AssetID: 54593780
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: 'Wild Women' Depicted In Dionysian Cult Fresco Discovered In Pompeii
Caption: A newly discovered fresco in Pompeii is shedding fresh light on the mysterious Dionysiac cults of the ancient world - and how they depicted “wild” women who broke free of the male order. More than a century after the famous Villa of the Mysteries was unearthed, archaeologists have revealed a strikingly detailed frieze depicting the procession of Dionysus, the god of wine. The vivid artwork portrays bacchantes, or maenads, as both dancers and fierce hunters. Some carry slaughtered kid goats or wield swords while holding the innards of animals. Young satyrs, with their distinctive pointed ears, are shown playing the double flute. At the centre of the frieze stands a mortal woman accompanied by an aged Silenus holding a torch, suggesting her initiation into the Dionysiac mysteries a cult promising rebirth and the possibility of an afterlife. Explaining its significance, Gabriel Zuchtriegel said the bacchante or maenad “expressed the wild, untameable side of women” who “break free from male order to dance freely” and take on traditional male pursuits like hunting. Intriguingly, all the figures appear to stand on pedestals like statues, yet their expressive movements and finely rendered details bring them vividly to life. The Italian Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, hailed the find as "historic" and emphasised the significance of ongoing excavations.
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