Honoring Dionysus

"As for me? I am going to enjoy this very short yet festive season of Dionysus. Why? Because after the season of Dionysus and Apollo, might come the season of Mars. And who was Mars? The god of war. Stay tuned."  

Okay - this is not going to be honoring the salacious side of Dionysus. Nor the drunken side. Not even the artsy crafty side. No, many times this god of Roman invention was associated with spring. The rebirth of life which was dead. Yes, both Dionysus and Apollo have ties to the greening of the Earth due to spring.

Yes, we all know that all the Roman and Greek gods were make believe. Good for the ages, but not much else. Still, I love the mythology. It is fun, and a throwback to most of our youths. But even though the appearance of spring may have nothing to do with mythology - it is a time of year which matches no other.

So what is spring? What is it that so enthralled the ancients? And why does it still enthrall us today? Quite simply it is this - rebirth. What was dead is now again alive. Actually it sounds more like God than a god or demigod. But still we are. The rains have stopped for a few days, the sun (Sol) has come out to warm and shine, and the grass and shrubs are growing so fast it is almost like watching a stop action film.

Even years ago when Lerner and Loewe wrote their award winning musical Camelot, that show recognized the magic of spring. In fact the song Its the Lusty Month of May says it well. It starts out, "Its May, its May, the lusty month of May..." sung by Guinevere. Well, we all know the rest.

When I was younger, springtime was a time to be out later, dream bigger dreams, drive faster than we should have, do many other foolish things, or whatever. It is the one season of the year where hope really does spring eternal. Where no matter our age (sorry Merlin), we all "youthen" ten years or so. 

As for me? I am going to enjoy this very short yet festive season of Dionysus. Why? Because after the season of Dionysus and Apollo, might come the season of Mars. And who was Mars? The god of war. Stay tuned.