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Unknown Maker, Roman

Dionysus

Maker

Unknown Maker, Roman

Culture

Roman

Title

Dionysus

Period

Imperial Roman period

Year

ca. 20-50 CE

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

parian marble

Geography

Archaeological Site: Rome; Archaeological Site: Tiber River

Dimensions

69.9 x 37.5 x 27.9 cm (27 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 11 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum Appropriation Fund

Object Number

20.039

Type

Publications

Exhibition History

Being and Believing in the Natural World
Perspectives from the Ancient Mediterranean, Asia, and Indigenous North America
Oct 22, 2022 – Jun 04, 2023

Label copy

Worshipped by ancient Greeks and Romans, Dionysus (Bacchus to the Romans) was intimately connected with nature. The cultivator and protector of grapevines and trees, he was the god of wine and the giver of joy, and thus linked to merriment and feasting. He could also bring grief and sorrow, perhaps caused by too much wine. Dionysus was the god of theater, and invoked in performances and celebrations. He was also a god of the under- world. Depicted in various ways to reflect his multiple roles, he was often sculpted as a youthful male with long flowing hair and a slight build, as  in this fragment.

-GB

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Unknown Maker, Roman
Dionysus, ca. 20-50 CE
Marble
69.9 x 37.5 x 27.9 cm (27 1/2 x 14 3/4 x 11 inches)
Museum Appropriation Fund 20.039

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