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rushthatspeaksZeus, King and Father of the Gods, has no legitimate heir. In part, this is because what he desires in an heir is one who is not powerful enough to supplant him, but more powerful than any of the other gods have turned out to be. His legitimate son with Hera, Ares, is incompetent; his son by Leto, Apollo, is an eternal adolescent. His sons by mortal women, although not illegitimate, as Zeus' marriage is in the sphere of the heavens and has not been consecrated on Earth (just try telling that to Hera) do not have the power of the Olympians.
Except, of course, for the Child of Semele. Dionysos, youngest of the Olympians and son of Zeus, half-mortal and legitimate, is also the most powerful of the Olympian deities, excepting only the Father. Why, then, is Dionysos not the heir to the cosmos?
When the God of Wine was still a baby, he was wandering alone near Thebes, the town of his relatives, when Gaea, his grandmother, cast up before him her firstborn, the Titans, who had been imprisoned in Tartaros for rebelling against the rulers of Heaven. Still angry with Zeus for their imprisonment, they asked Dionysos to assist them in overthrowing his father, but the young god refused. They concealed their anger with him and made him gifts; they gave him a doll, a four-stringed lyre, a rhombus (like a spinning-top. but making a louder noise) and a mirror. When the child looked into the mirror, he saw his reflection split into a thousand pieces, and the pieces scattered throughout the universe. Some say the Titans stabbed him then, and hacked his body into pieces to match his reflection; some say his body burst apart of itself. But the fact remains, the god was split, and no two of his living fragments have ever reunited. Each has become an aspect of the deity, some under different names, and each can wield only a fraction of his power. This, therefore, is why Dionysos is so likely to look on the same worshiper with favor at one place, and not at another, and also why his followers tear both their enemies and those they honor most limb from limb. However, most importantly, it is why Dionysos is not the heir of Zeus; the Father mourned, but could do nothing, and threw the Titans back to Tartaros.
The mirror also split, and multiplied throughout the world, and this explains the magical properties of mirrors, for some of them contain fragments of the god. It may have been one such as these that Narcissos fell in love with.
Source: 1st and 2nd century Greek Neoplatonists who claim to have been quoting older sources of which no trace remains. Try Plotinus.
Angst-O-Meter: 2. I hate my sinuses.
Except, of course, for the Child of Semele. Dionysos, youngest of the Olympians and son of Zeus, half-mortal and legitimate, is also the most powerful of the Olympian deities, excepting only the Father. Why, then, is Dionysos not the heir to the cosmos?
When the God of Wine was still a baby, he was wandering alone near Thebes, the town of his relatives, when Gaea, his grandmother, cast up before him her firstborn, the Titans, who had been imprisoned in Tartaros for rebelling against the rulers of Heaven. Still angry with Zeus for their imprisonment, they asked Dionysos to assist them in overthrowing his father, but the young god refused. They concealed their anger with him and made him gifts; they gave him a doll, a four-stringed lyre, a rhombus (like a spinning-top. but making a louder noise) and a mirror. When the child looked into the mirror, he saw his reflection split into a thousand pieces, and the pieces scattered throughout the universe. Some say the Titans stabbed him then, and hacked his body into pieces to match his reflection; some say his body burst apart of itself. But the fact remains, the god was split, and no two of his living fragments have ever reunited. Each has become an aspect of the deity, some under different names, and each can wield only a fraction of his power. This, therefore, is why Dionysos is so likely to look on the same worshiper with favor at one place, and not at another, and also why his followers tear both their enemies and those they honor most limb from limb. However, most importantly, it is why Dionysos is not the heir of Zeus; the Father mourned, but could do nothing, and threw the Titans back to Tartaros.
The mirror also split, and multiplied throughout the world, and this explains the magical properties of mirrors, for some of them contain fragments of the god. It may have been one such as these that Narcissos fell in love with.
Source: 1st and 2nd century Greek Neoplatonists who claim to have been quoting older sources of which no trace remains. Try Plotinus.
Angst-O-Meter: 2. I hate my sinuses.
