Zagreus

This article is about the Greek god. For other uses, see Zagreus (disambiguation).
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In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Zagreus (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ζαγρεύς) was a god sometimes identified with an Orphic Dionysus, a son of Zeus and Persephone, who was dismembered by the Titans and reborn.[1] In the earliest mention of Zagreus, he is paired with Gaia and called the "highest" god, though perhaps only in reference to the gods of the underworld. Aeschylus, however, links Zagreus with Hades, possibly as Hades' son, or as Hades himself.[2] Noting "Hades' identity as Zeus' katachthonios alter ego", Timothy Gantz postulated that Zagreus, originally the son of Hades and Persephone, later merged with the Orphic Dionysus, the son of Zeus and Persephone.[3]

  1. ^ Gantz, p. 118; Hard, p. 35; Grimal, s.v. Zagreus, p. 456.
  2. ^ Sommerstein, p. 237 n. 1; Gantz, p. 118; Smyth, p. 459.
  3. ^ Gantz, p. 119.