The cult of Bacchus, or Dionysus as he was known in ancient Greece, has roots that stretch back to the cradle of Western civilization and, while many know him only as the god of wine, he was much more than that. 

Bacchus symbolized fertility, ecstasy, and the very essence of life’s pleasures and excesses both in Greece and Rome, but his cult, especially in the Eternal City, had been at times controversial. Let’s start from the beginning, though. Let’s start with Bacchus’ birth.