egyptian art

Dionysos was the most widely worshipped and popular god in ancient Greece.

In Greek mythology Dionysos had two sides. On one side he was the god of nature, vegetation, abundance, and growth. On the other he was the god of wine and ecstatic drunkenness. Dionysos was also known as a lawgiver and a god of emotionally intense tragic art. Dionysos wore a grape or ivy wreathe, and in most cases he is seen holding the Kantheros, a two-handled wine cup, and the Thyrsus, his wand.1 The Thyrsus has a pine- cone on top of it, which represents Dionysos’s naturalistic and wild side. A leopard also accompanies him in most Greek mythology, and also represents the wild and dangerous side of Dionysos. Dionysos is wild and scraggly at first, with long hair and a beard; later he became young and clean-shaven .In later Roman myth and art Dionysos is again bearded, but now is an older figure, calm and collected. Also he has no kantheros, no thrysus, and no leopard by his side. Although Roman art presents Dionysos this calm way, Roman Mythology does not describe him as th!

The reason this discrepancy between Roman and Greek myths is accepted is because the worship of Roman Gods was much different than that of ancient Greece

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He is a very emotional and chaotic god, like nature, and is usually shown wildly dancing or sprawled out naked instead of standing at attention with clothing that covers himself. The detail of the figure and the clothing gives off a sense of electricity. Without looking at the title of this statuette many would not know that this is Dionysos. This sculpture has lots of detail and is in proportion. There is no way to tell that this is a god of wine, ecstasy or delirium, fruitfulness and vegetation. 2

This statuette of Dionysos is a perfect example of how the Romans’ interpretation of Dionysos was different from Ancient Greece’s. There is no color to this statuette. Dionysos is portrayed here wearing an oversized robe, which falls very naturally. Dionysos in Greek art has mystery, wonder, sexuality, and intense emotion, which this Roman replica does not. Even though it is a perfect example of how the Romans interpreted the Greek gods, I think this Roman interpretation of Dionysos is horrible. Every fold in his robe can be seen and the piece is in no way flat. It has a fuzzy and somewhat rigid texture, but looks very naturalistic and human like. He has longer wavy hair, and a very full beard. There is a circular piece of headwear, which lies on top of his hair.

Approximate Word count = 836
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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