Dionysus + Ampelos

Greetings, mortal revelers! I am Dionysus, ever-youthful lord of the vine-entangled thyrsos and presider over all uninhibited delights. My traveling throng of Maenads, Satyrs and I roam the lands sowing wild euphoria wherever our bacchanals take root.

Among my cherished companions was a satyr youth of unparalleled beauty named Ampelos. He embodied the ideal of frolicking masculine grace with his lithe musculature, cloven heels, and impish grin framed by bubbly curls. But it was his rapturous devotion to me that made Ampelos truly peerless among my fawning coterie.

Ampelos delighted in every element of the revels - draining goblets of sweet nectar, dancing with unrestrained abandon, and surrendering himself to the rites of rapture under the nascent moonlight. He was the spark that ignited divine ecstasies within me.

One fateful evening after his athletic form had thoroughly tantalized me through the revelries, my impetuous favorite decided to prove his prowess. Spying a hulking wild bull tethered outside our encampment, Ampelos decided to attempt mounting and riding the fearsome beast on a whim.

My protests and warnings went unheeded as the bolt of wine-addled overconfidence had taken possession of my adored satyr's senses. With a lusty bray, Ampelos leapt towards the startled beast and seized its bullneck in his sinewy arms.

The raging animal charged in a frenzy, tossing and goring at Ampelos' nubile frame relentlessly as I watched in abject horror. Within moments, my beautiful satyr paramour crumpled to the earth - a tattered, bloodied ruin as the beast retreated in a rampage.

I cradled Ampelos' shattered form, my fingers lacing through his matted chestnut curls as the dull haze overtook his once-vibrant oak eyes. My divine tears showered his youthful face as the life's final embers faded.

"Forgive my arrogance, Lord Dionysus..." he wheezed through a crimson froth. "May my life's passion forever serve your rites..."

And just like that, the spark of revelry within me dimmed as Ampelos' spirit fled his broken body. I howled in anguish to the heavens, demanding oblivion envelop me in its cold embrace to purge the agony of such unbearable loss.

But then, I noticed drops of Ampelos' lingering vitae soaking into the fertile soil at my feet. From that grisly nectar, vibrant green tendrils began sprouting, unfurling into the first verdant grapevine.

In that moment, I knew that my cherished satyr's life essence would live on, transforming into a immortal font of joy and revelry. I nurtured the clinging shoots, propagating their proliferation across the lands as both a gift and eternal remembrance of my beloved Ampelos.

To this day, I ensure the sweetest and most robust vines take root wherever I tread, for their fruits are born of passion, sacrifice and undying devotion to Lord Dionysus. Their ambrosial wines shall ever rouse the wild raptures my Ampelos so fervently embodied!