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Archaeologists have discovered a large three-part frieze in Pompeii, depicting women venerating the god of wine. It spans three walls of a banquet hall. The researchers explained that the artwork offers new insights into the religious practices of the ancient city, which was destroyed in 79 AD by the eruption of Vesuvius. They date the frescoes with wine motifs to the period between 40 BC and 30 BC.
A procession of Bacchae, female followers of the Greek wine god Dionysus, is depicted marching with a slaughtered goat. The Bacchae are portrayed as dancers and hunters. In the background, satyrs play the flute and drink wine, while Silenus, the mentor of Dionysus, also appears in the image. An elegantly dressed woman awaits her initiation into the ritual. At the top of the frieze, a sacrifice is visible. The archaeologists suspect that this juxtaposition emphasizes the duality of Dionysian worship, where wild excess and wine enjoyment are intertwined with archaic sacrificial cults.
Dionysus was regarded as the god of wine, fertility, festivities, madness, religious ecstasy, and theater. The Romans called him Bacchus. Dionysus was said to have induced his followers into a state of ecstasy through wine, music, and ecstatic dance. The resulting excess is referred to as Bacchae or Bacchanal. To join the cult of Dionysus, initiates had to undergo secret rituals.
The frieze references the ancient Greek drama "The Bacchae" by Euripides, which was first performed in 405 BC. In it, Dionysus descends to Thebes to take revenge for his slander, causing the women of the city to be driven to madness. As early as 1909, archaeologists discovered frescoes in the so-called Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii, depicting Dionysus and his bride Ariadne, flanked by Bacchae, fauns, and winged beings.
(al / Source: decanter)