HEY! JOE DUPAR!

DIONYSUS

Dionysus (Greek: Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος) is the ancient Greek god of wine, wine cups, wineskin, grapes, theater, and fertility. The god who inspires ritual madness, joyful worship, and ecstasy, carnivals, celebration and a major figure of Greek mythology.

Included as one of the twelve Olympians in some lists, Dionysus is typical of the god of the epiphany, "the god that comes". He was also known as Bacchus, the name adopted by the Romans and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia. In addition to winemaking, he is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater.

Hailed as an Asiatic foreigner, he was thought to have had strong ties to the East and to Ethiopia in the South. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy or wine.

The divine mission of Dionysus was to mingle the music of the aulos and to bring an end to care and worry. Scholars have discussed Dionysus' relationship to the "cult of the souls" and his ability to preside over communication between the living and the dead.

In Greek mythology, Dionysus is made out to be a son of Zeus and the mortal Semele. He is described as being womanly or "man-womanish". The retinue of Dionysus was called the thiasus and was comprised chiefly of maenads and satyrs.

Dionysus is a god of mystery religious rites. One of the most famous mystery religions was the Eleusinian Mysteries, in which Dionysus may have had a minor role. In the Thracian mysteries, he wears the bassaris or fox-skin, symbolizing new life. His own rites, the Dionysian Mysteries practiced by maenads and others, were the most secret of all.

Many scholars believe that Dionysus is a syncretism of a local Greek nature deity and a more powerful god from Thrace or Phrygia such as Sabazios or Zalmoxis.

VITAMIN D

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin. It is found in certain foods and also is synthesized by our bodies from sunshine.




Sunshine is the most important source of vitamin D - the UV rays in sunshine trigger the synthesis in our skin.


Vitamin D is now being touted as a vitamin capable of reducing cancer rates by as much as 60 - 70%, following rigorous scientific studies.

Improve your food sources of vitamin D. Be aware that this is a "supplement" and not a "substitute" for sunshine though, as it is generally not possible to get enough amounts of vitamin D through food alone. There are two possible food sources, namely foods that have been fortified with vitamin D during the manufacturing process and foods that contain vitamin D naturally:

* Fortified foods are usually milk and breakfast cereals. Read the nutrition labels to see if vitamin D has been added.

* The best source of food vitamin D is found in fish. Salmon, mackerel, tuna, and sardines are excellent sources. If you can stomach it, cod liver oil is also a good source.

* Egg yolks, margarine, cheese, and beef liver also have small amounts of vitamin D