Zagreus

In ancient Greek religion and myth, Zagreus (Greek: Ζαγρεύς) was a god, usually but not always identified with Dionysus. He was especially worshipped by followers of Orphism, whose late Orphic hymns invoke his name.

Etymology and origins

In Greek a hunter who catches living animals is called zagreus, Karl Kerenyi notes, and the Ionian word zagre signifies a "pit for the capture of live animals". "We may justifiably ask," observes Kerenyi, "Why was this great mythical hunter, who in Greece became a mysterious god of the underworld, a capturer of wild animals and not a killer?" Kerenyi links the figure of Zagreus with archaic Dionysiac rites in which small animals were torn limb from limb and their flesh devoured raw, "not as an emanation of the Greek Dionysian religion, but rather as a migration or survival of a prehistoric rite".

Greeks in Crete preserved a tradition that Zagreus who was identified with Dionysos was the son of Zeus and Persephone.

In literature

The earliest appearance of Zagreus is in a quoted line from the lost epic Alkmeonis, written in the sixth century BC if not earlier: "Mistress Earth and Zagreus who art above all other gods."

Zagreus (audio drama)

Zagreus is a Big Finish Productions audio drama based on the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. This audio drama was presented on three compact discs, and was made by Big Finish as their primary release to celebrate forty years of Doctor Who. As of February 2015, it is being sold as a download.

Plot

Following directly from the events of Neverland, the casket of anti-time which was destined for Gallifrey had exploded within the confines of the TARDIS. It seems that the Eighth Doctor and Charley have saved Gallifrey, and that the paradox of Charley's existence had been resolved, but the Doctor begins behaving strangely — he has been taken over by Zagreus.

The Doctor/Zagreus rages through the TARDIS and strikes Charley, but there is a loud explosion, and when they recover the Doctor/Zagreus is alone in the TARDIS. Charley finds herself in Harley Street talking to her mother Lady Louisa Pollard, who mentions amongst other out of place information that one of her sisters is called Romana. Charley is taken to see a Dr Zagreus, and her mother turns into a white rabbit from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Charley then meets someone whom she recognises as the Brigadier.