Welcome to Lectures on Tap

Join us for an engaging evening where professors, experts, and storytellers bring their thought-provoking lectures to your favorite bar in the Arts District, Los Angeles!

Hosted by the Lectures on Tap team.

🗓️ Date: October 15th, 2025

🕢 Time: 7:30 PM

📍 Location: Arts District, Los Angeles (exact address given in confirmation email)

📚 Lecture: "Dionysus: God of Wine?"

🎤 Speaker: Prof. Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten

The ancient Greek god Dionysus is often known simply as the "god of wine," but this lecture will reveal that he embodies far more significant themes. Dionysus represents ecstatic self-abandon, fertility, violent dismemberment, and unexpected rebirth. Attended by raving Maenads and mischievous Satyrs, he was worshipped through festive dances, communal shouts, ritual obscenities, and—perhaps most importantly—poetry, with genres like ode, comedy, and tragedy created in his honor.

In this fascinating lecture, Professor Sydney Mitsunaga-Whitten will explore what this enigmatic god embodies and why he continues to inspire thinkers and artists from ancient Greece to modern times.

Professor Mitsunaga-Whitten teaches comparative literature, language, and philosophy at Occidental College, emphasizing the ancient Greek and modern Irish traditions. She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Comparative Literature at Yale University and is passionate about the ethical significance of literature and its power to inspire kindness and sensitivity.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌

Lectures on Tap - "Dionysus: God of Wine?"