Zagreus — Rustic God

Zagreus — Rustic God

Zagreus, "the first-born Dionysos," was a god of the Orphic Mysteries. He was a son of Zeus and Persephone who had been seduced by the god in the guise of a serpent. Zeus placed Zagreus upon the throne of heaven and armed him with his lightning bolts. The Titanes, incited by the jealous goddess Hera, sneaked into Olympos and offered the boy a collection of toys, tricking him into setting aside the lightning. They then seized and dismembered him with their knives. Zeus recovered Zagreus' heart and made it into a potion for Semele to inbibe who then conceived and gave birth to the second Dionysos as a reincarnation of the first.

Zagreus was a minor god in Greek mythology, usually conflated with the god of wine, Dionysus.

Zagreus' Parents
He was worshipped by the followers of Orpheus, and according to their beliefs, he was the son of Zeus and Persephone, after the former took the form of a serpent and lay with her.

Zagreus' Death
Zeus' intentions were for Zagreus to succeed him in the throne, but Hera, who was furious for her husband's infidelity, asked the Titans to kill the boy. While Zagreus was playing with his toys, the Titans tried to capture him; he evaded them by taking various animal forms; he eventually took the form of a bull before the Titans seized him, killed him and ate him.

Zagreus and Humankind
The myth continues with Zeus realising what happened and striking the Titans with a thunderbolt; the Titans were instantly turned to ashes. From these ashes, which were a mixture of the vile bodies of the Titans and the holy body of Zagreus, arose the humans, thus explaining why they are both good and evil; each individual containing a bit of both kindness and evilness.

Zagreus' Rebirth
Persephone managed to find Zagreus' heart, which was still beating, and Zeus placed it into the body of the mortal woman Semele. Semele gave birth to Zagreus again.