Hello! I'm defining details for a story I'm writing. It's a serious job so I'm reading up on my own from reputable sources... however, I can't find an answer to this question, so I thought I'd come here.
The reason I can't find answers it's probably because it's not a specific notion, but more of a clarification about an idea that is forming in my head.
Let's get to it.
Many sources acknowledge the commonalities between Dionysos and Hades (not like they're the same god, of course). I won't go into it: people who can answer me already know about this.
Now I'm sliding into Roman times and I noticed that the Saturnalia have so many themes that one could attribute to Bacchus/Dionysus... I know that Saturn is a mythological transliteration of Kronos more than anything else, but the Saturnalia not only had a theme of rebirth, sacrifice and wine, but they also had a component of role reversal that I would immediately ascribe do Dionysus more than anyone else.
I guess my question is: does the figure of Saturn in Roman mythology have any common origins, crossbreeding or any other kind of contamination with Dionysus? Do the Saturnalia and Brumalia or Bacchanalia have a common origin, after which they split up to become different celebrations?
Thank you so much in advance, I know the question is a little convoluted and fantastical.
EDIT: sorry, I was typing on pc and I didn't notice the flair was wrong...
Hi there - we're happy to approve your question related to your creative project, and we are happy for people to answer. However, we should warn you that many flairs have become reluctant to answer questions for aspiring novelists and the like, based on past experience: some people working on creative projects have a tendency to try to pump historians for trivia while ignoring the bigger points they were making, while others have a tendency to argue with historians when the historical reality does not line up with what's needed for a particular scene or characterization. Please respect the answers of people who have generously given you their time, even if it's not always what you want to hear.
Additionally, as amazing as our flair panel is, we should also point out that /r/AskHistorians is not a professional historical consultation service. If you're asking a question here because you need vital research for a future commercial product such as a historical novel, you may be better off engaging a historical consultant at a fair hourly rate to answer these questions for you. We don't know what the going rate for consultancy work would be in your locality, but it may be worth looking into that if you have in-depth or highly plot-reliant questions for this project. Some /r/AskHistorians flairs could be receptive to working as a consultant in this way. However, if you wish for a flair here to do this work for you, you will need to organize this with them yourselves.