One of the gods that is often held up as a parallel to Jesus is that of Dionysus. I have always found this god fascinating, as he is not your typical Olympian god.
One of the interesting things about Dionysus is the circumstances of his birth. Not only was Dionysus born twice, he was born twice-TWICE!
There are two versions of the birth of Dionysus.
One version states that Zeus impregnated the mortal Semele. Zeus’s wife Hera tricked Semele into demanding to see Zeus in his true form which ultimately destroyed her. Zeus was able to save the unborn Dionysus and sew him two his thigh so that Zeus later gave birth to him.
Another version states that Zeus impregnated the goddess Persephone. Hera sent the Titans to kill the young Dionysus, who ripped him apart. Zeus was able to save Dionysus’s heart and sew it to his thigh so that later Zeus gave birth to him.
What is clear from both versions is that there is no virgin birth of Dionysus. Also, Mythicists point to the miraculous birth and tragic death as parallels to Jesus. What they neglect to mention is that with Dionysus, it is the death that comes before the miraculous birth,
