Polymnia. Studi di Archeologia n.09

The African provinces, maybe more than other regions of the Empire, are known to have delivered pavements characterized by a Dionysiac theme (Dionysos, satyrs, bacchantes, other members of his thiasos, Dionysiac emblems such ad vines, masks, etc.). The meaning to be related to those mosaics is very debated, in particular whether to consider them as reliable sources or not to define the traits of the African Dionysism. To resolve the issue, it is necessary to study the mosaics in their own context. This contribution intends to analyse, as an example, the oecus mosaic from the ‘House of Silenus’ at El Jem-Thysdrus, aiming to clarify if it could be intended in a symbolic interpretation (i.e. the scene allude to certain aspects of the Dionysiac mysteries) as it is traditionally proposed.

According to the bibliography in the territory of Salona (Roman province of Dalmatia), two fragmentary statues of Mater Magna with an object similar to cista mystica were found. This is an ‘atypical’ attribute, at least regarding to the depictions of the goddess in sculpture. More frequently, it appears in the images related to the ministers of the cult, the priests of the Phrygian and Roman tradition. The contribution examines the significance of cista mystica within the cult of Mater Magna and Attis as well as the question of identification and significance of this attribute in statues from Salona.

Con l’ausilio delle testimonianze epigrafiche e letterarie, il contributo affronta il tema delle cariche sacerdotali e delle figure addette alla gestione dei culti attive nelle città latine, offrendo un quadro di sintesi dei principali istituti religiosi latini e della loro evoluzione storica. La valutazione delle consuetudini religiose investe i parametri, anche cronologici, del rapporto/confronto con il sistema romano e dell’integrazione nell’ordinamento istituzionale cittadino dei modelli romani. La riflessione su alcune funzioni sacerdotali e sulla natura degli istituti sacrali tenta di restituire i tratti del profilo istituzionale e religioso del mondo latino, che manifesta al contempo concordanze e divergenze rispetto allo schema romano, lasciando intravedere gli elementi di una realtà cultuale stratificata su molteplici esperienze che si dipanano sul medio e lungo periodo storico.

In einem ihrer letzten Artikel analysiert Patricia Meilán Jácome zwei Ikonographien, in denen Dionysos/Bacchus in Verbindung mit Tigern, Löwen und Panthern dargestellt wird. Die Forscherin analysiert eine Gruppe von Darstellungen, zwischen der Zeit Augustus und dem späten Altertum, in denen Dionysos/Bacchus auf einem von Wildkatzen gezogenem Wagen steht oder er diese selber reitet. In der Römischen Kultur drücken beide Darstellungen einerseits die starke Verbindung von Dionysos zum fernen Osten, andererseits die Bindung des Gottes zur weiblichen Figur aus, welche als Wildkatzen dargestellt werden. Das Ziel dieses Beitrages ist, die Beziehung zwischen Dionysos und den Wildkatzen zu erweitern und zu vertiefen, um das kulturelle und politische Gewicht dieser Darstellungen von der archaischen Epoche bis zur Spätantike zu bewerten um die Entwicklung dieser Beziehung in der Römischen Zeit besser zu behandeln.