ABOUT US

Ode To Dionysus was founded by a trio of Creative Writing students from the University of Lincoln. After working together on our course's own literary journal, The Lincoln Review, we decided that we wanted to tackle the literary journal world. It is our intention to give powerful and beautiful pieces of art a platform, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or art. We'd love to hear from people of all walks of life, whether you're a literary veteran or completely new to the scene! 

WHY DIONYSUS?

As a quadruple of eccentric, theatre-obsessed creatives (who are not impartial to a bottle or two of wine), we took solace in the Greek god of wine, ritual madness and theatre, Dionysus. We stumbled across Sappho's poem Ode to Aphrodite and were enamoured by it, which led us down a rabbit hole into the world of Greek gods and mythology. It wasn't long until we stumbled across stories of Dionysus' chaotic and benevolent nature. It became clear that he was the perfect fit for our vision, with his love for poetry and determination to not conform to societal standards.

Born to a mortal mother, Dionysus was seen as an outsider to his fellow Olympian gods. Since he did not spent a lot of time among the gods, he did not inherit their hostile and indifferent nature toward humans—but rather walked among them. He was often called Elutherios, which means the “liberator" in Greek, because of how his wine, music, and dancing freed his followers from self-consciousness and the restraints of society. He was also perceived as a god of chaos and the protector of misfits, and portrayed as the god who crossed the boundary between the civilised and uncivilised; the known and unknown. 

To us, Dionysus is a symbol of freedom, acceptance, and creativity. We wish to reflect these themes in our literary journal, and create a safe space where creative individuals can share their work and thrive!