More Party God

#dionysios #dionysus #greekpainting #greekceramics

Another Party god image

While part of the image has been destroyed he appears from the elaborate pleating to be wearing a womens dress possibly one discarded by a maenad since he also has a leopard skin draped over one arm though it could just be a large wild cat ?

Is this a scene from the Bacchae being illustrated or proof that the idea Dionysios sometimes cross dressed was common ?

Dionysus a Fresco fragment

This  #fresco fragment shows how the idea of a bearded adult #Dionysus persisted into the Roman era.

Scroll back for previous posts in this series !

The Older Dionysus

#classicalgreekart #dionysus

As I stated in a prior post originally Dionysus was depicted as an older mature male with festival robes. The naked or half naked beardless youth appears to have been a Hellenistic and Roman development possibly inspired by Euripides Bacchai?

Here's another example

Note the robes are draped in a feminine style and the leopard skin cloak !

Dionysus and Maenads

#greekceramics #classicalart #dionysus

Many people may have seen Renaiassance and Roman era art showing Dionysus as a beardless naked or semiclothed party boy however originally the Greeks depicted him as an elegant aristocrat wearing his best festival robes!

Thee's more to come in this series !

The Dionysus Cup

#dionysus #cup #ClassicalGreekArt

NEW THEME #Dionysus

The Dionysus Cup is one of the most famous #Greekceramics

It shows part of the story of Dionysus and the pirates with the transformed pirates swimming around the ship and grape vines growing up and over the mast as Dionysus asserts his divine powers.

Note that this is Dionysus before it became fashionable to show him as a beardless effeminate youth.

This Dionysus us a partying Aristocrat with an embroidered robe and styled hair reclining at leisure!

Join me for more works featuring Dionysus next week!