The Gods of Alcohol: SMT Lore

Patreon: / tony4you
Twitter: Tony4YouYT
#religion #theology #mythology
0:00 Intro
01:09 Dionysus
08:04 Varuni
10:37 Inari
13:13 Outro
There are countless gods from countless religions from around the world. A common one found in each one is a god of some sort of alcohol. The greek gods have Dionysus, the Hindu devas have Varuni, and the Japanese gods have Inari. There are plenty more from all of theology and cultural practices, but these ones stood out as the most interesting of the bunch. The Gods of Alcohol is a video I've wanted to do for a long time, as it always fascinated me that they were held in such high regard in their respective pantheons throughout the world. Almost always depicted as wholly good and beautiful beings that bring joy and prosperity to the world, these beings are some of the most influential of the divine beings. People will always respond well to a nice drink and a day off it seems. Gods of Fertility, war, the sun, creation itself, they all make sense, but on the flipside there is also a god of partying and getting drunk. Seems much less important than the god of all of all life, but in many cases, these gods were some of the most worshiped of their region and culture. From around the world, one thing remains constant, people love to get drunk and party! Though you’d be mistaken for thinking all of them are the same carefree people, the worship of these deities can be pretty serious business, and their worship was not to be taken lightly. So let’s take some time and learn a little bit about these deities and pour ourselves a tall glass to spend some time with the different Gods of Alcohol. I should say that none of the gods we are going to talk about as well as their depictions in Shin Megami tensei in this smt lore video are strictly gods of alcohol alone, they are all so much more. That just adds to their mystique however. From persona lore to smt lore these gods are always a great addition to the team and flesh out the world of bleakness with a bit more colour, quite literally in Dionysus's part.

[@Tony4You]

Join the Discord: discord.gg/qWuKWzChrS Leave any thoughts and suggestions here!

[@persona2bestpersona891]

love your channel and what you do keep up a good work also discord has that dumb glitch where you cant put your phone number to join a server it saids this account already exist and thats why ive never been able to join

[@RwnEsper]

You missed one of my favorites, Mada. Although I guess it isn't really a god, more of a demon of drunkenness.

[@user-vf6km4sf2r]

Please make video about anything besides smt

[@KrimsonKattYT]

Hey tony. What's the song that you use for your outro? I really like it but I don't recognize it from any of the games I've played so I don't know where to look for it online.

[@KrimsonKattYT]

@@user-vf6km4sf2rMaybe he could do a video on the new Touhou game inspired by SMT1? It has first person dungeon crawling and even demon fusion where you fuse touhou characters (clones of them) instead of mythological gods and monsters.

[@pentiumdeusex-machina4645]

Gods of Alcohol: for when you really want to commune with the holy spirits.

[@ArmageddonAngel]

I get it

[@vginsprdsobepr9698]

Amen!

[@thenew4559]

They call them "spirits" for a reason, after all.

[@tinybee7780]

I will forever thank Hades (the 2020 videogame) for having such a great depiction of how trollish the gods can be. In one of the conversations with Dionysus, he asks Zagreus to spin one of their "tall tales" to Orpheus that both gods are the same person just to "troll" the bard. Funnily enough, Orpheus actually believes the tale and even makes a ballad about it, ultimately tying back to the belief that they were in fact, the same person. Also the game had hangover grenades. The game lets you lob projectiles at enemies who ultimately succumb due to hangover. Wine can be a very potent drink if used correctly.

[@incognito200]

I love the moment where Thanatos sternly disagreed with Hypnos's suggestion on taking every soul on Earth at once, just to cut corners on his workload.

[@AndrewBlechinger]

Eh, Dio cast isn't that good. The damage over time is neat, but it's just too slow.

[@hayaokakizaki4463]

Every time I hear the story of Dionysus growing in Zeus's thigh it's always a surprise.

[@Petrico94]

I always get a similar laugh out of Loki, Skadi and the goat

[@corrinflakes9659]

Athena born of Zeus's head: I sleep 😴 Dionysus incubated in Zeus's thigh: wheeze 💀

[@Tony4You]

The activities of gods are always a difficult thing to wrap your head around, but hey it always works out.

[@CelestiaLily]

The mythos of Dionysus being linked (directly or tangentially) to madness/insanity, drunken binges, hedonism, a particularly noteworthy cult of worshippers, and even a myth about heartbroken romance? Now I kinda appreciate Dionysus appearing in the last P5R palace lmao. I'm stretching it obviously but damn, didn't expect to find commonalities like this

[@firstnamlastnam2141]

Had no clue about the alcohol microscope thing, that's so cool, even as someone who doesn't drink. I'd honestly love to have a scan of one of those close ups hung on the wall.

[@MagicalMajax]

That library of Ruina OST is so fitting to your videos.

[@Tony4You]

Played through it recently, gonna be a main stay on the channel for a while now lol

[@lhfirex]

Regardless of how the Greek kings might have felt about Dionysus, the people had several huge theater festivals dedicated to him. All of his aspects, and his reverence, make sense to me. Early civilizations needed alcohol brewing just to make water potable in some cases, so it would make sense to worship a god who does that for people, and it also makes sense to ascribe all of the effects of alcohol consumption to that god. All that said, Inari is definitely a more interesting goddess of alcohol, even though my experience living in Japan was that purified sake is for all the gods.

[@KuRRiiZMa]

the first haram tony4you video! haha in all seriousness very well done tony! I learning that Dionysus was also a god of frenzy is a unique discovery when you consider the context of how alcohol can lead to a drunken frenzy!

[@Tony4You]

Can't be holy all the time. This one's for the boys!

[@Oig-ln7ep]

I can’t express how much I love these theology videos. Even as an agnostic I find religion so fascinating, and you do a great job of breaking them into short informative videos. Speaking of which, would it be possible for you to do a video on the Canaanite god Baal?

[@Tony4You]

Thanks so much! I try to make my videos interesting to anyone and everyone and I'm glad it's enjoyable. I definitely have Baal on the list as well!

[@madambutterfly1997]

Dionysus is bae and probably one of the only gods in God of War who wasn't killed

[@thonk5262]

Love Ruina Music

[@Tony4You]

A lot of people pointing it out, I'm happy I have fans that enjoy Project moon's stuff

[@gabrielesorentini2670]

What about Mada, the Hindu God of drunkenness? I know him only because he appear as a minor boss in SMT 3 Nocturne, but I would like to know more from you. Regardless of that, awesome video as always, keep on the good work

[@jasonblundelldobebussing]

Dionysus and Tony are both bare naked and covered in oil, who wins the twerk battle?

[@Tony4You]

Your comments are always hard to respond to, but I enjoy them

[@100Servings]

Outstanding video! Alcohol is as old as humanity, and we're not the only ones to enjoy it! The best was watching the birds eat the late season cherries off the tree after they've fermented in the summer heat and then hearing them sing their songs incorrectly. If you like fox stories, I can't recommend The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman. It's an old Japanese fairytale adapted to a Sandman story, but with artwork by Yoshitaka Amano, the artist behind Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D. It deserves a place on your shelf if you can find it. Thanks for posting today!!!

[@Tony4You]

Very true haha, also a great recommendation!

[@KrankuSama]

Sanguine whipping the escalade with this tony episode on the aux

[@Tony4You]

Drink responsibly brother. We will be doing dangerous activities though

[@thenew4559]

A minor character in a comic series I plan to eventually make will be based on Ninkasi, a minor Mesopotamian goddess of beer. I just thought having a "goddess of beer" would be pretty funny, and her design ended up being one of my favorite characters I have drawn so far. I'll probably eventually post the illustration I made of her online, whenever I get around to actually creating a social media account for my art.

[@Elite_Teach]

Cheers 🍻

[@Tony4You]

A nice bevvy with the boys!

[@gempower8029]

My new favorite youtube series

[@johncosco2348]

Do a video about Nyarlathotep

[@Tony4You]

It's on the list for sure!

[@AttacMage]

Always happy to see these videos, and I love to see the comparisons to in-game designs. I can't remember if they've come up much in any of your videos outside of the Tengu one, but I'd love to see more generic folklore type demons, although I am still a sucker for more theological vids.

[@en3677]

Putting this on while grinding out Limbus and hearing the LoR theme was a little surreal. Got me thinking PM snuck it in there for a second

[@Tony4You]

So many project moon fans I noticed haha. Maybe I should cover those games in the future too

[@RwnEsper]

Great work as always.

[@Tony4You]

Thank you my friend

[@raimu6293]

Great work

[@HavelsRing96]

Thanks for another upload man, happy holidays!

[@Tony4You]

Thanks for watching! Happy holidays to you too!

[@bahamutxero9573]

Another great video Tony! I was already aware of Dionysius's origins (Greek mythology is my favorite), but hearing of the others very interesting. I'm still in awe in the number of different races and variations of Hindu creatures.

[@goodintentions8106]

I was thinking about debating your claim of a God of alcohol for every religion. One of the first acts Jesus did was turn water to wine and the Bible does say there is a time to party so..... you may in fact be right.

[@lcmiracle]

To be fair, imagine how depressed both Thanotos and Hades would be if Dionysus just straight up don't give them booze

[@jessnomaybe]

I played Hades (2020) first & I never understod why Dionysus looked like that in Persona. thanks for explaining

[@Petrico94]

"What say you Friar, Who's greater your Jesus or our gods?" "... Whoever created liquor." One misnomer you see in fantasy polytheism is most gods were based on things that were important to people and their daily lives. Aside from Zeus as the leader of the gods and mankind most gods are alcohol, plant fertility, wisdom, crafting, or traveling. Some might pick up stories that explain their personality or are just interesting to tell (maybe related to previous gods and traditions). Dionysus has a lot of stories which could explain how his cult spiraled out into a madness orgy while other gods would just have a modest feast day wine included. His SMT design is pretty wild, I like it or he could use an early game Bacchus (roman version) that is slim and drunk with support spells while Dionysus is the later game better stats and stronger attacks that also cause confusion and rage status on crowds.

[@Nic123400]

I'm thinking of an Inari tattoo, glad you talked about them here

[@Tony4You]

Inari for life, quickly became one of my favorite Japanese Kami

[@y3llowdog]

Hope we get Ninkasi, Mesopotamian of godess of beer and brewing, in a future game.

[@kaygirl10101]

Inari is also a genderfluid/nonbinary God, sometimes being depicted as an older man or as a ambiguous figure with male and female traits.

[@maguirenowlan4086]

Very good work! Do you think we could someday get a video on Ishtar and Astarte/Astaroth?

[@BProof]

Everytime Tony says the word "god"...take a drink.

[@keziahavila4827]

You forgot/didn't have enough time for two other alcohol gods in SMT, Mayahuel(Nahua/Aztec) and Mada but as always great video tony

[@honestjoe9417]

Of the ones in the video, Inari is my favorite. Though I do love dionysus wife story

[@haraldkagejin519]

Glad to be here again 😁

[@Tony4You]

Good to see you around again!

[@firebeam24]

Doesn't Mada counts as a god of intoxication?

[@veryexciteddog963]

bro defeated the minotaur... just like Majin Tensei

[@Ushinata-42]

Another banger

[@Tony4You]

Thank you legend

[@Ushinata-42]

@@Tony4You all you bro

[@GummyBearRoman]

The save room theme from resident evil 2

[@Tony4You]

The music is expanding!

[@inarii_Othy]

Im honestly surprised you didnt mention anything about ukano mitama on inari because they're usually equated to each other. The dude even has an actual design lol

[@SheepyFields]

Holy shit library of Ruina ost spotted

[@Tony4You]

Shoutout to the project moon enjoyers

[@madambutterfly1997]

Did you say a sweet backstory? Dionysus turns men into dolphins and drives them mad

[@BoostedMonkey05]

Sparagmos or the act of tearing a bull or on occasion human limb from limb may be a leftover from Orphism which Dionysus was an important figure in. In the origin of Orphic Dionysus is that he is the son of Zeus and Persephone (really man?!) After he was born, Hera decided to ask the Titans to tear the kid limb from limb leaving only his heart. Zeus then sews the heart to his calf and 9 months later, a reborn dionysus. He is heavily associated with death and rebirth.

[@TheCatkingproduction]

Inari might have some funky thoughts about mortal kombat

[@Tony4You]

I always have a hard time playing Fighting games with too realistic women. MK is just too much for me now lol

[@mariomanzueta9781]

Happy thanksgiving everyone 😊

[@Tony4You]

Canadians have ours earlier, but a very happy thanksgiving to all the American viewers!

[@allengordon6929]

My old high school teacher believed that alcohol was the reason why human civilization developed, specifically out of accidental fermentation.

[@Remix32-dz1tb]

Literally me

[@susanoo8468]

I’ll be worshipping them faithfully tonight

[@Tony4You]

Drink responsibly!

[@RuberRubyy]

what is the song being played after the intro?

[@justanotherguywithamoustac8893]

It's the lobby theme for Library of Ruina

[@chrisalford9626]

for the algorithm!!!!

[@Tony4You]

Thank you king!

[@jcnot9712]

After seeing Dionysus’ design in Hades, every other looks inferior by comparison specially whatever LSD mess Atlus think they cooked up here lol

[@SpellSpammer64]

You have no taste

[@TheKHC]

Omw to alcohalla by consuming 16 cans of pure vodka and getting into a Ford Fiesta

[@Tony4You]

ALCOHOLLA WARRIORS ASSEMBLE

[@n00bc0de7]

I think we should include Jesus on this list. One of his first miracle was turning water to wine and during the last supper he literally compares his blood to alcohol.

[@cyfrostan]

I don't think it's fair to refer to Hindu beliefs in the past tense or as a mythology, since it's an alive religion practiced in the present day. In any case it's always nice to learn a bit more about these ancient lore.

[@SanctusBodhisattvaRex]

Partay!

[@ajflink]

Inari. Also, because foxes are my favorite animal.

[@jabbadahut8588]

Tony4Loco

[@Tony4You]

I actually like this joke a lot lol

[@Daniel_Coffman]

My favorite of these deities is also Inari, though I personally had never even wanted to taste a drop of alcohol. Inari's ambiguous in general, really. They had been said to appear in dreams as a young woman, an old man, a dragon, or even a flaming magatama bead. That ambiguity of what they are and the fact that they are a deity of harvest alongside the connection to foxes including Youko; the supernatural fox that English people call "kitsune" when "kitsune" actually is simply the Japanese word for any fox, supernatural or no; makes me think that they could even be a shinobi, as shinobi were masters of disguise, many of their tools were actually just reworked farming tools, and shapeshifting, illusions, fire, and likely lightning, as Youko were said to use, would be especially useful powers for shinobi. I never knew that they protected women from abusive men, though, but as someone whose mother was unfortunately in that situation, herself, and thus very much has a hatred for any imbecile who would dare harm those whom they should love, this knowledge just makes them even better for me.

[@zilikslider]

Hey look my dad's demon allies

[@Circ00mspice]

One month hefore everyone gets bloody wasted

[@Iratevillian]

If I was a persona character my persona would be Dionysus

[@madambutterfly1997]

You could argue Semelle and Metus were the only women Zeus genuinely loved

[@evilevilcritter]

no Mada?🥺

[@Tony4You]

Was on the list, but there was so little information on him it would have been a nothing segment. Wanted to stick to "good" gods either way

[@Alex_Barbosa]

Why stir with a rope though?

[@franksturino9129]

Surprised there are gods of wine that aren't just men. Ladies like to drink too

[@justanotherguywithamoustac8893]

Library of Ruina music detected!

[@Tony4You]

A great tune from a great game!

[@heiss9971]

I'm surprised there isn't an Irish one.

[@godonomas]

So, inari must have respect women juice too!

[@MokyCho]

Oh cool AI art used. Didn’t think I’d ever be unsubscribing or at least not so soon but oh well… :/

[@madambutterfly1997]

I thought Inari was non-binary. Or was it hermaphrodite?