For Students
The Dionysiac reliefs are numerous. They show symbols of the religion, such as the shepherd’s staff, the winnow (an ancient device for separating chaff from grain), and the phallus; they depict the gay life of satyrs and maenads, shepherds and shepherdesses; and they represent the “golden age” of the gods with tame and wild animals enjoying a peace that the god had instituted. A great silver dish dating from about the 4th century ad and found at Mildenhall, England, shows the swift and elegant dance of the maenads. Dionysiac sarcophagi represented Bacchic revels and the pastime of the Erotes and ...(100 of 9815 words)