A Christianized Roman mosaic of the 3rd - 4th century CE

The central panel of this extraordinary mosaic depicts a scene from Classical mythology, the moment when Dionysos, the Greek god of wine, first sees his future wife, the Cretan princess Ariadne. It seems to have been a popular subject for floor mosaics in Syria during the third and fourth centuries C.E. One of the most compelling aspects of this mosaic is its apparent transformation from a purely pagan image to one with Christian overtones. At some point in the mosaic's later history, a bloody wound that recalls the right ribcage injury sustained by Christ at the hands of the Roman soldiers who crucified him was added to Dionysos's left side. Apparently at the same time the red wound was added to Dionysos's side, a flat, vessel-like object was placed in his right hand. The identification of the object is uncertain, but it may represent either a shallow bowl for wine, previously the province of Dionysos but which in Christian iconography represented the blood of Christ, or a dish on which was served the bread that symbolized his body, both of which were consumed by Christ's followers in communion with their god. - Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan

Image: Roman Mosaic Depicting Dionysos' Discovery of Ariadne on Naxos, 3rd-4th century  C.E., courtesy of the Miho Museum in Kyoto, Japan.

 

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The cornucopia in Greco-Roman mythology

Bronze repoussé relief  from a hydria (water jar), fragments of which were found with the relief 325-300 BCE from Chalke, near Rhodes. Dionysos holds a cornucopia as an offering to Ariadne of prosperity and abundance while Ariadne signals her acceptance by holding back her veil. Photographed at the British Museum.

Mythology offers multiple explanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Cronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her horns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.

In another myth, the cornucopia was created when Heracles (Roman Hercules) wrestled with the river god Achelous and ripped off one of his horns (river gods were sometimes depicted as horned).

The cornucopia became the attribute of several Greek and Roman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia or Terra), the child Plutus, god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter, the nymph Maia, and Fortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. In Roman Imperial cult, abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia, "Abundance" personified, and Annona, goddess of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Even Hades, the classical ruler of the underworld in the mystery religions, was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia.

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The cult of Dionysus: Wine, uninhibited freedom, and subversion of the powerful

Image: Marble statuette of Dionysus early 3rd century BCE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York courtesy of the museum.

This fully clad figure of Dionysus is in stark contrast to the many depictions of the god in various states of undress during raucous celebratory processions depicted in Roman art.

The god wears Thracian boots, a short chiton, a belted panther skin, and a goatskin worn like a cape, with the forelegs of the goat wrapped around his arms. He can perhaps be identified as Dionysus Melanaigis (of the Black Goatskin), whose cult was introduced into Attica from Boeotia. Pausanias (II.35.1), second century CE author of a guide to Greece, mentions a temple to Dionysus Melanaigis in Methana on the Saronic Gulf and states that a music competition was held there in the god's honor every year and that prizes were awarded for swimming races and boat races. - The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Thracian boots represent the belief that Dionysus was born in Thrace, traveled abroad, and arrived in Greece as a foreigner. However, evidence from the Mycenaean period of Greek history show that he is one of Greece's oldest attested gods. The earliest written records of Dionysus worship were found in and around the Palace of Nestor in Pylos, dated to around 1300 BCE. The details of any religion surrounding Dionysus in this period are scant, and most evidence comes in the form only of his name, written as di-wo-nu-su-jo ("Dionysoio") in Linear B, preserved on fragments of clay tablets that indicate a connection to offerings or payments of wine, which was described as being "of Dionysoio". By the seventh century BCE, iconography found on pottery shows that Dionysus was already worshiped as more than just a god associated with wine. He was associated with weddings, death, sacrifice, and sexuality, and his retinue of satyrs and dancers was already established.

The mystery cult of Bacchus was brought to Rome from the Greek culture of southern Italy or by way of Greek-influenced Etruria. It was established around 200 BCE in the Aventine grove of Stimula by a priestess from Campania, near the temple where Liber Pater ("the Free Father") had a State-sanctioned, popular cult. Liber was a native Roman god of wine, fertility, and prophecy, patron of Rome's plebeians (commoners), and one of the members of the Aventine Triad, along with his mother Ceres and sister or consort Libera. A temple to the Triad was erected on the Aventine Hill in 493 BCE, along with the institution of celebrating the festival of Liberalia. Liber protected various aspects of agriculture and fertility, including the vine and the "soft seed" of its grapes, wine and wine vessels, and male fertility and virility. Pliny called Liber "the first to establish the practice of buying and selling. Liber also invented the diadem, the emblem of royalty, and the triumphal procession."

Before the importation of the Greek cults, Liber was already strongly associated with Bacchic symbols and values, including wine and uninhibited freedom, as well as the subversion of the powerful. This association may have stemmed from the Mycenaean god Eleutheros, who shared the lineage and iconography of Dionysus but whose name has the same meaning as Liber.

Image: Marble statuette of Dionysus early 3rd century BCE at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York courtesy of the museum.

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Dionysus with an eastern "twist"

Another Kushan piece illustrating an eastern take on the god Dionysus at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
This mature bearded man has grape leaves in his hair, suggesting that he is Dionysus. The furrowed brow, indications of age, and piercing gaze reflect a taste for naturalism, possibly the result of Hellenistic influence following the conquest of Alexander the Great. The head was buried, and over the centuries a hard crust developed on the surface.

Image: Kushan head of Dionysus, 4th-5th centuries CE, from ancient Gandhara at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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