A Study of a Dionysiac Sarcophagus
In the Los Angeles County Art Museum
A man dies. He winds his way down into the underworld to reach the banks of the river Acheron where he meets the ferryman Charon. He takes a coin from his mouth to pay the toll across. On the opposite bank he is greeted by a Maenad or perhaps Bacchus himself who offers him a kylix of wine. Drinking deep, the man is transformed and resurrected from death to a higher plane. Instead of living a miserable dream in the underworld he receives redemption from his god Dionysos, the Savior. In Roman imperial times there was a great resurgence of the "Mystery" cults of Greece fueled by the hope of a life after death. In funerary monuments there can be seen the tenets of the religion as well as how it views the afterlife. Within the Los Angeles County Art Museum stands such a vessel created to facilitate this journey to eternal bliss.
A gift from William Randolph Hearst, the piece is a sarcophagus from the Severan period of the Roman empire near the end of the second century detailing a procession of Dionysos, the god of wine, and his followers. Such a procession could be from Dionysos's messianic journeys or from his triumphal return from spreading the wine cult. Originally in the mausoleum of a wealthy family in Rome, the sarcophagus was in later times used as a planter for a flower bed(Matz, 3). This "misuse" of the piece explains the deterioration of the marble which necessitated extensive restoration in the 17th century(4). It is tub shaped with dimensions of 2.1 meters long and 1 meter wide, standing 0.6 meters from the ground. The shape is similar to tubs used for trampling grapes which had spouts ornamented with lions' heads to vent the wine(3). Being shaped like a wine vat makes the sarcopagi a transformative force in its own right by symbolically turning the person interned within into wine ! bringing him closer to the god. Unlike other sarcophagi of the period the back of this piece has not been left unhewn, but instead a strigal pattern of repeating "S" shapes has been carved, suggesting that the piece may have stood in the center of the mausoleum.
Unlike other more famous and elaborate Dionysiac sarcophagi, such as the Seasons sarcophagi and the Triumph of Dionysos in Baltimore which portray specific pivotal events in the mythos of Dionysos, this piece gives us instead a somewhat generic slice of Bacchic life(Matz, 5).
Surely, it was easily recognizable during the Early Zhou dynasty that it was a ritual wine vessel and for the wealthy to use for their offerings. But today, at first glance, it may look intimidating with its sharp points from top to bottom. The vessel has a unique shape and green patina color that catches the eye whether looking disgusting or elegant. It is also not very inviting with its rough looking texture, long spout, and awkward handle. Right where the rim of the cup starts and the spout ends are a pair of capped posts rising from the rim. Opposite from the spout is a sharp leaf-shaped rim, which could be easily mistaken as the spout, since wine could be poured out from that end too, technically. The design was modeled after a bird in flight. However, with a closer look, the detailed work on the vessel shows. This one has a somewhat thin braided or grid-like design imprinted around the whole cup, which makes it unique from other bronze vessels. Most Shang bronze vessels have a dominant motif of a frontal monster or animal-like mask known as a taotie. It typically had horns, eyes, nose, upper jaw, fangs, horns, eyebrows, and ears; therefore, sometimes could be known as opposed animal profiles or split representation as well (Cantor). Some versions include legs and a tail. With the closer look, the strong structure is more apparent as well. It is a unique one resembling a camera's tripod, though pointier and could actually be real sharp. Developed from the gu which was a goblet used for a single drinker, this jue was considered a small ewer on legs. It was a wine cup that only ancestor spirits could "hold and touch", not to mention its large size. This specific Ritual Wine Vessel measures a little over eight inches in height and a little over six inches in width due to
...t is also important to notice that every character seems to have wide eyes and dark circles drawn under their eyes. This is perhaps one of the most important aspects because the eyes show the underlying theme of complete inebriation. This in turn, proves the impact that Dionysus had on his followers as well as those who he conquered. Wine brought great power to its creator, and made a lasting impact on history. With these devices of communication, we are able to see that the follower wanted to capture Dionysus’s legacy by creating a sarcophagus of remembrance in his honor.
The Roman Pool at Hearst castle is a tiled indoor pool decorated with eight statues of Roman gods, goddesses and heroes. The pool appears to be styled after an ancient Roman bath such as the Baths of Caracalla in Rome c. 211-17 CE. The mosaic tiled patterns were inspired by mosaics found in the 5 C. Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy (Kastner, p. I-261.) They are also representative of traditional marine monster themes that can be found in ancient Roman baths (Strong, p. 124.) The statues are rough copies of ancient Greek and Roman statues. One such copy represents the "Apoxyomenos." Statuary was used on a considerable scale in the Baths of Caracalla (Strong, p. 124.)
The statue depicts an elderly woman sitting with a jug of wine between her knees, the neck of which...
Theory of mind is a child’s ability to understand mental states of not only of themselves but also of others, generally preschoolers take time to develop this but once they do they are able to conduct a variety of functions and see outside of their own perspectives. In the study, conducted by Slaughter, Peterson, and Moore they looked at the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and persuasive abilities of young children, ages 3 to 8. Researchers hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between the relationship between theory of mind and persuasive abilities and conducted what they called the peer persuasion task to determine children’s ability to persuade a peer like puppet named Matty into getting him to eat a raw piece of broccoli and brush his teeth (Slaughter, Peterson, & Moore, 2013).
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Aeneis's first contact with a soul in the purgatory of the Underworld is Palinurus, who died after falling from one of Aeneis's ships. Aeneis is at the mouth of the river that flows through hell with his guide the goddess Diephobe and Charon the ferryman. Palinurus is waiting to be ferried to his place in the Underworld, so he can begin his thousand-year purge. He pleads with Aeneis's party to take him along, but Deiphobe scolds him: "Shalt thou, unburied, see the Stygian flood, / The Furies stream, or reach the bank unbid?" (107). In Vergil's Underworld one must have had a proper burial to gain a position. This serves as a warning to Romans to give their deceased a proper funeral, less they remain in hell longer.
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