are not the same God. The Orphici consider Zagreos as one of the names of Dionysos, or better yet as one of the Dionysos, but even there it is Zeus who brings forth Zagreos through Persephone and later through Semele. It was Aeschylos who wrote that Zagreos was the son of Plouton and Persephone and not Zeus and Persephone. Aeschylos is the only one who wrote about that Plouton was the father of Zagreos and not Zeus. It’s tricky but in my humble opinion, Aidoneos and Dionysos are not the same God.