John Allegro Dionysus

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

From An Old To Ours: Dead Sea Scrolls come to Kansas City for three months: INSIDE: Your guide to
the exhibit at Union Station; The Kansas City Star; Sunday, February 4, 2007; p. 8; Discovery
Timeline:
Also at:
http://www.kansascity.com/multimedia/kansascity/archive/fyi/faith/Dead_Sea_Scrolls/DSS_P7.pdf, or http://
www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/religion/16582894.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp
http://www.salemiu.edu/resources/psilo/index.htm, Entheogens and the Origins of Religion, MIDDLE
EAST:
Allegro was a brilliant linguist and the sole humanist scholar who was assigned to the translation of the Dead Sea Scrolls,
which were discovered in the caves near the ruins known as Khirbet Qumran. He fell out of favor with the elder
conservative translation team when he disagreed with their methods of secrecy. Allegro wrote several books on the
implications of the scrolls. One of the books is titled The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Christian Myth, which argues that the
early church portrayed ancient myths as historic facts, and information damaging to the church has been intentionally
suppressed throughout history. Allegro points out that many times in the bible the word for substance is used when
discussing rituals. Also the words flesh is used many times, the taking of flesh, the eating of Gods flesh, so much so that
early Christians were accused by the Gnostics of being cannibals. Many passages have to do with anointing their bodies
during ritual with sacred mixtures, and list some of the specific ingredients including heavy spices and perfumes. These
rituals, which he argues include collecting semen and menstrual blood as part of the anointing, was called Agape, or the
Love Feast, possibly a very old Pagan festival.
Another Allegro book, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, explores the idea that early Christianity began with a
psychedelic mushroom and sex cult.
http://www.meta-religion.com/New_religious_groups/Groups/Christian/sacred_mushroom.htm, Sacred
Mushroom of the Cross:
Book and also a church by the late Dead Sea Scroll scholar, Dr. Allegro.
Allegro was a brilliant student of Semitic languages at Manchester University and went on to study Hebrew
dialects at Oxford University.
In 1953, he was named to an international team formed to decipher the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were
discovered in caves at Qumran on the shores of the Dead Sea six years earlier. The scrolls, which spanned
from about 100 B.C. to 70 A.D., included the oldest known manuscripts of books from the Old Testament.
Allegro's gift for deciphering minute texts was crucial. His book, "The Dead Sea Scrolls," was published in
1956 and became a bestseller.
Before being removed from the secretive team, he had access to a limited number of scrolls. He used this
source in The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross, which maintains that Christianity has its origins and nature in
fertility cults of the Ancient near east centred on a sacred Mushroom.
Allegro's subsequent notoriety caused derision in the scientific community but developed a cult following in the
early 1970s. Allegro, in his 1970 book "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross," contended that Judaism and
Christianity were in fact products of an ancient sex-and-mushroom cult.
"If rain in the desert," he writes, "was the source of life, then moisture from heaven must only be a more
abundant kind of spermatozoa. If the male organ ejaculated this precious fluid and made life in the woman,
then above the skies the source of nature's semen must be a mighty penis, as the earth that bore its offspring
was the womb. It followed therefore that to induce the heavenly phallus(penis) man must stimulate it by sexual
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means, by singing, dancing, orgiastic displays, and above all by performing the copulatory act itself." Thus at
the heart of all religions lies the phallic cult, and neither Judaism nor its offshoot, Christianity, was exceptional.
Another source:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=10716 (The New York Review of Books),

Worshipping the Red Mushroom, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross by John M. Allegro:
this is what Dr. Allegro is stating in a remarkable study of the origins and nature of Christianity. 'If
rain in the desert,' he writes, 'was the source of life, then moisture from heaven must only be a more
abundant kind of spermatozoa. If the male organ ejaculated this precious fluid and made life in the
woman, then above the skies the source of nature's semen must be a mighty penis, as the earth that
bore its offspring was the womb. It followed therefore that to induce the heavenly phallus man must
stimulate it by sexual means, by singing, dancing, orgiastic displays, and above all by performing the
copulatory act itself.' Thus at the heart of all religions lies the phallic cult, and neither Judaism nor its
offshoot, Christianity, was exceptional.
http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/novdec/lsjournal/jesus.html (Stanford Magazine), In
Search of the Real Jesus:
The fungus, Allen explains, was supposedly central to Near Eastern drug and fertility cults,
including Judaism and Christianity, which involved ritualistic copulation and the shedding of
menstrual blood in the fields to ensure an abundant harvest. Allen dismisses Allegro as outrageous.
http://www.skepticfiles.org/cultinfo/allegro.htm, Dr. John Allegro, renowned for his work in:
Allegro's
subsequent
notoriety
caused derision in the
scientific community but developed a cult following in the early
1970s.
Allegro, in his 1970 book "The Sacred Mushroom and the
Cross," contended that Judaism and Christianity were in fact
products of an ancient sex-and-mushroom cult.
http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Sea-Scrolls-Christian-Myth/dp/0879757574, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
Christian Myth (Paperback) by John Marco Allegro:
He explains in depth just how the name 'Christian' (Christ) is derived from chrism (semen
anointing), and the correlation of the Sun and the Morning-star and their correlation to morning
'dew', and rain as being the Sky Gods' semen, which impregnated the mother earth--from which
the most powerful drug plants had the most of God's seed.
http://www.iamshaman.com/amanita/jesus.htm, The Amanita Shop, Amanita muscaria and Cannabis
Sativa - Keys to Christianity?:
'The role of Messiah or "Anointed One" - literally, "one smeared with semen" '
Jesus as a symbol of the mushroom
Jesus is portrayed as the Son of God, sent to fulfil the role of Messiah or 'Anointed One' - literally, 'one smeared with semen'.
http://www.johnallegro.org/Allegro-SundayMirror.htm, The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross, Beginning

The Most Challenging Book For Years, by John Allegro:
Once man had worked out his theory about the divine rain, he thought he could help to stimulate rain
in much the same way as he did orgasms on earth; by singing, dancing, orgiastic displays and, above
all, by performing the sex actparticularly in the fields, where the sacred semen was most needed.
It was then a natural step to want to share the secrets of how to control the power and knowledge of
the heavenly phallus (representation of the penis).

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909327,00.html (Time in Partnership with CNN),
Jesus as Mushroom:
Allegro's method is to delve behind the surface meaning and context of biblical words, conjuring
instead with their frequently erotic root meaning ("Christian," he says, is a derivation from the
Sumerian meaning "smeared with semen"). These half-forgotten roots, Allegro maintains, link the
characters and stories of the Bible to the orgiastic, often outlawed mushroom cults of the Near East.
http://www.joerogan.net/main.php?archives=1&article=52927, Santa Claus was a mushroom:
He even traces the word Christ back to an ancient Sumerian word that meant A mushroom
covered in gods semen.
http://www.cures-not-wars.org/dana1.html (Cures not Wars), The Lost Gnostic Sacrament of the Early
Christians...:
JESUS AS A SYMBOL OF THE MUSHROOM

Jesus is portrayed as the 'Son of God,' sent to fulfill the role of 'Messiah' or 'Anointed One' -- literally,
'one smeared with semen.' As a mushroom the Amanita muscaria does not disseminate seeds as plants
do, but ejaculates microscopic spores which create a threadlike fungal network at the base of conifer
trees from which thunderstorms elicit more mushrooms. Prior to knowledge of spores lightning was
thought to be the source of mushrooms and lightning was considered the firey progenitive spears of
God, hence the phallic fungi were called 'Sons of God.'
The mushroom's spore ejaculate leaves an oily film on the blood-red cap spotted with white thorns,
hence the term 'Messiah' ('Anointed One') and allusions to thistle-entwined, bloody-browed
sacrifices, such as the miraculous 'Ram' of Abraham (Genesis 22:13) and Jesus the thorn-crowned
'Lamb of God.'
Mushrooms were also seen as 'winged' creatures, or crowned by a cloudy cap or 'halo,' each carrying
a 'message' from God, the very definition of an 'Angel.' Some mushrooms were 'good' or nutritious,
some were 'evil' or poisonous, but Amanita muscaria was considered 'blessed' and capable of
bestowing health, strength, inspiration and the power of prognostication.
http://sexinreligion.usgab.com/, Sex in Religion, The Epistlemology of Sperm:
For over 7,000 years, semen has been regarded by this planet's greatest civilizations as an Erotic and
Sacramental Elixir Vitae or 'Elixir of Life' and the liquid embodiment and Life Force of Nature [liquor vitae]. As
such, the adoring devotees of these societies reveled in many sexual rites and festivals where semen drinking
was enthusiastically engaged in. Sexual expression was considered by ancient phallic-worshipping religions as an
erotic and spiritual sacrament where semen represented the sacramental wine at such rites. Remarkably, there
exists intriguing evidence that the Christian Eucharist [Sacrament/Communion] had its origins founded in an
ancient Canaanite / Israelite rite that "...involved the anointing and swallowing of sacred semen, an orgiastic
ritual that had been the bane of the Old Testament prophets a thousand years before..." [John Romer,
Testament: The Bible and History, p 194]
Known as the "Agape" (Love Feast), the early Christians used and swallowed actual semen in their communion
rites. Following the Nicene Creed in 325 C.E., Papal Rome denounced this earlier Christian ordinance and
instituted its own non-erotic version of the "Chrism." The Roman Church vilified the popular semen ceremony by
denouncing it as the "malodorous chrism" while calling its own version the "Eucharist" (Greek for "Good
Chrism"... i.e., sans semen). In modern times when the term "Eucharist" is spoken, Christianity acknowledges its
erotic origin: "Chrism" which is semen.
http://www.mystae.com/restricted/reflections/messiah/beliefs.html, Early Christian Beliefs, Love Feasts:
Light and intellect were their opponents; earthly organization and authority were its allies; and the
organized Christian church was seen to have been made by the Devil to pervert true faith. Among
these underground sects, people aimed for perfection. They might eat, for example, what they thought
of as magical foods, like moist cucumbers, glistening and filled with light. Later, the residue would
pass through the body and emerge as dark excrement, while the light element emerged in orgasm as
semen. Many of the rituals involved the anointing and swallowing of this sacred substance, an
orgiastic ritual that had been the bane of the Old Testament prophets a thousand years before and now
afflicted the early church. In the New Testament rare reference is made to a festival called the
Agape, so-called Love Feast. The Syriac translators, at any rate, thought the practice had to do with
the comforting of the dead, and this certainly accords well with the meaning of agapao, 'love'. This
Greek word, so favored by the New Testament writers, is used by the tragedians for affection for the
dead, and specifically in the Bible for the relationship between man and God. It is properly used in
the Greek version of the Old Testament to translate a Hebrew word for 'seduce, allure'." - John
Allegro, The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross
Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Universe, Cavendish,
1995, p. 552, Dead Sea Scrolls | The Unpublished Texts a Conspiracy?:
Rather interesting.
http://deoxy.org/annex/pbfluids.htm, Psychedelic bodily fluids?:
And one has only to dip into John Allegro's book The Dead Sea Scrolls and the
Christian Myth to realise that semen and menstrual blood (from fullyenlightened Gnostics?) was consumed with relish by devotees during the early
Christian "love feasts"
http://search.ldslibrary.com/article/view/1260811, (excerpt from book:) The Dead Sea Scrolls and
Original Christianity, O. Preston Robinson, 1958, p. 94, The Covenanters Concept of Sin | Sin Is
Individual (Essenes listing of sins, direct quotations from Manual of Discipline, aka
Community Rule: 1QS 4:10; source: Manual of Discipline, Section III. Gaster, op. cit., p. 44, 45):
, filthy ways in the thraldom of chastity,
http://www.answers.com/thrall, thrall (base form of thraldom):
1.
a. One, such as a slave or serf, who is held in bondage.
b. One who is intellectually or morally enslaved.
Chastity does take away a persons freedom to have sex. The book tells about the unusual
similarities between the Jewish Essene sect and Christianity. Again, this was a direct translation from
the Scrolls.
CONTINUE TO NEXT PHASE
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DIONYSUS / BACCHUS (overview)
DIONYSUS / BACCHUS
The god of wine
Greek: Dionys () / Roman: Bacch ()
Name refers to orgy (Greek: orgia [])
Encyclopedia of World Mythology, Warner, 1975, p. 167, Appendix | Orgy:
Encyclopedia of Values and Ethics, Hester, 1996, p. 816, orgy:
Encarta World English Dictionary, 1999, p. 507, dionysian:
Greek & Roman Mythology, Translated by Elizabeth Burr, 1994, p. 43, Bacchanalia:
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http://80-www.xreferplus.com.ezproxy.jocolibrary.org/entry/773212 (subscription required), Dionysus or Bacchus OR

http://books.google.com/books?id=AV4tSS_Tm-IC&pg=PA178&lpg=PA178&dq=%22The+Greeks+of+early
+historical
+times&source=bl&ots=A5VokZlrav&sig=OmGAh55rRIcJjoSdDkhLOy_3WTA&hl=en&ei=w5GrSemXJIzanQfe06TaDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result,
Whos Who in Classical Mythology Google books result, by Michael Grant & John Hazel, 2002, p. 178 & 181, Dionysus
or Bacchus:
The Greeks of early historical times were aware of the foreignness of Dionysus' spirit, and in many states
the aristocratic government rejected his non-Greek orgiastic rites. Many of the myths relating to Dionysus arise
from his punishment of such rejection; they may reflect a historic process whereby a foreign, ecstatic faith
imposed itself on the traditional Olympian religion of the Greek ruling class. His female followers wore
deerskins, carried the thyrsus, suckled fawns, tore to pieces and ate wild beasts, and allegedly indulged in
sexual promiscuity.
http://www.thirdmill.org/newfiles/joh_frame/Frame.Apologetics2004.GreeksBearingGifts.pdf, Greeks Bearing Gifts,
The Greek Way of Worship:
Dionysus, god of wine and revelry, was one of the Olympian gods, but not one honored much by Homer
or by the politicians. For his worship was an intentional violation of the form, order, and structure: a
religion of drunken revelry, of sexual orgy.
A Browsers Dictionary and Natives Guide to the Unknown American Language, Ciardi, 1980, p. 285, orgy:
Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Universe, Cavendish, 1995, p.
2344, Sex | Overwhelming Eros:
Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, Mike Dixon-Kennedy, 1998, pp. 113-116, Dionys~os, ~us:
It makes sense that a god where everyone is drinking wine, could turn into a sexual orgy.
The History Channel, 12-29-08, Seven Deadly Sins: Lust (documentary), counter: about 5:47:
The god Dionysus was worshipped with wild sexual rituals in the woods.
More On This Subject

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DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

Dionysus: The god of wine
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1993, Micropaedia, Vol. 1, p. 772, Bacchanalia:
Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Universe, Cavendish, 1995, vol.
13, p. 1810, Mystery Religions:
Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 1933, p. 166:
The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 1959, p. 68:
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Cotterell / Storm, 1999, p. 13, The Myths of Greece and Rome |
Introduction:
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http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/persecution.html (The Theologian: The Internet Journal for

Integrated Theology), Church History, Why were the Early Christians Persecuted?:
For the first two centuries AD, the infant Church had to face deep popular hostility. This was based not only on their
"hatred of the human race", but on widespread misunderstanding of their practices, especially the Lords Supper.
The martyrs of Lyons were accused of "Thyestean banquets and Oedipean (incestuous) intercourse", and in AD 200,
the lawyer Minucius Felix made the same charges of cannibalism and incest. Minucius also believed that Christians
worshiped an asses head, a charge reflected in the graffito from Ostia which shows one Alexamenos worshipping a
crucified figure with the head of an ass. This curious misconception was probably a reflection of anti-Semitism.
The Roman authorities were deeply suspicious of anything that looked like a secret society, especially if it was linked
to an Asiatic religion, which they associated with immorality. In 186 BC the Bacchanalia had been suppressed, as
had a collegium, (private club), for Isis worship in 58BC. In the reign of Trajan, collegia had been responsible for
political unrest in Bithynia, and this was one of the reasons for Plinys suppression of the Christians. He reports to
Trajan that "in accordance with your commands I had forbidden the existence of clubs (collegia)." The Bacchanalia
were suspect not only due to rumours of their immorality, but also because of their plebeian origins; they were
rumoured to have revolutionary intentions. Many of the early Christian converts were also of low social status, such
as the "two maid-servants who were called deaconesses" that Pliny tortured. Celsus sneered at Christians as "the
most illiterate and bucolic yokels" but he also warned of how "the more reckless urge the children to rebel."
Christians then were apparently a lot different than todays suit and tie Christians, eh?
Chronicle of the World, Ecam Publications, 1989, 200-185BC, p. 169:
The New Century Cyclopedia of Names, Barnhart, 1954, Vol. 1, p. 293:
Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend, 1972, p. 101:
Lemprieres Classical Dictionary, 1898, p. 207, Dionysia:
The Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, 1989, Vol. 3, p. 13:
The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1949, p. 129:
Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins, 1994, p. 258:
http://www.answers.com/Livy, Livy:
Book 39. The discovery and suppression of the Bacchanalian orgies

http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy39.html, Livy's History of Rome: Book 39: The Bacchanalia in Rome
and Italy, 39.18:
The next task awaiting the consuls was the destruction of all the Bacchanalian shrines, beginning with Rome,
and then throughout the length and breadth of Italy; those only excepted where there was an ancient altar or a
sacred image. The senate decreed that for the future there should be no Bacchanalian rites in Rome or in Italy.
If any one considered that this form of worship was a necessary obligation and that he could not dispense with
it without incurring the guilt of irreligion, he was to make a declaration before the City praetor and the praetor
was to consult the senate. If the senate gave permission, not less than one hundred senators being present, he
might observe those rites on condition that not more than five persons took part in the service, that they had no
common fund, and that there was no priest or conductor of the ceremonies.
(Livy or Titus Livius, c. 64 BC-12 AD)
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Cotterell / Storm, 1999, p. 39, Dionysus:
(This is referring to another persecution.)

Riot:
E.g.: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=bacchanal:
bacchanal 3: a wild gathering involving excessive drinking
and promiscuity [syn: orgy, debauch,
debauchery, saturnalia, riot, bacchanalia, drunken revelry]

A riot is an anti-establishment protest kind of thing. Governments have always tried to suppress sexual
behavior deviating from set marriage, monogamous, possessiveness standards (where today we have the pill).
Since it is easier for the human mind to only think in extremes (love or hate someone / something), when one
becomes radical in sexual behavior, one can also become radical in violent behavior, to display their overall
discontent, and to show deviance from the government standards all together. But, Jesus calmed this habitual
unruly behavior associated with free sex, by symbolizing the dove in Matthew 3:16 (see my Baptism-Cotytto
page), and Paul in 2 Peter 2:13 (riot in KJV). And, apparently, the hidden acts of the mysteries werent able
to skirt a good journalist of that day.
The Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, 1989, Vol. 3, p. 13, Bacchus:
Oh tequila makes her clothes fall off --Joe Nichols, 2005. Its probably because of that Blue Agave (a
Bacchante) in there.
http://www.mystae.com/restricted/streams/gnosis/dionysos.html, The Cult of Dionysos, Rites of Ecstasy | (1)
The Bacchants:
"In 186 B.C.E. the Roman Senate met the increasing suspicion about the Bacchanalia with decisive action.
The official worship of Dionysos in the Greco-Roman world was ordinarily more domesticated and
respectable than the frenzied revels of the Maenads in The Bacchae, but the orgies (Greek orgia) did continue
in some circles. Such apparently was the case in Rome during the early second century B.C.E. Men had joined
with the women in secret Bacchic ceremonies held in the evening, and according to the testimony of the
witness Hispala, all sorts of criminal and immoral behavior transpired under the cover of darkness. Upon
hearing about this, the Senate adopted a decree that called for the destruction of most Bacchic shrines and the
strict control of all Bacchic worship in Italy."
- The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook, Marvin W. Meyer, Editor
http://www.sexualrecords.com/WSRvariety.html (World Sex Records), Sexual Variety:
Largest Orgy (this site is like a Guinness Book of World Records)

Throughout history there have been various religious orders that practiced mass copulation as a means to
please their gods. Titus Livy, in History of Rome (Book 39.13), writes that the Bacchanalia, a Roman festival
celebrated by cult members in the second century BC, would meet secretly and "no sort of crime, no kind of
immorality, was left unattempted." The cult would work itself into a raving, orgiastic frenzy and then "forcibly
debauch" the new recruits; any initiates who resisted were quickly dispatched. The group grew in popularity
for a time, but became so obnoxious even by the lax moral standards that the Senate banned the cult in 186
BC. No known estimate of the number of people who took part in these affairs exists, but at least 7,000 people
were arrested in connection after the crackdown.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS THE BACCHANTES (or, THE BACCHAE) by EURIPIDES

Greek play, c. 404 B.C.
Some orgy, Dionysus, or Bacchus definitions try to imply that the orgies of Dionysus / Bacchus were
not sexual; so to refute:
The movie:
Euripedes Bacchantes (Italian/French movie, filmed in Greece 1960, rel. 1961, English language version 1988 VHS
[original Italian version: Le Baccanti; French version: Les Bacchantes; aka Bondage Gladiator Sexy (USA 1963)], Play
was written 404 BC); Starring Pierre Brice (Dionysian stranger), Alberto Lupo (Pentheus), Akim Tamiroff (Teiresias), Taina
Elg (Dirce), Alessandro Panaro (Manto); Directed by Giorgio (George) Ferroni; rated PG (try Amazon.com, half.ebay.com, etc):
(Timer 0:10:27):
Dirce (Pentheuss betrothed, speaking to Manto--who removes her burka to drink the forbidden wine): in my
heart there exists another life; a life far away from these dismal walls of the court. A gay, free life, full of songs
and dances and love.
(Timer 0:21:30):
Pentheus (king of Thebes [in Greece]): with inebriating wine, and with orgies of impure women
(Timer 0:53:08):
Messenger: A great number of the Theban youths have assembled on Mount Cithaeron, to celebrate the
forbidden Bacchanal. Cups overflowing with wine are circulating among the women, and they have
abandoned themselves to all matter of orgies. But, rendering homage to Venus, not Bacchus.
Pentheus: Who is the leader of this orgy?
Messenger: It was the stranger -- he provided the wine. And profiting by its potency he incited the youths and
their maidens to defy their purity.
Agave (mother of Pentheus): Such conduct deeply offends the customs of Thebes.
Pentheus: And they have made a mockery of the law.
(Timer 1:08:40):
Pentheus: What is it then that brought you to Thebes?
Dionysian stranger: Dionysus has brought me to Thebes, to celebrate his rituals among you.
Pentheus: And what are they -- tell me, these rituals?
Dionysian stranger: They are not revealed to anyone profane.
Pentheus: Especially if the profane one is a just king, who forbids such impure Bacchanal.
Dionysian stranger: He who sees evil where there is none is impure himself.
Pentheus: You claim then that I am wrong when I say that these orgies we speak of are soaked with wine; and that
the women drunk with liquor dance disrobed and abandon themselves without any restraint whatsoever?
Dionysian stranger: No, youre not wrong; but, there is nothing bad in that. In the holy ritual is born a great
joy, sacred and divine. In freeing the senses you liberate the spirit. The enjoyment of liberty -- that is the
only happiness nature meant for us; which satisfies our god.
Pentheus: Then how is it they are held only in the night, these sacred honest rituals?
Dionysian stranger: The night is much sweater, and the darkness divine
Pentheus: And a beautiful accomplice to the corruption of women.
(Pentheus is a denseus)
http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=100756, The Bacchantes, The Bacchantes Film Review:
Euripedes' The Bacchae gets a 60s makeover, with Elg as the ballerina who flits from relationship to relationship, unable to stay
with one man for long until she strikes up a romance with the hedonistic, dangerous Dionysius (Brice).
The actual play:
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http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/euripides.htm, Euripides: The Bacchae, 404 BC [the actual play]:

(Supplementary List of Characters and Places:
Aphrodite: goddess of erotic love and sexuality.)
EIGHTH VOICE: O you dark chambers of the Curetes,

you sacred caves in Crete,
birthplace of Zeus,
where the Corybantes in their caves,
men with triple helmets, made for me
this circle of stretched hide.
In their wild ecstatic dancing,
they mixed this drum beat
with the sweet seductive tones
of flutes from Phrygia,
then gave it to mother Rhea
to beat time for the Bacchae,
when they sang in ecstasy.
Nearby, orgiastic satyrs [satyrs alone indicates sex],
in ritual worship of the mother goddess,
took that drum, then brought it
into their biennial dance,
bringing joy to Dionysus.
[120]
160
[130]
170
[Enter Pentheus, with some armed attendants. At first he does not notice Cadmus and Tiresias, not until he calls attention to them]
PENTHEUS:
| It so happens I've been away from Thebes,
270
| but I hear about disgusting things going on,
| here in the citywomen leaving home
| to go to silly Bacchic rituals,
| cavorting there in mountain shadows,
| with dances honouring some upstart god,
| this Dionysus, whoever he may be. Mixing bowls
[220]
| in the middle of their meetings are filled with wine.
| They creep off one by one to lonely spots
| to have sex with men, claiming they're Maenads
| busy worshipping. But they rank Aphrodite,
280
| goddess of sexual desire, ahead of Bacchus.
Once I've clamped them all in iron fetters,

I'll quickly end this perverse nastiness,
this Bacchic celebration. People say
290
some stranger has arrived, some wizard,
a conjurer from the land of Lydia
with sweet-smelling hair in golden ringlets
and Aphrodite's(sexual loves) charms(charitas) in wine-dark eyes.
He hangs around the young girls day and night,
dangling in front of them his joyful mysteries(sungignetai: to have sex with).
If I catch him in this city, I'll stop him.
He'll make no more clatter with his thyrsus,
[240]
or wave his hair around. I'll chop off his head,
slice it right from his body. This man claims
300
that Dionysus is a god,
TIRESIAS:
So welcome this god into your country.
Pour libations to him, then celebrate
these Bacchic rites with garlands on your head.
On women, where Aphrodite(sexual love) is concerned,
Dionysus will not enforce restraint
PENTHEUS: [Moving up close to Dionysus, inspecting him carefully]

Well, stranger, I see this body of yours
is not unsuitable for women's pleasure
that's why you've come to Thebes. As for your hair,
it's long, which suggests that you're no wrestler.
It flows across your cheeks That's most seductive.
You've a white skin, too. You've looked after it,
avoiding the sun's rays by staying in the shade,
while with your beauty you chase Aphrodite(sexual love).
[315]
400
570
[459]
MESSENGER:
Once she heard my horned cattle lowing,
your mother stood up amid those Bacchae,
then called them to stir their limbs from sleep.
They rubbed refreshing sleep out of their eyes,
and stood up straight therea marvelous sight,
to see such an orderly arrangement,
women young and old and still unmarried girls.
First, they let their hair loose down their shoulders,
tied up the fawn skins (some had untied the knots
to loosen up the chords).
[690]
860
MESSENGER:
My lord,
you must welcome this god into our city,
whoever he is. He's a mighty god
in many other ways. The people say,
so I've heard, he gives to mortal human beings
that vine which puts an end to human grief.
Without wine, there's no more Aphrodite(sexual love)
or any other pleasure left for men.
940
[770]
PENTHEUS:
You've made some arrangement,
you and your god, so you can always dance
your Bacchanalian orgies.
[807]
DIONYSUS: You'll find just the sort of hiding place

a spy should find who wants to hide himself,
so he can gaze upon the Maenads.
PENTHEUS: That's good. I can picture them right now,
1180
in the woods, going at it like rutting birds,
[957]
clutching each other as they make sweet(lektrn: a couch, bed) love.
http://www.answers.com/rutting, rut:
A condition or period of mammalian sexual activity, such as estrus. A regular period of sexual excitement in female
mammals: estrus, heat, season. See sex/asexual.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0092&layout=&loc=220, Euripides,
Bacchae (ed. T. A. Buckley) [English], Pentheus (speaking):
[215] I happened to be at a distance from this land, when I heard of strange evils throughout this city, that the
women have left our homes in contrived Bacchic rites, and rush about in the shadowy mountains, honoring
with dances [220] this new deity Dionysus, whoever he is. I hear that mixing-bowls stand full in the midst of
their assemblies, and that they each creep off different ways into secrecy to serve the beds of men, on the pretext
that they are Maenads worshipping; [225] but they consider Aphrodite before Bacchus.
The original Greek (of the actual play):

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0091:line=215, Euripides, Bacchae (ed.
Gilbert Murray) [portion of original Greek transliterated], Pentheus (speaking):
(Greek in black, English word definitions [via links at site] in blue):

ekdmos from home, gone on a journey n to be, exist men on the one hand, on the other hand tsd' this etunchanon
to hit chthonos the earth, ground, [line 215]
klu to hear de but neochma new tnd' this ana up, upon ptolin a city kaka bad; in moral sense: base, evil+, [line 216]
gunaikas a woman hmin ego dmat' a house ekleloipenai to leave out, omit, pass over [line 217]
plastaisi formed, moulded bakcheiaisin Bacchic, of or belonging to Bacchus, en in, among de but daskiois
thick-shaded, bushy [line 218]
oresi a mountain, hill thoazein to move quickly, ply rapidly, ton the, that nesti lately, just now daimona a
god, goddess [line 219]
Dionuson Dionysus, hostis any one who, anything which esti to be, to exist, timsas to pay honour to chorois a
round dance: [line 220]
plreis filled or infected by de but thiasois a band or company marching through the streets with dance and song,
esp. in honor of Bacchus en in, among mesoisin in the middle hestanai to make to stand [line 221]
kratras a mixing vessel, alln alius, another, one besides d' but allos' at another time, at other times eis into, to
ermian a solitude, desert, wilderness [line 222]
ptssousan to crouch without any notion of fear eunais a bed arsenn male hupretein to be a servant, do service,
[line 223]
prophasin that which is alleged as the cause, and allegation, plea men on the one hand, on the other hand hs thus,
as, so that, since d exactness mainadas raving, frantic, esp. Bacchante, Maenad, porn, causing madness, esp. of
love thuoskoous the sacrificing priest, [line 224]
tn the, that d' but Aphroditn Aphrodite (goddess of sexual love) prosth' before agein to lead or carry, to
convey, bring tou the, that Bakchiou Bacchic, of or belonging to Bacchus+. [line 225]
Portion of original Greek text:
Euripides Bacchae, E. R. Dodds, Oxford University Press, 1944, no page numbers, (line 223):
P. 80, Commentary (for lines 120-34):
P. 93, (for lines 222-3):
P. 185, (for lines 957-60):
Miscellaneous:
Penguin Classics: Euripides: The Bacchae and Other Plays, 1973, The Bacchae, p. 198, (same Greek lines 215225, Pentheus speaking):
http://www.answers.com/lechery, lechery:
Excessive indulgence in sexual activity; lewdness. unrestrained indulgence in sexual activity
http://greek-myth.com/Mythology/Ancient_Theatre/bacchantes.htm, Ancient Theatre: Euripides The
Bacchantes, Discussion of The Bacchantes:
Specifically, the rites of Dionysus strike at the heart of marriage, taking women from the
home and family, from underneath male dominance and allowing them to participated
in unbridled orgy.
SparkCharts: Greek and Roman Mythology, 2002, INTRODUCTION:
Euripides: Bacchae Apparently a rather popular story: only ten authors mentioned.
http://www25.brinkster.com/finhollywood/Taina%20Elg/filmography04.html, Taina Elg, The Finnish Hollywood star,

The Bacchantes [Le Baccanti] (1961) [the above movie]:
The basic story of The Bacchantes might seem familiar to first-year students in Greek drama. And well it should:
the film is essentially an update of Euripides' The Bacchae.
Cliff Notes on Greek Classics, 1988, pp. 207-208, Greek Tragedy | Euripides | The Bacchae:
http://www.hermetic.com/sabazius/dionysus.htm, Dionysus:
As Dionysus and his retinue traveled the world spreading his cult, those who accepted him were rewarded
with ecstasy. Those who opposed him were stricken with madness, and brought down by the hideous results of
their own deranged atrocities. After establishing his cult across the known world, he returned to Greece, bringing
his orgiastic Phrygian rites with him. He was not well received. Pentheus, king of Thebes, had him arrested,
tried, scourged and thrown into prison. For this, Dionysus drove all the women of Thebes mad, including
Agave, Pentheus's mother. They became maenads, and went out into the hills to conduct their Dionysian
orgies. Pentheus imprudently followed them. Agave and her companions detected the spy, and in wild rage they
fell upon him and tore him to pieces. Thus was Hellas converted to the religion of Dionysus; and Dionysus moved on.
Gods and Heroes: A Quick Guide to the Occupations, Associations and Experiences of the Greek and Roman Gods
and Heroes, Caroline Thomas Harnsberger, 1977, pp. 17-18:
Bents Readers Encyclopedia, 1996, p. 70:
http://www.noteaccess.com/APPROACHES/AGW/Dionysos.htm, Ancient Greek Culture: Dionysos:
There king Pentheus of Thebes refused to recognize his divinity with the result that Pentheus was torn
to pieces by his mother Agave who was struck with madness by the god. The same fate awaited
those who throughout the world dared to oppose his worship which was in the nature of an
orgiastic ritual. To his followers his worship was an uninterrupted series of festive days in
which pandemonium reigned and often terminated in orgies in which women for the most
part participated.
http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/achilles/tragedy/tragedy.html, Tragedy:
Pentheus is really in trouble now. The maenads are dragging him down, and breaking rocks over his head; his mother,
Agave, takes hold of his head from the left. Roman wall painting, Pompeii, House of the Vettii, c.70 CE.:
This shows that in the days of Christ, Euripedes Bacchantes (over 400 year old) play was popular all over the
Roman Empire (e.g., even in Pompeii).
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/Bacchants.html, Euripides Bacchae, The Iconography of Dionysus
and the Bacchants:
Maenads were not always depicted as chaste, however. The painter of this Attic Red Figure calyx krater of c. 420
BC thinks of the rites in the same way Pentheus does; here a beardless voluptuary Dionysus embraces an
unresisting maenad.
http://www.shotgunplayers.org/archive/seas8/bacchae/bacchae.cfm, The Bacchae by Euripides, directed by Patrick Dooley:
http://itw.sewanee.edu/Huber/dionysus/sld035.htm (The University of the South, Sewanee, TN), Euripides

Bacchae: Orgy and Agony, Dionysus from Herculaneum, (National Museum, Naples) Italy:
The justification for my opposition:

http://www.fjkluth.com/festival.html, Ancient Greek Festivals:
A less common festival was the orgy. In fact this was a festival of worship of the God Dionysus. As described in
the Bacchae by Euripides the festival is somewhat different than commonly described.
Participants wear a wild fawn skin and carry a thyrsus.
The festival is held upon a bare mountainside.
Woman lead the festival but men follow.
A sacrifice is made by tearing a young hill goat apart [pagan, Jewish, morally anyone who eats meat today].
Wine is consumed and participants dance and pray.
The festival celebrates the fact that Dionysus "...found the liquid shower hid in the grape. He rests man's spirit dim
from grieving when the vine exulteth him. He giveth sleep to sink the fretful day in cool forgetting.
the activities are justified by the fact that "Prophesy cleaves to all frenzy, but beyond all else to frenzy of prayer.
Sexual license is not the purpose of the activities because "in the wildest rite cometh no stain to her whose heart is
pure."
No stain and heart is pure can certainly pertain to non-marital sex: Such are not limited to todays brainwash.
My evidence from the original language above proves sex was part of Euripides description. However, it
makes sense that many of the orgiastic festivals of Dionysus (and others) would have left the sex part out,
depending on the location, etc.; as many people in that era were against open sex (especially of their women), or sex
of some kind occurred during the festival only and not any other time; especially after the 186 BC persecution.
Plus, these mystery religions are known to have kept these sex orgies a secret to avoid public scrutiny; thats
why they were called mystery religions. Sure, eventually they would become known, but many people would
still believe they needed to worship the deity, even when the sex parts were eliminated.
http://www.eioba.com/a70752/orgies_a_brief_history, Orgies, a brief history, II. Ancient Greece:
Dionysus. He was the Greek god of mystery, wine and intoxication. He was venerated in secret ceremonies (orgeia
that originally referred to ritual matters, religious ceremonies carried out in secluded places). These Dionysian mysteries
were widely adopted by women. The stimulation of the dancing, music and wine, to which they were not accustomed, drove
them to ecstatic frenzy (enthusiasmos) during which they indulged in copious sexual activity10 & 13.
10
Partridge, B. History of Orgies (1958).
13
Historia de las orgias.

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS EARLY PAGAN ART

Mosaics:
http://www.latein-pagina.de/ovid/ovid_m4.htm, tanzende Bacchanten (Dionysosmosaik, Kln) Ovid:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # PW004038, Roman Mosaic of Dionysus:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-Pagan.htm (1 of 32) [24/09/2012 12:15:28 AM]
A crowd of students peer through a window to admire a Roman floor mosaic depicting Dionysus, the god of wine and fertility. Cologne, Germany.
The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, p. 313, illustration 309, Floor-mosaic in a house in
Cologne: Bacchic scenes (third century, pagan art):
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # CS010353, Roman Mosaic of Dionysus and His Court, Date Created: ca. 2nd-4th centuries:
Ancient Mosaics, Ling, 1998, p. 83, illustration 58, Roman Africa | Vine mosaic from El Djem Cupids
gathering grapes, while Dionysiac figures, including satyrs with wild animals, are depicted at
the margins Second half of third century AD. El Djem Museum (pagan art):
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 63, figure 61, Ostia Caseggiato of Bacchus
and Ariadne (pagan art):
Pp. 60-61:
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Dionysus/source/45.html, Dionysus Album, Dionysos dances

with his panther. Part of panel from a mosaic pavement. Roman 4th century AD:
Byzantium: From Antiquity to the Renaissance, Mathews, 1998, p. 76, figure 54, The Secular Domestic
World (late fifth century):
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 109, figure 108, Thysdrus, House of the
Dionysiac Procession (pagan art):
http://bulfinch.englishatheist.org/b/chap21.html, Bulfinchs Mythology: Bacchus Ariadne, Bacchus:
Third century CE mosaic from, Sousse in Tunisia, showing the triumph of Bacchus, a winged Victory stands behind him.
A Handbook of Roman Art, Henig, 1983, p. 126, illustration 98 (pagan art):
http://homepage.mac.com/melissaenderle/tunisia/sousse.html, Tunisia Images and Sights, Sousse:
The museum in Sousse had a fine display of Roman mosaics such as The Triumph of Bacchus.
http://lexicorient.com/tunisia/sousse06.htm, Sousse: City Museum:
Triumph of Bacchus, with the Roman god of wine in a chariot pulled by tigers.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # RW005620, Roman Mosaic Depicting the Triumph of Bacchus Over the Indians,
Date Created: ca. 3rd century A.D.:
http://www.stoa.org/gallery/album21/P4140087, Soursse Museum, Triumph of Bacchus mosaic:
Paintings:
Great Treasures of Pompeii & Herculaneum, Feder, 1979, p. 14:
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/vesuvius_bacchus.jpg (via http://www.vroma.org/images/

mcmanus_images/index7.html) (better copy than above book):
wall painting of Bacchus at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius; from the lararium of the House of the Centenary in
Pompeii; Roman, first century CE, Bacchus is covered with grapes,
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Dionysus/source/46.html, Dionysus Album, Panel from

painted wall: the winegod Bacchus and his companion Silenus. Roman c. 30 BC. Pompeii:
http://www.holycross.edu/departments/classics/jhamilton/mythology/dionysus/dionysus2.JPG (via http://www.holycross.

edu/departments/classics/jhamilton/mythology/dionysus/), Dionysus, Wall-painting of the Bacchanalian dance:
Villa Pamfili, Rome, 1st cent. AD:
http://www.bstorage.com/Photo/Italy/Tarquinia/pages/12_B0309_0644.htm, Etruscan Tombs at Tarquinia, Baccanti
[Italian] Tomb
http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_mural_bacchants.gif (via http://www.maravot.com/Etruscan_Murals.html), Etruscan

Murals and Paintings, Dancers, Tomb of the Bacchants, Tarquinia, ~510 B.C.:
http://www.bstorage.com/Photo/Italy/Tarquinia/pages/12_L0309_0415.htm, Etruscan Tombs at Tarquinia, Tomba

dei Baccanti [Italian] (Tomb of the Bacchante):
http://www.uco.es/~ca1lamag/Galerias/Dionisio.htm, Dionisio con lira: Copa de vino de 500-480 a.C. [B.C.] Dionisio
aparece todava con aspecto maduro (con barba). Lleva corona de hojas de vid, y nbride moteada. Acompaado de stiros.
http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_dionysus.htm; Dionysus, Bacchus Image gallery:
http://www.arches.uga.edu/~fvankeur/classical/late_hellen/16_adj.html (via http://fvankeur.myweb.uga.edu/classical/

late_hellen/late_hellen.html), Classical and Hellenistic Greek Art, Late Hellenistic Period, 160-30 B.C.:
O Marble krater in Louvre and two marble kraters from Mahdia shipwreck with satyrs & maenads and Dionysos and Ariadne, made in Athens
(marble), Neo-Attic (drawing of all the figures and photos from Gisela Hellenkemper, Das Wrack, 1994)
Dionysian frieze from marble kraters
http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/JO-CD.html, Dionysian Meditations: The City Dionysia (Dionysia ta en

Astei) or the Great Dionysia (Dionysia ta Megala):
:
http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/x/wxk116/eros/sexart/sex9.html (via http://www.personal.psu.edu/wxk116/eros/
refs.html) (Pennsylvania State University), Erotic Art of Ancient Rome:
Scene from a Tyrrhenian amphora showing a scene from the Festival of Dionysius, 6th century BCE.
From Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlung
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/maenad_satyr2.jpg (via http://www.vroma.org/images/
mcmanus_images/index5.html, red-figure tondo of kylix: eroticamorous satyr and maenad
Attic, c. 500-490 BCE:
Object:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # IH050576, Back of a Mirror With a Dyonisiac Banquet, Date Created: mid 3rd-4th century B.C.:
Relief:
Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins, Andr Grabar, 1968, p. 73 (pagan art):
Illustration 177, The triumph of Dionysus, with Imperial medallions:

http://www.kalypsostore.gr/en/R6874.shtml, Dionysian Dance:

Bronze krater depicting the Festival of Dionysius, 4th century BCE. Museum of London.
http://www.recuperando.it/x_frame/fratemaclassica.htm, il Dio Pan danzante: bassorilievo baccanale [Italian]:
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/lettres/LanguesAnciennes/Ariane/fichiers/ariane_aut_menades.htm, Art romain.

Lnos (sarcophage) [Roman art. Lnos (sarcophagus)], Bacchanale (dtails), Vers 160 aprs J.-C. [Towards 160
after J.C.]:
http://www.gipsoteca.net/LR60gipsotecaBassorilievi.htm, LR 60 Baccanti [Italian]: gesso bianco patinato antico (modern

day depiction):
http://www.talariaenterprises.com/product_lists/greek_wall_pg2.html, Greco-Roman Wall Reliefs - Page 2,

Bacchanal Sarcophagus Relief:
--Wow! What a gorgeous Roman Bacchanal Relief Left and Right Portions taken from a 1st century A.D. sarcophagus of an
unnamed merchant. In the Roman world, many illustrations of the Bacchic mystery cult adorn wall paintings and reliefs. In this example,
the frenzied followers dance and play instruments as part of the Bacchanalian festival.
Dionysos Fauns and Bacchantes Dancing Relief:
--This 19th century relief from the Louvre Museum illustrates a celebration by the fauns (male followers of Dionysos) and the Bacchantes
or Maenads (women followers) frenzied with wine who rushed through woods and mountains swept away in a fierce ecstasy. They
celebrated his orgies with drunkenness, nakedness, singing and sacramental feasting. The Gods of Olympus loved order and beauty in
their sacrifices and their temples. The madwomen, the Bacchantes, had no temples so they went to the wilderness to worship.
Dionysos Fauns Pressing Grapes Relief:
--This Neoclassical relief from the 19th century collection of the Louvre Museum represents the Lenea or festival of the winepressing which is an Athenian fertility celebration in honor of Dionysos (Bacchus)--the Dionysian mysteries being one of the main
components of the old Greek religion. The followers of Dionysos likened the plucking, crushing and pressing of the grape to form a
pleasing nectar to the progress of the soul, which is formed whole and then crushed and pressed into shape by the trials of its
earthly adventures.
Put it this way: Any time you have people dancing naked, its sexual.
http://www.recuperando.it/pagine/im00237-02.htm, Scene Baccanti:
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/lettres/LanguesAnciennes/Ariane/fichiers/ar_dio_sarco.htm, Dionysos et
Ariane : sarcophages:
Sarcophage romain :
Dionysos dcouvre Ariane

Vers 170 - 180 aprs J.C.
Rome, Muse des Termes.
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/full/6663faf08db9e15328dac8a216a4496a4e9ec287.html, Bacchanalia:
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/full/8c7294d4b2b1988ba8d56f7cfbf7aa88b0764d5d.html, Bacchanalia:
Updating :
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # 42-15234110:
Looks pretty sexual to me.

http://www.outsideedge.co.uk/stoneware.htm, Stoneware, Baccanalia:
Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins, 1994, p. 288:
P. 289:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AV003741, Ancient Roman Sarcophagus Fragment Depicting Dionysus, Date Created:
mid-2nd century A.D.:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Exceptional-Ancient-GreekShield-Dionysus_W0QQitemZ6539913371QQcategoryZ1552QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem:
Reproduction of ancient Greek Shield on which there is the figure of God Dionysus
The shield was a key part of the equipment of the Greek hoplite warrior. Hoplite is derived from the Greek
word for a type of heavy shield, hoplon. Though small in the early days of Greek warfare, Greek
shields increased in size in middle to later eras, evolving to a much larger round form and later still to
a rectangular shape.
The shield was made of multiple layers of metal (bronze, copper, or sometimes tin), wood and tough linen,
cloth or leather and could weigh as much as 15 to 20 pounds. A shield was one of the more complicated
and valuable parts of a Greek hoplite's arms and armor. Families of a warrior culture such as the
Spartans depended on re-use of the family shield if possible. Each hoplite chose his own shield design.
Man, Myth & Magic: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mythology, Religion and the Universe, Cavendish, 1995, vol. 13,
p. 1810, Mystery Religions:
http://www.ancienttouch.com/greek_terracotta.htm, Greek Terracotta, GREEK TERRACOTTA MASK OF DIONYSUS,

II c. B.C.:
Bearded god wearing a stephane; headband ribbons hanging down on either side. His hair and long, wide
beard depicted as grapes. Height 5.0 (12.7 cm). Restored from several large fragments.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # RW006900, Frieze With Carved Decorations in Leptis Magna, Libya, vines (& Eros),
non-Christian:
Decorative frieze from the Arch of Septimus Severus
Coins:
http://cgi.ebay.com/76-THASOS-AR-TetradrachmDionysos-aVF_W0QQitemZ8345518741QQcategoryZ4738QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem, 76.
THASOS, AR Tetradrachm. Dionysos. aVF:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4738&item=8344974118#ebayphotohosting, Thasos, after 146

BC. AR Tetradrachm, Dionysos
Thasos, after 146 BC. Silver Tetradrachm. Head of Dionysos rt., wreathed with ivy. / Herakles standing lt., leaning
on a club and holding a lion's skin. Very large flan (37mm), toned.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dionysos-SilverTetradrachmAOD_W0QQitemZ3767316251QQcategoryZ37907QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting,
Dionysos Silver Tetradrachm AOD:
http://cgi.ebay.com/THRACE-Maroneia-Dionysos-Grapes-ChlamysSpearsx069_W0QQitemZ8344655853QQcategoryZ4738QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting,
THRACE Maroneia Dionysos Grapes Chlamys Spears(x069):
Thrace- Maroneia, Wreathed Head of Dionysos Right, Dionysos Standing Holding Bunch
Of Grapes, Chalamys and Spears. SngCop 644, AE 25. Impressive, heavy coin. A piece of
Ancient History-
http://cgi.ebay.com/SILVER-ROMAN-COIN-HEAD-OF-DIONYSOS-Abt148-BC_W0QQitemZ8329156905QQcategoryZ4734QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem, SILVER ROMAN COIN HEAD OF

DIONYSOS Abt 148 BC, HERAKLES STANDING ON REVERSE:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SILVER-ROMAN-COIN-HEAD-OF-DIONYSOS-Abtfile:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-Pagan.htm (31 of 32) [24/09/2012 12:15:29 AM]
148BC_W0QQitemZ8329156880QQcategoryZ4734QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting,
SILVER ROMAN COIN HEAD OF DIONYSOS Abt 148 BC, HERAKLES STANDING ON REVERSE:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS MYSTERIES / POMPEII

Dionysus: The god of wine
Cassells Latin Dictionary, Simpson, 1968, p. 416 (Latin-English), orga:
Pocket Oxford Classical Greek Dictionary, Morwood / Taylor, 2002, p. 233, :
http://personal.monm.edu/mgullber/reflection7.htm (Monmouth College, IL), Statement on the Dionysian Mysteries:
The Bacchae, in The History of Rome Livy records the 186 B.C. Roman view that the nighttime rituals of Dionysus
led to, allowed, and promoted all kinds of immoral behavior, such as the promiscuous violation of free men and
of women, In these views, we can recognize the view of some modern people that worshipers of ancient
mystery cults were merely people who engaged in the vice of wild, drunken orgies (in the modern sense of the word).
http://www.angelfire.com/retro/goddess3/, Goddess: archeological evidence; symbols and the dawn of religions,
Sacred Prostitution:
The so called "radenya" (joyous gatherings) could be compared to the ancient mysteries, were in fact collective
orgies. They started from ritual dancing, self-flagellation, undressing. Then, with a rising rhythm and intensity of
a dance, they would culminate in copulation of a group with a "Bogoroditsa."
http://www.answers.com/flagellation, flagellation:
Whipping oneself or another as a means of arousing or heightening sexual feeling.

http://bornagainpagan.multiservers.com/Glossary/MYSTERIES.html, exWitch Australia (formally Born Again
Pagan): Glossary of Terminology, Mysteries (aka Mystery Religions):
The Dionysian mysteries, the second most important Hellenistic cult, centred on Dionysus (Bacchus), the Thracian bull-god
and ruler of the dead and souls, who became the god of the vine and vegetation. Immortality could be obtained
through communion with him in Ecstatic rites apparently involving consumption of wine and the raw flesh of a sacrificed
animal (see SACRIFICE), and sex.
http://www.online-dictionary.biz/latin/english/vocabulary/reference/orgia.asp, Latin To English Dictionary, orgia:
orgia a festival of mysteries, orgy
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/olympians.html, Classical Mythology: Olympians, Dionysus (Bacchus):
There were many Dionysian cults and festivals established throughout the Greek world, as well as in Rome.
These festivals were called Bacchanalia or Dionysia, held on various dates. There are several different types
of Dionysian festivals, such as the Great Dionysia, Little Dionysia, Anthesteria and Oschophoria. Many of his
festivals and cults involved drinking wines, drunken revelries and sexual orgies.
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/mysteries.html, Classical Mythology: Mysteries, Dionysiac Mysteries:
What is generally known about the Dionysiac Mysteries is the famous festivals, such as the Great Dionysia, Little
or Rustic Dionysia, Oschophoria and the Anthesteria. These festivals usually involved in wine drinking, sexual
orgies and choral singing. Though at first, these festivals were only participated by the initiated, later it was only to
all people. When cults became public, the Romans were shocked by the drunken revelry and the orgies that
were held in the festival that the Roman Senate tried to have it banned.
Cliffs Notes on Mythology, 1973, pp. 69-70, DIONYSUS:
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Of course, Christ and the early Christians used wine in its mysteries and rites. If Christ was against open sex, then
he shouldnt have used wine as a symbol at the Last Supper, which is definitely one thing that is retained today,
simply because Dionysus mysteries of wine are pretty faded today. If we still lived in the classical Greek era,
where the characteristics of Dionysus were well known, then todays church would definitely find something
to replace the wine. If Jesus wanted to take attention away from Dionysus, then He should have
symbolically instituted orange juice, carrot juice, milk (soy milk today), fig something (which would
represent marriage [see Hera / Juno]), apple juice, mango milkshake (hey!), blueberry delight, seaweed soup
(hail! Gilligan), heck: a sip of Dead Sea water wouldnt kill ya, honey, olive oil, etc. I dont know who the god of
the carrot is, but if it had to do with no sex until marriage, then todays church would have two thumbs up.
Again, they didnt just have wine at the Last Supper, Jesus / God made it into a symbol. Red raspberries,
cherries, strawberries, etc. could have also represented blood. But, wine is apparently what is in Jesus blood.
Wine is also very popular today as a way (or, the [legal] way) to get her in the mood. The mood todays church has
a lot of restrictions on, yet serves it at practically every service. Hey, whats having a taste going to more
encourage those young single women to want to do? Have more when they get home of course, or start drinking
it when they may have not cared otherwise. All I can say is that Jesus / God set me up pretty well, knowing that
I wouldnt be born until after Middle Age corruption (and, after U.S.s First Amendment). I do need the most
popular religious figure ever (Jesus) to support my commentary, and with a very cleaver way to circumvent
Middle Age secular corruption.
Wow, I could have had a V8.
Langenscheidts Pocket Greek Dictionary: Classical Greek-English, Feyerabend, no date, p. 276, :
Harpers Latin Dictionary, Lewis / Short, 1879, p. 1278, Orga:
Secret:
Secret means it has to be done in secret to avoid government persecution exactly what the early Christians had
to endure, who specified that it was for the same basic sexual reasons.
Word Origins: An Exploration and History of Words and Language, Funk, 1950, pp. 173-174, ORGY:
Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, Partridge, 1983, p. 457, orgy, orgiac, orgiast, orgiastic:
The Facts On File: Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins, Hendrickson, 1997, p. 501, orgy:
Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 1933, p. 1519, orgy:
Websters Universal Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged), 1909, p. 1148, orgy:
Websters New World Dictionary and Thesaurus, 1996, p. 436, orgy:
Encyclopdia of Religion and Ethics, Hastings, 1908-1927, vol. ?, p. 557, ORGY:
Oxford Universal English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 1937, vol. 6, p. 1384, Orgy, orgie:
Pompeii:
The International Encyclopaedic Dictionary, 1901, p. 3192:
http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/timelines/rome/empire/vm/villaofthemysteries.html, Villa of the Mysteries,

Pompeii (covered 79 AD), Interpreting the Frescoes:
As he had been for Greek women, Dionysus was the most popular god for Roman women. He was the source of
both their sensual and their spiritual hopes.
Scene 5:
This scene is at the center of both the room and the ritual. Dionysus sprawls in the arms of his mother
Semele. Dionysus wears a wreath of ivy, his thyrsus tied with a yellow ribbon lies across his body, and one sandal
is off his foot. Even though the fresco is badly damaged, we can see that Semele sits on a throne with Dionysus
leaning on her. Semele, the queen, the great mother is supreme.
Scene 6:
The initiate, carrying a staff and wearing a cap, returns from the night journey. What has happened is a mystery to
us. But in similar rituals the confused, and sometimes drugged initiate emerges like an infant at birth, from a dark
place to a lighted place. She reaches for a covered object sitting in a winnowing basket, the liknon. The covered
object is taken by many to be a phallus(penis), or a herm.
Scene 7:
The two themes of this scene are torture and transfiguration, the evocative climax of the rite. Notice the
complete abandonment to agony on the face of the initiate and the lash across her back. She is consoled by a
woman identified as a nurse. To the right a nude women clashes celebratory cymbals and another woman is about
to give to the initiate a thyrsus, symbolizing the successful completion of the rite.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/italianarch/pompeii.html, Pompeii:
Dionysos in the lap of Ariadne. From the Great Frieze of the Dionysiac Mysteries, in the Villa of the
Mysteries, Pompeii. Augustan period; 2nd style.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/italianarch/pompeii.html, Pompeii:
General view of the Great Frieze of the Dionysiac Mysteries, Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii. Augustan period;
2nd style.
http://timothyadams_1.tripod.com/campagnia/pompeii/pompeii2000.htm, Pompeii:
Murals of the Villa of Mysteries.

http://classics.furman.edu/~rprior/imgs/RCU4/4-096.jpg (via http://classics.furman.edu/~rprior/courses/RA/RAU4.html)
(Furman University), Roman Archaeology: Roman Art, Roman Painting:
Dionysiac frieze in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii:
http://www.jhauser.us/pictures/history/Romans/Pompeii/VillaOfTheMysteries.html, Pictures of History Pompeii: Villa of

the Mysteries:
http://wings.buffalo.edu/AandL/Maecenas/italy_except_rome_and_sicily/pompeii/thumbnails_contents.html, Pompeii, Villa

of the Mysteries:m
History of Art, Janson, 1969, p. 162, colorplate 10, Scenes of a Dionysiac Mystery Cult | Pompeii:
http://www.pamplonetario.org/prog/0405venus/, CITA CON VENUS:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS LIBER
DIONYSUS LIBER
http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar041080&st=Bacchus (subscription required),
Bacchus:
The Romans began to worship Bacchus after they came into contact with Greek culture in the 700's B.
C. They also worshiped a wine god called Liber or Liber Pater. But in time, the myths about Liber
became almost identical with those about Bacchus.
The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, p. 88:
Mythologies of the World: A Concise Encyclopedia, Shapiro & Hendricks, 1979, p. 30:
By the way, Liber relates to todays liberal which has an obsolete meaning of licentious.
P. 54:
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DIONYSUS LIBER
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/mythologein/images/71719pursuit.jpg (University of Texas at

Austin) (via http://www.utexas.edu/courses/mythologein/lectures/lecture8.html), Lecture 8: Dionysus,
"I. Dionysus / Bacchus = Liber | E. Cult | Sexual Freedom (Bacchae p. 286):
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/mythologein/images/71721sex.jpg (University of Texas at Austin)

(via http://www.utexas.edu/courses/mythologein/lectures/lecture8.html), Lecture 8: Dionysus, "I.
Dionysus / Bacchus = Liber | E. Cult | orgies (Bacchae p. 286):
DIONYSUS LIBER
Encyclopaedia Americana, Vol. VII, 1831, pp. 532-533, Liber:
http://www.answers.com/libertine, libertine:
Marked by an absence of conventional restraint in sexual behavior; sexually unrestrained

Encyclopaedia Americana, Vol. VII, 1831, pp. 535-535:
DIONYSUS LIBER
Library of the Worlds Myths and Legends: The Illustrated Dictionary of Greek and Roman
Mythology, 1986, p. 47:
Greek & Roman Mythology, Translated by Elizabeth Burr, 1994, p. 44:
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 1964, p. 698:
You mean someone who is not a slave of some kind?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberalia, Liberalia:
The celebration on March 17th was meant to honor Liber Pater, an ancient god of fertility and wine (like
Bacchus, the Roman version of the Greek god, Dionysus). Liber Pater is also a vegetation god,
responsible for protecting seed. Liber, again like Dionysius, had female priests although Liber's priests
were older women. Wearing wreaths of ivy, the priestesses made special cakes, or libia, of oil and honey
DIONYSUS LIBER
which passing devotees would have them sacrifice on their behalf. Over time this feast evolved and
included the goddess Libera, Liber Pater's consort, and the feast divided so that Liber governed the male
seed and Libera the female. This ancient Italian ceremony was a "country" or rustic ceremony. The
processional featured a large phallus which the devotees carried throughout the countryside to bring the
blessing of fertility to the land and the people. The procession and the phallus were meant also to protect
the crops from evil. At the end of the procession, a virtuous and respected matron placed a wreath upon
the phallus.
This ancient feast is also sacred to the Nazorean Essenes. According to the Essenes, the Liberalia is held
on March 27 and honors the vegetation god, Liber. Liber watches over the maturation of boys to
adulthood, usually at age 17 (according to the Essenes), symbollically at the feast, the boys discard the
purple-bordered togas for plain adult togas.
The Essenes were a Jewish sect about and before the time of Christ, who shunned marriage. A
phallus is a penis.
http://www.freemasonrywatch.org/statue_of_liberty.html, The Statue of Liberty and Freemasonry:
LIBER --- The Hellenistic goddess of wine (Bacchus/Dionysios). Attributes: wine cup, thyrsos
(a staff ornamented with grape leaves), crown of ivy leaves, panther.

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS PHALLUS, PRIAPUS

A phallus is a representation of a penis
Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, Katchadourian, 1989, p. 575, Greece and Rome | Erotic Art and Literature:
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, 1993, Vol. 4, p.110, Dionysus:
http://www.answers.com/topic/dionysia, Dionysia, Rural Dionysia:

This "rural Dionysia" was held during the winter in the month of Poseideon (roughly corresponding to December). The
central event was the pompe, the procession, in which phalloi were carried by phallophoroi.
http://www.answers.com/topic/dionysia, phallo-:
Penis
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Zondervan Publishing, 1978, vol. 3, p. 919, Vine,
Wine:
The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 13001900s, Reid, 1993, Vol. 1, p. 349, Dionysus:
Greek & Roman Mythology, Translated by Elizabeth Burr, 1994, pp. 90-92:
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http://www.piney.com/Charismatic.html, Charismatic Worship:
"Dionysos, of course, explicitly combined all these aspects: at once the ecstatic(expressing
ecstasy) ithyphallic(erect penis, lascivious, salacious) god of orgy, To produce ecstasy
they may use alcohol and other drugs, music and dance, sexuality, or some combination of these; in
short, orgies (Weber 1968b, 273).
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Dionysia, 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, DIONYSIA:
'DIONYSIA, festivals in honour of the god Dionysus generally, but in particular the festivals celebrated in Attica and by
the branches of the Attic-Ionic race in the islands and in Asia Minor. In Attica there were two festivals annually. (I) The
lesser Dionysia, or T a /car e ypous, was held in the country places for four days (about the 19th to the 22nd of December)
at the first tasting of the new wine. It was accompanied by songs, dance, phallic processions and the impromptu performances
of itinerant players, who with others from the city thronged to take part in the excitement of the rustic sports.
http://members.tripod.com/great-bulgaria/Bulgaria/, Bulgaria, Dionysus The Thracian:
In his most ancient form Dionysus is a dark and angry god. A phallic(penis) diety, always depicted with an
erect phallus(penis), he is the god who fertilizes the great mother godess so that the earth can be born. Rituals part of
that belief still survive in modern Bulgaria. Most notable among them are those from the Strandja mountain range.
Specificaly, the festivities (orgies) associeted with Saint Marina. According to legend she was born and grew up in a
cave. Her mother had asked the sun to give her a child, which was born in the cave. This legend is a vivid
description of ancent beliefs connected to a recently discovered cave shaped like a uterus, with an opening
through which the sun produces the image of a phallus(penis) which grows and shrinks seasonaly. Also in the same
region of Bulgaria, the traditional white Mummer dances with a giant red phallus(penis) and "fertilizes" the soil.
Dionysus died each winter and was reborn every spring, his rebirth was a time of great celebration. As
Dionysus represented the sap, juice, or lifeblood element in nature, lavish festal orgies in his honor were
widely instituted. The Dionysia custom still survives in modern Bulgaria. When Bulgaria became Christian, the
church changed all the names of gods and holidays to something Christian. In Dionysus' case the new name is
St. Trifon. One of Dionysus' major miracles was turning water into wine. Can you name a major modern
religion which usurped that miracle? So apparently wine as the lifeblood was fine for the Church but orgiastic
worship and the maenads had to go!?! Hopefuly we can bring both of those back.
http://www.eliznik.org.uk/RomaniaHistory/thracian-gods.htm, Balkan history: Thracians gods, Dionysus - festive God
of wine:
Dionysus was, in ancient times, a dark and angry god who fertilized the great mother goddess so that the earth could be born. He
developed into a more gentle festive god by the 6th century BC. The strange legends of Dionysus' birth and death and his
marriage to Ariadne suggest that Dionysus had roots in the early, pre-Greek, people. Each winter Dionysus died and every spring
his rebirth was marked by celebrations and lavish festive orgies.
Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, p. 39, A Mans Sex Organs | The
Phallic Symbol:
http://www.tantricgarden.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DY, Tantric Garden: Where Love & Pleasure Grow, Young

Dionysus 8 statue:
Dionysus embodies gentleness and joy. Symbol of Divine Youth and Lord of Grain, Leaf and Vine, Dionysus
was central to ancient Greek annual ceremonies involving blood sacrifice to ensure crop fertility. He carries
the phallic (penis) wand, was escorted by maenad priestesses, and wears a panther skin. Celebrate joyful
youth with Dionysus!
Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, p. 204, The Classical World | Prostitutes,
Concubines, and Courtesans:
http://barclay.e-city.tv/oldhist/persiaf_en.html, Fertility Rituals at Asukaza Shrine and Dithyrambos:
An ancient, drunken, dance-chant fertility ritual that celebrated the birth of the wine god, Dionysus and
the vaunted fruit of the vine, developed, around the ninth and eighth centuries B.C., with the
dithyrambos. The dithyrambos was performed yearly at four tribal festivals (called orgia--from which
comes our word orgy). These Dionysian revels were held outside town, probably in and around broad,
earthen threshing circles, where, at harvest time, sheaves were pounded to separate grains from
the chaff. Such circles can still be found in rural Greece today. A sixteen-foot phallos (penis)
was erected in the center of the circle as a focal point for the orgiastic festivities.
An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, Skeat, 1983, p. 447, PHALLUS:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:DelosPhallus.jpg (via http://www.answers.com/phallus), Phallus:
Phallus-shaped column from the sanctuary of Dionysus in Delos
(This one of course also honors the Bobbitt family.)

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Phallicism, 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Phallicism:
PHALLICISM, or Phallism (from Gr. ), an anthropological term applied to that form of nature worship in which
adoration is paid to the generative function symbolized by the phallus, the male organ. It is common among primitive peoples,
especially in the East, and had been prominent also among more advanced peoples, e.g. the Phoenicians and the Greeks. In
its most elementary form it is associated with frankly orgiastic rites. This aspect remains in more advanced forms, but gradually it
tends to give place to the joyous recognition of the principle of natural reproduction. In Greece for example, where phallicism was
the essence of the Dionysiac worship and a phallic revel was the origin of comedy (see also Hermes), the purely material and
the symbolical aspects no doubt existed side by side; the Orphic mysteries had to the intellectual Greeks a significance
wholly different from that which they had to the common people. Phallic worship is specially interesting as a form of sympathetic
magic: observing the fertilizing effect of sun and rain, the savage sought to promote the growth of vegetation in the spring
by means of symbolic sexual indulgence.
In the Dionysiac rites the emblem was carried at the head of the processions and was immediately followed by a body of men
dressed as women (the ithyphalli).
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, p. 116, Clothed Herm:
Priapus:
http://www.library.csi.cuny.edu/siias/romanempire.html (College of Staten Island), Roman Empire:
Mold-Made Lamps decorated with Erotica

SIIAS Ax56.30.18; Ax56.30.23
Harold Rome Bequest
Terracotta, 1st-2nd century CE
The discii of these lamps are decorated with scenes of sex-acts. The appearance of these scenes
on objects as common-place as lamps reflects the prominence of sexuality and its association with
fertility in Greco-Roman culture. The worship of Dionysos/Bacchus and Priapus featured orgiastic fertility
rites
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, pp. 124-125, Priapus:
Phallic refers to the penis. Incontinence refers to the lack of sexual restraint.
P. 126-127, Priapus Pouring:
Bibliotheca Eliotae (Latin-English dictionary), Sir Thomas Elyot, 1548 (M. D. XLVIII), no page
numbers, Satyriacum (form of Satyr):
Translated from Elizabethan English:

Satyriacum, an image of Priapus.
Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, p. 216, Hermaphroditus:
Christian connection:
The Paintings of the New Catacomb of the Via Latina and the Struggle of Christianity against Paganism,
Bargebuhr, 1991, p. 38, Representations of Pagan Themes:
The phallic symbol is a penis.

The Sacred Mushroom & The Cross, John M. Allegro, 1971, back cover:
P. 85, Religious Lamentation:

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/dithyrambos.html (Encyclopedia Mythica), Dithyrambos:

A frequent epithet of Dionysus, possibly meaning "he of the double door", i.e. twice born, alluding to his premature birth. The term
also refers to the solemn odes and hymns sung to Dionysus at his festivals.
The Sacred Mushroom & The Cross, John M. Allegro, 1971, p. 90, Religious Lamentation:
John M. Allegro was one of the original scholars who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/lewsdion.htm, Further Into the Depths of Satan, in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of
Narnia, Dionysus, Bacchus, Silenus and the Maenads: Page 7:
As if what we have already been over is not enough, we find what a gross pagan Lewis really was when
we notice that he portrayed Dionysus (Bacchus), Silenus and the Maenads as good characters in his stories!
In Greece a dancing circle surrounded his altar. Through this complete, unconditional surrender to the devils in
this orgy, they believed they could cross over into the eternal, spiritual realm.
The phallus (penis symbol) was a prominent symbol in Dionysus' rituals and was carried in processions in his
honor. One of the oldest known prayer-hymns is one used by the followers of Dionysus and is addressed to the
genitals.[1] His followers included fertility spirits, such as satyrs.
The most revolting thing, which has been evident right along, is stated plainly in the quote on p. 192. Aslan is
leading! Now, if Aslan is supposedly the Lord Jesus Christ, as many assure us and as Lewis himself allowed,
then what we find here is the grossest blasphemy!! This is then supposedly Jesus Christ leading a Satanic
orgy of Bacchus!! This is sick beyond description!!
Im fully aware of what weve been taught to think.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS SATYR / PAN, Nymph, Maenad, Thiasos

The New American Desk Encyclopedia, 1997, pp. 1145-1146, SATYR:
http://www.timelessmyths.com/classical/beasts.html, Classical Mythology: Mythical Creatures, Satyrs:
The satyrs were woodland spirits, often depicted in arts with head and upper body of man, horns and pointy ears,
and goat legs. They were also depicted with large erect phallus(penis).
They were often seen accompanying Dionysus, the god of wine and ecstasy. They were shown in drunken
revelry and orgy, dancing with Dionysus' female followers, the maenads.
Pan, the god of shepherd was a satyr, so was probably Silenus or Seilenus. Silenus was one of the loyal followers
of Dionysus, who brought up the wine god.
Dictionary of Philosophy and Psychology, 1925, p. 340, Erotomania or Eroticomania:
http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/mythology/names/dionysus.htm, Dionysus:
Son of Zeus and Semele and god of wine, vegetation, fertility and often celebrated at theaters. He surrounded
himself with maenads (orgiastic women) and satyrs, and held constant festivities in the forests. The god was
also connected to the orphicism
http://www.in2greece.com/english/historymyth/mythology/names/dionysus_zagreus.htm, Dionysus Zagreus:
The god of the orphicists

The Oxford Latin Minidictionary, Morwood, 1995, p. 644, List of Historical and Mythological Proper Names
| Satyr:
Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, p. 203, The Classical World |
Prostitutes, Concubines, and Courtesans:
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The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Zondervan Publishing, 1976, vol. 2, p. 430, Laugh:
The HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion, 1995, p. 317, Dionysos:
http://www.cnr.edu/home/bmcmanus/bacchaebg.html, Background and Images for the Bacchae, Attributes

and Followers of Dionysus:
The followers of Dionysus were denizens of the mountains and forestssileni, satyrs, nymphs, maenads. Satyrs
were half-man, half-animal creatures, represented as carefree, intoxicated, sexually aroused, and brutish (satyr
and Dionysus; satyrs playing while a chorus of women dance); like the maenads, they were entranced by music
and dancing. The female worshippers of Dionysus were called maenads (raving women), bacchae or
bacchantes (mad women), or thyiads (ecstatic women, with a sexual connotation).
http://www.theoi.com/STUXZ.htm, Greek Mythology: Encyclopedia S-Z: A Guide to Greek Gods, Spirits & Monsters:
Satyrs (Satyroi) Mountain spirits of wilderness fertility. They appeared as animalistic men with the ears and tail of an ass, and erect
phalluses (penises).
Harpers Latin Dictionary, Lewis / Short, 1879, p. 1636:
http://www.answers.com/satyr, satyr:
A licentious man; a lecher.
An immoral or licentious man
Satyrs were usually represented as being very hairy and having the tails and ears of a horse and often the horns and legs of
a goat. An important part of Dionysus' entourage, they were lustful, fertile creatures, always merrily drinking and dancing.
In Greek mythology, satyrs (in Greek, Styroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus
"satyresses" were a late invention of poets that roamed the woods and mountains. In mythology they are often
associated with male sex drive and vase-painters often portrayed them with uncontrollable erections.
Lemprieres Classical Dictionary, 1898, p. 546, Satyri:
I think they mean a wild or turbulent disturbance created by a large number of people by riot, rather than
a violent disturbance of the public peace by three or more persons assembled for a common purpose.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faun, Faun:
In Roman mythology, fauns are place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. Romans connected their fauns with the Greek
satyrs, wild and orgiastic drunken followers of Bacchus (Greek Dionysus).
Panes is plural for Pan.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/sylvan, sylvan:
one who lives in the woods
Not much info on this little guy.

Readers Digest Illustrated Reverse Dictionary, 1990, p. 379, MONSTERS AND MYTHOLOGICAL CREATURES:
Random House Word Menu, 1992, p. 839, Faith | Mythological and Folkloric Beings | satyr:
Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, 1997, p. 1039, satyr:
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged), 1987, p. 1706, satyr play:
Microsoft Encarta Dictionary (paperback), 2002, p. 778, satyr:
Eros: The God of Love in Legend and Art, Irene Korn, 1999, p. 104, Venus and Amor:
Cassells Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Jenny March, 2001, p. 688, Satyrs and Silens:
A phallus is a penis.
The American Heritage College Dictionary, 1997, p. 1213, satyr:
The World Book Encyclopedia, 1987, Vol. 5: D, p. 174, Dionysus:
Better copy:
http://www.worldbookonline.com (subscription required), World Book: Encyclopedia, Dionysus:

Most stories about Dionysus tell of his leading sessions of drunken merrymaking. Dionysus' followers at these
gatherings included nymphs (maidens), creatures called satyrs that were half man and half horse or goat, and women
attendants called maenads (see Nymph; Satyr).
http://www.worldbookonline.com (subscription required), World Book: Encyclopedia, Nymphs:
Nymphs were sometimes shy. But at other times, they were passionate lovers. They were generally friendly and kind to
mortals but occasionally punished people who offended them. Nymphs are represented with fauns and satyrs in the forest
http://www.worldbookonline.com (subscription required), World Book: Dictionary, nymphomania:
nym|pho|ma|ni|a NIHM fuh MAY nee uh, noun.
1 abnormal, uncontrollable sexual desire in a woman.
2 uncontrollable sexual desire in animals, especially in cattle.

http://www.worldbookonline.com (subscription required), World Book: Dictionary, bacchanalia:
bac|cha|na|li|a BAK uh NAY lee uh, -NAYL yuh, noun (plural).
in form, sing. in use. a wild, noisy party; drunken revelry; orgy.
http://www.worldbookonline.com (subscription required), World Book: Encyclopedia, Satyr:
Satyrs followed Dionysus, the god of wine, and Pan, the god of woods and pastures. Most satyrs were young, playful,
and mischievous. They sometimes became wild and uncontrolled but rarely harmed anyone. Their favorite occupations
were drinking wine and pursuing lovely maidens called nymphs.
The Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, 1989, Vol. 9, p. 137, Dionysus:
Concerning that tearing animals apart, like as Ive always said, Ive never found the perfect religious
group. Technically, more perfect ethics are to be found in the future, not the past. Tearing animals apart would be
the equivalent evil that the vast majority do today when they eat meat.
The Oxford Guide to Classical Mythology in the Arts, 13001900s, Reid, 1993, Vol. 1, p. 158:
The Rapid Fact Finder: A Desk Book of Universal Knowledge, Weideman, 1958, p. 138, MAENADS:
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=MAENADS, The Gods of Greek Mythology,

Greek Mythology : MAENADS:
Also known as BACCHAE, BACCHANTES
MAENADS: 'The Raving Ones'. Often labelled as NYMPHS, they are the debauched female followers of DIONYSUS,
who drives them wild with passion.
The New Comprehensive A-Z Crossword Dictionary, Schaffer, 1995, p. 333, Diony:
Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols, Jobes, Part 2, 1961, p. 1036, Maenad:
Dictionary of Satanism; Baskin; Philosophical Library, New York; 1972; p. 49:
P. 108:
P. 109:
Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language, 1963, Agapetid:
http://www.sacredsource.com/prodinfo.asp?number=DDP, Sacred Source: Ancient Images, Ancient Wisdom,

Dionysus Satyr maenad Plaque 10:
DIONYSUS -- God of Ecstatic Devotion

Bacchus, or Greek Dionysus, came to Europe from Crete and is thought to be the indigenous vegetation God and consort of the
Mother Goddess later displaced by patriarchal Jupiter. His mystery school was closely linked with that of Goddess Cybele, brought to
Rome from Asia Minor. Both enjoyed flamboyant oriental priestesses and priests, clashing cymbals and blowing twisted reeds as they
danced barefoot with ecstatic abandon.
This plaque shows Dionysus in procession with an aulos-playing Satyr and drumming Maenad, and is the inspiration for our frame drum
design. The Maenad women drummers, filled with erotic longing for union with Dionysus, developed a reputation for unbridled
licentiousness and the ability to invoke trance with rhythm. Our word orgy comes from the annual Roman celebration of
Bacchanalia corresponding with the fermenting of wine. Stands and hangs. [Roman Relief 100 C.E.]
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ecotaka/e/cee160a5bf0f3b36d6033fa3d303d1e9:
Bronze satyr (BC 700-500)

http://www.answers.com/satyr, satyr:
A satyr corkscrew. These small figurines are commonly sold in Greek tourist shops.
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, p. 119, Reclining
Ithyphallic Satyr:
Pp. 86-87, Satyr and Nymph:
http://weimar.hku.nl/martin/reservoir/lichaam-lust/clodio.html:
Satyr en Bacchante, ca. 1775.

http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/Rome/bacchanalia.htm, The World History of Male Love: Roman
Hall, Bacchanalia:
Young satyr making love to a herm of the god Pan. Bas-relief on a marble sarcophagus from late 2nd century
CE. Originally part of the Farnese collection, now in the Archeological Museum, Naples.
Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 36, figure 12:
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, pp. 92-93, Bacchanalian Scene
Marble Sarcophagus:
These licentious orgies appear to have been very well known during the time of Christ and the early Christians,
who definitely expressed was even acceptable. Todays Christian views on sex would definitely not support
such iconography (and define it as the worst kind of evil), but Christians who chronologically lived closer to
Christ did, and these were the Christians who emanated into the Catholic Church. So, something changed.
Todays honored Church leaders would explain that Christ was overwhelmingly and adamantly against sex
orgies, then the Early Church supported sex orgies, then later things changed back to what Christ
overwhelmingly taught against sex orgies. Any everybody will just believe it. And, Im the one thats
called stupid.
Pp. 90-91, Bacchanalian Scene:
I think your gay community would like to interpret this.

Pp. 92-93, Bacchanalian Scene:
http://academic.reed.edu/humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/mosaic23.jpg (via http://academic.reed.edu/

humanities/110Tech/RomanAfrica2/), Leda and the Swan; Satyr embracing a Maenad: notice satyr's skin
color (Blanchard-Lemee fig. 196-97):

Mosaic panel from the House of the Faun in Pompeii, 1st century AD. The male figure is a satyr. London,
The British Museum.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # MI001224, Ancient Roman Mosaic with Satyr and Nymph, Date Created: before 79 A.D.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # MI001791, Woman and a Satyr Fresco Painting From Pompeii:
http://www.aztriad.com/gallaf.html, Satyr and Maenad:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # MI001782, Satyr and Nymph Fresco Painting From Pompeii, Sexual activity:
http://www.uark.edu/campus-resources/dlevine/SatyrMaenad2.jpg (University of Arkansas) (via http://www.uark.

edu/campus-resources/dlevine/Satyr4.html):
http://www.psicotecnica.org/PanNinfe.html, Pan e le Ninfe (Pan and the Nymphs), Diverse versioni del
conforto che Pan porta alla Ninfa (talvolta definita Psyche) che vanno dal quinto secolo ac fino a
tempi contemporanei (Various versions of the comfort that Pan carries to the Nymph
(sometimes defined Psyche) that they go from the fifth century BC until contemporary times):
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, pp. 98-99, Lebes with Satyr
and Nymph:

Low relief on a bronze bowl from Pompeii, 1st century AD. The male figure is a satyr. Naples, The
National Museum.
http://www.ancientsculpturegallery.com/028.html, Ancient Sculpture Gallery, Pan and Maenad large plaque:
Pan is famous for his sexual prowess - he had every one of the Maenads in one orgiastic riot or another.
Maenads were female worshippers of Dionysus-Bacchus, the god of mystery, wine and intoxication.
They were known as wild, insane women who could not be reasoned with. The mysteries of Dionysus
inspired the women to ecstatic frenzy; they indulged in copious amounts of violence, bloodletting, sex
and self-intoxication and mutilation. A group of Maenads also killed Orpheus. They were usually pictured
as crowned with vine leaves. The Maenads were also known as Bassarids (or Bacchae or Bacchantes)
in Roman mythology, after the penchant for the equivalent Roman god, Bacchus.
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/maenad_satyr1.jpg (via http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/
index5.html), detail, black-figure vase: amorous satyr and maenad; Greek, mid-fifth century BCE;
Syracuse Museum. Keywords: Bacchus, bacchante, Dionysus, mythology, vase painting:
http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/S.html:
satyr - In Greek mythology, a kind of demi-god or deity; a follower of Dionysus. He is

wanton and lascivious
Greek, fifth century BCE, Ithyphallic Satyr Playing an Aulos for a Maenad, detail of a red-figure vase, Syracuse Museum.
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/satyr.jpg (via http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_images/index5.html):
red-figure vase: Dionysus holding thyrsus and satyr playing aulos (double flute)
Syracuse Museum. Credits: Barbara McManus, 1982
Keywords: Bacchus, bacchante, Dionysus, mythology, vase painting
http://cnes.cla.umn.edu/courses/review%20for%20midterm/satyrs%20dancw%20with%20maenads.jpg (via http://cnes.cla.

umn.edu/courses/Greek.html), 21. Satyrs dance with maenads:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AABR002839, God with Man and Satyr:
http://www.uwm.edu/Course/mythology/0700/dionysus.htm, Associates of Dionysus: Satyrs and Maenads | Satyrs

& Maenads:
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/mcl/classics/Dion/Satyrs_maen.jpg (via http://www.hfac.uh.edu/mcl/classics/Dion_visuals.html),

With satyrs and maenads:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.01.1309, Dionysos with kantharos, flanked by four satyrs:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.01.1312, Side B: satyr with aulos and wineskin, satyr

with cithara, Hephaistos:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=Perseus:image:1990.01.1311, Handle, side A at left: satyr with

rhyton, gesturing satyr, satyr with aulos and wineskin:
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Dionysos.html, Dionysus:
K12.7 "Dionysos and his retinue", Athenian Red Figure Column Krater C5th BC, Martin von Wagner Museum, University of Wrzburg L 526:
K12.6 "Dionysos and his retinue", Athenian Red Figure Klyix C5th BC, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 13.67:
http://www.geocities.com/notosga/photogods/page_dio.htm, Dionysus, Dionysos with Satyr:
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/classics/hansen/graphics/maenad.jpg (via http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/

classics/hansen/dionfest.htm), Dionysos at Athens: Tragedy, Comedy, and Cult:

A cup by Epiktetos, showing a satyr pursuing a young girl. 6th century BCE. Naples, National Museum.
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, p. 100, Skyphos with Scene
of Satyr and Maenad:
http://www.theoi.com/image/K27.5Seilenoi.jpg (via http://www.theoi.com/IllustrationK4.html), Gallery: Myth in Classical

Art, K27.5 Seilenoi making wine:
Summary: Side A: Silens making wine; Side B: Dionysos & Silens Date: ca 530 - 520 BC
Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 68:
P. 69, figure 20, Acrobatic satyr orgy:
Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 68, figure 19, Sixth century
wine flagon with satyrs:
Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, pp. 212-214, The Classical World | Festivals
and Mysteries:
Phallus and Phallic means a penis.

Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 69:
P. 70, figure 21, Man in satyr costume:
Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 71, figure 22a, Satyr carries off
a maenad:
Love, Sex & Tragedy: How the Ancient World Shapes Our Lives, Goldhill, 2004, p. 221, figure 38, The Question
of Tragedy:
P. 222, figure 39:
P. 223:
Dionysus was very well known.

http://www.educnet.education.fr/musagora/dionysos/dionysosen/iconantiq.htm, Depictions of Dionysos:
Dionysos begins to appear in ceramics at the end of the VIth century B.C. in the form of an adult with a pointed beard, dressed
in a long oriental robe over a tunic.
http://www.theoi.com/image/K22.1Pan.jpg (via http://www.theoi.com/IllustrationK4.html), Gallery: Myth in Classical Art,

K22.1 Pan:
Summary: Side A: Dionysos and Ariadne. Pan picking grapes Date: ca 380 - 360 BC
What Life Was Like at the Dawn of Democracy: Classical Athens 525-322 BC, Time-Life Books, 1997, no page
number, Dionysos and His Followers:
http://www.magicalomaha.com/Greekgodgoddessstatury.htm, Greek/Roman God and Goddess Statues, Satyr

Herne Statue:
A few satyrs have horns. Without doing a bunch of research, I assume the later church has equated horns with
the devil.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # DE006219, Tripod with Basin for Burning Coal, Date Created: ca. 1st century A.D., Satyrs:
Eros in Pompeii: The Secret Rooms of the National Museum of Naples, Grant, 1975, p. 9, Tripod with
Ithyphallic Young Pans:
Pp. 84-85, Tripod with Ithyphallic Young Pans:
http://www.answers.com/ithyphallic, ithyphallic:
1. Of or relating to the phallus carried in the ancient festival of Bacchus.
2. Having the penis erect. Used of graphic and sculptural representations.
3. Lascivious; salacious.
http://www.androphile.org/preview/Museum/Rome/ficoronicist.htm, The World History of Male Love: Roman Hall, Ficoroni cist:
Bronze ritual vessel from women's Dionysiac procession featuring homoerotic symbols and engraved with scenes from
the voyage of the Argo. The feet depict Hercules and Iolaus, with Eros standing in between. The finial group is made up
of Dionysus flanked by two ithyphallic (sexually aroused) satyrs. One side of the engraving shows an embracing
couple tentatively identified as Hercules and Hylas (closeup of engraving has been enhanced for clarity). Praeneste, 4th
century BCE. Museo Nazionale di Villa Giulia, Rome.
http://www.homoerotimuseum.net/eur/eur05/006.html (Homoerotic Art Museum), 6 Ficoroni cist, 4th century BC:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # IH050538, Ficoroni Cist by Novius Plautius, late 4th century BC:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # BE087724, Detail of Nymphs, Satyrs and Pan from The Feast of Venus by Peter
Paul Rubens:
http://www.bestpriceart.com/painting/?pid=81240, Silen, Satyr and Bacchanals, by Karl Brulloff, Russia:
http://www.getty.edu/art/collections/objects/o739.html, Bacchanale, Alessandro Magnasco, Italian, about 1720-1730:

Nymphs and satyrs participate in an ancient pagan feast celebrating Bacchus, the god of wine.
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology, Cotterell / Storm, 1999, p. 61, Satyrs:
P. 81, The Satyrs:
http://www.uwm.edu/Course/mythology/0700/dionysus.htm, Associates of Dionysus: Satyrs and Maenads |

Alma-Tadema:
http://www.zeichen.dsl.pipex.com/jugs%20&%20general.htm:
A Charles Meigh Bacchanalian Dance jug in grey stoneware with scenes from "Bacchanalian
Revel before a Herm of Pan by Poussin and Drunken Silenus by Rubens.
Thiasos:
http://www.winterscapes.com/thiasoslusios/festivals.htm, Thiasos Lusious - Festivals:
Here is the festival calendar for Dionysos:
Propompeia - For satyrs, maenads, etc.

Date: Mardi Gras Tuesday / mid-February
Synopsis: A Festival in honor of the Propompoi, the companions and attendants of Dionysos in His revels
- the Maenads, the Satyrs, the Muses, the Nymphs, the Graces, the Kouretes, etc. Everyone's
already honoring Dionysos with drunken carousing, rampant silliness, and great phallic (penis) worship
on this day - we'll just rechristen it.
Anthesteria
Date: Anthesterion 11-13 (mid to late February)
Synopsis: The first day was called Pithoigia or the "Opening of the Jars". This was when the wine
casks were opened for the first time, and masters and servants alike were allowed to taste the new
wine. The second day Khoes or "Cups" was celebrated with a great public feast, and young children
were given their first drink of wine. At Dionysos' oldest temple, the Lenaeon, the wife of the
Archon Basileus "King and Ruler" was wedded to Dionysos in a Sacred Marriage. The Basilissa was
thought to represent the country, and thus her wedding with Dionysos was seen as a way of
uniting fertility with the land once more. It's not sure how this was done, whether a Priest of
Dionysos functioned as a stand-in for the God, or whether the Basilissa made love to the ancient
phallic (penis) wooden statue that was housed in the temple, or whether her husband the Archon
Basileus impersonated the God. There was a general sense of erotic expectation in the air, which may
have culimnated in nocturnal orgies. The third and final day of the festival, Khutroi or "Pots", was
entirely given over to the spirits of the dead. Sacrifices of cooked vegetables and seeds were given
to Hermes and the dead.
http://www.answers.com/phallic, phallic:
Of or relating to the third stage of psychosexual development in psycholanalytic theory during which the genital organs
first become the focus of sexual feeling.
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/ukraine/231/dionysian/orphism.html, From Orphism to Gnosticism:
G.R.S Mead writes of other obscure sects, two of which he calls the Thiasi and the Orgeones, which emerged
amongst the Dionysians
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_clubs, Ancient Greek clubs:
the thiasi and orgeones seem connected more especially with foreign deities whose rites were of an orgiastic character.
http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/miscellaneous.html, Archaic Athens: Miscellaneous Texts, I, Philochoros [FGrH 328] F
35a: (=Photios & Suda, s.v. orgeones):
orgeones: Those who perform orgiastic rites for their own privately erected gods; orgiazein means to carry out
the orgia of the gods, that is to say, mysteries and nomima ['customary usages'].
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Dionysus, 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, DIONYSUS:
In Homer, notwithstanding the frequent mention of the use of wine, Dionysus is never mentioned as its inventor or introducer,
nor does he appear in Olympus; Hesiod is the first who calls wine the gift of Dionysus. On the other hand, he is spoken of in
the Iliad (vi. 130 f oll., a passage belonging to the latest period of epic), as " raging," an epithet that indicates that in
those comparatively early times the orgiastic character of his worship was recognized. In fact, Dionysus may be regarded
under two distinct aspects: that of a popular national Greek god of wine and cheerfulness, and that of a foreign deity,
worshipped with ecstatic and mysterious rites introduced from Thrace.
Dionysus was then conveyed by Hermes to be brought up by the nymphs of Nysa, a purely imaginary spot, afterwards
localized in different parts of the world, which claimed the honour of having been the birthplace of the god. As soon as
Dionysus was grown up, he started on a journey through the world, to teach the cultivation of the vine and spread his
worship among men. While so engaged he met with opposition, even in his own country, as in the case of Pentheus, king
of Thebes, who opposed the orgiastic rites introduced by Dionysus among the women of Thebes
At Orchomenus, the three daughters of Minyas refused to join the other women in their nocturnal orgies, and for this
were transformed into birds (see Agr10nia).
The worship of Dionysus was actively conducted in Asia Minor, particularly in Phrygia and Lydia. Here, as Sabazius, he
was associated with the:Phrygian goddess Cybele, and was followed in his expeditions by a thiasos (retinue) of centaurs
and satyrs, with Pan and Silenus.
Silenus was a Satyr, or similar to a Satyr.
The former story has been connected with the sailors' custom of hanging vine leaves, ivy and bunches of grapes round the
masts of vessels in honour of vintage festivals.
Dionysus further possessed the prophetic gift, and his oracle at Delphi was as important as that of Apollo. Like Hermes,
Dionysus was a god of the productiveness of nature, and hence Priapus(god who had an enormous erect penis) was one of
his regular companions, while not only in the mysteries but in the rural festivals his symbol, the phallus(penis), was carried
about ostentatiously.
http://home.pon.net/rhinoceroslodge/thiasos.htm, Thiasos Olympikos:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AABR002864, Maenad with Thrysus and Satyr:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS LATER ART (non-Christian)

http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AALQ001196, A Bacchanalian Scene by Auguste Leveque, ca. 1890-1910, Eroticism,
Lovers, Lust, Maenad, Orgy, Passion:
http://www.sandladan.tv/bilder/bacchanal.jpg:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-Later_NON-Christian.htm (1 of 50) [24/09/2012 12:15:37 AM]
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/herrick/bacchus2.htm; To Bacchus, A Canticle; by Robert Herrick:

WHITHER dost thou whorry me,
Bacchus, being full of thee ?

This way, that way, that way, this,
Here and there a fresh love is.
That doth like me, this doth please,
Thus a thousand mistresses
I have now ; yet I alone,
Having all, enjoy not one.
Titian. Bacchanal of the Andrians. 1523-24

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/T/titian/titian_andrians.jpg.html, Titian: Bacchanal of the Andrians 1523-25:
http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/wline.asp, Nymphes et Satyre, 1873, by Adolphe-William Bouguereau (1825 - 1905):
http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/genios/cuadros/3648.htm:
Pertenece al ciclo de triunfos o bacanales [Spanish] (Bacchanalia)
http://www.uco.es/~ca1lamag/Galerias/Dionisio.htm, Bacanal [Spanish]: Poussin. Plasmacin de ritos

dionsiacos. Recurdese las Bacantes de Eurpides.:
http://www.wallacecollection.org/c/w_a/p_w_d/d_f/p/p188.htm, Bacchanalian Scene, by Willem Van Mieris, 1700:
http://www.atelierdesarts.com/articoli/dipinti/tito1.html, Baccanale [Italian]:
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/WINDOWS_MAIN_FILE/Bacchus_Entrusted.html, Nicolas Poussin

(1594-1665), "The Infant Bacchus Entrusted to the Nymphs of Nysa; The Death of Echo and Narcissus," 1657:
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/rosand/medium/dosso_bacchanal_ng_061803.jpg (Bacchanal of Men, c. 1520):
http://www.georgeglazer.com/prints/aanda/art-pre20/watteau.html, Aftermath of a Bacchanal, French, 18th or 19th Century:
Four nude women, possibly Venus and the Three Graces, sleep on a cloth spread upon a niche in the rocks,
alongside bunches of grapes and an amphora of wine -- apparently emptied because it lies on its side, as well as
a tambourine and a sword. A cherub, two craggy-faced men, and another woman peer down at the scene from above.
http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/ricci/sebastia/2/, Paintings (Page 2) by Sebastiano Ricci, The Meeting

of Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1713:
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Dionysus/source/16.html, Dionysus Album, Der Zug des

Bacchus, 1760. Francesco de Mura 1696-1782. Gemlde Galerie Kulturforum, Berlin:
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Dionysus/source/7.html, Dionysus Album, Bacchus' triumph

[1536-37]. Maerten van Heemskerck 1498-1574. Knsthistorische Museum, Wien:
http://www.tigtail.org/TIG/S_View/TVM/X1/f.Baroque/c.french/poussin/M/poussin_midas_baccus.jpg (via http://www.tigtail.org/

TIG/S_View/TVM/X1/f.Baroque/c.french/baroque-french.html), Midas and Bacchus (by Nicolas Poussin, 1594-1665):
http://xxi.ac-reims.fr/fig-st-die/actes/actes_2002/bailly/article.htm, (University of Geneva), Fig. 6 : Nicolas

Poussin (1594-1665), Midas rendant grce Bacchus (Translated from French: Fig. 6 Nicolas Chick,
Midas returning thanks to Bacchus):
Les bacchanales taient des ftes nocturnes o des femmes sadonnaient la dbauche, ce qui excite limagination
des artistes. Et dans la littrature, limage du moine bien buveur et bon vivant se retrouve du Frre Jean
des Entommeurs de Rabelais au Rvrend Pre Gaucher dAlphonse Daudet. Le christianisme a t le propagateur
de la vigne et le propagandiste du vin. Cette tendance reste prsente dans le culte des Saints Vignerons (St Vincent).
Translated from French: The orgies were night festivals where women devoted themselves to the vice, which
excites the imagination of the artists. And in the literature, the image of the monk well "drinker" and jolly fellow
finds himself of the Jean Brother of Entommeurs de Rabelais to the Reverend Left-handed Pre of Alphonse
Daudet. Christianity was the propagator of the vine and the propagandist of the wine. This tendency remains
present in the worship of the Saints Vine growers (St Vincent).
http://webexhibits.org/feast/location/WorshipOfVenus.html, The Worship of Venus by Titian (1518-20):
THIS FESTIVAL of love features a multitude of cupids, themselves the offspring of the unbridled passion
of Venus and her nymphs. The cupids mission is to proliferate passionate love. Here, they worship
Venus as the goddess of love, who has produced them through her pursuit of love.
This second bacchanal (for the infant cupids) is described by the classical author Philotratus.
http://www.abcgallery.com/P/poussin/poussin25.html (Olgas Gallery), Nicolas Poussin. Bacchanalia. 1631-1633:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # DE003669, Bacchanal of Putti by Nicolas Poussin, (1626):
http://www.george24.com/~the-word/Bacchanalia3_1.jpg:
http://www.wga.hu/art/m/magnasco/1bacchan.jpg (via http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/magnasco/),

Bacchanalian Scene 1710s:
http://3mill.ru/IRKUTSK/hermitage_vakhanalia.jpg (via http://3mill.ru/IRKUTSK/N111_irkutsk.htm),

[Bacchanalia] (Russian site):
http://www.romanempire.net/romepage/TogaParty.htm, New Years Eve Toga Party:
Join Romes citizenry for a Bacchanalian revelry of unparalleled extravagant, decadence

and debauchery worthy of Roman grandeur!
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, Roberts, 1998, Vol. 1: A-L, p.
99, Bacchanalia / Orgy:
http://artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=15018, Thomas Couture: The Romans of the Decadence, (1847):
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/artists/Sir%20Lawrence%20Alma-Tadema/The%20Women%20of%20Amphissa.jpg (via
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/artists/Sir%20Lawrence%20Alma-Tadema/index_alma-tadema.html), Sir Lawrence

Alma-Tadema: The Women of Amphissa, (1887):
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # KE002652, Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne by Annibale Carracci, Date Created: ca.
1597-1602
Paintings decorate the ceiling of the gallery of Palazzo Farnese (palace) by A. Carracci. Rome, Italy.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AABR003171, Wine Label Designs Depicting Cherubs in Bacchanal Scenes by
Artur Osang, ca. 1872:
http://www.psicotecnica.org/PanNinfe.html, Scena bacchica di Corrado Giaquinto (1790 circa). Ninfe con satiro di
William-Adolphe Bouguereau. La giovent di Bacco, di William Bouguereau [Bacchic scene of Corrado
Giaquinto (1790 circa). Nymphs with satyr of William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The youth of Bacchus,
of William Bouguereau]:
http://www.nice-encheres.com/0604/vente05.html, Bacchanales, faunes et nymphes by Albert Charpentier (1878-1916):

http://www.painterskeys.com/clickbacks/wline.asp, The Bacchanal, 1885, Artist: Paul Cezanne (1839-1906):
http://www.artfact.com/features/artistLot.cfm?iid=mfwABM45, Henri Fantin-Latour (French, 1836-1904), Tannhauser et

Vnus (Bacchanale), 1862:
One color:
http://www.edition-vogelmann.de/evkunstmarkt.htm, Bacchanalia:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/kanon_antiqueprints/decoration_image/De45_big.JPG (via http://homepage2.nifty.

com/kanon_antiqueprints/catalog_decoration.htm), A Bacchanalian Scene:
http://www.cndp.fr/magarts/dessin1/DossierImp.htm, Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), Bacchanale:
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/gallery/37b9abcf.html, Bacchanal, 17th century, Artist: Raymond doe Lafage:
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/gallery/abf9ac64.html, Bacchanalian orgy set by a sacrificial

altar (recto), 17th century, Artist: Cornelis Schut:
http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/tienda/banco/cuadros/3684.htm, Bacanal [Spanish],

Nicolas Poussin, 1633:
http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/tienda/banco/cuadros/3691.htm, Bacanal [Spanish] ante

un templo, Nicolas Poussin, 1635-37:
http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/tienda/banco/indices/gal-18.htm, Bacanal [Spanish] ante

un templo, Nicolas Poussin, 1635:
http://www.artehistoria.com/frames.htm?http://www.artehistoria.com/tienda/banco/cuadros/3748.htm, El Triunfo de Pan, 1634:
Es uno de los dibujos preparatorios que Poussin realiz para las llamadas "Bacanales (Spanish) Richelieu", hacia
1634, en concreto para El triunfo de Pan

Translated from Spanish:
He is one of the preparatory drawings that Poussin made for the calls "Bacanales [Spanish] Richelieu", towards
1634, in concrete for the Bread triumph.
http://www.abcgallery.com/T/tolstoy/tolstoy16.html, Bacchanalia, 1808:
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/gallery/7c018a22.html, Bacchanalian dance, 18th century, by John

Hamilton Mortimer:
http://www.stylusart.com/contraportada/drawingsmet/obra8.htm, Bacanal [Spanish], ca. 1635-6:
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_Of_Art/recent_acquisitions/1998/co_rec_eur_1998_225_l.asp, Bacchanal, ca. 163536, Nicolas Poussin:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta06.htm, The Processional of the Bacchic Rites:
http://www.bellman.net/bacchus.html, Bacchanal med Bacchus, Silenus, satyrer m.fl., Gravering av oknd konstnr,
1600- eller 1700-talet:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/4/8/10484/10484-h/Illus0011.jpg (via http://www.gutenberg.org/

dirs/1/0/4/8/10484/10484-h/10484-h.htm), A Roman Bacchanal
http://www.angelfire.com/la/psique/dioniso.html, Dioniso [Portuguese]:
http://www.artive.arti.beniculturali.it/artenelmito/Baccanali.htm, Baccanali e Bacco, Baccanale [Italian] in onore di

Pan Sebastiano Ricci:
http://www.sataniclust.com/05_01-06/ar_rhythmic_decompression.htm (Lust Magazine), Dance of the

Bacchantes, Johann J.F. Langenhoeffel, Europe, 1798:
http://columbus.gl.iit.edu/artarch/00194022.html, A Bacchanal, by Constantin Makovsky (Russian), 1893:
Relief:
http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0014007.html, Bacchantes s'enlaant surmontes d'un nu fminin ail, by Auguste
Rodin (1840-1917):
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/auctions/ebay/873204.html, Continental carved ivory bacchanalian panel 19th c:
http://www.jennmaur.com/scsubjectindex/19thcentury/19thcentury4.htm, 19th Century, Wine Bacchanalia French 1817-?:
http://antiquecat.davidweatherford.com/antiquecat/images/image_1/969-071b-1.jpg (via http://antiquecat.davidweatherford.

com/cgi-bin/antiquecat/00735.html), Bacchanalian Ceramic Pitcher, 19th Century
http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/pex/fc01113.jpg (via http://www.speel.demon.co.uk/other/grtexhib.htm), The Great Exhibition

of 1851, Bacchanalian drinking cup by Charles Meigh, Staffordshire:
http://www.justinteeantiques.com/catalogue/Archive/37506, Victorian SP Tea Caddy:

A fabulous Victorian silver plated tea caddy decorated with bacchanalian scenes in high relief.
http://www.antique-silver.com/img4/1869b.jpg (via http://www.antique-silver.com/des/1869.htm), Part of Victorian silvergilt, Bacchanalian pattern serving spoons:
Hallmarked :- London 1877 The earliest pieces recorded date from 1812 and are in the Royal Collection.
http://www.westernsilver.com/cj_vander_pics/bacchanalian_l.jpg (via http://www.westernsilver.com/

cj_vander/bacchanalian_cj_vander.html), Bacchanalian by Wallace (CJ Vander):
http://www.silversuperstore.com/cj_vander/pix/bacchanalianbig.jpg (via http://www.silversuperstore.com/cj_vander/

bacchanalian.html), Bacchanalian Sterling Silver Flatware, Silverware:
Bacchanalian is a fine Regency design from 1812 designed for Rundell, Bridge, & Rundell for the Royal Collection. The scene is depicted
in heavy relief with an elaborate mask on the reverse of the bowl.
http://www.silversuperstore.com/cj_vander/pix/bacchanalian5pcbig.jpg:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS MODERN DAY ART (non-Christian)

http://hometown.aol.com/croywolf/artworks.html, Donald Jack Paintings, Bacchannal, Acrylic on canvas, 1997, B
OBrien collection:
http://www.parnasse.com/olderlist.htm, The Triumph of Pan 1986, Bacchanale with Dionysus, Ariadne, and drunken Pan.
http://www.parnasse.com/ER-Bacchanale.jpg, (via http://www.parnasse.com/ermyth.shtml), Myths and Allegories by

Elsie Russell:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/J...0M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-Modern_NON-Christian.htm (1 of 42) [24/09/2012 12:15:39 AM]
http://les.agitateurs.free.fr/Fgalerie_02.htm, Bacchanales:
http://cgi.ebay.com/1928-1st-Norman-LindsayDIONYSOS-SIGNED_W0QQitemZ8343186202QQcategoryZ7703QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem, 1928 1st - Norman Lindsay

- DIONYSOS - SIGNED:
Dionysos - Nietzsche Contra Nietzsche, By Jack Lindsay, Published by The Fanfrolico Press, London, 1928
An essay in lyrical philosophy.
http://www.ronaldcolesgalleries.com.au/lindsay_Bacchanalia.html, Norman Alfred Williams Lindsay 18791969 Bacchanalia":
http://www.pa56.org/winslow/jwbacch.htm, bacchanale - 1997:
http://www3.telus.net/pasutti/galleries/5/pages/bacchanal_jpg.htm, Brad Pasutti-- "Bacchanal" 1997:
http://www.gayartist.co.uk/over18paint.asp?id=39, Bacchanalian, Christopher Lucas Furminger:
http://www.apperley-art.com/gallery_watercolours/la_bacchante.htm:
http://nadina_tandy.tripod.com/figures/bacchanalia.html, Bacchanalia:
http://www.stdb.ro/~vasile/chirnoag.htm, Bacanala (Spanish), 1993:
http://www.bcb.gov.br/htms/galeria/frmquadro.asp?nomeArq=/htms/galeria/faria/bacante.jpg&artista=Guilherme%20de
%20Faria&obra=Bacante (via http://www.bcb.gov.br/htms/galeria/faria/obras.asp?idpai=arteobras), Bacante [Spanish]:
http://www.ronaldcolesgalleries.com.au/lindsay-bacchanal.html, Norman Alfred Williams Lindsay 1879-1969 Bacchanal":
http://www.signals.com/signals/Home-Garden_1AE/Item_Edward-Gorey-Limited-Edition-LithographBacchanalia-1995_PH4252_ps_cti-1AE.html,
Edward Gorey Limited Edition Lithograph - Bacchanalia (1995):
http://www.dotlit.qut.edu.au/200202/bohemians.html, Bohemians in Love: Peter Christiansen
Norman Lindsay, 'Bacchanalian', The Bulletin, 7 December 1901

This drawing introduced the Bulletin's 1901 Christmas edition and conveys some idea of the
bohemian enthusiasm for drinking, drugs, escapism and fantasy. Bohemia An invention of
the nineteenth century; a place to escape from the dull weariness of conventional living; a reserve for
artists and writers; a private world reserved for the wild, free, unconventional and young.
Whos Who in Greek and Roman Mythology, Kravitz, 1976, p. 81, Dionysus (Bacchus):
http://search.famsf.org:8080/view.shtml?keywords=%42%61%63%63%68%61%6E%61%6C
%65&artist=&country=&period=&sort=&start=1&position=5&record=303041, Malvina Hoffman, artist, Study drawing
for Bacchanale frieze, 1887 1996:
http://search.famsf.org:8080/view.shtml?keywords=%42%61%63%63%68%61%6E%61%6C
%65&artist=&country=&period=&sort=&start=1&position=6&record=303040, Malvina Hoffman, artist, Study drawing
for Bacchanale frieze, 1887 1996:
http://www.irvingnorman.com/c_oil_paintings_p2_1953_1957_ht/1954_bacchanal/1954_bacchanal.html, 1954 Bacchanal:
http://mexico.artealdia.com/content/view/full/13060, Arcadio Cancio: Bacanal (Spanish):
http://www.spanierman.com/Muller/muller960177c.htm, Jan Mller (1922-1958): Bacchanale, 1955-1956:
http://www.castelbolognese.org/giuseppe_guidi.htm, Giuseppe Guidi (1881-1931), I BACCANALI [Italian], smalti su

rame (Castel Bolognese, Museo Civico)
http://inet.sitepac.pt/BacanalLiliana.jpg (via http://inet.sitepac.pt/body_simbolo_4.html) & http://www.lilianwaidatt.com.ar/

grupos/GRUPO_4/min/img004.jpg (via http://www.lilianwaidatt.com.ar/obras_ver?f=GRUPO_4), Bacanal (Spanish) Liliana:
http://home.pfaffenhofen.de/em-enamel/bayew.htm, Bacchanalia 1999:
http://www.artclic.net/expositions/088.htm, Bacchanales:
http://www.konjovic.co.yu/srp/tem_4/105.html, Bahanal (Translated from Serbo-Croatian: Bacchanal), 1921:
http://www.mypawprint.com/PPFA/LKossoff_works.htm, Bacchanal before a Herm after Poussin, by Leon Kossoff, 1997:
http://www.haitiglobalvillage.com/sdm-rtm-rmd/t19-.htm, Bacchanales (French):
http://www.djtfineart.com/cgi-bin/fine-art/gallery.html?category=PicassoP&item=art00355, Pablo Picasso: Bacchanale, 1970:
http://latein-pagina.de/ovid/ovid_m3.htm, Huldigung an Bacchus, Pablo Picasso, 1960:
http://www.alancristea.com/pages/masters_gr/master_pages/picasso/bacchanale_au_hibou.html, Pablo Picasso:

Bacchanale au Hibou, 1959:
http://www.art-passion.net/dossier_mercader.htm, SALO MERCADER, La bacchanale de los minotauros, 1995:
http://www.fiume.org/english/drawings/11.html, Dionysian Dance, 1962:
http://www.ledorfineart.com/B795_Bacchanale.html, Bacchanale Bacchanal, 1956:
http://obrasocial.bancaja.es/accesible/actividades/fichapatrim_picasso.asp?ID=674&SUI=4, Bacanal (Spanish) con bho y

con muchacho enmascarado, Pablo Picasso, 1955:
http://obrasocial.bancaja.es/accesible/actividades/fichapatrim_picasso.asp?ID=670&SUI=4, Bacanal (Spanish) con

flautista, Pablo Picasso, 1955:
http://www.yurozart.com/about/about_zorro.htm, Yuroz Paints Murals:
YUROZ paints a Bacchanalia in the Rio Hotel wine cellar in Las Vegas, NV, while at a private party for
filmmaker Michele Berk (also executive producer for CineVegas).
http://meyer-antique-prints.com/index.
php?page_id=details&cat_id=94&pic_id=p_oj82191&PHPSESSID=31acb824c781e4429eccdd3101d0dec0 (Meyer
Antique Prints), La Bacchanale, Artist: Pablo Ruiz Picasso (born 1881):
http://www.pablopicassoprints.com/view_art.php?art_id=1779&min=0&max=10000000, La Bacchanale, date of work:1944,

by Pablo Ruiz Picasso (born 1881):
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/reviews/drohojowska-philp/drohojowska-philp3-24-6.asp, Leon Kossoff, Bacchanal Before

a Herm No. 2, 1995-97:
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/news/walrobinson/walrobinson1-1-8.asp, Leon Kossoff, Bacchanal Before a Herm #3, 1997:
http://www.arteuy.com.uy/FloresE/arteuyflores03354g.htm, Bacanal [Spanish]:
http://www.againc.co.jp/picasso.html, Pablo Picasso, Les Bacchanales:
http://www.mnartists.org/work.do?rid=6569, Peter Zarnoti, Bacchanalian Revel:
These paintings were made as murals for the lobby of a neo-classical building. This is one of sixteen paintings in the series.
http://www.johnnybeinart.citymax.com/albums/album_image/803461/198948.htm, Maenad Wheel, Pen. Drawn in

Vienna Sept.2oo3:
http://www.artnet.de/artwork/424059946/andre-masson-petite-bacchanale.html, Petite Bacchanale, by Andr Masson, 1896:
http://www.bildindex.de/bilder/fmc662360b.jpg (via http://www.safran-arts.com/42day/art/art4jan/art0104.html), Andr

Masson, 1896, Petite Bacchanale:
http://www.absolutearts.com/cgi-bin/portfolio/art/your-art.cgi?
login=radumanoliu&title=Bacchanalia_in_Blue_and_Orange-1073595652t.jpg, Radu Manoliu: "Bacchanalia In Blue
And Orange" - Computer Art, 2003:
http://www.galerie-trocmez.fr/trocmez_fr/aujame/p_aujame1.htm, Bacchanale, 1963:
http://beaulerugglesgraphics.com/paintings3.html, Bacchanalia, 1998:
http://www.ginofossali.it/12.htm, Baccanti [Italian] a Delfi, 1998:
http://www.ginofossali.it/14.htm, Scena con Baccanti [Italian], 1999:
http://www.kmtspace.com/kmt/expressionist-arch.htm, Expressionist Architecture: The Dionysian Factor,

by Hermann Finsterling:
http://www.dionysos.org/article.php3?id_article=191, Bacchanale:
http://www.aberastury.com.ar/content/view/full/30405/language/esl-ES, Bacanal [Spanish]:
http://www.ehu.es/francoiradi/OBRA_PERSONAL/PINTURAS/html/image002.html, Bacanal [Spanish] (1985)
http://www.dolbychadwickgallery.com/art_beauchamp.html, Jeffrey Beauchanp, The Bacchanal:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues02/dec02/images/mall_bacchanal_jpg.html (Smithsonian
Magazine), Bacchanal, 2001:
http://fineart.ac.uk/works/sl00cb/, Bacchanal, by Cecily Brown, 2001:
http://www.barbarakrakowgallery.com/exhibition/event_details.php?id=934, Cecily Brown, Bacchanal, 2002:
http://www.barbarakrakowgallery.com/contentmgr/showdetails.php/id/958, Cecily Brown, Bacchanal, 2002:
Relief:
http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/lycee/boissy.anglas/enseignedivers/SiteArts/CarpeauxDSuj.htm (via http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/
lycee/boissy.anglas/enseignedivers/SiteArts/contenus.htm), Bruno JARRET, Bacchanale:
http://www.wallachglass.com/art/caesar.cfm, Caesar's Bacchanal:
Designed by Wallach Glass Studio for Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. This 16-foot-long deep-carved bacchanal scene
is an original and unique signed work of art.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Lge-MAJOLICA-MAIOLICA-BACCHUS-GOD-ofWINEJUG_W0QQitemZ7359587969QQcategoryZ453QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting:
This is a very unusual and large piece of continental majolica in the form of a large jug. It is approx.
9" (23 cms) high x 9" (23 cms) from spout to handle and 5 3/4" (14.6 cms) deep. The handle is formed by
a magnificent lion with the mask of Bacchus, the God of Wine beneath. The relief moulded body of the jug
is decorated with grapes and vine leaves, musicians, dancers, performers and revellers.
http://www.rom.on.ca/wine/gallery_5.html:
Rene Lalique's "Bacchantes" vase derives it name from the female followers of Bacchus who are shown parading on the
outer surface of the opalescent glass vessel. Our vase was made in France c. 1930.
http://www.nielsensgifts.com/index3.asp?class=Lalique, Bacchantes Vase:
http://www.keystoneauctions.com/lalique%20bacchantes%20vase.jpg (via http://www.keystoneauctions.com/prevsales.htm):
http://www.homeportfolio.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?manId=5838&prodId=124465#, Bacchantes Vase:
http://www.brunella2001.it/vetro_liberty.htm, Rene' Lalique Vaso "Le baccanti [Italian]". Vetro colorato;

altezza 25cm 1925-1930:
http://www.finesse-fine-art.com/Pictures/VitesseBacchantesChrysis.jpg (via http://www.finesse-fine-art.com/contact.htm):
http://www.bernardaud.fr/cadeaux/GB/PAGES/bacha_vase_baccha.html, Bacchanale Vase:
http://www.bernardaud.fr/cadeaux/PAGES/bacha_coupe36.html, Bacchanale:
http://cgi.ebay.com/OLD-VERY-ORNATE-GERMAN-PEWTER-WALL-PLATE-GODof-WINE_W0QQitemZ7359412845QQcategoryZ1214QQtcZphotoQQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem:
This is an Old Ornate Pewter Wall Plate from Germany! It measures 11 & 1/2 inches in diameter and weighs over
2 Pounds! Ornate Mythical Scene of Bacchus, the God of Wine.....along with a nude women and dancing
Nymphs (See Pictures)!
http://www.boimagazine.com/04.05/04.05-bacchanal.html, Duncan Currie, Bacchanal, 1996:
http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/interacao/images/02x800x600.jpg (via http://www1.folha.uol.com.br/folha/interacao/

wpprodin.shtml), Bacanal [Spanish]:
Not art:
http://www.sfmission.com/cgi-bin/gallery/imageFolio.cgi?action=view&link=New_York/2004_Carnaval/
Events&image=bachanal.jpg&img=&tt=, Events (bachanal):
http://www.boimagazine.com/04.05/04.05-bacchanal.html, Chicagos boi Magazine:
http://www.starpages.net/movies/dvdempire.com/456525.html, Bacchanales Sexuelles: a.k.a. Fly Me The French Way

(1973 porn) (a DVD):
http://www.adultdvdexplorer.com/product_info.php?dept=2&products_id=42381&pop_view=y, Adult DVD Explorer,

A Bacchanal For One & All | Our Price : $14.95 (porn):

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS "I AM THE TRUE VINE"
DIONYSUS I AM THE TRUE VINE

Including other Bible and early Christian quotes:
Brief prerequisite:
http://www.eternalwheel.com/nogoodwine/glossary.html, Wine Glossary:
Bacchus (c.f. Dionysus)

The Roman god of wine.
Dionysus (c.f. Bacchus)

Greek god of wine.
The New Century Dictionary of the English Language, Emery / Brewster, 1952, vol. 1, p. 423, Dionysus:
Greek-English Lexicon: Abridged Edition, Liddell & Scott, Oxford, 1871, impression of 1994, p. 125,
:
http://firstnewtestament.netfirms.com/earliest_christains_who_were_they_2.htm, The Earliest Christians Who

Were They #2, The Hellenization of Judaism:
V.D. Macchioro, in his From Orpheus to Paul, 1930, on pages 188 and following informs us that
Judea was surrounded by Dionysiac religion.
John 15:1 (the Last Supper):
I am the true vine. Meaning I am the true Dionysus / Bacchus. At least thats how it would be
interpreted in Jesus era. Hence, how it should be interpreted in this era as well.
http://www.biblelight.org/sayings5.htm, Bible Topics: Sayings of Jesus: I am the true vine:
So Jesus portrayed himself as a vine.
Since Jesus is the Son of God, then Jesus knew about Dionysus and his vine / wine / grape characteristics,
including being most renowned for sex orgies. Thats like someone saying today, e.g.: I am the true
Playboy Bunny, which people today would interpret as support for pornography. But, two thousand
years from now, well it would be interpreted exactly as the then religious leaders would want it
interpreted.
Anyone in those days who related Themselves to the vine made a big mistake if They supported only
sex in marriage, because of the vines then affirmative connection to Dionysus and the popularity of his
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_I_am_the_True_Vine.htm (1 of 9) [24/09/2012 12:15:41 AM]
sex orgies which is about the most opposite statement One can make against the marriage standard.
John 15:5:
I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me
you can do nothing.
Meaning, without open/free sex, the world is constrained.
They all drank wine at the Last Supper symbolically, with no current intelligent reasoning why, until
now. http://biblicalholidays.com/Sabbath/messiah_in_sabbath.htm, Messianic Significance of Sabbath, The
Wine:
When the family is seated around the table, a declaration of the holiness of the Sabbath and the blessing of
the wine is recited (Kiddush). The father lifts a cup of wine and says Blessed are you, Lord our God,
King of the Universe, who brings forth fruit from the vine. Jesus says in John 15:5, I am the vine, ye are
the branches, and in Mark 14:24, Jesus said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many.
Meaning, God (the Universe) knows that open/free sex is best for mankind.
http://www.battleinchrist.com/what_did_jesus_mean_by_the_words.htm, What Did Jesus Mean by the Words "I
Am the True Vine"?:
Jesus Christ portrays Himself as the true vine of God to His disciples for a two-fold purpose:
First, to let His disciples know that even though He would not be physically present with
them always, He would send the Holy Spirit to be with and in them (Joh.14:17 ASV).
Second, He uses this opportunity to instruct them to remain in close fellowship with Him
through the Holy Spirit, that they may bear spiritual fruit, receive answers to prayer, and
have fullness of joy.
You see, other than cop-outs, there are no other appropriate reasons except for mine.
Random House Word Menu, 1992, p. 612, Celebrations, Observances, Rites, and Gatherings:
Symbolic.
An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Mysticism and the Mystery Religions, Ferguson, 1977, p. 49, Dionysus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Eucharist, History of the Eucharist | Dionysus cult:

Early Christianity spread through a Hellenized populace. Jewish feast practices had taken on Hellenic forms.
Hellenic culture recognized several gods of death and rebirth, such as Osiris. The deity most similar to the Christ of
the Eucharist is Dionysus. Dionysus was the god of the vine, and his feasts included wine that was the god himself,
sacrificed for those at the feast.
Mark 14:25:
Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in
the kingdom of God.

Meaning, the Kingdom of God will include open/free sex.
Now, wine was likely a popular drink in the days of Christ; so, if It said like Jesus had two glasses of wine
before He went to bed, then it wouldnt have a Dionysus support connection; but, when you make your
religious ritual as your blood being wine, or stating that I am the true vine, then it is said in religious
support of the popular religious deity of wine. Otherwise, youd have your glass of wine before bedtime,
then say something like, Im just having a glass of wine to help Me sleep: Im not supporting, nor would
ever support, the popular god of wine, especially his well known sex orgy characteristics.
Luke 22:14-16:
14And
when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him. 15And he said unto them,
With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer: 16For I say unto you, I will not
any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Meaning, the Kingdom of God will not be fulfilled until we have open/free sex.
Amos 9:13:
Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the
treader of grapes him who sows seed; the mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow
with it.
Grape:
http://www.answers.com/vine, vine:
The term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos), for
which grapes were grown. In American usage "vine" is now a generic term for all climbing plants. In British English
"vine" is still specifically the Grape vine; other climbing plants are termed "climbers".
Websters Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged), 1986, p. 157:
http://www.goldclipart.com/members/crestsymbols.htm, Christian Symbols: Origins and Meanings:
Pope Eutychian:
http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/chron.html, Chronology of Christianity (1AD-Present):
275-283 Pope Eutychian, 27th Pope, decreed that only beans and grapes be blessed at Mass
Isaiah 65:8:
Thus says the LORD:
As the new wine (Bacchus) is found in the cluster,
And one says, Do not destroy it,
For a blessing is in it,
So will I do for My servants sake,
That I may not destroy them all.
This refers to the ones who God will save for a new heaven and a new earth.
Nehemiah 13:30-31:
A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Lust / Eynikel / Hauspie, 1992, part one, p. 76,
(Bacch):
Nehemiah 13:30-31 (NKJV):

30Thus I cleansed them of everything
pagan. I also assigned duties to the priests and the Levites, each to
to bringing the wood offering and the firstfruits at appointed times. Remember me, O
his service,
my God, for good!
31and
Divine Mirrors: The Virgin Mary in the Visual Arts, Katz, Oxford, 2001, acknowledgement page, Medieval
Hymn:
Judges 9:27:
So they went out into the fields, and gathered grapes from their vineyards and trod them, and made merry.
The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, Achtemeier, 1996, p. 1193, vine | Production and Use of Wine:
Matthew 9:16-17:
16No
one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment,
and the tear is made worse. 17Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break,
the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are
preserved.
This sounds like Jesus saying that Dionysus / Bacchus is old wine, therefore Jesus is new wine
overruling the violent characteristics of the Bacchanalia orgy. The matter would be in need of divine
comment. The ways of the old Dionysian orgies need to be put into new wineskins; indicating that
trying to mimic the wild ways of Dionysian orgies is not the way for our future open-sex: that a better
more lovable, less wild way should be found. God cannot say like new sex orgies because the New
Testament would not have made it through Middle Age corruptions. Then all of It would be gone.
Conversely, many will now say that God was saying to remove the sexual part of the Bacchanalia thereby
upholding the violence, etc.; but, if that was the case, He would have just said that, because Middle Age
corruption would have had no problem with Jesus supporting violence. Parables had hidden messages
so to bypass corruption; that later logic can reveal.
http://www.booze-bibbing-order-of-bacchus.com/pages/bacchus.htm, Bcchus or Dionysus:
It was a secret cult and it's rites, the Bacchanalia, were mared not only be sexual excesses but
by crimes of every description,
Justin Martyr (early Christian writer, c. 150 AD):

http://www.geocities.com/atheistdivine/dionysus.html, Dionysus/Bacchus, Texts Relating To Dionysus:
Justin Martyr, First Apology, 54. He said that Dionysus/Bacchus was sent as an
imitation Christ before Christ's birth. Thus acknowledging the similarities between
Jesus and Dionysus.
http://www.wargoddess.net/essay/ivycross/info.php, Enyos Workshop, The Ivy-Covered Cross, by
Sannion:
Justin Martyr wrote: "The devils, accordingly, when they heard these prophetic words (about Christ), said that
Bacchus was the son of Jupiter, and having been torn in pieces, he ascended into heaven." (First Apology, 54)
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/justinmartyr-firstapology.html (Early Christian Writings), JUSTIN

MARTYR -- THE FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN (c. 150 AD), CHAPTER XXXII -- CHRIST PREDICTED BY
MOSES:
Moses then, who was the first of the prophets, spoke in these very words: "The sceptre shall not depart
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until He come for whom it is reserved; and He shall be
the desire of the nations, binding His foal to the vine, washing His robe in the blood of the grape." For
of all races of men there are some who look for Him who was crucified in Judaea, and after whose
crucifixion the land was straightway surrendered to you as spoil of war. And the prophecy, "binding His
foal to the vine, and washing His robe in the blood of the grape," was a significant symbol of the things
that were to happen to Christ, and of what He was to do. For the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the
entrance of a village, and He ordered His acquaintances to bring it to Him then; and when it was brought,
He mounted and sat upon it, and entered Jerusalem, where was the vast temple of the Jews which was
afterwards destroyed by you. And after this He was crucified, that the rest of the prophecy might be
fulfilled. For this "washing His robe in the blood of the grape" was predictive of the passion He was to
endure, cleansing by His blood those who believe on Him. For what is called by the Divine Spirit through
the prophet "His robe," are those men who believe in Him in whom abideth the seed of God, the Word.
And what is spoken of as "the blood of the grape," signifies that He who should appear would have blood,
though not of the seed of man, but of the power of God. And the first power after God the Father and Lord
of all is the Word, who is also the Son; and of Him we will, in what follows, relate how He took flesh and
became man. For as man did not make the blood of the vine, but God, so it was hereby intimated that the
blood should not be of human seed, but of divine power, as we have said above. See Genesis 49:11 and
John 19:2-5.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/justin-apology2.html, Medieval Sourcebook: Justin Martyr: Second
Apology [Dialogue with Trypho], CHAP. VII.--THE POETS ALSO BEAR TESTIMONY TO THE
TRUTH.
And of Dionysus, Homer writes without reserve:-He, mid their frantic orgies, in the groves
Of lovely Nyssa, put to shameful rout
The youthful Bacchus' nurses; they in fear,
Dropped each her thyrsus, scattered by the hand
Of fierce Lycurgus, with an ox-goad armed.(2)
Triumphal procession (2 Cor. 2:14; Col. 2:15):

The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Zondervan Publishing:
http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/STRGRK23.htm, The King James Bible: Strongs Greek Dictionary,

2358 | :
2358
from a prolonged compound of the base of - throeo 2360; and a

thriambeuo
derivative of - haptomai 680 (meaning a noisy iambus, sung
three-am-byoo'-o in honor of Bacchus); to make an acclamatory procession, i.e.
(figuratively) to conquer or (by Hebraism) to give victory:--(cause) to
triumph (over).
The two New Testament instances:

2 Corinthians 2:12-14:
12Furthermore, when I came
to Troas to [preach] Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the
Lord, 13I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I
went from thence into Macedonia. 14Now thanks [be] unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.
Colossians 2:15:
[And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he (Jesus) made a shew (show) of them openly,
triumphing over them in it.
Now, people like James Dobson will say that Jesus used the Dionysus / sex orgy motif to show the
opposite of what He really wanted. But, the problem with that theory is that it is not of traditional
Church teaching. Plus, its not of intelligent theory. Its like saying Churches that display crosses do it
to show the opposite of what religion they represent. Maybe theyre really Muslims, huh? Or, like
McDonalds displaying their arches to tell people that they are not really McDonalds, theyre Burger
King, or a shoe store. But, the pathetic thing is, people will just believe whatever James Dobson
says. You see, Jesus was the Son of God, thereby knowing that there would be a later major sexual
corruption. Thereby, giving me the divine information I need. If God didnt give the correct inspiration
to Jesus, then He blew it, and were all doomed. If God instead gave the correct inspiration to, say, some
lonely peasant or king during the Renaissance, then it unfortunately didnt surpass the influence of the
most popular person that has ever lived: Jesus Christ.
Judges 21:20-21:
Interesting:
20Therefore they instructed the children of Benjamin, saying, Go, lie in wait in the vineyards, 21and
watch; and just when the daughters of Shiloh come out to perform their dances, then come out from the
vineyards, and every man catch a wife for himself from the daughters of Shiloh; then go to the land of
Benjamin.
Apparently folks would steal / kidnap an unwilling Bacchante / Maenad to imprison her into marriage.
This expresses that Bacchantes / Maenads were not married.
The 85 Canons of the Holy Apostles:

http://www.angelfire.com/alt/scm/pedalion.html, The Pedalion or Rudder: THE 85 CANONS OF THE HOLY
APOSTLES (2nd-4th century, but some canons originally supposed to be by St. Peter and the
other Apostles):
CANON 3
If any Bishop or Presbyter, contrary to the Lords ordinance relating to sacrifice, offers anything
else at the sacrificial altar, whether it be honey, or milk, or artificial liquor instead of wine,
chickens, or any kind of animals, or vegetables, contrary to the ordinance, let him be deposed from
office: except ears of new wheat or bunches of grapes, in due season. let it not be permissible to
bring anything else to the sacrificial altar but oil for the lamp, and incense at the time of the holy
oblation.
The later church wants Christians to stop following Bacchus:

A History of the Councils of the Church, by Charles Joseph Hefele, 1896, vol. 5, p. 232, THE QUINISEXT
OR TRULLAN SYNOD, A.D. 692 Canon 62:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/trullo.html, The Quinsext (Christian) Council, (or the Council in Trullo),

692, Canon 62:
CANON LXII.
THE so-called Calends, and what are called Bota and Brumalia, and the full assembly which takes place
on the first of March, we wish to be abolished from the life of the faithful. And also the public dances of
women, which may do much harm and mischief. Moreover we drive away from the life of Christians the
dances given in the names of those falsely called gods by the Greeks whether of men or women, and
which are performed after an ancient and un-Christian fashion; decreeing that no man from this time forth
shall be dressed as a woman, nor any woman in the garb suitable to men. Nor shall he assume comic,
satyric, or tragic masks; nor may men invoke the name of the execrable Bacchus when they squeeze out
the wine in the presses; nor when pouring out wine into jars [to cause a laugh(3)], practising in ignorance
and vanity the things which proceed from the deceit of insanity. Therefore those who in the future attempt
any of these things which are written, having obtained a knowledge of them, if they be clerics we order
them to be deposed, anti if laymen to be cut off.
NOTES.
ANCIENT EPITOME OF CANON LXII.
Let these be taken away from the lives of the faithful, viz.: the Bota, and the Calends, and the Brumalia,
and salutations in honour of the gods, and comic, satyric and tragic masks, and the invocation of Bacchus
at the wine press, and the laughing at the wine jars. Whoever shall persist in these after this canon shall be
liable to give an account.
394
On the Calends see Du Cange (Glossarium in loc.). The Bota were feasts in honour of Pan, the Brumalia
feasts in honour of Bacchus. Many particulars with regard to these superstitions will be found in
Balsamon's scholion, to which the curious reader is referred. Van Espen also has some valuable notes on
the Kalends of January.
Sannion:
A Council at Constantinople in 691 CE forbid people to wear Satyr masks while treading the grapes, or to call
out the name of Dionysos. They were supposed to substitute Jesus' name instead. (Carl Kerenyi, Dionysos pg
67)
A twelfth-century Byzantine play about the Passion of Christ (Christus Patiens), once attributed to Gregory the
Great, makes ample use of material from Euripides' Bakkhai - so much so that we can piece together lacunae in
the text from that work. (Reginald Gibbons' Appendix to Euripides' Bakkhai, pg 135)

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS CHRISTIAN CONNECTION (overview)

http://www.belinus.co.uk/mythology/Dionysus.htm, Dionysus:
Christ was also associated with the vine, and many myths and attributes of Dionysus
are used in (early) Christian iconography and mythology.
http://muse.jhu.edu/cgi-bin/access.cgi?uri=/journals/journal_of_nietzsche_studies/v029/29.1liebscher.pdf,
Excerpt: The Journal of Nietzsche Studies 29 (2005) 71-74
According to Balthasar, there is no difference between the world of Dionysos and the Christian worldthe
Dionysian reduced to its foundations shares common ground with Christianity.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/eso/sta/sta06.htm, The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies: Part
Three:
:In the Anacalypsis, Godfrey Higgins conclusively establishes Bacchus (Dionysos) as one of the early pagan forms of
the Christos myth, "The birthplace of Bacchus, called Sabazius or Sabaoth, was claimed by several places in Greece;
but on Mount Zelmisus, in Thrace, his worship seems to have been chiefly celebrated. He was born of a virgin on the
25th of December; he performed great miracles for the good of mankind; particularly one in which he changed water
into wine; he rode in a triumphal procession on an ass; he was put to death by the Titans, and rose again from the
dead on the 25th of March: he was always called the Saviour. In his mysteries, he was shown to the people, as an
infant is by the Christians at this day, on Christmas Day morning in Rome." The Bacchanalia, or orgies of
Bacchus, are famous in literature.
http://www.hfac.uh.edu/mcl/classics/Orpheus/Orph_Theog.html, Ancient Greek and Roman Religion:
The Orphic Theology (from Classical Mythology, Morford / Lenardon, 1998, p. 363):
MYSTERY RELIGIONS
Mystery religions have been a persistent theme; their spiritual ethos has been associated with
Eros, Rhea, Cybele and Attis, Aphrodite and Adonis, Dionysus, Demeter, and Orpheus. The
correspondences between Christianity and the other mystery religions antiquity are perhaps
more startling than the differences. Orpheus and they share attributes in the early centuries of our
era, and of all the ancient deities, Dionysus has most in common with the figure of Christ.
MYSTERY RELIGIONS IN ROMAN TIMES
Indeed, the association of Christ with the vine frequently led to the use of myths and attributes of
Dionysus in early Christian iconography. In the third century CE wall mosaic in the cemetery
beneath St. Peter's basilica in the Vatican and the fourth century mosaics in the church of Santa
Costanza in Rome, the vine Dionysus, the symbol of new life after release from the old life, is
associated with the Christian resurrection and the words of Jesus in John 15:1, "I am the true
vine." In the same cemetery there is a tomb containing both pagan and Christian burials, one of
which is a third-century sarcophagus decorated with relief showing Dionysus finding Ariadne
(see p. 457).
The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1908, Vol. 3, p. 219, Cames (or Camoens) (1524-1580):
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John...%20Allegro/Dionysus_Christian_connection-overview.htm (1 of 8) [24/09/2012 12:15:42 AM]
http://bornagainpagan.multiservers.com/Glossary/DIONYSUS.html, exWitch Australia (formally Born

Again Pagan): Glossary of Terminology, Deja Vu:
According to another tradition, associated with the Greek Orphic mystery cult, Dionysus was born of an
incestuous union between the serpentine Zeus and his daughter Persephone. Persephone also was born
from such a union between Zeus and Rhea. This serpentine birth of Dionysus has been recognized as
important in that the serpent is an arcane symbol of earth and water, both vital to life, and the serpent can
penetrate the tomb, and in sloughing its own skin represent the resurrection of the dead. Dionysus' birth
has been likened to that of Christ.
http://www.answers.com/dionysus, Dionysus:
The god of wine and of an orgiastic religion celebrating the power and fertility of nature. Also called
Bacchus. he was one of the most important gods of the Greeks and was associated with various
religious cults.
Influence on Christianity Dionysian mythology would later find its way into Christianity. There are
many parallels between the legends of Dionysus and Christ; both were said to have been born from a
mortal woman but fathered by a god, to have returned from the dead, and to have transformed water into
wine. (See: Further Reading below for more detailed comparison.)
Further Reading [2] (http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy39.html) Titus Livy, History of Rome,
Book 39:13, Description of banned Bacchanalia in Rome and Italy
http://rg.ancients.info/thracetets/part1.html, Thracian tetradrachms: Imitations and Thrace:
There are other parallels between Dionysos and Jesus. One of Dionysos' miracles was
the turning of water into wine. Like Jesus, Dionysos was said to have been born of a
mortal mother and a divine father (in his case Semele, a daughter of the king of
Thebes, and Zeus). Dionysos was considered to be the divine in human form, died and
was resurrected, and was associated with the immortality of the soul.
http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3b3a47345f84.htm, Do Parts of the Gospels come from Pagan
Mythology?:
The Greek deity Dionysus (also called Bacchus) is known by most people for his patronage of
wine; he is best known, in the context of this series, as one from whom, supposedly, Jesus' Cana
miracle was borrowed. not merely a god of wine, but a god of paradox; he was the god of the
civilized theater, but also the god of wild, orgiastic behavior and drunkenness. We now begin
the main portion of our essay, in which we analyze, one by one, the alleged similarities between
Dionysus and Christ. These claims are taken from two sources: The Christ Conspiracy by
Acharya S [111-113] and Freke and Gandy's The Jesus Mysteries. Let's see what Acharya S has
to say first (with any needed supplements by Freke and Gandy).
Dionysus was born of a virgin on December 25th and, as the Holy Child, was placed in a
manger.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa3.htm, Parallels between the Christian Gospels and Pagan
Mythology:
Ministry: Jesus appeared as a wandering holy man who is later transfigured in the
presence of some of his disciples. Dionysus was portrayed in the same manner in
Euripides' play The Bacchae, written in 410 BCE. Arrest: Both Dionysus and Jesus
celebrated a Last Supper with his 12 disciples before his death. Dionysus is described
in Euripides' play The Bacchae as bringing a new religion to the people, being plotted
against by the leaders, being arrested and appearing before the political ruler.
Dionysus said to his captors "You know not what you are doing..," almost replicating
Jesus' words at the cross. He was unjustly accused and executed. All of these themes
are seen in the Gospels.
Sannion:
In the Bakkhai, Dionysos comes to earth in human form. He says that he has "veiled his Godhead in a
mortal shape" in order to make it "manifest to mortal men." (5) This is similar to John's statement that
Jesus became "the Word made flesh" (John 1:14) and Paul's statement that Jesus appeared "in the
likeness of sinful flesh." (Romans 8:3)
At one point Jesus was dressed to look like Dionysos, with a purple robe, a plaited crown, and a reed in
his hand like a thyrsos. (Matthew 27:28-29)
Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols, Jobes, 1961, Vol. 1, pp. 447-448, Dionysus
(Dionusos, Dionysos, Dyanysos):
Encyclopedia of Comparative Iconography: Themes Depicted in Works of Art, Roberts, 1998, Vol. 1:
A-L, pp. 97-98, Bacchanalia / Orgy:
But today:
http://members.tripod.com/~immortaltreasure/sex.html, SEX SEX SEX:
Not only was Europe crucified by Christian antisexuality but also much of Oceania, Africa, and
the Far East. Wherever Christian missionaries went-which was everywhere-people were told their
own generally healthy sexual attitudes were wrong and sinful. One missionary described Bantu
harvest festivals as Bacchic feasts: "It is impossible to witness them without being ashamed. Men
and women, who in ordinary circumstances are modest in behavior and speech, then abandon
themselves to licentiousness."
http://www.balaams-ass.com/journal/homemake/lewsdion.htm, Further Into the Depths of Satan in C.S.
Lewis Chronicles of Narnia: Dionysus, Bacchus, Silenus and the Maenads:
The most revolting thing, which has been evident right along, is stated plainly in the quote
on p. 192. Aslan is leading! Now, if Aslan is supposedly the Lord Jesus Christ, as many
assure us and as Lewis himself allowed, then what we find here is the grossest blasphemy!!
This is then supposedly Jesus Christ leading a Satanic orgy of Bacchus!! This is sick
beyond description!!
See, the greatest of all tangible (real) loves is what todays Church describes as the most
revolting thing, the grossest blasphemy and sick. Therefore, the truth on this subject should
turn the world completely around (like a map made in Australia). Sex was a victimless crime,
until the greedy monopolization of food and the greedy possessiveness of the attractive. But,
today, with effective birth control and disease prevention, its victimless again. This just shows
how large of a subject this really is. Kind of at an apocalyptic degree, wouldnt you say? I
think todays Church supported animal slaughter (any meat eater) and condoned killing of
innocent civilians in war (any soldier) is the most revolting thing, the grossest blasphemy and
sick. So we disagree we can agree on that. Im looking forward to my Judgment: I
dont need any artificial salvation cop-outs. But I sure do hear a lot about how they do, every
time I walk into a church.
Jewish:
The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, pp. 236-237,
Dionysus:
http://home.swbell.net/dndylion/paganreligions.html, Roots of Christianity:
Greek Pagan Religion: Dionysus is another savior-god. He was worshipped throughout

much of the Middle East as well. He had a center of worship in Jerusalem in the 1st century
BCE. Some ancient coins have been found in Gaza with Dionysus on one side and JHWH
(Jehovah) on the other. In later years, his flesh and blood were symbolically eaten in the
form of bread and wine.
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/ja-jz.htm, Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary: Ja-Jz:
Jehovah Nissi yehowah nissi (Hebrew) [from nes lofty, an elevation + i mine] Jehovah, my
elevation; in the Bible the altar built by Moses (Ex 17:15); Blavatsky maintains that this aspect of
Jehovah was equivalent to Dionysos or Bacchus, and that the Jews worshiped this deity (the
androgyne of Nissi) as the Greeks might have worshiped Bacchus and Osiris. Tradition has it that
Bacchus was reared in a cave of Nysa, which is between Phoenicia and Egypt. As the son of
Zeus, he was named for his father (gen Dios) and the place: Dio-Nysos (the Zeus or Jove of
Nysa). Diodorus identifies this Dionysos with Osiris.
http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC06612305&id=9MIPAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage&#PPA149,
M1, Remarks on Ecclesiastical History Google Book Result, by John Jortin, 1751, p. 149:
Agape:
http://www.piney.com/AgapeSummary.html, The Agape or Agapae Pagan and Biblical Background:
Agape, like Grace, spoke of perverted pagan rituals which worshipped

them as goddesses. All of these depended on wine and music or other
drugs to induce repulsive activity to mock all but sexual, carnal "gods
and goddesses."
http://dance-of-ecstasy.net/dance/0302.html, 3.2 LUST/LOVE/ECSTASY:
I suspect, however, that agape is a substitute word for ekstasis. So, too, the pious "love feast"
became the sanitized Christian version of the Dionysian orgy, which was its most likely forebear
and model. Ekstasis means "standing beside or outside of oneself." This is an apt description of
the ecstasy of eternal consciousness recognizing and loving itself as two individual human beings
in time and space.
As I mentioned above, agape, the charity or brotherly love of the orthodox, and the altruistic love
of the philosophers, almost certainly substitutes for the word ekstasis. As Joseph Campbell points
out, agape, as a form of love and eros share the nature of being indiscriminate. Both are
essentially selfless and impersonal.
"The lights go out, so to say, and whatever is at hand, one loves, either in the angelic way of
charity or in the orgiastic, demonic way of a Dionysian orgy; but in either case, religiously: in
renunciation of ego, ego judgment, and ego choice."
The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Brown, Zondervan Publishing, 1976,
vol. 2, p. 539, Love | :
The Encyclopedia of Religion, Eliade, 1987, vol. ?, p. 36, LOVE | Love as the Quest for
Immortality in Plato:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS CHRISTIAN MYSTERIES

This is pursuant to the earlier Dionysus MYSTERIES / Pompeii webpage
http://jesushistory.info/mystery_religions_influence.htm, 24. The Greek Mystery Religions and Their Influence on Christianity,
24.1 Similarities between the Greek Mystery Religions and Christianity:
The maenads were women, participants in orgiastic Dionysian rites. They performed a rite, which was the forerunner
of the Christian ritual of communion.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book4.html (Early Christian Writings), The Stromata, or
Miscellanies: Book IV, by Clement of Alexandria (Christian, c. 150-215 AD) CHAPTER XXV -TRUE PERFECTION CONSISTS IN THE KNOWLEDGE AND LOVE OF GOD:
But we must pass from physics to ethics, which are clearer; for the discourse concerning these will follow after the
treatise in hand. The Saviour Himself, then, plainly initiates us into the mysteries, according to the words of the
tragedy: - "Seeing those who see, he also gives the orgies."
And if you ask, "These orgies, what is their nature?"
You will hear again: "It is forbidden to mortals uninitiated in the Bacchic rites to know."
So the Saviour Himself plainly initiates us into the Bacchic orgies.
http://www.theologywebsite.com/etext/clement/heathen.shtml, Exhortation to the Heathen, by Clement, Chapter II.-The
Absurdity and Impiety of the Heathen Mysteries and Fables About the Birth and Death of Their Gods:
And what if I go over the mysteries? I will not divulge them in mockery, as they say Alcibiades did, but I will expose right well by
the word of truth the sorcery hidden in them; and those so-called gods of yours, whose are the mystic rites, I shall display, as
it were, on the stage of life, to the spectators of truth. The bacchanals hold their orgies in honour of the frenzied Dionysus,
celebrating their sacred frenzy by the eating of raw flesh, and go through the distribution of the parts of butchered
victims, crowned with snakes, shrieking out the name of that Eva by whom error came into the world. The symbol of the
Bacchic orgies. is a consecrated serpent. Moreover, according to the strict interpretation of the Hebrew term, the name
Hevia, aspirated, signifies a female serpent.
It sounds like Clement (a Christian) is not putting down the orgy part, just the parts about eating of raw flesh,
butchered victims, snakes and serpent.
http://books.google.com/books?id=WOcT2ZrGrasC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=%22church+history+in+the+light+of+the+saints%
22+%22inner+christian%22&source=web&ots=fZQkOtIs1E&sig=AZ1SkEKIMuu3GUnstPlDGCjjJ1M (Google Book Search),
Church History in the Light of the Saints, by Joseph A. Dunney, Saint Justin Martyr and the Second Century | The
Hours of Darkness pp. 32-33:
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Origins of Christianity, John M. Allegro, 1957, p. 131, The Doctrines of the Sect |
The Mysteries:
John M. Allegro was one of the original scholars who worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
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New Testament:
Romans 16:25-27:
25Now to Him who is
able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26but now made manifest, and by the prophetic
Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith
27to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 2:6-8:
6However, we speak wisdom
among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age,
we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained
who are coming to nothing.
before the ages for our glory, 8which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory.
7But
1 Corinthians 13:2:
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Ephesians 1:9:
9having made known
to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself
Ephesians 3:9:
9and to make all see
what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in
God who created all things through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 6:10-20:
10Finally, my brethren,
be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenly places. 13Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand
in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, 15and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16above
all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17And take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18praying always with all prayer and
19
supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and
for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament, Green, Baker Books, 1996, p. 603, Epheisans 6:19:
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Bauer / Arndt / Gingrich, 1979, p. 530:
The New Strongs Complete Dictionary of Bible Words, 1996, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament, p. 662:
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament, Zodhiates, 1993, p. 1000:
Colossians 2:2-3:
2that their hearts may
be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of
understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Revelation 10:7:
7but in the days of the
sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would
be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets.
Gospel of Thomas, 62:
Jesus said, I disclose my mysteries to those [who are worthy] of [my] mysteries.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS IVY
DIONYSUS IVY
Encyclopedia of World Mythology, Warner, 1975, p. 235, THE MYTHOLOGY OF PLANTS | Flower and
Other Plants:
http://www.tractsforfree.com/Fossilized_Customs.pdf, Fossilized Customs: The Pagan Sources of Popular Customs, p.

45, The Roman Beast Caesar Was Pontiff Before the Arrival of Catholicism:
Lupercalia was changed into Valentines Day and moved to the 14th after being Christianized. Instead
of having nothing to do with the idolatry, it was simply altered slightly and adapted to the new universal
religion. This is where we inherit the custom of Valentines Cards, and HEART SHAPED symbols. The shape of
the heart is an IVY LEAF, the symbol of Bacchus, the male deity of wine and love (orgiastic).
Later, a Roman ruler named Caligula drained this site, and held enormously popular carnivals (Latin for
flesh raising). Caligula was a devotee of Bacchus, and held orgies and drunken parties on a regular basis.
(I have sources saying that Caligulas orgies were prostitution based just to raise income, not to spread love. Theres
a big difference.)
The Eerdmans Bible Dictionary, Myers, 1987, p. 284, DIONYSUS:
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DIONYSUS IVY
http://religion.mrugala.net/Grece/Anglais/Greec%20gods.txt:
DIONYSOS
(Dionysus, Dionysius, Roman Bacchus)
Greek god of wine and intoxication. His female worshippers, known as Bacchants or
Maenads, ran and danced through the woods in a drunken frenzy bearing torches and
thyrsus staves (made of vine leaves and ivy). Phallic(penis) symbolism was
particularly prominent at the Dionysia,
The Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English, Brenton, 1851, The Apocrypha, p. 193, II. Maccabees 6:7:
The New American Bible, Catholic World Press, 1997, World Publishing, pp. 504-505, 2 Maccabees, Chapter 6:
The Access Bible: New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha, ODay / Peterson, 1999, p. 228, 2 Maccabees
6, Commentary to verse 7:
DIONYSUS IVY
http://www.pseudepigrapha.com/apocrypha_ot/3macc.htm, 3 Maccabees, 3Mac.2:
[29] those who are registered are also to be branded on their bodies by fire with the ivy-leaf symbol of Dionysus,
and they shall also be reduced to their former limited status."
A Dictionary of the Bible, William Smith, 1899, p. 204, Dionysia | Dionysus:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS JESUS NAME CONNECTION

IHS:
http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=006PZM, What does the IHS stand for
on vestments, missals etc.?:
The Greek has two versions of our vowel, "e", one called "epsilon" and the other "eta." Well, in
the Greek alphabet, the second letter of Jesus's name, eta, looks just like our capital "H"!
According to the explanation I was given, the first three letters of Jesus's name, in upper-case
Greek, look very much like IHS (Iota "H"eta Sigma).
Thats correct: () is the first three characters of Jesus name; in uppercase: , or
transliterated as IHS / ihs. The Greek eta: / has a long e sound.
http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/STRGRK24.htm, The KJV Bible: Strongs Greek
Dictionary:
2424
of Hebrew origin (Yhowshuwa` 3091); Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua), the
Iesous
name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites:--Jesus.
ee-ay-sooce'
Greek doesnt have a character for J but it emanates from I.

http://www.adelphiasophism.com/gog/gg18.html, God or Goddess? Christian Symbols, The Cross:
As with the cross and the labarum, so it is with many other Christian
symbols. They are borrowed from paganism. The insignia on the walls
of the Temple of Bacchus in Rome was a Roman cross and I H Sthe
three mystical letters to this day retained in Christian churches, and
falsely supposed to stand for Jesus hominum salvatorJesus
mankind's saviour. Christian women who work this sign on altar cloths
for their churches little think that they are working a pagan sign. The
same monogram was that of the heathen sun god Bacchus. But they
are not far astray, for Bacchus in Hebrew was Joshua which in
Phoenician is Ies (IHS in Greek capital letters), and in Greek Iesous,
pronounced Yeasoos, from which Jesus is derived. The embroiderers of
alter cloths unwittingly admit the pagan origin of their god. The
monogram represented phallic (penis) vigour.
http://www.tyndale.cam.ac.uk/Scriptures/www.innvista.com/scriptures/compare/heathen8.htm, Words
with Heathen Origins in the Scriptures, Jesus:
The Greek abbreviation for Iesous is IHS, which is found on many inscriptions made
by the Church during the Middle Ages. IHS was the mystery name of Bacchus
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Jesus_Name.htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:45 AM]
(Tammuz), another Sun-deity.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07421a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Holy Name of Jesus:
The emblem or monogram representing the Holy Name of Jesus consists of the three letters: IHS.
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/ctg/i-im.htm
TG I. H. S. It is, however, well known that the
Greek GREEK was one of the most ancient
names of Bacchus.
SD INDEX IHS, symbol of savior Bacchus II 313

http://www.wisdomworld.org/setting/hypatia.html, THEOSOPHY, Vol. 25, No. 5, March, 1937, (Pages 197207; Size: 31K), (Number 12 of a 29-part series): GREAT THEOSOPHISTS: HYPATIA: THE LAST OF
THE NEOPLATONISTS:
Constantine, the first Christian Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity, as the result
of a psychic vision, is described by Eusebius, who was his close friend and companion as well as
his famous biographer. On the night before his final battle with Maxentius, who had denounced
him as a usurper to the throne, Constantine appealed to his own god for help. According to
Eusebius,
While he was praying with fervent entreaty, a most marvelous sign appeared in the
heavens, the account of which, related by any other person, would be difficult of belief. But
since the victorious Emperor himself declared it to the writer of this history, and confirmed
his statement with an oath, who could hesitate to credit it? He said that when the sun was
beginning to decline, he saw with his own eyes the trophy of a Cross of blazing light, with
this inscription: "I. H. S. In this sign thou shalt conquer." (Vita Constantin.)(Vita
Constantini)
On the following night Constantine had another psychic vision. This time the figure of Christ
himself appeared, wearing the same cross that Constantine had seen the night before. Constantine
declared that on this occasion Christ spoke to him, telling him to place this cross on his battle flag
and to march against Maxentius with full assurance of victory. Constantine obeyed, and
Maxentius was defeated. In adopting this symbol -- henceforth placed upon the Imperial banner
and carried at the head of the army in its conquest for Christ and the Church -- Constantine added
two more pagan symbols to Christianity. For the long lance crossed at right angles by a staff was
the ancient sign of Osiris, and the letters I. H. S. one of the names of Bacchus.
http://www.truthbeknown.com/footnote3.htm, The Origins of Christianity, by Acharya S:
The Eucharist, or the sharing of the god's blood and body, has been a sacred ritual within many
ancient mystery religions and is part of the Mythos and Ritual. In a standard ritual that was
practiced around the world, and which continues in some places, participants in the ritual actually
ate and drank the "god's" body and blood, which was in reality that of a sacrificed human (king)
or animal. The Christian form of the Eucharist is very similar to the ritual that was practiced as
part of the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, in detail, as is outlined by Taylor. The Eleusinian
Eucharist honored both Ceres, goddess of wheat, and Bacchus/Dionysus, god of the vine. The
Christians also adopted the Bacchanal symbol IHS (Greek) or IES - Iesu/Jesus.
In Greek H (long e) and E (short e) are both es.
http://www.unsolvedmysteries.com/usm49841.html (Unsolved Mysteries), The First Miracle Of
Jesus, Replies:
Date: 11/6/2000 12:09:00 PM From Authorid: 11528 This is an interesting post but did You
know that Dionysius performed this same miracle before Jesus was even born. He was also
called the "God of the vine" "King of Kings" "Only Begotten Son" "Saviour" "Sin
Bearer" "Annointed One" "Alpha and Omega"and "Redeemer" Dionysius had a major
cult centre in Jerusalem in 1 BCE and several aspects of this cult worship was adopted by
the early christian church and are still in use to day. One that comes to mind is the symbol
IHS which was the symbol of Dionysius/Bacchus and can still be seen in christian churches
today. This comment is for information purposes only and not to start an arguement.
http://coohmp.homestead.com/wouldwe.html, Come Out Of Her My People:
As I have stated, there is no resemblance between the Name

Yahusha and the name Jesus. neither is there any resemblance
between their meanings. Yahusha means: "the Salvation of Yah or
Yahu." "Jesus" is derived from Iesus, derived from Iesous (IHSOUS)
derived, most probably, from the Greek goddess of healing, Ieso or
Iaso. her name was derived from iasis ,which means "healing". Further,
the short form, or original source of the name Iesous (IHSOUS) is Ies
(IHS), the very surname of Bacchus, the Sun-deity. Therefore, the two
names differ completely in their origin, and in their meaning.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/7336/tubeschristsymbols.htm, Christian Symbols Tubes:
IHS - Jesus' name in Greek was IHCOYC, which was abbreviated to IHC. The "C"
and the "S" are variants within the Greek alphabet. This widely used monogram of
Christ is often incorporated into Latin cross designs. The IHS is an ancient Christian
symbol.
To confuse things even more, the Greek C is called a lunate sigma which is the same as the
transliterated S; and, the Y is the Greek upper case u, which can be transliterated either u
or y. So, theyre still talking about the same thing.
http://home.rochester.rr.com/gocek/images/christn/, Christian Symbols and Glossary:
http://myweb.lmu.edu/fjust/Koch-ChristianSymbols.htm, Christian Symbols drawn by Rudolf Koch

(1976-1934):
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/england/london/churches/soutwark/cathedral/P1011772.JPG:
Fish: Ichthus / Ichthys:

http://scripture_keywords.tripod.com/Babylon-Rome-Mysteries/07-Rome-Symbolism.html, Symbolism of
the Church of Rome:
Another title of Bacchus was "Ichthys," or "The Fish!"

http://www.tractsforfree.com/Fossilized_Customs.pdf, Fossilized Customs: The Pagan Sources of
Popular Customs, p. 9:
The Greek word ichthys (ikhthus) spelled iota (), chi (X), theta (), upsilon (), sigma ()
spells ICHTHYS (fish). doesnt mean Christ, but fish.
http://www.sa-hebroots.com/2babylons.htm, The Two Babylons, by Rev. Alexander Hislop, 1853:
Now, Jerome calls Dagon, the well known Fish-god Piscem moeroris (BRYANT), "the fish of
sorrow," which goes far to identify that Fish-god with Bacchus, the "Lamented one"; and the
identification is complete when Hesychius tells us that some called Bacchus Ichthys, or "The
fish." It was then precisely that our Lord Jesus Christ began to be popularly called Ichthys, that
is, "the Fish," We have seen that Ichthys, or the Fish, was one of the names of Bacchus
http://www.seedofabraham.net/smpf.html, SET MY PEOPLE FREE! ACTS 15:20, by Avram Yehoshua:
Hesychius tells us that some called Bacchus, Ichthys, or 'The fish.' Ibid. p. 114 in the footnote.
(my note: The symbol for Ichthys is commonly seen on car bumper stickers of many Christians
who think it represents Jesus.)

http://www.innvista.com/culture/religion/deities/words.htm, Heathen Words, Jesus:
The common abbreviation for Iesous was IHS, which is found on many inscriptions of the "Church." IHS
was the mystery name of Bacchus, aka Tammuz. Both were known as "The Fish" god. Jesus was also
associated with fish, and thus his name was used synonymously -- Jesus/Iesous/Ichthus (fish).
http://coohmp.homestead.com/NAMES.html, Come Out Of Her My People, Names:
The most disturbing evidence is yet to follow. The abbreviated form of

the name Iesous is: Ies or in capitals: IHS, or in Greek the capital for
"e" id "H". This is to be found on many inscriptions made by the Church
during the dark Middle Ages. This fact is also well documented and is
generally admitted by scholarly sources and ordinary English
dictionaries.191 These dictionaries bear witness to the fact if IHS (Ies)
being an abbreviated form of IHSOUS (Iesous).
Furthermore, the shocking fact has also been recorded for us that IHS
was a mystery surname of Bacchus, and was afterwards taken as
initials for Iesous, capitals: IHSOUS.192 We discovered this in a
dictionary of mythology and in an encyclopaedia of religion.192 This
revelation was confirmed by a third witness, Dr. E.W. Bullinger, The
Apocalypse, footnote p. 396, "Whatever meanings of ... IHS may be
given, the fact remains that it was part of the name of Bacchus ..." We
then realised, most painfully, that our beloved Messiah was identified
with the Greek deity Bacchus, by giving Yahusha the surname or
other name of Bacchus, namely: IHS or Ies! Bacchus was well known
to be a Sun-deity. Bacchus was also a commonly known name for
Tammuz among classical writers.193 Tammuz, as you will remember,
was known to be the young returning Sun-deity,194 returning in spring.
Bacchus, also known as Dionysus, was expressly identified with the
Egyptian Osiris,195 the well-known Egyptian Sun-deity. Bacchus was
also called Ichthus, the Fish.196 So, yet another group, the
worshippers of Bacchus, the Sun-deity, alias Ies (IHS), were
conciliated, were made welcome, with the foreign-to-the-Hebrew name
of Iesous (IHSOUS) or Iesus. This most appalling revelation startled us,
indeed. After being enlightened about the solar origin of the word IHS
and its fuller form IHSOUS (Iesous), we are no longer surprised to find
the ecclesiastical emblem, IHS, encircled by sunrays, commonly
displayed on church windows:
http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/namesofmen/chap5.html, Chapter Five Something Fishy (5-3-02):
IHS is a mystic surname of Bacchus: I(ota) = Iacchus; H(eta) = Helios, the sun; S(sigma) = son or
incarnation of the sun.[25] All major dictionaries and reference works recognize that IHS is
shortened from of the name IHSOUS--the name commonly attributed to the Messiah. However,
it has been learned that IHS was a hidden or mysterious surname for the mythical god Bacchus.
Bacchus was known as a sun-deity who also had the symbol of the Tau cross as well as the
Fish symbol and was also recognized by many of the classical writers as Tammuz, the youthful
returning sun-deity. Now that brings us again to the fish story. Bacchus was also called the
ICHTHUS, or the Fish.
http://www.theosophy-nw.org/theosnw/ctg/i-im.htm, Collation of Theosophical Glossaries, I Im:
SD INDEX Ichthys (Gk)

fish, Pisces, as messiah & Vishnu I 653-4
symbol of Bacchus II 313
Other:
http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/etgloss/ia-iz.htm, Encyclopedic Theosophical Glossary: Ia-Iz:
Iao (Gnostic) A three-letter mystery-name, parallel in one sense with the Sanskrit pranava, and
reminiscent of triune deities represented by a triplicity of sounds. It occurs in many variations: Io,
the Grecian moon goddess; Iaho, Jevo, Jehovah, and other Hebraic forms; Iaso, the possible
origin of the name Jesus; Iacchos, the Bacchus of the Mysteries. It is at once threefold, fourfold,
and sevenfold in meaning.
I. H. S. Well-known Christian monogram, taken as being the initials of Iesus Hominum Salvator
(Jesus Savior of Men); and the first three letters of the Greek Iesous ({Greek char}, Jesus). It is
also a monogram representative of Dionysos used in the Mysteries. As a Latin abbreviation,
having mystic significance, it means acrostically, In hoc signo victor eris (in this sign thou shalt
be victorious). See also JESUS
Home (Index)
DIONYS- / BACCH- CHURCHMEN

Dionysius Exiguus (Schthian monk who lived in Rome, c. 500-50 AD):
Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, William and Mary Morris, 1977, p. 48, B.C./A.D.:
The New Century Dictionary of the English Language, Emery / Brewster, 1952, vol. 1, p. 423, Dionys:
Websters Universal Dictionary of the English Language (unabridged), 1909, p. 477, diony:
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http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05010b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Dionysius Exiguus:

dying before the year 544. he was in character a true Roman and thorough Catholic, most learned in
both tonguesi.e., Greek and Latinand an accomplished Scripturist.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03738a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), General Chronology, Christian

Era:
This was introduced about the year 527 by Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk resident at Rome, who
fixed its starting point in the year 753 from the foundation of Rome, in which year, according to his
calculation, the birth of Christ occurred. Making this the year 1 of his era, he counted the years which
followed in regular course from it, calling them years "of the Lord", and we now designate such a date A.
D. (i.e. Anno Domini). The year preceding A.D. 1 is called Ante Christum (A.C.) or Before Christ (B.C.).
The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Onions, 1966, p. 269, Dionysiac:
Dictionary of Mythology Folklore and Symbols, Jobes, 1961, Vol. 1, pp. 446-447, Dionysian Period:
P. 449, Dionysianism:
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, 1993, Vol. 4, p.109, Dionysius Exiguus:
Sergius and Bacchus (c. 303 AD):

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13728a.htm, Sergius and Bacchus:
Martyrs, d. in the Diocletian persecution in Coele-Syria about 303. Their martyrdom is well authenticated
by the earliest martyrologies and by the early veneration paid them, as well as by such historians as
Theodoret. They were officers of troops on the frontier, Sergius being primicerius, and Bacchus
secundarius. According to the legend, there were high in esteem of the Caesar Maximianus on account of
their bravery, but this favour was turned into hate when they acknowledged their Christian faith.
http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1673140, Saint Sergius and Saint Bacchus: Christian saints,
lovers and martyrs:
Inseparable in life, faith and even in death, Sergius and Bacchus were Christians, soldiers and possibly even gay
lovers in the 3rd century. One thing is certain, that they were primarily soldiers of Christ.
So, were they lovers?
There is some dispute and controversy about this aspect of their lives. Certainly they were close. There is evidence
to support it, however - Severus of Antioch stated that "we should not separate in speech [Serge and Bacchus] who
were joined in life", and in a 10th-century document, Serge was described as the "sweet companion and lover" of
St. Bacchus.
But it does not end there. An icon was discovered in the monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai, which is said
to feature pictures of Serge and Bacchus. It depicts two men, with Christian haloes, between them being an image
of a Roman pronubus (the equivalent of a best man), that image said to be Christ. This is often purported to be the
final proof of their relationship, furthermore, one recognised and respected by the Church. Certainly, Roman
sexuality was such that a love would not be considered necessarily abnormal, either.
So what remains today? They are remembered and celebrated on the dates of their martrydom, 1st and 7th of
October. Many gay Christians call on them for support and point to their example. Finally, a church and monastery
was built in their memory in the town of Malula in Syria (incidentally, said to be the only town which still speaks a
dialect of the Aramaic common in Jesus' time).
Sergius is still honoured to a greater degree than his companion, poor Bacchus labouring with the name of the
Roman god of wine, hence being largely ignored by the (modern day) Church, although both have become icons in
a new generation of gay Christians.
http://stbacchus.free.fr/BE/legende.htm, Geschiedenis en legende van Saint Bacchus (History and legend of
Saint Bacchus):
Wat Bacchus betreft, omwille van zijn naam, heidense god van de wijnstok en de wijn, werd hij
door ontketende soldaten tegen de grond gegooid, gegeseld en vertrappeld zoals druiven. De
legende zegt dat twee engelen hem ten hemel opnamen terwijl zijn bloed langs alle kanten
spoot , te vergelijken met druivensap dat uit de druiven spuit.
Terwijl de naam Serge nog herhaaldelijk voorkomt is die van Bacchus zo goed als verdwenen,
waarschijnlijk omwille van de slechte reputatie van zijn naamgenoot de heidense god Bacchus.
Niettemin blijven er nog veel sporen over. In het oosten, de kerk St.Bacchus in Cairo, de kerk St.
Bacchus en St.Serge in Libanon en in Istanboel de kerk St.Bacchus die omgevormd werd tot een
moskee. In het westen de voor zichzelf sprekende fresco's van de kapel van Berze la Ville nabij
Mcon.
Het is St.Bacchus waarvan het martelaarschap een middeleeuwse schilder, Geoffroy de L'Isle de
France, inspireerde. Hij vergeleekde marteling met deze die een druiventros ondergaat om ons
de wijn te geven die gekozen werd door onze stichter in zijn kruistocht voor de verdediging van
de "vin vray".
Translated from Dutch:
What Bacchus concerns, because of his name, pagan god of the stock and the wine, he by unchained
soldiers against the ground was thrown, and vertrappeld whipped such as grapes. The legend says that two
angels him at sky prerecordings whereas is blood along all sides spouted, with grape juice compare that
from the grapes spouts.
Whereas the name prevents serge still repeatedly is which of Bacchus as well as disappeared, probably
because of the bad reputation of his namesake the pagan god Bacchus. Nevertheless tracks still many
remain. In the east, the church Saint Bacchus in Cairo, the church Saint Bacchus and Saint serge in
Lebanon and in Istanboel the church Saint Bacchus which was transformed to a mosque. In the west for
itself speaking frescos of the vault of Berze the drawer Ville close Mcon.
It is Saint Bacchus It is Saint Bacchus whose martyrdom a medieval painter, Geoffroy de L'Isle de France,
inspired. He vergeleekde torment with these that a grape mooring rope undergo to give us the wine which
was chosen by our founder in its crusade for the maintaining of the "vin vray".
http://www.lezbeout.com/ancientgaymarriageoftwomalesaints.htm, Christian attitude towards same sex unions

may not always have been as "straight" as is now suggested:
A Kiev art museum contains a curious icon from St. Catherine's monastery on Mt. Sinai. It shows
two robed Christian saints. Between them is a traditional Roman pronubus (best man) overseeing
what in a standard Roman icon would be the wedding of a husband and wife. In the icon, Christ is
the pronubus. Only one thing is unusual. The "husband and wife" are in fact two men.
Is the icon suggesting that a homosexual "marriage" is one sanctified by Christ? The very idea
seems initially shocking. The full answer comes from other sources about the two men featured, St.
Serge and St. Bacchus, two Roman soldiers who became Christian martyrs.
Contrary to myth, Christianity's concept of marriage has not been set in stone since the days of
Christ, but has evolved as a concept and as a ritual.
I guess Jesus commanding His Disciples to love one another (John 13:34) and the fact that they were
all / mostly men, isnt good enough; simply because, todays Church tells us that Jesus definition of love
excludes sex, and we just believe it, even though the dictionaries state otherwise. A good example is
the use of, and our understanding of, the word lover above, which is simply the action form of the word
love. And Jesus makes it clear He wants the action of the word to be accomplished, to the extent that
other people will notice: By this all will know that you are My disciples (John 13:35).
Early Medieval Art, Kitzinger, 1983, p. 34, figure 10, The Late Antique and Early Christian Period:
Dionysius the Areopagite: Acts 17:34, first bishop of the Church at Athens
(c. 50 AD):
The Three-in-One Bible Reference Companion, 1982, p. 188, DIONYSIUS:
http://www.catholiconline.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2899, Catholic Online Saints, St. Dionysius:
St. Dionysius
Feastday: October 9
1st century
Called the Areopagite, also called Denis. He was converted in Athens, Greece, with a woman named
Damaris, by St. Paul. There he delivered his sermon to the Unknown God on the Hill of Mars, hence his
name. Some records indicate that he became the first bishop of Athens. Other records state that he was
martyred.
Dictionary of Saints, Delaney, 1980, p. 180:
The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, Zodhiates, 1993, p. 471, 1354.
Dionsios:
Youngs Compact Bible Dictionary, 1989, p. 172, DIONYSIUS:
The Student Guide to Bible People, Backhouse, 1996, p. 30, Pauls Converts and Opponents:
The New Strongs Complete Dictionary of Bible Words, James Strong 1822-1894, Thomas Nelson Publishers,
1996, Greek Dictionary of the New Testament p. 604, 1354:
New American Standard Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible: Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries,
1998, p. 1521:
The Greek English Concordance to the New Testament with the New International Version, Kohlenberger III /
Goodrich / Swanson, 1997, p. 1049 (A Concise Greek-English Dictionary), (G/K #) 1477:
Merriam Websters Collegiate Dictionary, 1997, p. 326, Dionysian:
The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, Moulton / Milligan, 1930 (reprinted 1949), p. 164 (Dionysios /
Dionysius):
The Century Cyclopedia of Names, Benjamin E. Smith, 1897, p. 328:
http://www.winterscapes.com/dionysus/otherdio.htm, Dionysos Counterparts: The Other Dionysos:
St. Dionysius
There are a few Greek Orthodox saints that can be linked to Dionysos, at least etymologically.
St. Dionysius of Zakynthos - feast day: December 17
St. Dionysius the Areopagite - feast day: October 3
St. Denis - The name Denis is linguistically derived from Dionysos.
http://magnificat.ca/cal/engl/10-09.htm, Lives of the Saints, Saint Dionysius the Areopagite:

in Egypt he saw for himself, in his early twenties, the eclipse of the sun contrary to all the laws of
nature, which occurred at the death of the Son of God. His teachers could not explain it to him
otherwise than as a sign of changes in divine matters.
So God gave this man a well timed hallucination for some reason.
(Do not confuse with Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite, c. 500.)
Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite (C. 500 AD. Probably in Syria):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudo-Dionysius, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite:
Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, also known as Pseudo-Denys, is the anonymous theologian and
philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century whose Corpus Areopagiticum (before 532) was pseudonymously
ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, the Athenian convert of St. Paul mentioned in Acts 17:34. The author was
historically believed to be the Areopagite because he claimed acquaintance with biblical characters.
Pope / Saint Dionysius (d 268 AD Cath. Ency.):

My notes:
Was Bishop of Rome from 259. Pope from about 260 to 268. He became pope probably on July 22, 260.
Pope (r.259-268). Was probably of Greek origin. Pope from July 22, 259, to Dec. 26, 268 (Britannica).
(Different person than Dionysius of Alexandria)
http://catholiconline.com/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2909, Catholic Online Saints, Pope St. Dionysius:
He rebuilt many areas after Emperor Gallienus issued an edict of toleration of Christians. Dionysius died
in Rome, was the first pope not listed as a martyr,
Saint Dionysius of Alexandria: (or)

Dionysius the Great, Bishop of Alexandria (Pupil of Origen, c. 265 AD):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05011a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Dionysius of Alexandria (Bishop
from 257-8 to 264-5):
Called "the Great" by Eusebius, St. Basil, and others, was undoubtedly, after St. Cyprian, the most
eminent bishop of the third century.
The Century Cyclopedia of Names, Benjamin E. Smith, 1897, p. 328:
http://www.catholiconline.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2905, Catholic Online Saints, St. Dionysius of

Alexandria:
St. Dionysius of Alexandria

Feastday: November 17
265
Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, called the Great. Born in Alexandria, Dionysius had a vision and converted
to Christianity. He entered a catechetical school and studied under Origen, whom he succeeded as master
of the school. Bishop Heraclas named him to this position in 232. In 247, Dionysius was elected bishop of
Alexandria. During the persecution of the Church in 249, Dionysius was arrested but rescued and taken to
the Libyan desert. He returned to Alexandria but had to flee again in another persecution. Dionysius
supported Pope St. Cornelius in his battle against Novatian. After his second exile, this time to Kephro in
the Libyan desert, Dionysius returned to Alexandria to find plague and civil unrest. He comforted the
plague victims and protected Christians. St. Athanasius called Dionysius the Teacher of the Catholic
Church. St. Basil surnamed him the Great.
Saint Dionysia (in Alexandria) (c. 250 AD):
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintd1g.htm (The Catholic Community Forum), Patron Saints Index:

Dionysia (female):
Memorial: 12 December
Profile: Mother martyred in the persecutions of Decius. No other information has survived.
Died: martyred c.250 in Alexandria, Egypt
Saint Dionysius, Martyr of Alexandria (c. 257 AD):
St. Dionysius
Feastday: October 3
257
Martyr of Alexandria, Egypt, with Faustus, Gaius, Peter, Paul, and companions. In 250, these Christians
were banished to Libya. They were then arrested and brought to Alexandria, where they were martyred.
Saint Dionysia (African Sees) (c. 484 AD):

St. Dionysia (female)
Feastday: December 6
In the year 484, the Arian King, Huneric, banished the Catholic bishops from their African Sees, and
began a violent persecution of orthodox Christians, many of whom were put to death. Dionysia, a woman
remarkable for beauty, zeal and piety, was scourged in the forum till her body was covered with blood.
Seeing Majoricus, her young son, tremble at the site, she said to him, "My son, do not forget that we have
been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity. We must not lose the garment of our salvation, lest the
Master of the feast find us without wedding clothes and cast us into outer darkness." The boy,
strengthened by her words, suffered a most cruel martyrdom with constancy. Dionysia and Majoricus died
at the stake.St. Dionysia feast day is December 6th.
Sannion:
St Dionysia - feast day: December 6. A beautiful woman scourged to death in the forum by Arian Christians in 484.
http://search.famsf.org:8080/view.shtml?record=17209&=list&=1&=&=And, Jacques Callot, artist, French, 1592 1635, St. Dionysia with her Son, December 6:
Saint Dionysius of Augsburg (c. 303 AD):

Augsburg:
St. Dionysius of Augsburg

Feastday: February 26
303
First bishop of Augsburg, Germany. St. Marcellus converted and baptized him. He is reported to have
been martyred.
Saint Dionysius of Corinth: (OR)

Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth (c. 170 AD):
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05010a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), St. Dionysius:
Bishop of Corinth about 170. The date is fixed by the fact that he wrote to Pope Soter (c. 168 to 176;
Harnack gives 165-67 to 173-5). Eusebius in his Chronicle placed his "floruit" in the eleventh year of
Marcus Aurelius (171). When Hegesippus was at Corinth in the time of Pope Anicetus, Primus was
bishop (about 150-5), while Bacchyllus was Bishop of Corinth at the time of the Paschal controversy
(about 190-8). To the Church of Amastris in Pontus he wrote at the instance of Bacchylides and Elpistus
He is described in Eusebius Ecclesiastical History.
Bacchylus, Bishop of Corinth (c. 195 AD):

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02189b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Bacchylus:
Bishop of Corinth, whom Eusebius mentions among the prominent second-century churchmen (H. E.,
V, xxii) he had held a provincial synod about 195, with eighteen other bishops; and St. Jerome
attests that his letter, qualified as elegantem librum, was written in the name of the bishops of
Achaia (De vir. ill., c. xliv). No text of the letter is extant
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/NPNF2-01/footnote/fn33.htm, Early Church Fathers, Footnotes:
341 This Bacchylus is possibly identical with the Bacchylides who is mentioned in Bk. IV. chap. 23 as one
of those who had urged Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, to write a certain epistle.
Saint Dionysia (died in Lampsacus) (c. 1st century AD):

http://www.catholiconline.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=2895, Catholic Online Saints, St. Dionysia:
St. Dionysia (female)

Feastday: May 15
1st century
Martyr, who died at the age of sixteen in Lampsacus, Mysia. Dionysia witnessed the trial of three
Christians, Nichomacus, Peter, and Andrew. During a torture on the rack, Nichomacus recanted and
denied Christ. Dionysia rebuked him for his cowardice and was arrested. She was tortured and turned over
to three men for physical assault. An angel halted their advances, and Dionysia escaped. She did not flee
the area, but went to the arena where Andrew and Peter hadjust died. There, she demanded martyrdom
beside the two saints, but soldiers carried her to another site, where she died by the sword.
http://www.geocities.com/markd4good/index.html, Dionicias Page:
Find out who I'm name for St. Dionysia or if you prefer Dionysus, who
was probably more fun to have at parties.
Saint Dionysius of Milan (c. 359 AD):

Milan:
St. Dionysius of Milan

Feastday: May 25
359
Bishop of Milan, Italy, the successor of St. Protasius in 351. Dionysius attended the Synod of Milan called
by Arian Emperor Constantius II to condemn St. Athanasius. When Dionysius defended Athanasius, he
was banished to Cappadocia with Eusebius of Vercelli and Lucifer of Cagliari. Dionysius died in exile,
but St. Ambrose had his remains enshrined in Milan.
Saint Bacchilus, First Bishop of Messina:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10216a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Archdiocese of Messina
(Messinensis):
According to the legend, Christianity was brought hither by Saints Peter and Paul, and there is still
preserved at Messina a letter attributed to the Blessed Virgin, which, it is claimed, was written by her to
the Messenians when Our Lady heard of their conversion by St. Paul. St. Bachiritis or Bacchilus is
venerated as the first Bishop of Messina.
Saint Dionysius (Uncle of Saint Pancras) (c. 304 AD):
St. Dionysius
Feastday: May 12
304
Martyr and uncle of St. Pancras. An Asiatic by birth, Dionysius brought St. Pancras to Rome, where they
became Christians. Dionysius died in a Roman prison.
Saint Dionysius of Paris (St. Denis) (c. 250 AD):

Holy martyr of Gaul, was the first Bishop of Paris
Brewers Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1981, p. 325:
Saint Dionysius (Seven Sleepers) (250 AD):
St. Dionysius
Feastday: July 27
St. Maximian, Malchus, Martinian, Dionysius, John Serapion, and Constantine "The Seven Sleepers" (Martyrs) July
27 A.D. 250 Having confessed the faith before the proconsul at Ephesus under Decius in 250, they were
walled up together in a cave in which they had hid themselves, and there slept in the Lord.
Saint Dionysius, Bishop of Vienne (c. 193 AD):
St. Dionysius
Feastday: May 8
193
Bishop of Vienne, in Dauphine, France, successor of St. Justus. He was one of the ten missionaries sent
with St. Peregrinus to Gaul, by Pope St. Sixtus I (Pope 115-125).
Dionysius the Carthusian (Denys van Leeuwen, Dinys Ryckel,

theologian and mystic, 1402-71 AD):
My notes:
Flemish Denys Van Leeuwen, or De Leeuwis, also called Denys Ryckel, or Van Rijkel (b. 1402-1403,
Rijkel, Lower Lorraine [now in The Netherlands], theologian and mystic)
Dionysius, Physician and Priest (first half of the 3rd century):

The Catacombs of St. Callixtus; Baruffa; Published by L.E.V., Vatican City; 1993; p. 153; The Crypts of
Lucina | Dionysius, Physician and Priest:
Dionysius Telmaharensis (845 AD):

Also called Dionysius of Tell Mahre (d. Aug. 22, 845), patriarch of the Syrian Jacobite church.
(Britannica)
Furius Dionysius Filocalus (354 AD):

The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, pp. 327-328, (illustration) 328:
P. 328, illustration 328, Calandar of AD 354 (Eros):
I bet theres no one named Dionys or Bacch in the church today.
Generic:
http://www.thesacredheart.com/saints.htm, Saints:
St. Bacchus
St. Dionysia
St. Dionysia
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
Bl. Dionysius
St. Dionysius of Corinth
St. Pope Dionysius
St. Dionysius Sebuggwao
http://www.catholiconline.org/saints/stindex.php?lst=D (Catholic Online), Saints and Angels, Saints Index |

D:
(No St. Bacchus here)

St. Dionysia
St. Dionysia
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
St. Dionysius
Bl. Dionysius
Bl. Dionysius Fugishima
St. Dionysius of Corinth
St. Pope Dionysius
St. Dionysius Sebuggwao
Sannion:
Many of the early Popes had names related to Dionysos. For instance, there was: St. Linus (67-76), St. Soter
(166-175), St. Eleutherius (175-189), St. Victor I (189-199), St. Anterus (235-36), St. Dionysius (260-268),
Liberius (352-66), and Sabinian (604-606). (The Catholic Encylopedia)
There were an exceptional number of Dionysian Saints as well:
Ss Sergius and Bacchus - feast day: October 7. Syrian soldiers and lovers who were tortured for refusing to
participate in State sacrifices. Paraded through the streets dressed as women, they persevered because, as St.
Bacchus reassured his partner, "the delights of heaven were greater than any suffering, and that part of their
reward would be to be re-united in heaven as lovers." St. Denys - feast day: October 9. Patron of France. After
having his head cut off, he carried it to France. Vines grew up on the spot where he finally came to rest. St
Dionysia - feast day: December 6. A beautiful woman scourged to death in the forum by Arian Christians in 484.
St Dionysia - feast day: May 15. A 16 girl who rebuked a Christian when he recanted, took his place. St
Dionysius - feast day: July 27. One of the 'seven sleepers' who were walled up, and then awoke about two
hundred years later. St Dionysius - feast day: February 8. Armenian monk and martyr. St Dionysius - feast day:
September 20. Martyred in Asia Minor. No account remains. St Dionysius - feast day: February 14. Martyred in
Alexandria, when his head was cut off. St Dionysius the Aeropagite - feast day: October 9. Converted by St
Paul. First Bishop of Athens. St Dionysius - feast day: May 8. Bishop of Vienne, in Dauphine, France, successor
of St. Justus. St Dionysius - feast day: October 3. Martyred in Alexandria in 250 St Dionysius - feast day: May
12 Martyred in Rome in 304 Blessed Dionysius - feast day: November 29. A Carmelite martyr called Dionysius
of the Nativity. Slain in Sumatra, Indonesia in 1638. Blessed Dionysius Fugishima - feast day: March 5. A
Japanese-born Jesuit novice, slain at Shimabara in 1622. St Dionysius of Alexandria - feast day: November 17.
Called 'the Great' because he comforted plague victims, and the "Teacher of the Catholic Church" because of his
learning. St. Dionysius of Augsburg - feast day: February 26. Martyred in Germany in 303. St. Dionysius of
Corinth - feast day: April 8. Famed for his letters. St. Dionysius of Milan - feast day: May 25. Banished for
defending St. Athanasius; died in exile. St. Pope Dionysius - feast day: December 26. Rebult the Church after
the persecutions of Emperor Valerian. St. Dionysius Sebuggwao - feast day: June 3. Martyred in Uganda, Africa
by King Mwanga in 1885. St. Eleutherius(from the Eleusinian mysteries) - feast day: August 4. Martyr of Tarsus,
Turkey. St. Eleutherius - feast day: August 16 Bishop of Auxerre, France. He was a patron of the monastic
movement and known for his care of the poor. St. Eleutherius feast day: October 2. A soldier in the army of
coEmperor Diocletian in Nicomedia. He was accused of setting fire to the emperor's palace and was burned to
death after being tortured with companions. (Catholic Saints Online)
http://www.giveshare.org/babylon/paganismsurviving/, Paganism Surviving in Christianity, by Abram Herbert

Lewis, D.D. 1892, Paganism in Christianity, Chapter I:
The simple people believe them to have been two holy bishops. I have myself witnessed this
near Florence, and even Bacchus is not without his votaries, under the ecclesiastical name of
St. Bacco. The principle and practice of papal Rome are identical with the practice of pagan
Rome. The two holies of the Gnostics and Neo-Platonists, Sophia and Eirene Wisdom and
Peace were adopted as saints in the calendar of Constantinople. Dionysius, the god of the
mysteries, reappears as St. Denys in France, St. Liberius, St. Eleutherius, and St. Bacchus
Dionysius is simply a form of Dionysus / Bacchus:

A Dictionary of the English Language: Academic Edition, Noah Webster, 1867, (supplement): Common
English Christian Names, p. 521, Dionysius:
http://www.zelo.com/firstnames/findresults.asp?name=dionysus, What Does Your Name Mean:
DIONYSUS
Gender:
Root:
Origin:
Meaning:
Male
DIONYSIUS
Greek
God of wine &
Revelry
http://www.zelo.com/firstnames/findresults.asp?name=DIONYSIUS, What Does Your Name Mean:
DIONYSIUS
Gender:
Origin:
Meaning:
Male
Greek
God of wine &
Revelry
The Holy Bible: Clarified Edition (KJV), Consolidated Book Publishers, 1957, no page number, Encyclopedic
Index: Concordance and Dictionary, Gilbert James Brett, Editor | DIONYSIUS:
Harpers Latin Dictionary, Lewis / Short, 1879, p. 583, Dionysus Dionysius:
Bibliotheca Eliotae (Latin-English dictionary), Sir Thomas Elyot, 1548 (M. D. XLVIII), no page numbers,
Dionysius:
(Highlighted part) translated from Elizabethan English:

Dionysius, read in Bacchus.
http://www.thebabyoutlet.com/html/additional_channels/names/boys_d.html, baby naming, Boys | D:
Variant of Dionysius. Dionysius is the mythological Greek god
of wine responsible for growth of the vines and the originator
Denney English of winemaking: (equivalent to the Roman god Bacchus.)
http://www.cfimages.com/Baby/Names/girlsd.html, Baby Shop, Girls names: D:
Dionisia From the Greek festival Dionisya which took its name from the god of wine called Dionysius
History of Christian Names, Yonge, 1884, p. xlvii, Glossary:
Dionysos is the more correct / direct transliteration from the Greek god Dionysus ().
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=Dionysius, Behind the Name: the etymology and history of
first names, View Name: Dionysius:
DIONYSIUS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Ancient Roman
Extra Info: Related Names, Namesakes
Options: Contribute Information, Add to List
Latin form of DIONYSIOS. This was the name of several early saints including a 3rd-century pope.
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=dionysios, Behind the Name: the etymology and history of
first names, View Name: Dionysios:
DIONYSIOS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek, Ancient Greek
Other Scripts: (Greek)
Extra Info: Related Names
Greek personal name derived from the name of the Greek god DIONYSOS. Famous bearers include two early
tyrants of Syracuse and a 1st-century BC Greek rhetorician.
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=dionysos, Behind the Name: the etymology and history of
first names, View Name: Dionysos:
DIONYSOS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology
Other Scripts: (Greek)
Pronounced: dee-o-NOO-sos [key]
Extra Info: Related Names, Namesakes
From Greek (Dios) meaning "of ZEUS" combined with (Nysa), the name of a legendary mountain. In
Greek mythology Dionysos was the god of wine, revelry, fertility and dance. He was the son of Zeus and Semele.
http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=bacchus, Behind the Name: the etymology and history of
first names, View Name: Bacchus:
BACCHUS
Gender: Masculine
Usage: Greek Mythology (Latinized)
Extra Info: Namesakes, Comments
From Greek (Bakchos), derived from (iacho) meaning "to shout". This was another name of the Greek
god Dionysos, and it was also the name that the Romans commonly used for him.
Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, Mike Dixon-Kennedy, 1998, p. 113, Dionys(i)us I:
http://www.umr.edu/~ddani/name.html (University of Missouri Rolla), In the name of Onomatology: Name

origins, First Name: Dionysios:
In Greek, Dionysios means a follower of the Greek god Dionysos.

Dionysos was the god of fertility, vine, ecstatic dance, theater,
tragedy and comedy, orgiastic religion, phallic(penis) worship, joy
and ecstasy, madness, and mysteries among others. In Greek "Dionysos"
means "born from Deus( Zeus)". (Zeus stitched Dionysos into his thigh
to hold him until he was ready to be born). Written with a different
orthography "Dyo-nisos" means 'Twice born" or "Reborn", which also
makes sense. According to the myth, Dionysos was slain and then
reborn.
Dionysios in Christianity:
St.Dionysios the Areopagite (or St.Dennis) was the judge of the
Areopagus who, as mentioned in Acts 17:34, was converted to
Christianity by the preaching of St. Paul. He was Bishop of Athens and
he is the patron Saint of Athens, Greece.
St. Dionysius: Bishop of Corinth about 170.
St.Dionysius, holy martyr of Gaul, was the first Bishop of Paris.
The Encyclopedia of the Classical World, 1965, p. 70, Dionysus:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14747a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Tius:
Titular see, suffragan of Claudiopolis in Honorias. According to Strabo (542, 545) the town was not
remarkable save as the birthplace of Philetaerus, founder of the royal dynasty of Pergamus. The coins give
Dionysius as the founder; in fact it was the site of a temple of Dionysius and one of Jupiter.
Websters Dictionary of Proper Names, 1970, pp. 193-194:
http://religion.mrugala.net/Grece/Anglais/Greec%20gods.txt:
DIONYSOS
(Dionysus, Dionysius, Roman Bacchus)
Greek god of wine and intoxication. His cult is believed to have originated in
either Thrace, Phrygia or perhaps Lydia. He was credited with having the
introduction of the vine and the art of making wine. In some legends he was said to
have descended to the underworld to bring back his mother Semele, and this
presumably led to his role in Orphism, which equated him with Zagreus. His worship
was characterized by orgiastic and often violent rites. His female worshippers,
known as Bacchants or Maenads, ran and danced through the woods in a drunken frenzy
bearing torches and thyrsus staves (made of vine leaves and ivy). The frenzy was
believed to give them occult powers as well as superhuman strength, with which they
were said to tear sacrificial animals to pieces. Phallic(penis) symbolism was
particularly prominent at the Dionysia,
Being named Dionysius is todays equivalent of saying: Hi, my name is Greek Sex Orgy.
Home (Index)
DIONYSIA EASTER
DIONYSIA EASTER
http://www.fire.benton.wa.us/philosophy/easterisright.html, Easter Communion:
Comparative mythology shows that this same communal meal of god-flesh is

found globally and throughout decipherable history. It is no coincidence that
the Last Supper was on the occasion of the Hebrew Passover and at the same
time of year as the Dionysian Mysteries were celebrated.
The Century Cyclopedia of Names, Benjamin E. Smith, 1897, p. 328, Dionysia:
Sounds like Easter time to me.

http://www.phys.uu.nl/~vgent/easter/easter_text4b.htm, Coincidences of Dionysian Easter Sunday with
Gregorian Easter Sunday:
the offset between the Gregorian and the Julian calendars will have become so large
that Gregorian Easter Sunday and Dionysian Easter Sunday can never fall on the same
day again within the same calendar year.
Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, 1959, p. 178, Dionysus:
Easter egg:
http://www.evkingdom.org/art14easter.htm, The Truth On Easter:
The origin of the Pasch eggs is just as clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg, as the sacred
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Easter.htm (1 of 2) [24/09/2012 12:15:49 AM]
DIONYSIA EASTER
emblem of their order. In the Dionysiaca, or mysteries of Bacchus, as celebrated in Athens, one
part of the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg. [The Two Babylons (Or
The Papal Worship) , Alexander Hislop, 1916, Neptune, NJ, Loizeaux Brothers, Inc., pp.108109] The spring equinox, the first day of spring, marks the birth of the infant Sun God and
paves the way for the coming lushness of summer. Dionysian rites are performed. The Christian
version of the sabbat is Easter. (Rosemary Ellen Guiley, The Encyclopedia of Witches and
Witchcraft, New York: Facts On File, 1989, p.289)
http://www.israelect.com/reference/WillieMartin/Easter-2.htm, Easter:
The origin of the Pasch eggs is very clear. The ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem
of their order. In the Dionysia, or mysteries of Bacchus as celebrated in Athens, one part of
the nocturnal ceremony consisted in the consecration of an egg.
http://cannabisculture.com/articles/3352.html, Easter: sex and drugs celebration!:
Easter celebrations around the world always involve eggs. For thousands of years, the egg has
been a recurrent symbol in spring fertility festivals like those celebrated by the Germanic pagans.
Today we use the term "Dionysian" to describe such festivities, after the Greek god Dionysus, the
god of intoxication, poetry, love and orgiastic sexuality.
(I have not thoroughly researched all this.)
Home (Index)
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CASA CELIMONTANA under SS. Giovanni e Paolo
CASA CELIMONTANA
Under the Basilica SS. Giovanni e Paolo al Celio: Basilica of St. John and
St. Paul (Rome)
C. 2nd century
http://roma.katolsk.no/giovanniepaolo.htm, Santi Giovanno e Paulo: Sts. John and Paul, History:
Below the church, there are 2nd and 3rd century Roman houses in which Christian's worshipped (The first
church here was built in the 4th century known as Titulus Pammachii and was one of the first parish churches
in Rome.) The houses beneath the church, known as the "Case Romane", have been excavated, and the entrance
to the excavations can be found just after the chapel of St Paul of the Cross. Work was begun by Fr.
Germano Stanislaus in 1887, and completed in 1958. In 2001, administration was taken over by the Comune di
Roma. They contain a number of paintings, both Christian and pagan, including frescoes of the 2nd and 3rd century.
http://www.lancelotrome.it/treasures.htm, Hotel Lancelot: Neighborhood Treasures:
on down to San Giovanni e Paolo , a square that has hardly changed since medieval times. Excavations beneath
this church have revealed Roman houses of the first and second centuries used as places of Christian worship.
http://www.lottomatica.it/FILE/IT/COMUNICATI/C_16012002.asp (translated from Italian), Archaeology: they reopen to
the public the Roman Domus To the Celio, under the basilica of it knows Giovanni and Paul to you:
He was the 1887 when Germano Father from S. Stanislao, chancellor of the basilica of knows Giovanni to you and
Paul, decreasing itself from a sepolcro dug under the pavement of the church, discovered the houses roman in which,
second the tradition, lived and was martirizzati in the 362 knows Giovanni and Paul to you. And the discovery
was extraordinary: beyond 20 ipogei atmospheres on more levels, with various architectonic shapes and walls frescoed,
that they tell one cracked of roman life between the II and IV the century d.C. and also beyond, unknown testimony of
the passage from the aganism (paganism) to the Christianity, evocative commistione of styles. THE HOUSES: History
- the complex, been born from the accorpamento at least three inhabited houses roman in the II sec. d.C., in the first half
of the III sec. comes transformed in building porticato with botteghe to level of the road, retrobotteghe that they point out
on a courtyard and spaces of rooms to the advanced plan. Between the end of the III and the beginnings of the IV sec.,
the entire block, found probably from an only owner, comes completely restructured and transformed in one large
domus signorile: the openings on road come tamponate, the botteghe transformed in residential spaces, the courtyard
in elegant frescoed ninfeo, originally to open sky. To this phase, second the more recent studies, would go back
the decorative plan of the house. An ulterior transformation of the domus happens in the second half of IV the century, as
a result of the translazione of reliquie or to a deposition of bodies venera you, than one late tradition makes to coincide
with the persecution of Giuliano the Apostate. They would have been then martirizzati and buried in the house It
knows Giovanni and Paul to you, and also It knows Crispo, Crispiniano and Benedetta to you. It comes realized the socalled one confessio, raised rectangular niche on the pianerottolo, frescoed with Christian subjects. In V the century it
comes constructed the overhanging basilica, whose foundations cut the domus literally, that they come dismesse.
Their frequantazione as continuous place of cult but also in the centuries succeeded to you: to the inside of one
of atmospheres of the porch an oratory is gained, with frescoes of the high Evo Mean, between which one
rare rappresentazione of the Crocefissione (crucifixion) with the dressed Christ. They follow the definitive one I bury and
the oblivion. IT FRESCOES: Ad.eccezione.dell' oratory of the Ss.Salvatore, the paintings still walls them present in
the houses is attributable to 3 makes between the half of III the century and the end of the IV. Antichi they are those of
the ninfeo with the scene of Proserpina and the paintings of the classroom of the geniuses (second half III sec.),
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the decorations to pretended marble, festoni of flowers, menadi and ox Bees in disposed atmospheres in parallel with
the classroom of the geniuses and the classroom of orante (fine III, beginnings IV sec.); finally, the paintings of the
confessio are datable to the IV sec.. According to other recent studies, the entire decorative apparatus instead would
have had to an only owner who, com' is typical of the culture of the age, would indifferently use iconografici
topics attributable to the pagana tradition (geniuses, ox Bees, etc.) and to the new Christian currents (orante
and philosophers). One more full adhesion to the Christianity would be expressed alone in the c.d. confessio.
http://www.beniculturali.it/news/comunicati/immagini/DomusNinfeo.jpg (via http://www.beniculturali.it/news/

comunicati/dettagliocomunicati.asp?Id=1019):

the public the Roman Domus To the Celio, under the basilica of it knows Giovanni and Paul to you (continued from above):
The ninfeo: these paintings are between most remarkable that the late antiquity has handed on to us, above all for
celebre the marine scene with Proserpina and Dioniso, encircles you from small boats guided from eroti given over to
the peach.
http://www.beniculturali.it/news/comunicati/immagini/DomusStanza.jpg (via http://www.beniculturali.it/news/

comunicati/dettagliocomunicati.asp?Id=1019) (Erotes and vine scrolls):

The classroom of the geniuses: the compositivo program makes reference the seasons, from the summer to the beginning
of the autumn. In the advanced zone, with small eroti, grape harvest scene is represented one. In that inferior
young geniuses, knots and supplies of cape, introduce the summery season, with all the wealth of the plants of the
flowers and the harvests. Remarkable also the birds. The restoration has given back to the paintings leaves of the
original compositiva and chromatic freschezza.
http://www.beniculturali.it/news/comunicati/immagini/DomusOrante.jpg (via http://www.beniculturali.it/news/

comunicati/dettagliocomunicati.asp?Id=1019) (vine scrolls):

The classroom of the orante: therefore call for the figure to arms rises in religious attitude, than to some students has
made to interpret all the atmosphere like place of a first one and hidden Christian cult. Various interpretations have
been formulated for the presence, beside one decoration to festoni of flowers, monster navy, masks of theatre, goats
and also philosophers.
"confessio": it is the main Christian pittorico document of the house. It frescoes cover the wall of bottom and those
lateral ones of the niche; the more interesting scenes and than clearer interpretation ritraggono three figures, a two
male and feminine one, escorted from soldiers and beheaded.
The oratory of the SS. Salvatore: of altomedievale age, painting with history of the life of Christ, after the restoration
has been recovered the scene of the crocefissione (crucifixion) with the dressed Christ and the scene of the partition of
the garment of the Christ.
http://www.italiannetwork.it/misc/italy_e.htm (8-1-02), The Reopening of the Roman Domus in Rome:
The ancient houses discovered in 1887 under the floor of the Basilica of San Giovanni e Paolo include twenty
rooms and according to the tradition it was there that the saints John and Paul lived and were killed in 362.
The domus enriched with several frescoes date to the second century a. D. and they tell us how life as to be like
in that historical period. The houses had been closed in 1994 after some sections of the Nympheum collapsed.
A small chapel called Confessio and frescoes date back in fact to this period (noteworthy that one in the
Nympheum depicting Proserpine and Dionysus). The basilica on top of the domus was built in the fifth century.
At present it is possible to visit several rooms among which the Aula dei geni with remarkable frescoes,
Aula dellOrante and the Ninfeo.
http://www.catholic.net/RCC/Peroidicals/Inside/05-97/churches.html (7-31-02), Dazzling Discoveries: The
titular churches were Christianitys earliest places of worship. Perhaps the earliest of all was the Basilica SS.
Giovanni e Paolo on the Coelian Hill:
Excavations below the Basilica SS. Giovanni e Paolo reveal a complex of republican to imperial age Roman
structures (1st to 3rd centuries), including shops (facing the Clivus Scauri), a thermal establishment, and a rich villa
(or several villas) of at least 20 rooms. We can descend to this ancient subterranean world from inside the
basilica. Grilled bridges with railings lead us over dizzying arches and rooms on at least three levels to the
nympheum, an indoor water-garden with fountain, fine mosaic floor, and a truly beautiful pagan marine fresco
(2nd century) in subaqueous hues. The adjacent triclinium, or dining room, is also pagan in spirit, with its (2nd3rd-centuries) border of handsome youths, cavorting cupids, and realistically observed birds, ducks and peacocks.
In the tablinum, or reception room, we finally discover, up in a corner, an obviously Christian symbol: an orante,
or tunic-clad figure with arms outstretched in prayer (3rd century).
http://www.caseromane.it/pitture.html (translated from Italian), Roman Houses of the Celio (Case Romane del Celio):
The decorative motifs that adorn the rooms of the domus, drawn in from the shops and back 'insula, draw the
themes of the traditional classical repertoire. Is the frequent reference to the seasons, as in so-called hall of
Genes (Geniuses) with garlands of flowers and fruit supported by Genes (Geniuses) and graceful winged
cupids (amorini) vendemmianti on a background of birds, including exotic and extraordinary freshness and vivacity
of colors.:
A fresco of marine subject, considered a jewel of the late paintings, covering the walls of the nearby ninfeo. Stands
a female deity, identified with Venus or Proserpina, accompanied by a festive procession of fishing cupids
(amorini) painted on wooden boats.:
Just for comparison:
http://campus.belmont.edu/honors/catacombs/
arcosoliumE.jpg (via http://campus.belmont.edu/onors/
catacombs/catacombs.htm) (Belmont University),
The Christian Catacombs of Ancient Rome: An
Introduction:
In this context, however, the meaning is blurred,

as no other purely Christian imagery is
displayed, and several clearly pagan figures do

appear: the Winged Victory to the left, the
gorgon on the ceiling and the reclining Tellus,
goddess of the earth and flowers. The goat kids
on the ceiling could represent Christ, as the
"scape goat" sacrificed for the Hebrew people.
Of particular importance is the decorative program of the hall with the famous Orante appearing arms raised in
an attitude of prayer, considered by many a sign of an early Christian use of the environments. (vine scrolls):
In the small Confessio, cut in half of the ladder leading to the upper floors, there are precious Christian paintings of
the second half of the fourth century, linked by tradition to the martyrdom of Sts. John and Paul and Sts.
Crispo, Crispiniano and Benedetta.:
Some areas of the houses continued to be popular in the Middle Ages in an area of the porch was obtained with
an oratory frescoes of VIII - XII century, including the rare representation of the crucifixion of the dressed Christ.:
In the modern antiquarium, set up with innovative solutions, are the finds from excavations and the basilica.:
(At website,
click:
http://www.caseromane.it/storia.html (translated from Italian), Houses Roman of the Celio (Case Romane del Celio):
Beneath the basilica of SS. Giovanni e Paolo al Celio, founded at the beginning of the fifth century by
Senator Pammachio, is an extraordinary complex of residential buildings of the Roman age.
(http://www.caseromane.it/img/jesus.jpg)
Tradition identifies this place with the house in which the SS. John and Paul lived and were buried, after
having suffered martyrdom under the reign of the emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363 AD).
The archaeological complex, discovered in 1887 by Father Germano S. Stanislaus, rector of the Basilica of
SS Giovanni e Paolo al Celio still officiated by the Passionist Fathers, reveals a fascinating journey through more
than 20 underground environments on several levels, partly frescoed with paintings dating from the third century
AD and the medieval age.
http://www.caseromane.it/ (translated from Italian), Houses Roman of the Celio (Case Romane del Celio):
Below the Basilica of Sts John and Paul

Ownership of the buildings of Worship - Ministry of Interior
http://www.caseromane.it/slide/im_pros.html (via http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/lettres/LanguesAnciennes/Ariane/

fichiers/ariane_dionysos.htm), Images d'Ariane et Dionysos dans l'antiquit:
Nympheum the home of Mount Caelius Roman fresco:

Figures variously interpreted: Venus, Proserpine, The Island of the Blessed, Bacchus and Ariadne, but also the lady of the
house sat between his confidante and a servant who fills his bowl.
Around 200 - 220 AD
Rome under the church of Saints John and Paul

(Furman University), Roman Archaeology: Roman Art, Roman Painting:
Marine landscape with Venus from a house on the Caelian Hill:
A Chronology of Western Architecture, Yarwood, 1987, p. 24, Fourth-Century Early Christian Churches in Rome:
A Handbook of Roman Art: A comprehensive survey of all the arts of the Roman world, Henig, Cornell University
Press, 1983, p. 109:
Plate 29:
http://www.arcobaleno.net/cultura/LE%20DOMUS%20DEL%20CELIO%20riaperte%20dopo%20il%20restauro.htm
(translated from Italian), Culture: The DOMUS Of the CELIO reopened after the restoration:
the Genes (Geniuses): This takes its name from the images of the frescoes, originally extended over the whole
time, representatives of the Genes (Geniuses) summer surrounded by plants and flowers, and the Erotic
vendemmianti representing the autumn. We then move on to the so-called Ninfeo of Proserpina: it is a fountain on the wall
of which stands the magnificent fresco depicting a woman, variously interpreted as Proserpina with his right or Venus with
Ceres Peito (persuasion), yet the goddess Tethys Sea, which presents a cup to Dionysus which fills him with a whitish liquid.
All this nestled in a small boat with water and eroticism of work in the background in a harbor wall. Found in 1909 below
another layer of plaster, or a scialbatura which will prevent the vision, perhaps because too pagan presents a pictorial
quality much higher than the rest of the decorations, referring to the great painting almost old classic: this is dated at the end
of the second-early to third century AD Dating to the ninth century, are of rather poor bill, which has greatly affected
the retention: originally represented episodes from the life of Christ. Today remains the scene of the Crucifixion, with
Christ dressed, known as the Syrian
http://www.romeguide.it/FILES/visite/domusfoto/megalografiaCelioninfeo.jpg (via http://www.romeguide.it/FILES/

visite/domus_romane.htm), LE DOMUS ROMANE AL CELIO (TO THE ROMAN DOMUS CELIO):
Dal cortile del ninfeo si accede agli ambienti del pianterreno, compresi tra questo e il clivus Scauri. Alcuni ambienti erano
in origine taberne, che si aprivano sul portico esterno (che in epoca tarda fu chiuso con tramezzi, formando cos degli
ambienti antistanti). Altre stanze davano invece accesso al cortile e da qui alla casa pi settentrionale, mentre un piccolo
andito costituisce la gabbia della scala che portava agli ambienti superiori. In quella, prossima all'ambiente con il grande
affresco - con il quale in origine comunicava direttamente (ora il muro di fondazione della chiesa obbliga a un grande giro
per accedervi) - si pu vedere una notevolissima decorazione a fondo bianco, con efebi che sostengono un festone
vegetale, intramezzati da pavoni e da altri grandi uccelli. Nella volta sono rappresentati tralci e girali, tra i quali svolazzano eroti
e uccelli. Il pavimento era rivestito di lastre di marmo, asportate in antico, ma delle quali restano le impronte. Questa
notevole decorazione sembra contemporanea a quella del vicino ninfeo.
Gli Affreschi delle domus

La domus di III-IV secolo composta di 9 ambienti affrescati il cui significato da tempo interpretato in modo disomogeneo.
La presenza di una figura femminile orante all'interno di uno degli ambienti pi significativi della casa ha spinto molti studiosi
ad interpretare la decorazione parietale come un esplicito messaggio di fede cristiana dei proprietari e a credere che gli
ambienti fossero stati utilizzati come segreto ritrovo delle prime comunit cristiane.
Translated from Italian:

From the courtyard of the ninfeo you access to the rooms of the ground floor, between this and the clivus Scauri. Some
areas were originally taberne, which opened on the porch outside (which was late in the period closed with walls, forming areas
of the front). Other rooms instead gave access to the courtyard and from there to the northernmost house, while a small andito
is the cage of the staircase that led to the rooms above. On that, next to the large fresco - with which originally stated
directly (now the foundation wall of the church requires a great lap to access it) - you can see a highly decorated white with
efebi supporting a festoon plant intramezzati from peacocks and other large birds. In turn are represented Girali and
branches, among which birds fly and erotica. The floor was covered with slabs of marble, removed old, but which remain
the fingerprints. This outstanding contemporary decor seems close to that of ninfeo.
The Frescoes of the domus

The domus of III-IV century is composed of 9 rooms frescoed whose meaning has long been interpreted unevenly. The
presence of a female figure praying inside one of the most significant of the house has led many scholars to interpret the
parietal decoration as an explicit message of Christian faith and the owners believe that the environment had been used as
a secret meeting place of the first communities Christian.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ziXjd1heumgC&pg=PA44&lpg=PA44&dq=%22Domus+Celimontana
%
22&source=bl&ots=WSYHv4T6JJ&sig=bAsSZdnFDAvloRwGHPGO3S9E3gE&hl=en&ei=QDbASeabE4aaMqHaiaEN&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA44,
M1, The Architectural Setting of the Cult of Saints in the Early Christian West c. 300c. 1200 Google Books Result,
by John Crook, 2000, p. 44, II. The Physical Setting of Relic Cults up to c. 750 | SS. Giovanni e Paolo:
La Casa Celimontana: Dei SS. Martiri: Giovanni e Paolo, Germano / Stanislao, 1894, Figura 7, p. 94:
Halos in the classroom of the orante:
Figura 8, p. 96:
Figura 21, p. 138:
Christian Chi-Rho:
Figura 73, p. 422:

Figura 74, p. 426 (the crocifissione (crucifixion) of the dressed Christ):
http://digilander.libero.it/bob1971/Comu...di%20Roma/SP@RNews%20-%20Numero%2061.htm (translated from Italian) (8-202), A Found Again Route: The Roman Domus of the Celio:
that one of Proserpina and Dioniso that troneggiano on a marine scene, the Geniuses that incarnate the triumph of
the seasons and those dell dell orante classroom. The paleocristiana phase is documented one rarest
crocifissione (crucifixion) with the dressed Christ.
http://www.cittadinitalia.it/gallery/pages/g_000000037.htm (MINISTERO DELLINTERNO), Il Ministero, Basilica SS. Giovanni
e Paolo al Celio:
The Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill, Prandi Ferrari, 1958:
The Roman Houses on the Hill before the Basilicas Erection, p. 15:
The Recent Excavations under the Basilica, p. 21-22:
Fig. 31: Inscription Commemorating the Recent Explorations under the Basilica, p. 108:
Fig. 33: The Well Shaft and Ornamental Fountain Room, pp. 110-111:
Fig. 34: Pagan Fresco from the Ornamental Fountain (Nymphaeum), pp. 112-115:
Fig. 38: The Fresco of the Orans, pp. 122-125:
Fig. 40: The Confessio or Shrine, pp. 128-129:

Fig. 42: Right Wall of the Confessio, pp. 134-135:
Sounds like the era prior to the end of the (Christian) persecutions.
La Casa Celimontana: Dei SS. Martiri: Giovanni e Paolo, Germano / Stanislao, 1894, Figura 44, p. 326:
Since the pagan ninfeo / nymphaeum fresco has Eros and naked adult figures, I think no one wants to say it
could have been drawn by early Christians. There is a possibility that the earlier Christians used these pagan themes
to describe their religion, mainly because pagan themes were the actual religious communication of the pagan /
gentile world. As early Christians extensively did, recruiting the pagan gentiles very likely required dialogue or art
to better communicate the Christian message. Recruiting pagan gentiles with a fresco of Eros and Dionysus
would have given them a definite wrong idea, if Christian love had nothing to do with erotic / orgiastic sex, as
we are taught today. Pagan themes were very likely used until Christians developed their own artistic motifs,
because later Christian art seems to emanate from pagan themes. For example, Dionysus and Helios would
be converted into an image of Christ, later themed with the personification of the crucifixion. Eros became a
Christian angel / cherub. Possibly Venus / Proserpina converted to the Virgin Mary. If such is the case,
since Dionysus and Eros both are definitely used in later Christian art, this pagan ninfeo / nymphaeum fresco would
be, by far, the earliest known extant Christian art.
I speculate that the pagan ninfeo / nymphaeum fresco was covered with yellow plaster in the fifth century
because after Catholic Emperor Theodosius decree of February 27, 380 AD the newly designated
Christian authorities vastly persecuted pagans and their idols:
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/jsp/db/viewWiki.jsp?title=Library+of+Alexandria, Library of Alexandria, Destruction

of the pagan temples by Theophilus:
In the late 4th century, persecution of pagans by Christians had reached new levels of intensity. Temples and statues
were destroyed throughout the Roman empire, pagan rituals forbidden under punishment of death, and libraries closed.
In 391 CE, Emperor Theodosius ordered the destruction of all pagan temples, and the bishop of Alexandria,
Theophilus, complied with this request.
http://www.knowledgerush.com/kr/jsp/db/viewWiki.jsp?title=Library+of+Alexandria, Library of Alexandria, Destruction

of the pagan temples by Theophilus:
In the late 4th century, persecution of pagans by Christians had reached new levels of intensity. Temples and statues
were destroyed throughout the Roman empire, pagan rituals forbidden under punishment of death, and libraries closed.
In 391 CE, Emperor Theodosius ordered the destruction of all pagan temples, and the bishop of Alexandria,
Theophilus, complied with this request.
Again, they really dont have any evidence that the earlier Christians didnt draw the pagan ninfeo /
nymphaeum fresco; but, if they didnt, because of the later definite Christian art and ownership of the site, it would
be like, today, building a church on the grounds of the Playboy Mansion.
I am the true vine John 15:1. That would be like starting a religion today and saying I am the true
Hugh Hefner, which would correlate to nudity themes. If they said I am the true Archie Bunker, then that
would theme them with bigotry, racism and narrow-mindedness. I know, you still dont get it.
http://www.geocities.com/hestia624/olympians-dionysus.html, Characters of Greek Mythology, Dionysus:
Dionysus is the God of the Vine. Many city-states outlawed the wild, orgiastic rites of Dionysus.
Matthew 9:14-17:
14Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do
not fast?" 15And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with
them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 16No
one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is
made worse. 17Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and
the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Here Jesus elaborates by saying that His orgiastic ways (new wineskins) are different and superior
to Dionysus (old wineskins), so people will know that the true vine just matches the basic theme of Dionysus,
not necessarily in the same exact manner. Jesus has to make use of what was available and closest to His
theme. Again, Jesus main / superior theme is eliminating looks discrimination: lust. And the whole passage
has something to do with when the bridegroom will be taken away from them. The bridegroom, of course,
refers to marriage taken away. Fasting must be something you do once you are religiously pious.
Ambiguously, friends [sons in Greek] of the bridegroom will never again mourn once marriage is
eliminated, because he will never need to be without them. Or, it may allude to the fact that marriage, which leads
to divorce, which leads to mothers and courts limiting fathers of the visitations of their children; where, in a free
sex (non-conditional love) society, fathers would be able to visit their children as often as everyone likes,
because direct paternal financial requirements would be eliminated. And the ex-wife wouldnt have that need
of not wanting their ex-husband around. In a free-sex society, he wouldnt be harping at her continually to get
back together, or become dangerous because she wont.
During the wedding in Cana (John 2:9-10), the master of the feast said, Every man at the beginning sets out
the good wine (happy sex in marriage), when the guests have well drunk, then that which is inferior (inferior wine
sex in marriage becomes dull); but you have kept the good wine until now (Jesus good wine: free-sex makes
later sex good). Concerning John 2:3-4 they have no wine (happy sex), Jesus tells his mother My hour has
not yet come indicating that Jesus free-sex world is not at hand (but, the marriage standard sure was fully intact
in the days of Jesus, because He is at a wedding).
Matthew 13:10-17:
10And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
11He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have
abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13Therefore I speak to them
in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (So to make
it through Middle Age corruption.) 14And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
"Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them. (Isaiah 6:9-10)
16But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17for assuredly, I say to you that many
prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not
hear it.
Mark 4:10-12:
10But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11And He said to them,
"To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come
in parables, 12so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest
they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"
Matthew 16:3:
"Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times."
John 10:24-27:
24Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell
us plainly." 25Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name,
they bear witness of Me. 26But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27My sheep
hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me."
Now I know that all the Church leaders today are fully aware of the meanings in all unclear parables: They all
mean that Jesus paid the afterlife penalty for all their wrongs against others, past, present, and future. And they all
feel good about that interpretation, so they are convinced that that is God assuring them that they are right. Plus,
they are doubly convinced that they are right, because those interpretations bring in the most money to their
church. Thank you Jesus, thank you! (Of course, I dont know how many of these types have read this far;
because, they probably stopped reading as soon as they realized that this website has nothing to do with them
making any more money.)
http://www.NewMagneticInfraredScanReveals20thCenturyIcon.com/bs:
Look what modern technology can uncover.
Nymphs:
http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/nymphs.html (Encyclopedia Mythica), Nymphs:
They were worshipped in a nymphaeum, a monumental fountain which was raised in the vicinity of a well. The male
counterpart of a nymph is the satyr.
http://www.the-pantheon.com/primative_beings.htm, The Satyrs:
The satyrs were rural creatures associated with the fields and woods and pictured as sporting with the nymphs, or joining
with them in the orgies associated with Dionysus.
http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/greek-mythology.php?deity=MAENADS:
MAENADS: 'The Raving Ones'. Often labelled as NYMPHS, they are the debauched female followers of
DIONYSUS, who drives them wild with passion.
The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, p. 732, Nymphs:
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (Unabridged), 1987, p. 1333:
http://www.kl.oakland.edu/kraemer/edcm/n.html, An Etymological Dictionary of Classical Mythology:
nymphomania n
abnormal and uncontrollable sexual desire in women
http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar412180&st=Pan (subscription required), Pan:

Pan had many love affairs with nymphs
Encarta World English Dictionary, 1999, p. 1244, nymphomania | mymphomaniac:
The Greek Anthology and Other Ancient Greek Epigrams, 1973, p. 412:
http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar397580&st=Nymph (subscription required), Nymph:

Nymphs were sometimes shy. But at other times, they were passionate lovers.
The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, p. 820, Prostitution:
Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, Katchadourian, 1989, p. 576, Erotic Themes in Greek Mythology:
Myth: Myth and Legends of the World Explored, McLeish, 1996, p. 549, Sex:
http://www.piney.com/Farmers-Branch-MusicB.html, Farmer's Branch Church of Christ Part B, Here is what

the MUSICAL JEWS believed (regarding Dionysus):
Later on the god grew up amongst the nymphs (not especially well known for their chastity) and satyrs, a kind
of creatures half-men half-goats, on Mount Nysa and traveled extensively throughout Asia (including India) and
the Mediterranean world. He has discovered the wine spreading this knowledge everywhere he traveled. After
many adventures he returned to Greece introducing his hedonistic practices subject of strong opposition.
Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, Katchadourian, 1989, p. 579, Erotic Art and Literature:
Fundamentals of Human Sexuality, Katchadourian, 1989, p. 588, The Reformation:
http://www.paleothea.com/Gallery/Nymphaeum.html, Nymphs, The Nymphaeum, by William Adolphe Bouguereau:
http://www.paleothea.com/Gallery/WaterhouseHylas.html, Hylas and the Nymphs, by John William Waterhouse:
Proserpina/e / Persephone:
The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1949, p. 666:
The Womans Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, Barbara G. Walker, 1983, p. 746, Orpheus:
http://www.angelfire.com/nj/mahkara/author.html, Poem Comments (by the author), Modern Persephone

and Proserpina:
Danced as a bacchante (Modern Persephone), where a bacchante is a wild, manic, murderous, drunken follower
of Dionysus (Bacchus) who used to rip people to shreds in their drunken orgies, daugher of God (Proserpina),
More Christian Orans picture examples:

http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~huma103/dis2II.html (via http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~huma103/dis2.html) (Rice
University), Orant: Orant--praying figure--(Donna Velata or veiled lady) [Female Orans between
the Velatio and the Mother and Child], Catacomb of Priscilla [Chamber of the Velatio-end-wall], [mid]
3rd century:
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, figure 19, Female Orans between Two Shepherds:
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, front cover (detail of figure 86), Catacomb of St Peter and
St Marcellinus | Susanna Molested | Late third century:
Outside the place (FYI):

The Basilica of Saints John and Paul on the Caelian Hill, Prandi Ferrari, 1958, fig. 45, p. 141:
Basilica of Saints John and Paul, in Venice:

I mistaken ordered the following book via Interlibrary Loan, and discovered that there was a church of the same
name in Venice. Of course I just wanted to see if there were any erotics / cupids there:
Venice Basilica of Saints John and Paul: History and Art, Caccin, 1990, p. 13:
p. 29:
p. ? (its not on my photocopys page):

p. ? (its not on my photocopys page):
p. 48:

Home (Index)
MAUSOLEUM OF THE JULII (CHRIST-HELIOS)

Under Saint Peters Basilica in the Vatican
250-275 AD
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 15, Art in the First Centuries of the Christian Era | Christian Art
Before Constantine:
p. 16, chapter 1, illustration 14:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Fil...OLEUM%20OF%20THE%20JULII%20(CHRIST-HELIOS).htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:53 AM]
Origins of Western Art, Dr. Donald E. Strong, 1965, p. 45, Early Christian Art | 3rd-4th century:
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 19, Early Christian Art: Rome and the Legacy of
the Caesars:
http://stpetersbasilica.org/Docs/JLM/SaintPeters-3.htm, Saint Peters:
There are even earlier hints of Christian burial in the mosaic decorations on vault and wall of at least one of
the Vatican tombs, namely that of the Julii family. These fragments are the oldest Christian mosaics so far
discovered. They date from the late second century. On the east wall Jonah is depicted falling feet foremost from
board ship into the whale's jaws. A matrix, deprived of the tiny cubes, shows what looks like St Peter casting his
net into the sea. On the west wall the Good Shepherd carries a sheep on his shoulders. Again, on the ceiling
vault appears the earliest discovered representation of Christ. Surrounded by spreading vines, in three tones of
vivid green, the beardless figure wearing a tunic, his cloak flying in the wind, stands driving a chariot of which
one wheel and two white horses in scarlet harness are intact. From his head nimbus rays shoot upwards and
sideways. In his left hand he carries a globe. The mosaic is known as the Christ-Helios and illustrates the syncretism
of Christianity with the pagan sun-worship instituted at the winter solstice by Emperor Marcus Aurelius at the end
of the second century.
(http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/namesofmen/chap5.html, Chapter Five Something Fishy (5-3-02):
IHS is a mystic surname of Bacchus: I(ota) = Iacchus; H(eta) = Helios, the sun; S(sigma) = son or incarnation of
the sun.)
http://www.kopalnia.rpg.pl/mirror/adashiel/archive/churchknights/ck22.html, Church Knights Book Two: The Knights of
Christ (Part Two), The Holy City, Vatican City, St. Peters Grave:
One of these -- the Christ Helios -- is the earliest depiction of Jesus, in a pose very similar to that of the Roman
god Apollo.
http://docushare.capousd.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1129/6, Art Through the Ages, 11e: Chapter 11: The art
& Achitecture of Pagans, Christians, & Jews:
Christ as Sol Invictus

detail of a vault mosaic in the Mausoleum of the Julii, late 3rd century.
The earliest known mosaic of explicitly Christian content depicts Christ in the guise of a familiar pagan deity,
Sol Invictus (Helios- the sun God)
Rays of the sun are in the pattern of a cross, & he holds an orb in his left hand as a symbol of ruler of the world.
http://www.coco.cc.az.us/apetersen/_ART201/early_ch_art.htm (Coconino Community College), Early Christian Art:
Christ as Apollo (Sol Invictus, Helios) 350 (sic)

Many Early images of Christ are modeled after Apollo, although the grape vine is a symbol of Dionysus.
It represents fertility, resurrection and the creative power of God. Early images of Christ emphasize
his divinity and his teaching
http://www.aug.edu/augusta/iconography/lester/juliiFresco.html (Augusta State University),
Christ as the Sun
From the tomb of the Julii in the necropolis under St. Peter's Mid-3rd century
Grotte Vaticane, Rome
Early Christian and pagan beliefs are combined in this third century mosaic of Christ as a sun-god.
The triumphant Christ/god, with rays shooting from his head, is pulled aloft by two rearing horses in
his chariot. The Dionysian vines in the background become the vines of Christ.
Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art; MacGregor; 2000; pp. 73, 76; Signs and Deeds:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 18, Paganism baptized : Christian art before Constantine:
Pp. 18-19, illustration 10, 10 In this mosaic in Rome Christ is identified with Christos Helios, the Sungod driving his heavenly chariot:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 205, List of Illustrations:
http://www.ku.edu/history/index/europe/ancient_rome/E/Roman/RomanSite/To... (University of Kansas) (4-18-02), Art

& Architecture, Roman Archaeology: The Material Culture of the Roman World: Art:
Jesus with the attributes of Apollo and Dionysus: mosaic from the Tomb of the Julii in the cemetery under St. Peters
The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), p. 291, Cultural Change Reflected in Art:
Illustration 53, Images of Christ:
Ancient Mosaics, Ling, 1998, p. 105, Wall and Vault Mosaics:
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hart205/Lectures/lecture23.htm (Rice University), Lecture 23 (October 30, 1998) Early

Christian Images, I The Decoration of the Early Christian Church (Mosaics):
Christ as the Sun God Helios (Sol Invictus), Mausoleum of the Julii, Rome, 250-275.
http://www.infidelguy.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=158536, Christ as Sol: Gardners Art
History Through the Ages Eleventh Editon, page 315 wrote:
The earliest known mosaic of explicitly Christian content is the late-third-century vaul mosaic in a small Christian
mausoleum not far from Saint Peter's tomb in the Roman cemetery beneath Old Saint Peter's. It depicts Christ in the guise
of a familiar pagan deity, Sol Invictus (in Greek, Helios), the Invicible Sun, driving the sun chariot through the
golden heavens. All about Christ are vines, as in Constantia's mausoleum.
http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/MG/Fig-18-p72.jpg (via http://www.saintpetersbasilica.org/Necropolis/

MG/TheTombofStPeter-4.htm), THE TOMB OF ST. PETER (same area as above):

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS CHURCH OF SANTA COSTANZA (TEMPLE OF BACCHUS)
DIONYSUS CHURCH OF SANTA COSTANZA (TEMPLE

OF BACCHUS)
320-350 AD
AKA: The Mausoleum of Saint Constantina (or, Constantia /
Constantiana), the daughter of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great (who
legalized Christianity in 313 with his Edict of Milan)
Ambulatory vault ceiling mosaics:
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 29, chapter 2, The Art of the Triumphant Christian Church |
Christian Architecture in the Fourth Century:
Technically, theres enough erotic and orgiastic talk there to fill an entire ballroom, surrounding the
words Christian, Christ, Biblical scenes, etc.
P. 28, chapter 2, illustration 10:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell Files/...HURCH OF SANTA COSTANZA (TEMPLE OF BACCHUS).htm (1 of 25) [24/09/2012 12:15:55 AM]
(Putti / putto [singular] is an Italian word for Erotes / Eros / Cupid(s):
The Invisible Made Visible: Angels from the Vatican, Duston / Nesselrath, 1998, p. 313, Glossary | putto:
)
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, pp. 300-302, Imperial Christian Architecture and Art |
Central-Plan Churches:
P. 300, figure 7-15:
P. 302, figure 7-17:
Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, p. 164, illustration 112:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, pp. 80-81, From Constantine to Justinian:
Again, Christians used pagan themes because they hadnt yet established their own motifs: pagan themes were used
to best communicate their ideals to the overwhelming mass of pagans of that era.
P. 81:
P. 82, illustration 70:
The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), illustration 41, Pagan into Christian Art:
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, p. 23, The Subjects Represented | Symbols:
P. 36, The Artistic Interest of Early Christian Painting | Decoration:
(Amorini are Erotes / Cupids / Putto.)

Figure 134:
List of Plates | Early Christian painting in other sites:
Figure 135:
Figure 139 [grapes]:
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Sexualia: From Prehistory to Cyberspace, Bishop / Osthelder, 2001, p. 335, The Erotic Muse Art and Artifice |
The Naked Body:
Pp. 106-109:
I still say that Eros and vine art back then would be like a church today placing a picture of the Playboy Bunny at
its entrance. You see, people today would know what the Playboy Bunny represents. And since no church
today would do so, shows that there has definitely been a change since early Christianity. And Costanza
art especially is definitely the root of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
If you were Jesus today, itd be like you saying at your Last Supper each of you take one of these stuffed toy
rabbits with the bowtie and keep them in remembrance of Me. What would that symbolize today?
http://www.rome101.com/Christian/Costanza/, Santa Costanza:
Archaeologists seem to agree that this is one of the most intact Roman structures of its period, standing generally as it was
built The mosaics of the ambulatory include typical Bacchic grape harvest and winemaking scenes. While there is evidence
of considerable sharing between Christian and pagan symbols of this period, there is no basis for a Christian interpretation
to these mosaics, despite claims to the contrary by apologists and some writers focused on Christian lore. A
Christian interpretation of these mosaics would require total redefinition of Christian/pagan iconography, and would result in
a completely arbitrary boundary between these and other similar artworks known to be strictly pagan - particularly those from
the pre-Christian era.
http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/ulg/ulgd.html (Univ. of Alabama), Late Roman ecclesiastical synthesis:
2. Mosaic of female bacchantes and putti, first half 4th century (Rome: S. Costanza ambulatory vault):
3. Apse mosaic from the same basilica showing Christ and Peter, 4th c. A.D. (Rome: Basilica of S. Costanza):
4. Mosaic from 1st half of 4th c. A.D. (Rome: Santa Costanza), much restored. This is one of the oldest
Christian mosaics. It is naturalistic in composition and employs pagan motifs, but adapted to Christian ends:
Baptistery example:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 27, Rome, Baptistery of the Lateran, interior:
(http://www.answers.com/baptistery, baptistery:
baptistery (bp'tstr) , part of a church, or a separate building in connection with it, used for administering baptism. In
the earliest examples it was merely a basin or pool set into the floor. Later, the Christian Church set aside a separate structure
for the ceremony. The earliest such structure still extant is in the Lateran basilica at Rome (above), in which, by tradition,
Emperor Constantine was baptized (337).
The octagonal plan of the Lateran Baptistery, the first structure expressly built as a baptistry, provided a widely-followed
model, which might be twelve-sided, or even circular as at Pisa.)
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 31, Rome, Santa Costanza, interior. View of the S. ambulatory:
The place does look like a baptistery.
Plate 32, Rome, Santa Costanza. Part of the mosaics in the N.ambulatorium, with a portrait
of Constantina (d. 354) and Bacchic scenes:
Plate 34, Rome, Santa Costanza. Part of a mosaic in the vault of the S. ambulatorium:
Plate 35, Rome, Santa Costanza. Mosaics in the vault of the E. ambulatorium:
A Handbook of Roman Art, Henig, 1983, p. 65:
The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), pp. 289-290, Cultural Change Reflected in Art:
Illustration 42, Pagan into Christian Art:
http://www.britannica.com/eb/print?tocId=47303&fullArticle=false (Encyclopaedia Britannica), Roman and early Christian

> Republic and empire > Stylistic development:
Finally, evolving into the early Christian art to come, the Constantinian mausoleum of Santa Costanza
These same Eros / Cupid and vine / grape motifs are seen in lots of later Christian art. They just changed the name
of Eros / Cupid to cherub, putto and angel, and simply just dont relate the vines / grapes to Dionysus / Bacchus.
Actually called the Temple of Bacchus (Tempio di Bacco):

http://www.santagnese.org/antologia_scostanza.htm, (translated from Italian) Critical anthology of S. Costanza:
"Some archaeologists claim that the baptistery, now the church of Santa Costanza, is a former temple
of Bacchus as the time you see a circular mosaic of enamels representing putti and bunches of grapes.
But the Christians of the early centuries often used these symbols.
http://www.santagnese.org/mausoleo.htm, (translated from Italian) The Mausoleum of S. Costanza:
Typical case of adaptation of pagan themes in the Christian tradition, have meant that the mausoleum was
long identified with the Temple of Bacchus.
http://www.activitaly.it/monument/mausolscostanza.htm, (Translated from Italian) Mausoleum of Santa Costanza:

Interesting example because of adaptation of pagan themes in the Christian tradition, just as the mausoleum has long
been identified with the Temple of Bacchus.
http://www.romeartlover.it/Vasi103.htm, Church of S. Costanza:
(translated from Italian): Church of St. Constance: For images of putti Baccanti with bunches of grapes
carved on the urn of porphyry wonder that there can be seen, mistakenly thought the tomb of Bacchus
and Temple of Bacchus, because even in this time there fono de putti Baccanti similarly with grapes,
and instruments to collect 1 grape machined rough mosaic.
http://www.tunickart.com/artists/piranesi.html, Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Santa Costanza (Tempio di Bacco),
etching, 1756
http://www.pierotrincia.it/eng/show.asp?cat=STAMPE&sub=2:
Description: Plan of Tempio di Bacco ( S.Costanza) drawing by slope 1780.
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/laserdisk/0196/19627.JPG (via http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/bytype/arch.sources/
desgodetz/display00010.html); Plate I, church, S. Costanza (Temple of Bacchus):
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/laserdisk/0196/19639.JPG (via http://rubens.anu.edu.au/htdocs/bytype/arch.sources/

desgodetz/display00011.html); Plate IV, church, S. Costanza (Temple of Bacchus):
http://www.inroma.roma.it/arardeco/1922/22_II/Art1/II1T.html, (translated from Italian) Origins of Christian Parietal Mosaic (III):
Of the rest the time ring-like of S. Costanza it had its immediate reply paves them in the round one in
monochromium that was in the classroom of the center. It was this mosaic of therefore profane appearance that
was perhaps cause of the false denomination of "Temple of Bacchus" given to the Mausoleum.
http://www.ecole-francaise.it/suburbium/Nomentana/88.htm, (translated from Italian) Mausoleum of S. Costanza N 88:
The Mausoleum of Costantina has been called from the humanists "temple of Bacchus" for the
mosaic decorations presents
http://www.municipioroma2.it/municipioville_index_2col.php?id=3_3_0, (translated from Italian) The consular roads and the
way Nomentana:
This ancient Mausoleum of Constantina (wrongly known as Constanza, and that is precisely found in S. Costanza
Public square) was said in the Renaissance the Temple of Bacchus for the scenes depicted in its vintage
[grape harvest] mosaics (IV century).
http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/mailing_lists/CLA-L/1999/12/0361.php (Ohio State University), Re:

QUERY: eucharistic Ceres & Bacchus:
Many thanks to Diana Wright for checking Grabar. And thanks for the reference to
the early Christian sarcophagus with putti---I think this would be the one in the
Lateran Museum. I gather that art historians assume that the Dionysiac imagery
is authorized by John 15:1-5. And thanks also for the reference to one of my
favorite Christian churches, the delightful Santa Costanza in Rome. Appropriately,
in the Renaissance this was called the "Tempio di Bacco." I see that Michael
Gough ("Origins of Christian Art," p.80) says: "Oddly, if it was a Christian building
from the first, the decoration was... blatantly Dionysiac." And a bit later he says:
"So, the inescapable conclusion is that, before the establishment of a
Christian funerary iconography, there was a Dionysiac cycle which, mutatis
mutandis, was thought acceptable for the Church too." But he doesn't spell out
what the Christian "spin" on Dionysus & Co. would have been One scholar who
*does* (in passing, anyway) is Thomas F. Mathew in "The Clash of Gods:
A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art" (Princeton, 1993): "Early Christian art is
rich with Dionysiac associations whether in boisterous representations of
agape [that's the Gk. noun there, not the Eng. adj.!] feasting, in the miracle of
water-into-wine at Cana, in vine and wine motifs alluding to the Eucharist, and
most markedly, as we shall see, in the use of Dionysiac facial traits
for representations of Christ" (p. 45).
http://omega.cohums.ohio-state.edu/mailing_lists/CLA-L/1999/12/0359.php (Ohio State University), Re:
QUERY: eucharistic Ceres & Bacchus:
Looking in Andre Grabar's Christian Iconography, I don't see specific Bacchus/

Ceres imagery, but there is an interesting sarcophagus with 3 "good shepherds" in
Fig. 18 which has a lot of fat little guys with wings climbing over grape vines &
milking goats. Fig. 76 has a mosaic from S. Costanza of putti harvesting grapes; 77
has putti harvesting wheat from a sarcophagus; 78-79 has putti from catacombs.
The book has a number of similar transitional objects.
Diana Wright
David Lupher wrote:
> Just when the libraries are all closed---and, worse, when most of you
> are away---I need to know if anyone is aware of instances where Ceres and
> Bacchus appear in Christian religious contexts (esp. church decorations)
> as Eucharistic symbols. I've checked what I happen to have within reach
> (Seznec, Wind, several books by Panofsky), to no avail. Help!
>
> David Lupher
> Classics Dept.
> Univ. of Puget Sound

Home (Index)
SANTA COSTANZA ORIGINAL DOME MOSAIC
SANTA COSTANZA ORIGINAL DOME MOSAIC (removed in 1620):

Bacchic imagery and Cupids in boats, mixed with Christian themes.
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-costanza.htm, Sacred Destinations, Santa Costanza, Rome:
The Mausoleo di Santa Costanza has been periodically restored over the years, but it remains primarily a 4th-century structure. One
major restoration took place in 1620 under Cardinal Veralli, during which the mosaics in the dome were destroyed.
Originally, the walls were covered in marble and the dome was covered in mosaics. The dome mosaics, now destroyed, are known
from 16th- and 17th-century paintings: they depicted New Testament scenes behind a golden screen of Bacchic imagery beyond the river
Styx. A 16th-century antiquarian also reported seeing mosaics of two seated saintly women, which supports the theory that this
mausoleum housed the bodies of both Constantia and Helena. Today, the dome contains faded 17th- and 18th-century paintings.
The water-color copy of the dome was made by the Portuguese Francesco dOllanda about 1538-40:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Costanza_Dome.htm (1 of 23) [24/09/2012 12:15:57 AM]
the Caesars:
Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins, Andr Grabar, 1968, p. 137, Dogmas Represented by
Juxtaposed Images:
Illustration 331:
Illustration 332:
Looks like some naked people to me.

The Via Latina Catacomb, Tronzo, 1986, p. 67, Cubiculum OA Decoration for New Christians:
P. 68:
Figure 100 [Eros in boats]:
Enlargement:
Figure 101:
http://www.zabern.de/pdfs/3908_1.pdf, 4. SANTA COSTANZA, p. 63:
http://web.abo.fi/fak/hf/konstvet/stcostanza.pdf, SONGS OF OSSIAN, DOLPHINS AND MORTAR DATING

SANTA COSTANZA RECONSIDERED, pp 30-31 (print pages 34-35):
The most important and detailed of these documentations is a watercolour by dOllanda (Francesco de Hollanda; fi g. 8),
who studied in Rome for two periods in 1539 and 1553. Pier Sante Bartoli (1635- 1700) later studied the drawings from
the Escorial collection for his final reconstructed versions of the dome mosaics.31 It is quite remarkable that the majority of
these early eyewitnesses interpreted the building as a pagan temple devoted to Bacchus, mainly on account of the
mosaics (especially those in the dome).32 The drawings of the dome differ from each other in such a radical way that they can
do little more than reaffirm the inconclusiveness which we may feel from the fragmentariness of the mosaics.33
Pomponio Ugonio, who documented the mosaics verbally in 1594, accompanying his work with simple sketches, is the
first commentator of the mosaics to give them a Christian interpretation. He saw the mosaics of the central dome as
illustrations of the Old and the New Testament. Among scenes that he identified from the Old Testament were Susanna and
the Elders, the sacrifice of Abel, the sacrifi ce of Elias, Tobias, Lot and the Angels, Moses at the well, Noah in the ark, the
three boys in the furnace, Daniel and the Lions, and Jonah.34 Foremost among these Renaissance sources, in addition to
the drawing of Francesco da Hollanda, is the verbal description of Pomponio Ugonio. The man carrying a huge fish, to the far
left in Hollandas water colour, whom Ugonio interpreted as Tobias, is of special interest for this study. Hollandas painting
and Ugonios written description also lay the foundation for the two diverging interpretations of the mosaics, the pagan, and
the Christian, which still today dominates the research of Santa Costanza.
Fig. 8. The mosaics of the cupola, watercolour by Francesco dOllanda, documented between 1539 and 1557. The sketchbook by
dOllanda belongs to the Royal Court Library in Escorial, (sign. 28 1- 20), published by Wilpert & Schumacher, Tafel 5.
P. 34 (print page 38), Dolphins:
We found that the dolphin (obviously enough, as the attribute of both Apollo and Dionysos), was simultaneously the symbol
of both light and darkness. It is well known that Constantine the Great closely affiliated himself with Apollo, the Light God,
and Sol Invictus. The dolphins of his lamp donations are therefore to be interpreted as light symbols. In the case of
Santa Costanza, however, it seems logical to concentrate on the dark side of the iconography, on the symbolism of death and
the death cult which (in the case of the dolphin), is also connected with both Apollo and Dionysos.
P. 35 (print page 39):
All these dolphins, together with the panthers and the vine harvesting scenes both in the mosaics of the ambulatory and the
grand porphyry sarcophagus, provided reason enough for the early eyewitnesses during the Renaissance to ascribe Santa
Costanza to an original Templum Bacchi.
But, as Karl Lehmann pointed out, there is even further proof of the Bacchic origin of Santa Costanza. In his book on
ancient deities from 1566, V. Cartari published an image of the Dionysos legend (fig. 15) from the Homeric Hymns of
the seventh century BC. The legend tells how Dionysos was kidnapped by Etruscan pirates, and taken out to sea. The
pirates planned to extort a handsome ransom from the parents of the beautiful youngster, whom they did not identify. To
punish his kidnappers, Dionysos transformed them into dolphins, after which they all panicked and jumped overboard.
A complementary comment in the second edition from 1581, informs us that this type of Bacchic ship could still be
admired among the most beautiful mosaics in Rome, in the church by Saint Agnes, formerly a temple of Bacchus.38 The
legend of Dionysos and the Etruscan pirates was deeply rooted in Classical Greece. It often recurred in the vase paintings and
in sculptures. Best known and breathtakingly beautiful is the scene on a cylix painted by Exekias (fig. 16).
Fig. 13. Anynomous drawing of the cupola mosaics in Santa Costanza during the Early Renaissance, Zu unterstein Eierstabgesimse und
ein Fries mit Delphinen zur Seite eines Dreizacks, vgl. Fol. 7, from Egger, Codex Escurialensis
Fig. 14. Mosaics in the sections flanking the entrance, heraldic dolphins arranged four and four towards an octopus in the middle. Photo
sa Ringbom.
Dionysian or Bacchic mysteries are mainly known through the arts in Italy.
Fig. 16. Dionysos transforming the Etruscan pirates into dolphins, cylix with black figure painting by Exekias, ca 530 BC, found in
Vulci, Munich, Antikensammlungen, from postcard.
http://books.google.com/books?id=-r4BjEw1ZgIC&pg=PA300&lpg=PA300&dq=%22dominus+pacem+dat
%
22&source=bl&ots=CGQevBOTBB&sig=epkX9jbY78jjH6VjbgySgaRzVw&hl=en&ei=nJ3ESdyiIZrsnQenkMjyDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result, Monuments of the
Early Church Google Books Result, by Walter Lowrie, 1906, p. 300, The Constantinian Mosaics:
Todays dome:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/502583017/, santa constanza, rom marts 2003:
the ancient, roman ambition to make their massive concrete and brick domes seem to float on air is achieved brilliantly in the santa
constanza. the large windows high above the floor concentrate the light on the dome which - in apparent denial of its weight - is supported
on columns only.
santa constanza, rome, probably mausoleum to constantia, daughter of emporer constantine, AD 350.
the original roman mosaics that covered the inside of the dome survived into the era of the counter-reformation when all the ancient churches
of rome were done up with devastating results.
http://campus.belmont.edu/honors/ECArchThree/RomeStaCostanzaIntToDome.jpg (via http://campus.belmont.edu/

honors/ECArchThree/ECArchThree.html), Early Christian Architecture:
ROME: Santa Costanza

Built c.350 as a mausoleum for the daughter of Constantine (Lowden 40-43)
http://www.santagnese.org/foto/cupola.jpg (via http://www.santagnese.org/galleria_foto.htm), Il Mausoleo di S.

Costanza, Vista interna della cupola:
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/italy/rome-santa-costanza-pictures/slides/eosa_099.htm, Sacred Destinations, Italy

| Santa Costanza, Rome:
The dome of Santa Costanza. Originally, the dome was covered in mosaics. Now destroyed, their content is known from 16th- and 17thcentury paintings of them: they depicted New Testament scenes behind a golden screen of Bacchic imagery beyond the river Styx. A
16th-century antiquarian also reported seeing mosaics of two seated saintly women, which supports the theory that this mausoleum housed
the bodies of both Constantia and Helena. Today, the dome contains these pastel 17th- and 18th-century paintings.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72134509@N00/138533376, Santa Costanza Dome:
Enlarged:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecormany/138533376/sizes/l/, Santa Costanza dome:

Home (Index)
SANTA COSTANZA APSE MOSAICS (2)

the Caesars:
P. 29, illustrations 12 & 13:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 33, Rome, Santa Costanza. Above (below top): mosaic in apse
of S. ambulatorium, Christ enthroned upon the globe. Below (below bottom): mosaic in apse of
N. ambulatorium, the giving of the Law, Christ between SS. Peter and Paul:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Costanza_ApseMosaics.htm (1 of 15) [24/09/2012 12:15:58 AM]
Origins of Western Art, Dr. Donald E. Strong, 1965, p. 46, Early Christian Art | 3rd-4th century:
Apse mosaic: Traditio Clavium [2 person]:

Early Christian Art: AD 200-395: From the Rise of Christianity to the Death of Theodosius, Andr Grabar, 1968, p. 192,
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | The Santa Costanza Mosaics | 207. Rome. Santa Costanza: The
Lord delivering the Law to Moses:
P. 323, List of Illustrations:
http://www2.siba.fi/%7Ekkoskim//rooma/pages/228_035B.HTM, Constanza. Mosaic. Photograph from 1999:
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, figure 136:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 20, illustration 12, 12 the athletes palm :
In the niche above are the remains of a mosaic with black stars on a white ground and traces of a gold Chi-Rho. In two of the larger
side niches are mosaics dating from either the 5th or the 7th century. They have been poorly restored, but their richly decorated border
reveal the quality of the originals. The first, to the left from the entrance, depicts the Traditio Clavium, in which Christ hands over the keys to
the kingdom of Heaven to St. Peter (Matthew 16:9). The buildings represent Jerusalem.
The 5th- or 7th-century Traditio Clavium mosaic.
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/costanza/0041.jpg (via http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/

costanza/costanza.html), Santa Costanza:
Mosaics in two of the larger side niches (or apse-like chapels) are thought to be 7th century restorations of 5th
century mosaics.
History of Art, Janson, 1997, p. 237, figure 303. Also at: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/large/JE-111.jpg
(via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/item?skip=1100):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35465707@N05/3307867271/ (via http://wiki.worldflicks.org/santa_costanza.
html#coords=(41.9226135,%2012.517365)&z=19), Mausoleo di Santa Costanza 01:
Apse mosaic: Traditio Legis [3 person]:

http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # CS004215, Christ Preaching Saint Peter and Saint Paul, 4th century A.D., Located in:
Santa Costanza:
http://www2.siba.fi/%7Ekkoskim//rooma/pages/228_032B.HTM, S. Constanza. Mosaic. Photograph from 1999:

The other, on the right from the entrance, is of the Traditio Legis, in which St. Peter receives the right to govern on earth, symbolized by
God handing Peter a Scroll of the Law, which reads DOMINVS PACEM DAT, "The Lord gives peace through his rule." The buildings in
this mosaic represent Bethlehem. The date and interpretation of these two mosaics have been the subject of much scholarly debate.
The 5th- or 7th-century Traditio Legis mosaic.
It looks like grapes on the lower right border.

The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, p. 317, illustration 313, Church of Sta. Constanza, Rome:

Home (Index)
SARCOPHAGUS OF CONSTANTIA
(or, Constantina)
Daughter of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great (who legalized Christianity in 313
with his Edict of Milan)
C. 350 AD
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, pp. 29-30, Early Christian Art: Rome and the Legacy of
the Caesars:
P. 30, illustration 14, Vintage scenes:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/Joh...llegro/Dionysus_Costanza_SarcophagusOfConstantia.htm (1 of 14) [24/09/2012 12:15:59 AM]
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, p. 15:
Plate 24, Porphyry sarcophagus of Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great, IVth century:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, p. 317, Notes to the Plates:
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/medium/JL-019.jpg (via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/search.

cgi?simplesearch=sarcophagus+of+constantia&root=items&search=simple), Sarcophagus of Constantia, c. 350 (base
and supports later), Vatican Museums, Rome:
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | The Work of Constantine and his Family | 175. Egypt. Sarcophagus
of Constantina: Vintaging Putti:
P. 144, 3. The Art of the Fourth Century | 149. Egypt. Sarcophagus of Constantina, detail:
Vintaging Putti. Museo Pio Clementino, Vatican City:
Vatican Museums, Rome, Newsweek, 1968, p. 32:
Pp. 32-33, Sarcophagus of Constantia:
http://goeurope.about.com/od/vaticanmuseums/ig/Vatican-Museums-pictures/vatican-porphyry-tomb.htm,
Porphyry Sarcophagus Picture - Vatican Museums:
http://www.ou.edu/class/ahi4263/byzhtml/p01-03.html, The Early Christian Art:
Sarcophagus of Constantia, c. 350. Vatican Museums, Rome.

Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 43, Art before Iconoclasm | God and Salvation |
The Formation of a Christian art:
Pp. 42-43, illustration 19, Sarcophagus of Constantia, c.350 (base and supports later). Vatican
Museums, Rome:
http://www.margaretvisser.com/part8a.html, The Geometry of Love: The Images: Part 8: Santa Costanza:
Cupids trampling grapes. This is one end of Constantina's porphyry sarcophagus, now in the Vatican Museums.
A copy has taken its place in Santa Costanza's church. (pp.178-80):
http://www.rome101.com/Christian/Costanza/, Santa Costanza:

The mausoleum once held a large porphyry sarcophagus, known as the Sarcophagus of Constantina, now in the
Vatican Museum. They include winged erotes who are harvesting grapes and making wine all these images can
appear along with biblical scenes on Christian sarcophagi. Because Christians were no doubt buried in sarcophagi made
in generic non-Christian shops, the only indication of Christian usage might be the inscription or secondary addition of a chirho symbol or labarum. In other cases, partially-completed, "generic" sarcophagi were finished with the addition of
Christian scenes the central panels. In such cases, it would be more accurate to state that Christians were able to tolerate
certain pagan images on their sarcophagi than that Bacchic grape harvest scenes were Christian images.
Detail of Constantina Sarcophagus

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SARCOPHAGUS OF SAINT HELEN

(or, Helena)
Mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great (who legalized Christianity in 313
with his Edict of Milan)
C. 330 AD
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=eb5b275146dad992&q=sarcophagus%20helen%20OR%20helena&prev=/images
%3Fq%3Dsarcophagus%2Bhelen%2BOR%2Bhelena%26hl%3Den%26rlz%3D1T4GGIC_enUS248US319%26sa%3DN%26um
%3D1:
Vatican Treasures
Porphyry sarcophagus of St. Helena, ca. 4th C. AD, in Vatican Museum
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 23, Rome, Vatican. Museo Pio-Clementino. Porphyry
sarcophagus of St. Helen (d. 336), mother of Constantine the Great, second quarter of IVth century:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John...Allegro/Dionysus_Costanza_SarcophagusOfSaintHelen.htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:16:00 AM]
Enlargement:
http://www.martyrsandsaints.org/main/era_of_martyrdom/04th_century/Saint_Helen.htm, Saint Helen, and
Emperor Constantine the Great (330 AD):
St. Helen or Helena, Empress mother of Constantine the Great.
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/people/A0823240.html, infoplease: Encyclopedia, Helena, Saint:

Helena, Saint , c.248328?, mother of Constantine I. She became a Christian in 313. According to tradition she found
(327) the relic of the True Cross in Jerusalem and identified the location of the Holy Sepulcher. Feast: Aug. 18.
http://www.brogilbert.org/kingdom/king-rome2.htm, Emperor Constantine Becomes Christian, Saint Helena:
Constantine was instrumental in bringing about the conversion of his mother Helen in
312 A.D. She became very devoted to Christ and did much to spread Christianity.
Helena was very generous to the poor and given to building Churches. Worthy of note
is that she supervised the building the Church in Bethlehem over the Grotto of the
Nativity and another church on the Mount of the Ascension. she built the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. St. Helena died at the age of 80 c. 330 A.D. and Constantine was with
her when she died. Her body was brought to Constantinople and laid to rest in the
imperial vault of the church of the Apostles.
http://www.serfes.org/, Saints Constantine & Helen Greek Orthodox Church:
Icon Of Saints Constantine & Helen

http://harpy.uccs.edu/roman/html/sarcs.html, Roman Sarcophagus Reliefs:
Sarcophagus of Helen, mother of Constantine (Vatican Museums)

Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 284, The Late Empire: Constantine the Great and
His Legacy:
Vatican Museums, Rome, Newsweek, 1968, p. 32, Sarcophagus of St. Helena:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helena_of_Constantinople, Helena of Constantinople:
Saint Helena (Latin: Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta) also known as Saint Helen, Helena Augusta or Helena
of Constantinople (ca. 250 ca. 330) was the consort of Emperor Constantius, and the mother of
Emperor Constantine I.
Eastern Orthodox icon of Saint Constantine the Great and his mother Saint Helena:
The shrine to Saint Helena in St. Peter's Basilica:
Helena's sarcophagus in the Museo Pio-Clementino, Rome:

Home (Index)
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT

Constantine I the Great, Roman emperor from 306-337 AD, who legalized
Christianity in 313 AD with his Edict of Milan
Father of Saint Constantina, and son of Saint Helen
http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/worldhis/Hist08b.html, Ancient Rome, Part II, Constantine:
The most important change made by Constantine involved Christianity. According to the story, in 312
Constantine marched on Rome, and he saw a vision of a cross in front of the sun surrounded by these words: "In
hoc signo vinces" (By this sign conquer). He marched his troops into a river, declared them baptized, and ordered
them to paint the Greek letters chi and rho (an abbreviation for the name of Christ) on their shields. He may have
done this to embarrass his rivals, who were all anti-Christian. When the following battle ended in victory he became
a lifelong friend of Christianity, legalizing it in the areas he ruled.
Who Was Who in the Roman World, Diana Bowder, 1980, pp. 67-68, Constantine I (the Great) Emperor AD
306-37:
Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, Bunson, 1994, p. 108, Constantine:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Costanza_Constantine.htm (1 of 26) [24/09/2012 12:16:02 AM]
The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macropaedia, 1995, Vol. 16, p. 688, Constantine:
A Chronology of Western Architecture, Yarwood, 1987, p. 24, Fourth-Century Early Christian Churches in Rome:
http://www.sinclair.edu/sec/artman263/ma263tl1.htm, Time LIne:
Era of Persecution - the time when catacombs were made and used for burials, and the Christian Church was
an "underground" organization. During this time, Early Christian Art was humble.
AD 303-305 Reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian. Persecutions peak.
Reign of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. Makes Christianity not only legal but the official religion of
AD 306-337 the empire. Constantine the Great starts commissioning grand churches including Old St. Peter's and
other structures.
AD 37-313
AD 333
Approximate date of foundation of Old St. Peter's. (Exact date disputed). Also during Constantine's era was
the dedication of the Mausoleum of S. Costanza in Rome, the Cathedral of Naples, as well as many other
Early Christian basilicas
Christianity wouldnt be anywhere near as big as it is today if it wasnt for Constantine I. In fact, it probably
wouldnt exist at all today (as much persecution prior years indicated). For some reason, most Christians have
never heard his name. For some reason someone changed Constantina to Costanza.
http://www.cwo.com/~pentrack/catholic/chron.html, Chronology of Christianity (1AD-Present):
321 Constantine decrees Sunday as offical Roman-Christian day of rest

http://harpy.uccs.edu/roman/html/archconslides.html, The Art and Architecture of Constantine, Colossal statue
of Constantine as Cosmocrator from the Basilica of Constantine on the Roman Forum (Rome,
Museo Conservatori):
http://www.livius.org/cn-cs/constantine/constantine.html, Constantine the Great, Constantine I the Great: emperor

of the Roman world (306-337):
The Roman Empire: Art Forms and Civic Life, Hans Peter LOrange, 1985, pp. 192-193, illustration 119 & 120:
The Crucible of Christianity, Toynbee, 1969, p. 344, illustration 33, The Persecutions | Christianitys
Encounter with the Roman Imperial government:
P. 362, List and Sources of Illustrations | The persecutions:
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | The Work of Contantine and his Family | 166. Bust of Constantine
the Great (?):
http://www.beastcoins.com/Topical/VLPP/Coins/Lugdunum/ConstantineI-RICVII-65-twocaptives.jpg (via http://www.

beastcoins.com/toc.htm):
http://www.beastcoins.com/Topical/VLPP/Coins/Trier/ConstantineI-RICVII-213-STR.jpg (via http://www.beastcoins.com/

toc.htm):
The New Encyclopedia Britannica, 1995, Vol. 3, p. 563, Constantine I (Constantine the Great)
Many of you should be familiar with the Nicene Creed:
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/cea.stm, The Christian Empire: 313-476, Authority and the Bible:
Constantine was not a theologian, but he took steps during his rule to try to
make Christianity less conflictual by calling the Council of Nicea to settle the
Arian controversy. One result of the the council was the drafting of a version of
what we now call the Nicene Creed.
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/ncreed.html, The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father.
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
Who with the Father and the Son
is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic* and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
http://www.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9361456, Constantine I (Constantine the Great):
First Roman emperor to profess Christianity. Constantine is revered as a saint in the Orthodox church.
Art and Archaeology of Rome: From Ancient Times to the Baroque, Augenti, 2000, p. 61, The Age of
Constantine (Fourth Century):
http://www.kentoncityschools.org/kms/art/?7reading.html (Kenton Middle School), 7th Grade Art Readings:
A typical mausoleum is the domed, circular Church of Santa Costanza (4th cent.) in Rome, built as the
tomb of Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great. Her magnificently carved porphyry
sarcophagus, now in the Vatican Museums, Rome, stood under the dome.
http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761579100/Early_Christian_Art_and_Architecture.html, Early Christian Art

and Architecture:
The domed, circular church of Santa Costanza (4th century) in Rome is a typical early Christian mausoleum.
It was built as the tomb of Constantia, daughter of Constantine the Great; her magnificently carved
porphyry sarcophagus, now in the Vatican Museum in Rome, stood under the dome.
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Mosaics on Individual Tombs | 263. Kelibia.
Tomb Mosaic [Constanti- name; Christian symbols; grape vines]:
the Caesars [vines]:
The Arch of Constantine:

http://www.students.sbc.edu/smith04/ancientrome.html, Art and Propaganda in Ancient Rome, Constantine and
the Late Empire | The Arch of Constantine:
The Arch of Constantine was erected between 312 and 315CE by the Senate in honor of his military triumph
over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge.
http://www.arch.cam.ac.uk/~dir21/gallery/tn/arch_of_constantine_from_the_colosseum.png.html, Arch of Constantine, from
the Colosseum [looking WSW]:
East-South-East side:
http://manheimtwplions.org/images/Arc%20de%20Constantine.JPG:
http://www.prompterinc.com/Photographs/Rome1/Rome1/Rome-14-Arch-of-Constantine.jpg (via http://www.prompterinc.

com/Photographs/Rome1/Rome_1.html):
http://www.cavazzi.com/roman-empire/tours/rome/arch-of-constantine.html, Arch of Constantine:
The arch of Constantine was dedicated by the senate in AD 315 in honour of Constantine's victory over Maxentius.
this arch celebrates the triumph over Maxentius, a victory Constantine later credited to the 'God of the Christians'.
http://catholic-resources.org/Photos/Rome99/Const-02.jpg (via http://catholic-resources.org/AncientRome/ArchConst.htm),

The Arch of Constantine, North [actually East-South-East] Side Medallion:
West-North-West side:
The Arch of Constantine, North [actually West-North-West] Side Overview (see Colosseum to left):

The Arch of Constantine, South [actually West-North-West] Side Medallion:
The Roman Empire: Art Forms and Civic Life, Hans Peter LOrange, 1985, pp. 51-52, illustration 88:
Enlargement:
Other views:
http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/hlee/course/th9_1000/images/12-s-05x.jpg (via http://vr.theatre.ntu.edu.tw/hlee/course/th9_1000/
open-12-broadcast.htm), Period Style in the Western Arts, Arch of Constantine:
http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Bologna2001/Arch%20of%20Constantine/RondelsFrieze.htm (via http://faculty.cua.

edu/pennington/Bologna2001/Arch%20of%20Constantine/ConstantineArch.htm), The Secrets of the Arch of
Constantine, Rondels and Frieze:
The Roman Empire: Art Forms and Civic Life, Hans Peter LOrange, 1985, pp. 148-149, illustration 86 (Eros holding grapes):
Enlargement:
http://research.yale.edu/divdl/images/cd6/6im58.gif (via http://research.yale.edu:8084/divdl/adhoc/objectdetail.

jsp?objectid=2629), The AdHoc Image and Text Database on the History of Christianity, Arch of
Constantine, Aurelian reliefs:

The Arch of Constantine, Statues of Captives on the East [actually North-North-East] Side (closeup photos):

The Arch of Constantine, The West [actually South-South-West] Faade (view looking East
[actually looking North-North-East]) | Left-Side Medallions:
http://www.flholocaustmuseum.org/history_wing/antisemitism/roman_empire.cfm#constantine, Roman Empire, Constantine:

During a dream the night before an important battle, Emperor Constantine the Great claimed he had a sign from the God of
the Christians. Emperor Constantine won this battle and thereafter showed his gratitude to the Christian God by turning his
entire empire over to this new religion.
http://www.flholocaustmuseum.org/history_wing/antisemitism/roman_empire.cfm#constantine, Roman Empire, Constantine
| Image: Emperor Constantine (Vision) 1654-70, BERNINI, Gian Lorenzo, Marble Palazzi
Pontifici, Vatican:
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/eGallery/object.asp?maker=BELLI&object=43918&row=2&detail=magnify, Model of the Arch

of Constantine, 1808-15.

Home (Index)
CONSTANTINIAN VILLA
CONSTANTINIAN VILLA
In Daphne (near Antioch):
c. 324-337 AD
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0422/is_1_85/ai_99695885/pg_2, Finding Lost Antioch:
Sarolta A. Takacs's essay on pagan cults at Antioch appeared in the section "Religions: Pagan, Jewish,
Christian" and prepared the viewer for the many statuettes of pagan deities--all found in domestic contexts-displayed in the exhibition. But the show itself also revealed the tentative emergence of Christianity. The
visitor saw the beautiful Dionysos mosaic from the Constantinian Villa at Daphne juxtaposed with the
Antioch chalice with its vine scrolls surrounding images of Apostles;
http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/reviews/stern/stern12-18-8.asp, Art from the East:
Dionysos, from the Constantinian Villa, Dapne, AD 324-337:
http://www.risd.edu/museum_small.cfm?Selection=http://www.risd.edu/artwork/museum/
ancient_dionysus_hsm.jpg, Roman, Dionysus ca. AD 324-337, mosaic, By exchange with the
Worcester Art Museum 40.195, From the triclinium of the Constantinian villa at Daphne, near
Antioch:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John...0M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Costanza_ConstantinianVilla.htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:16:02 AM]
CONSTANTINIAN VILLA
http://www.bridgeman.co.uk/search/view_image2.asp?image_id=95383, Bridgeman Art Library:

Three dancing putti accompanied by one playing the pan pipes, border detail from a mosaic pavement depicting the seasons
and hunting scenes from the Constantinian Villa at Daphne, Roman, c.325-330 AD (marble, limestone and glass mosaic)
Keywords musician musical scene Constantine
http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~jjd5t/ant-pics/03/pages/1997-vi-22.htm, Images of Antioch Mosaics

Constantinian Villa:
Note also panpipe:
CONSTANTINIAN VILLA

CONSTANTINIAN VILLA

CONSTANTINIAN VILLA

CONSTANTINIAN VILLA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioch, Antioch:
the beautiful suburb of Daphne The beauty and the lax morals of Daphne were celebrated all over the
western world; and indeed Antioch as a whole shared in both these titles to fame. When Julian [enemy of
the Christians] visited the place in 362 the impudent [shameless / unchaste] population railed [objected /
criticised] at him for his favour to Jewish and pagan rites, and to revenge itself for the closing of its great
church of Constantine
http://www.pbc.org/dp/stedman/acts/0430.html, Expanding Horizons:
Antioch was also a place of culture. And sex was worshipped there. About five miles outside the
city was the temple of Daphne, where sex was enthroned and worshipped through priestesses who
were really religious prostitutes.
http://www.redlandbaptist.org/sermons/sermon20040704.htm, Christians First, Sermon:
Now Antioch was a major ancient metropolis. It was the third largest city in the empire, behind
only Rome and Alexandria, with a population of about 500,000. It was the only city in the ancient
world that had its streets lighted at night. Many trade routes passed through Antiochbut this not
only made it a wealthy and culturally diverse city; it also made it a vile placefull of pagan
worship and sexual immorality. One of the biggest contributors to Antiochs depravity was the
temple of Daphne that was located only five miles outside the city.
CONSTANTINIAN VILLA
I understand Antioch well accepted early Christianity a headquarters of Paul.

Home (Index)
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
AKA: stibadium, triclinium, refrigerium
(See-through clothing; wine)
Are those some kind of see-through garments? And, it looks like pubic hairs on the person on the left:
The Roman Banquet: Images of conviviality, Dunbabin, 2003, Plate XIII (4 pages prior to p. 61):
Constanza refers to Costanza the daughter of Constantine: See prior webpages about early Christianitys
Santa Costanza (the Temple of Bacchus).
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/AGAPE%20SIGMA-COUCH.htm (1 of 36) [24/09/2012 12:16:06 AM]
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
The following looks like the same kind of garment:
The Roman Banquet: Images of conviviality, Dunbabin, 2003, p. 179, figure 104, Rome, (Christian) catacomb
of Peter and Marcellinus, arcosolium 75 | end of third to early fourth century AD
Enlargement (you can clearly see his arm and her legs):
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Bringing that wine over, it looks like its going to turn into an erotic party to me. At least they have me convinced.
Die Katakombe Santi Marcellino e Pietro: Repertorium der Malereien (The Catacomb Saints Marcellino and
Peter: Repertory of the Paintings), Deckers, 1987, Vol. 2, farbtafel (color plate page) 55, a) Nr.(number) 75:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Material looks see-though under both arms, and top parts of boots show well through material above the bottom rim
of dress.
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/large/BISCO~32.jpg (via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/
item?skip=1180), Arcosolium with banquet scene; Catacomb of SS. Pietro e Marcellino, Rome:
Enlarged with contrast adjusted:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
You see, Christian see-though attire stresses erotic sex more than would just fundamental nudity:
Updating
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?
namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.
jsp&event=display&prnbr=SH-188873&cgname=OSKEYSLPZZZ&rfnbr=2411 (Victorias Secret), Andres Sarda: Sheer
dot robe:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Oh my.
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?
namespace=productDisplay&origin=onlineProductDisplay.
jsp&event=display&prnbr=SH-188878&cgname=OSKEYBRPZZZ&rfnbr=2411 (Victorias Secret), Andres Sarda:
Sheer mesh cut-out bodysuit:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://www.ldiva.com/Store/merchant.mvc?
Category_Code=Babydoll&Product_Code=20080&Screen=PROD&Store_Code=ldiva, Beautiful Strecth Lace and Sheer
Net Baby Doll:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Shes waiting for you, big guy!

http://asian-quest.tripod.com/fashions/, Fashions ~ Trendsetters / Trend Setters, Sheer See Throughs
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://poshgirlvintage.com/vintage_lingerie/Sheer1920Slip/sheer1920Gown.html, 1920'S Sheer Tap Pant Gown:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Well, I think you get the picture (even though I could better reveal the true stimulation values if this was an Xrated site).
http://members.aol.com/cyberlyric/gretchen.html, Gretchen Wilson Lyrics, Redneck Woman:
Victoria's Secret, well their stuff's real nice
Oh, but I can buy the same damn thing
On a Wal-Mart shelf half-price
And still look sexy, just as sexy
As those models on TV
No, I don't need no designer tag
To make my man want me
You might think I'm trashy
A little too hard core
But in my neck of the woods
I'm just the girl next door [or, an early Christian]
Sabina (see above catacomb text):

AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
I wonder if SABINA could be referring to:

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Survivors/source/62.html, Greek Mythology Link: Survivors of
the Ancient World, Album, 1550-60: Sabina Poppaea. Muse d'Art et d'Histoire, Genve | Sabina
Poppaea, d. AD 65:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/ancientwomen/p/PoppaeaSabina.htm, Ancient / Classical History: Poppaea Sabina:

Poppaea Sabina - Claim to Fame:
Poppaea Sabina was the mistress of one Roman emperor, Nero, at the same time she was the wife of Marcus Salvius Otho
-- later to become one of the emperors in the year of the four. Otho was sent off to be governor of Lusitania in A.D. 58. It was as
a result of Nero's relations with Poppaea Sabina, who was 7 years his senior, that Nero and his mother Agrippina had a
falling out. Nero divorced his childless first wife and married the pregnant Poppaea in A.D. 62.
Reported Manner of Poppaea's Death:
Poppaea gave birth to a daughter to Nero, in A.D. 63, Claudia Augusta, who died at four months. [Poppaea Sabina was
also awarded the title "Augusta".] Poppaea Sabina became pregnant again, but according to Suetonius, Nero kicked her in
the abdomen causing her death. At her death in A.D. 65, Poppaea was given divine honors.
She was popular.
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://ctlibrary.com/3533, Christian History: The Early Controversies Over Female Leadership:
The Celestial Banquet of this late-3rd-century fresco is led by a woman. Note the reactions of the
other participants (!). The writing indicates this is an agape feast. (Catacomb of SS Pietro e Marcellino, lunette of
an acrosolium.)
Actual AGAPE Text:

Looks like same outfits (woman on left, leg visible; two people on far right, arms visible; possibly more but
carved away):
List of Plates | Catacomb of St Peter and St Marcellinus:
Above Latin text (left) reads: IRENE DA CALDA:

IRENE = goddess of peace / Pax
DA (form of do) = give / yield / offer
CALDA = drink of wine in hot water
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Above Latin text (right) reads: AGAPE MISCE MI:

AGAPE = love
MISCE = to join one's self to, have carnal intercourse with / mix / mingle / unite / stir up / blend
MI = (plural of ) my / mine / I / me / myself (plural of meus), therefore us:
Collins Latin-English English-Latin Dictionary, Kidd, 1957, p. 204, meus & mi:
mi = vocative & masculine plural of meus. meus = my, mine; therefore us.
http://www.ultralingua.net/index.html?
action=define&sub=1&nv=0&searchtype=stemmed&text=ego&service=latin2english, Ultralingua web: The Language
Site, Definitions & translations | ego(above) | Latin --> English:
Outfits look pretty see-through here too:

Early Christian Art: AD 200-395: From the Rise of Christianity to the Death of Theodosius, Andr Grabar, 1968, p. ,
2. Christian Painting and Sculpture before the Peace of the Church (before AD 313) | 111.
Rome, Catacomb of SS. Pietro e Marcellino (Saints Peter and Marcellinus), Hall of the
Tricliniarch. Celestial Banquet:
Enlargement of text on left:

AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Above Latin text reads: AGAPE MISCE NOBIS:

AGAPE = love
MISCE = to join ones self to, have carnal intercourse with / mix / mingle / unite / stir up / blend
NOBIS = by us / to us / we / ourselves
(Breakdowns below:)
MISCE:
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookit.pl?latin=MISCE (Univ. of Notre Dame), Latin Dictionary and Grammar
Aid, MISCE:
misce
misceo miscui mixtum : to mix, mingle, blend.
http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe?MISCE, MISCE:
misc.e
V
2 1 PRES ACTIVE IMP 2 S
misceo, miscere, miscui, mixtus V
[XXXAX]
mix, mingle; embroil; confound; stir up;
A Smaller Latin-English Dictionary, Smith, 1879, p. 355, misco:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%238902, Charlton
T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, coetus:
coetus , us, v. 2. coitus.

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/morphindex?lookup=coetus&lang=la&corpus=Roman&author=&formentry=1, coetus:
coitus#2
sexual union
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%238980, ctus:
ctus , and another orthography coetus (only distinguished in signif. by use; a coming or meeting together,
an assembling an assemblage, crowd, company A uniting, joining together, combination Sexual
intercourse, coition
http://www.answers.com/coitus, coitus [English]:

Sexual union between a male and a female involving insertion of the penis into the vagina.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?layout.reflang=la;layout.reflookup=misceo;doc=Perseus%3Atext
%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3D%2329243, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, misco:
to mix, mingle, to intermingle, blend To join one's self to, have carnal intercourse with
Harpers Latin Dictionary, Lewis / Short, 1879, pp. 1149-1150, misco:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Sounds like an orgy to me.
NOBIS:
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookit.pl?latin=NOBIS (Univ. of Notre Dame), Latin Dictionary and Grammar
Aid, NOBIS:
nobis
nobis : (abl.) us / there'll be no one as happy as US.
nobis : (dat.) us / the world belongs to US.
http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe?NOBIS, NOBIS:
n.obis
n.obis
[XXXAX]
PRON
PRON
5 3 DAT P C
5 3 ABL P C
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
we (pl.), us;
IRENE:
The Random House Dictionary of the English Language: College Edition, 1968, p. 976, pax:
P. 739, kiss of peace:
It was originally a kiss on the mouths.
The text to the right in the same catacomb photo above:
Above text reads: IRENE PORGE CALDA:

IRENE = goddess of peace / Pax
PORGE = it offers / make clean (porgere)
CALDA = drink of wine in hot water
(not best copy)
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Calida.html, Calida: (William Smith, D.C.L., LL.

D.: A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875):
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
CALIDA, or CALDA, the warm drink of the Greeks

and Romans, which consisted of warm water mixed
with wine, with the addition probably of spices. This
was a very favourite kind of drink with the ancients,
and could always be procured at certain shops or
taverns, called thermopolia (Plaut. Cur. ii.3.13,
Trin. iv.3.6, Rud. ii.6.45), which Claudius
commanded to be closed at one period of his reign
(Dion Cass. lx.6).
Peter: Repertory of the Paintings), Deckers, 1987, Vol. 1, p. 269, 45:
Translation from German:

By writings: In brown color on white base: left: AGAPEMISCENOBIS; right: IRENEPORGECALDA.
Vol. 2, RC Lau (catalog painting) 45, 2:
The Roman Banquet: Images of conviviality, Dunbabin, 2003, p. 245, Notes:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Another scene:
Peter: Repertory of the Paintings), Deckers, 1987, Vol. 2, tafel (plate page) 33, c) Nr.(number) 47:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Vol. 2, farbtafel (color plate page) 22, a) Nr.(number) 47:
Vol. 2, RC Lau (catalog painting) 47:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Vol. 1, p. 273, 47:
In text:
Beischriften: Links oben in Braun auf weiem Grund: AGAPE P(OR)GE CALDA. Rechts oben in Braun auf
weiem Grund: IREN(E) MISCE.
Translated from German:
By writings: Left above in brown on white base: AGAPE P(OR)GE CALDA. On the top right in brown on white
base: IREN(E) MISCE.
Because all these word arrangements vary in combination with one another, it appears that the Early Christians
where saying that agape love, wine (Bacchanalian orgies), and their mixing of carnal sex are all synonymous for
the purpose of bringing peace to the world.
Heres another scene:

http://www.art-sacre.net/rome/f_168_2.html, La paix des Chrtiens devant la mort (The peace of the Christians in front
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
of death [French]), Repas cleste, crypte de Gaudentius, arcosolium (Celestial meal, crypt
of Gaudentius, arcosolium):
Catacombe de Pierre-et-Marcellin [ Rome, Italie ] (Catacomb of Peter-and-Marcellinius [ Rome, Italy ], 280-320 AD)
Peter: Repertory of the Paintings), Deckers, 1987, Vol. 2, RC Lau (catalog painting) 50, 2:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Vol. 1, p. 280, 50:
In text (Ds were rendered backwards):

Beischriften: In brauner Farbe auf weiem Grund: links AGAPE DA CALDA; rechts IRENE MISCE.
Translated from German:
By writings: In brown color on white base: on the left AGAPE DA CALDA; on the right IRENE MISCE.
By the way:
Image as Artifact: A Social-Historical Analysis of Female Figures with Cups in the Banquet Scenes from the
Catacomb of SS. Marcellino e Pietro, Rome; Ph.D Dissertation by Janet H. Tulloch, Dept. of Classics and Religious
Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada; Jan. 16, 2001; microfiche via ILL; p. 66; Figures: 4a-4c (same as
immediate above) | Archaeological Context:
Pagan accusation of Christian sex orgies:

http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0410.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Fathers of the Church: Octavius (Minucius Felix):
Chapter 9. Argument: The Religion of the Christians is Foolish

in Shameless Darkness They are All Mixed Up in an Uncertain Medley.
They know one another by secret marks and insignia, and they love one another almost before they know
one another. Everywhere also there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust, and they call one
another promiscuously brothers and sisters, that even a not unusual debauchery may by the intervention of
that sacred name become incestuous
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Im aware that youre all saying how much that agape sigma-couch resembles:
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/romanciv/newhouseimages/summertriclinium.jpg (via http://www.utexas.edu/
courses/romanciv/30222housesimages.htm), Introduction to Ancient Rome, Three couples in a summer
triclinium Pompeii. Fourth Style painting, 70 AD:
The sigma couch was also called a triclinium:

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/1991/02.07.07.html, W.J. Slater (ed.), Dining in a Classical Context:
In the High Empire triclinium mosaics take two forms: U-shaped, with a central rectangular panel surrounded on
three sides by a rectilinear area for couches, and T+U-shaped, which adds a horizontal bar to the central panel
marking the entrance. (Numerous examples from Antioch and North Africa are discussed in some detail.) In
late antiquity the triclinium is generally replaced by the stibadium, a semi-circular sigma-couch, again
often identifiable by the mosaics. Although the earliest sigma-couches show up only in late 2nd century,
literary references are found as early as the 1st.
The Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, feast:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://www.furniturestyles.net/ancient/homes/roman-triclinium.html, Roman Triclinium or Dining Room:
http://www.biblepicturegallery.com/Pictures/Furniture/Roman%20Triclinium%20in%20a%20typical%20dining%20room%20-%
20a%20th2%20la.htm, Christian Computer Art: Bible Picture Gallery, Dining:
Roman Triclinium in a typical dining room - a three sided couch, covered in cushions when
in use. Each side for three reclining eaters, leaning on their left elbow:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Looks like a good place to have sex.

Updating
http://www.paxaugusta.net/1Animations/triclinium.jpg (via http://www.paxaugusta.net/1Animations/1animations.htm),
Les animations de PAX AUGUSTA:
It looks like something sexual could happen pretty easily.

http://www.vendeitude.org/photoarchi/antiquite/triclinium.jpg (via http://www.vendeitude.org/architecture.htm), Un triclinium:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Yep, it looks like the kind of place where one could eat and sleep.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/vienne/en/img/maison3.gif (via http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/arcnat/vienne/
en/maison3.htm), Virtual Visit: The houses of Vienne Interior layout, Position of beds in a triclinium:
The Last Supper, Luke 22:14 (also John 13:12) to recline / lie down instead of sit down:
Interlinear Greek-English New Testament: With Strongs Concordance Numbers above Each Word, Green, Baker, 1996,
p. 266, Luke 22:14:
(The far right text column is the KJV):
http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/STRGRK3.htm, Strongs Greek Dictionary (301-400):
from - ana 303 and - pipto 4098; to fall back, i.e. lie down, lean back:--lean, sit down (to meat).
anapipto
an-ap-ip'-to
Basically the same in Matt. 26:20; Mark 14:18; John 13:23 & 28 (Strong # 345):
377
345
anakeimai
an-ak-i'-mahee
from - ana 303 and - keimai 2749; to recline (as a corpse or at a meal):--guest, lean, lie,
sit (down, at meat), at the table.
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Strong likes to show the original meanings and the translation meanings.
Other examples (of 345) are Matt. 9:10; Matt. 26:7; Mark 5:40; Mark 16:14; Luke 7:37; John 6:11.
The Last Supper bed, Mark 14:15 (also Luke 22:12):

http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/B41C014.htm#V15, The KJV Bible, Mark 14:15:

14:15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished [and] prepared: there make ready
for us.
4766
stronnumi
strone'-noo-mee,
stronnuo strone-noo'-o, prolongation from a still simpler stroo stro'-o, (used only as an alternate in
certain tenses) (probably akin to - stereos 4731 through the idea of positing); to "strew," i.e.
spread (as a carpet or couch):--make bed, furnish, spread, strew.
Same word used:
http://www.jcsm.org/StudyCenter/kjvstrongs/B44C009.htm#V34, The KJV Bible, Acts 9:34:

9:34 And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make
thy bed. And he arose immediately.
In Roman Latin, what lying together relates to:
Concub / concumb :
Collins Latin Gem Dictionary, Kidd, 1957, p. (Latin-English), concubit/us:
Cassells Latin Dictionary, Simpson, 1968, p. 128 (Latin-English), concbtus:
Harpers Latin Dictionary, Lewis / Short, 1879, p. 404, concbtus:

AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
con-cumbo:
http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/words.exe?concubitus (Latin-English translator), concubitus:

concubit.us
VPAR
2 1 NOM S M PERF PASSIVE PPL
concubeo, concubere, concubui, concubitus V (2nd) DAT
[EXXDW]
Later lesser
lie with (sexual and not); have sexual intercourse with;
concubit.us
N
4 1 NOM S M
concubit.us
N
4 1 VOC S M
concubit.us
N
4 1 GEN S M
concubit.us
N
4 1 NOM P M
concubit.us
N
4 1 VOC P M
concubit.us
N
4 1 ACC P M
concubitus, concubitus N (4th) M
[XXXCO]
lying together (sleeping/dining/sex); sexual intercourse, coitus; sexual act;
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=concubitus&ending= (University of Notre Dame), Latin
Word Lookup, concubitus:
concubitus -us m. [lying or reclining together]; hence [copulation].

http://www.online-dictionary.biz/latin/english/vocabulary/reference/concubitus.asp, Latin To English
Dictionary, concubitus:
concubitus copulation
The New College Latin & English Dictionary, Traupman, 1966, pp. 53-54 (Latin-English), concub... | concumb:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Langenscheidts Universal Latin Dictionary, Costa / Herberg, no date, p. 55 (Latin-English), concub... | concumb:
Langenscheidts Pocket Latin Dictionary, Handford / Herberg, 1966, p. 79 (Latin-English), concub... | concumb:
accumbo (another form):

A Smaller Latin-English Dictionary, William Smith, 1879, p. 113, concub... | concumb:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Examples of accumbo (forms thereof) that were words used in the Latin Vulgate:
Mark 2:15:
Now it happened, as He was dining in Levis house, that many tax collectors and sinners also sat together with
Jesus and His disciples; for there were many, and they followed Him.
Mark 6:39:
Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.
Luke 7:49:
And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?
Luke 13:29:
They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God.
Apparently ...cumbo is a form of the words, including: accumbo, concumbo, decumbo, discumbo,
incumbo, occumbo, procumbo, recumbo, succumbo, etc. Also, stratum / sterno describe the same thing.
discumbo (another example):

A Smaller Latin-English Dictionary, William Smith, 1879, p. 172, dis-cumbo:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
The New College Latin & English Dictionary, Traupman, 1966, p. 87 (Latin-English), discumb:
http://catholic.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=discumbo&ending= (University of Notre Dame), Latin

Word Lookup, discumbo:
discumbo -cumbere -cubui -cubitum (1) [to recline at table]. (2) [to go to bed].
Examples of discumbo (or forms thereof):
Matthew 15:35
So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.

Matthew 26:20 (the Last Supper):
When evening had come, He sat down with the twelve.

Notice above how they changed lay / laid to sit / sat?
Genesis 39:7 (KJV):
And it came to pass after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
You betcha they had see-through clothing back then:

And it was perceived as very sexual:
http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/indepth/795a/, Clothes and the New Testament:
Much of what she has said of the twenty-first century could also be said of the first century. Aspects of the
world of womens fashion were also seen by contemporaries to have gone too far.
See-through clothing had traditionally been the dress of many hetairai, the high-class prostitutes
who entertained single and married men as dinner companions and later, in what was politely said to be
after dinners, in that unholy trinity of eating, drinking and sexual intercourse.
Some married women were starting to wear similar provocative clothing and others were feeling the pressure
to conform to this new trend.
Never have you fancied the kind of dress that exposed no greater nakedness by being removed, wrote
Seneca, a contemporary of Paul, with his usual elegant turn of phrase to his mother in the 40s AD.
The modest married woman did not wear clothes that were transparent. Her dress consisted of many metres
of material falling in folds from the shoulder. A mantle was wrapped around her dress. The top part of
the mantle was draped on the top of her head for the first time on her wedding day. This was the marriage
veil she subsequently always wore in public as a sign to others of her marital status.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_embassies_to_China, Sino-Roman relations, Chinese silk in the Roman Empire:
Trade with the Roman Empire followed soon, confirmed by the Roman craze for Chinese silk (supplied through
the Parthians) from the 1st century BC, even though the Romans thought silk was obtained from trees:
The Seres (Chinese), are famous for the woolen substance obtained from their forests; after a soaking in water
they comb off the white down of the leaves... So manifold is the labour employed, and so distant is the region of
the globe drawn upon, to enable the Roman maiden to flaunt transparent clothing in public(Pliny the Elder (23
79, The Natural History).
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
The Senate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds:
the importation of Chinese silk caused a huge outflow of gold, and silk clothes were considered to be decadent
and immoral:
I can see clothes of silk, if materials that do not hide the body, nor even one's decency, can be called
clothes... Wretched flocks of maids labour so that the adulteress may be visible through her thin dress, so that
her husband has no more acquaintance than any outsider or foreigner with his wife's body(Seneca the Younger (c.
3 BC65 AD, Declamations Vol. I).:
Menade in silk dress, Naples National Museum. (Maenad, from the House of the Ship, Pompeii, 1st Century BC-79 AD)
A Chronology of Western Architecture, Yarwood, 1987, p. 25, Fourth- and Fifth-Century Early
Christian Churches:
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
Constantine was the first Christian emperor, and was father of Costanza (Constanza) [see top of this webpage].
http://www.khm.at/system2E.html?/staticE/page648.html (Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna), Greek and Roman
Antiquities, Aphrodite and Eros Hellenistic, 3rd-2nd centuries BC:
The body figures are visible through the transparent, seemingly wet clothing that sticks to the body, in contrast to
the vertical cloth stripes of the cloak that descend strongly on the left side. On the left shoulder the small Eros is sitting
with crossed legs.
AGAPE SIGMA-COUCH
http://www.villaivlilla.com/patterns.htm, Roman Women's Costume, Fabrics:
Most of the fabric worn by inhabitants in the classical world was of wool, with some linen imported
from Egypt and, later in the Empire, silks or "serica" imported from far-off China. "Wild silk"
garments, woven on the Greek Island of Cos were also mentioned. These were extremely light,
transparent fabrics.
http://www.classicsunveiled.com/romel/html/clothwomen.html, Rome Exposed: Clothing of Women and Girls, Fabrics:
From very early times, linen goods were made in Italy, but they were not of the best quality. The finest
linen came from Egypt and was soft and almost transparent.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS CHRISTIAN CATACOMBS

You see, Christian definitions can later change, but pagan themes dont, since paganism was later overruled. So,
if youre an early Christian and you wish to retain your message, its smart to paint certain pagan themes that
will elude later church corruptions. I mean, there are other reasons to drink wine (They get on me and wanna'
know Hank: Why do ya' drink?, Hank, why do you roll smoke? Hank Williams, Jr., 1979), but painting the
vine and/or grapes tells a bit more:
Catacomb of Domilitta:
Guide to Catacomb of Domitilla; Fasola; Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, Vatican City; English edition; 1974;
p. 27; The Gallery of Sarcophagi:
Guide to Catacomb of Domitilla; Fasola; Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, Vatican City; English edition; 1974;
p. 37; Fig. 18 Vintage scenes:
Erotes:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Catacombs.htm (1 of 39) [24/09/2012 12:16:08 AM]
P. 38:
List of Plates | Catacomb of Domitilla:
Art: A History of Changing Style, Cornell, 1983, p. 44, Art in the Catacombs:
Or could it be, cupids gathering grapes means the erotic sense of Bacchus? Well, thats what it would mean literally.
Figure 44:
http://amoroma.it/turismo/itinerari/scavi/itin029.htm, Catacombe di San Domitilla (translated from Italian):
More ahead on the left we enter in the gallery of the sarcofagi, erroneously attributed to the Flavi
Christian; it was dealt in truth, of a ipogeo they pay whose walls were decorated from fresco today in
bad conditions, that they represented tralci of lives, vintage grape bunches and amorini.
(Pi avanti sulla sinistra entriamo nella galleria dei sarcofagi, erroneamente attribuita ai Flavi Cristiani;
si trattava in realt, di un ipogeo pagano le cui pareti erano decorate da affreschi oggi in cattive
condizioni, che raffiguravano tralci di viti, grappoli d'uva ed amorini vendemmianti.)
2000 Years of Christian Art, Newton / Neil, 1966, p. 30:
2000 Years of Christian Art, Newton / Neil, 1966, p. 305, Notes on the Illustrations | (page) 30:
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus, St. Sebastian, and Domitilla, Englefield, 1913, p. 51, The Catacomb of Domitilla:

item?skip=1160), Cubiculum of Ampliatus; Catacomb of Domitilla, Rome:
Vine scrolls on friezes and arched ceiling:
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/large/BISCO~1C.jpg (via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/

item?skip=1180), Cubiculum of Ampliatus; Catacomb of Domitilla, Rome:
http://www.catacombe.domitilla.it/inglese.htm, Catacombs S. Domitilla:
Onto the gallery open four niches meant to contain sarcophagi which have long disappeared. All the
walls were decorated with frescoes which are in a poor condition today: they depict vines, bunches of
grape, birds and cupids making wine (the large niche on the right contains a famous fresco depicting a
vase with two birds on either side). When the hypogeum was occupied by Christian tombs, the frescoes
were added - badly faded today - depicting scenes from the lives of Daniel and Moses in the Old
Testament [img].:
(Ill just have to trust them.)
Catacomb of Saint Callixtus:

Plate 8, Rome, Catacomb of St. Callixtus. Orans, beginning of IV century:
P. 310, Notes to the Plates:
IN PACE is Latin for in accordance with peace / harmony.

List of Plates | Catacomb of Callixtus:
Rome, Catacomb of San Callisto, Cubiculum of the Cinque Santi. Orant, detail:
The Catacomb of St. Callixtus, Carletti, Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, no date (prob. early 70s),
English edition, p.30 , The Crypt of St. Eusebius:
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus; Baruffa; Published by L.E.V., Vatican City; 1993; p. 109; The Area of SS. Gaius
and Eusebius | Cubiculum of the Five Saints: Detail of the fresco:
P. 110; The Area of SS. Gaius and Eusebius | Cubiculum of the Five Saints (4th century):
P. 110; The Area of SS. Gaius and Eusebius | Cubiculum of the Five Saints (4th century) (a reconstruction):
P. 110; The Area of SS. Gaius and Eusebius | Cubiculum of the Five Saints (4th century) (a reconstruction):
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus; Baruffa; Published by L.E.V., Vatican City; 1993; p. 87; The Area called
St. Miltiades:
Irene was the pagan goddess of peace, symbolism which the Vatican is glad to share. If the Christians of
first centuries greatly loved symbolism, then I wonder what Eros and grape vines were to symbolize?
P. 40:
Catacomb of San Callisto:

(I question this connection to Dionysus.)
http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_savior2.htm, Saviors and Madonnas Gallery, Dionysus with halo:
Haloed Dionysus
http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_saviors.htm?once=true&, Savior/Madonna Gallery One, Dionysus,

the Good Shepherd:
http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/sterk/ImagesAW/Images11.25.htm, Images9.18:
Christ as the Good Shepherd (Rome, Catacomb of San Callisto, crypt of Lucina)
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus; Baruffa; Published by L.E.V., Vatican City; 1993; p. 39; The Symbols Near
the Entrance Staircase:
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus, St. Sebastian, and Domitilla, Englefield, 1913, pp. 12-13:
http://drwagnernet.com/40a/lecture-view.cfm?lecture=5&image=8, Lecture #5:
early Christian - 3 cent. A.D.

Materials: painting in catacomb
Good Shepherd-ceiling S. Callisto catacomb
28, Rome, Catacomb of San Callisto, Crypt of Lucina. The Good Shepherd:
http://www.unf.edu/classes/byzantium/image/goodshepherd-rome-catacomb-278CE.jpg (via http://www.unf.edu/

classes/byzantium/), Byzantium, The Good Shepherd: Catacomb of San Callisto, mid 3rd Cent.:
The Catacombs of St. Callixtus; Baruffa; Published by L.E.V., Vatican City; 1993; p. 150; The Crypts of Lucina:
Catacomb of Saints Marcellino and Peter:

Peter: Repertory of the Paintings), Deckers, 1987, Vol. 2, RC Lau (catalog painting) 21, (vine scroll):
Catacombs of Priscilla:
Origins of Western Art, Dr. Donald E. Strong, 1965, color plate p. 179 (vine):
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, pp. 292-293, Jewish Art and Early Christian Art:
P. 292, figure 7-2:

item?skip=1180), Cappella Graeca; Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome:
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/large/BISCO~7D.jpg (via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/

item?skip=1140), Cappella Graecia, Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome:
(Looking the other way:)

http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/dbcourses/klein/large/BISCON~A.jpg (via http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/cgi-bin/dbcourses/
item?skip=1180), Cappella Graeca, Catacomb of Priscilla, Rome:
Catacomb of the Via Latina:

Bargebuhr, 1991, pp. 44-45, Representations of Pagan Themes:
Bargebuhr, 1991, p. 53, Representations of Pagan Themes:
Figure 97:
The one with the wheat represents Demeter.

3. The Art of the Fourth Century | The Via Latina Paintings | 258. Rome. Catacomb of the Via
Latina: Partial View of Room N:
Catacomb of San Sebastiano:

2. Christian Painting and Sculpture before the Peace of the Church (before AD 313) | 81. Rome,
Pagan Mausoleum under San Sebastiano. Birds and Vine-Shoots:
http://www.catacombsociety.org/vom/114.html, Vaults of Memory:
The Fruits of Paradise

114. An exotic parrot looks on while a quail, which often symbolizes the human soul, pecks at a cluster of grapes. Bountiful fruits, such as pomegranates
and grapes, overflow the elegant Roman glass vessel in this arcosolium painting. Such images (also no. 93) were influenced by Hellenistic mosaics. Mausoleum
of M. Clodius Hermes encompassed by the catacomb of S. Sebastiano.
Catacomb of Praetextatus / Pretestato:

Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, p. 27, The Subjects Represented | Decorative Motifs:
P. 26, The Subjects Represented | Crafts and Occupations:
Figure 49 (grape-gatherers) [Vines]:
List of Plates | Catacomb of Praetextatus:
Figure 51 (detail of figure 49) (grape-gatherers):
List of Plates | Catacomb of Praetextatus:
Rome, Catacomb of Pretestato, Crypt of San Gennaro. Winter:
Catacomb of Villa Torlonia:

Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman Symbols Interwoven in a Tapestry of Grapevine Tendrils

1. A vault painting from the decorated cubiculum in the upper catacomb of Villa Torlonia shows Jewish ritual objects: a menorah (seven-branched lamp-stand),
a shofar (horn), and ethrogs (citrons), while the grapevines, dolphins, and tridents were derived by both Jew and Christians from Graeco-Roman
iconography. Drawn from J. B. Frey C. S. Sp., Corpus Inscriptionum Iudaicarum (Citt del Vaticano, 1936. Reprint, New York, 1975), p. CXXVII.
Catacomb of Monteverde:
"Iulianus, a Hebrew"
120. The four vine leaves punctuating the inscription perhaps imply the wish for a blissful afterlife. Catacomb of Monteverde.
Miscellaneous:
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 14, chapter 1, Art in the First Centuries of the Christian Era | Christian
Art Before Constantine:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07664a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Veneration of Images, II.

CHRISTIAN IMAGES BEFORE THE EIGHTH CENTURY:
And the catacombs were covered with paintings. There are other decorations such as garlands, ribands,
stars landscapes, vines-no doubt in many cases having a symbolic meaning.
One sees with some surprise motives from mythology now employed in a Christian sense (Psyche, Eros
winged Victories, Orpheus), and evidently used as a type of our Lord.
http://www.underome.com/eng/sub/180.php, The Colombarium of via Pescara:
On the shorter walls of the space there are paintings of grape vines -- white grapes on one wall, and red on the other. Though
they have no Christian symbology, they are nevertheless the same symbols that we will find a couple of centuries later in
the catacombs and other Christian settings.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03417b.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Roman Catacombs, VI. Small

Objects Found in the Catacombs:
In addition to these, other Biblical characters were introduced, e.g. Josue and Caleb carrying the great bunch of grapes,
Strange Bedfellows
25. In the epitaph "Here lies Faustina," there is an infrequent instance of the use of Hebrew (the word shalom) in the catacombs of Rome and a
curious juxtaposition of Jewish and Dionysiac imagery: the traditional lulav, menorah, and shofar in the company of theatrical masks. Possibly from
the Monteverde catacomb. Museo Nazionale Romano.
Dionysos Crosses the Sea with Cavorting Marine Companions

121. In this vignette of Dionysos's transformation of pirates into dolphins, two major symbols of salvation, the vine and the dolphin, are combined. Interior
of Greek kylix (drinking cup) from Vulci (Etruria). Third quarter of the sixth century B.C.E. Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen.

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DIONYSUS CHRISTIAN SARCOPHAGI (Miscellaneous)
DIONYSUS CHRISTIAN SARCOPHAGI

(Miscellaneous)
A World History of Art, Pischel, 1968, pp. 146-147, Early Christian Art | Sarcophagi:
Santa Lorenzo Church, Italy:

http://roma.katolsk.no/lorenzofuori.htm, Churches of Rome: San Lorenzo fuori le Mura:
There are two ancient sarcophagi in the portico. Of special interest is a Christian one, possibly decorated in the
7th century on an older sarcophagus, with a relief depicting putti picking grapes. Contrary to the norm, it has
no obvious Christian symbols. The vines and grapes are symbols of the Eucharist, but it was usually done in a
less subtle way than this, and this is a rare example of art for art's sake on a Christian sarcophagus.
I reckon this is it:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid3/new/stereo.source7Gb/italy/rome/churches/s_lorenzo_al_verano/11L.JPG:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/Joh...20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Christian-Sarcophagi-Misc.htm (1 of 22) [24/09/2012 12:16:10 AM]
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # SL002187, Detail of a Cloister Relief in San Lorenzo fuori le Mura Church, Rome,
Christian art:
Search # SL002186:
http://www.robertlandrum.com/location/italy/rome/Churches.html, Churches:
This sarcophagus also sits out in the portico of San Lorenzo.
Sarcophagus, SantAmbrogio, Milan, Italy:

Late 4th century
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, pp. 110-111, From Constantine to Justinian:
Pp. 110-111:
P. 110, illustration 93 [vine scrolls]:
P. 111, illustration 94 [vine scrolls]:
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 293. Sarcophagus: Standing Christ
delivering the Law in the presence of the Apostles. SantAmbrogio, Milan [Vine scroll]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 46, Milan, SantAmbrogio. Sarcophagus, end of IVth
century. Narrow end: Ascension of Elijah. Back: Christ teaches the Apostles [Vines on fascia / cornice]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 47, Milan, SantAmbrogio. Sarcophagus, end of IVth
century. Narrow end: Sacrifice of Isaac. Front: Christ giving the law [Vines on the
entablatures cornice, raking cornice (pediments rafters), base frieze, columns, etc.]:
Sarcophagus of Archbishop Theodore:

From SantApollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, 7th century
Art of the Christian World: A.D. 200-1500: A Handbook of Styles and Forms, Christe / Velmans / Losowska / Recht, 1982,
p. 48:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/Jo...0M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Christian-Sarcophagi-Misc.htm (10 of 22) [24/09/2012 12:16:10 AM]
Art: An Introduction, Cleaver, 1972, pp. 147-148, figure 12-19, Early Christian and Byzantine Art: 100-1453
| Byzantine Period: 500-1453:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 20, illustration 11, Paganism baptized : Christian art
before Constantine [grape vines]:
Art Through the Ages, Gardner, 1986, p. 264, figure 7-22, The Ancient World | Early Christian, Byzantine,
and Islamic Art | Early Christian Art (grape vines):
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 123, illustration 100, The Age of Justinian [grape vines]:
Interesting note about this book: The book is basically in chronological order, and there are many
supportive pictures (Eros, vines, etc.) up to this page/date (p. 123 / sixth century). The remaining picture pages goes
to p. 343 / fifteenth century, but show almost no supportive art. Thats 220 pages or nearly two-third of the
remainder of the book.
Miscellaneous:
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 283. Italy. Sarcophagus: Christ delivering
the Law, with Various Scenes. San Giovanni in Valle, Verona [Vine scroll on base frieze]:
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 14, chapter 1, Art in the First Centuries of the Christian Era | Christian
Art Before Constantine:
The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art, Mathews, 1993, pp. 30-31:
P. 32, figure 13:
P. 32, figure 14:
Art of the Christian World: A.D. 200-1500: A Handbook of Styles and Forms, Christe / Velmans / Losowska / Recht, 1982,
p. 49:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 40, Paris, Louvre. Chest-sarcophagus, VIth-VIIth
century [grape vines]:
The Vine
The plant most frequently seen in art and alluded to in writing was the grapevine, brought to the Greek and Roman world by Dionysos, a god associated
with resurrection and eternal life. From Homeric times, wine was poured on the remains of heroes and royalty, and grapevines were part of the funerary
ritual. As the garden where the vine grew, the vineyard signified the "house of Israel" for the Jews and the Church for early Christians.
A Laboring Putto
116. On a sarcophagus lid from the catacombs of Villa Torlonia, a putto harvests grapes.
Pagan but Christian related:

http://classics.furman.edu/~rprior/imgs/RCU4/4-071.jpg (via http://classics.furman.edu/~rprior/courses/RA/RAU4.html),
Roman Archaeology: Roman Art, in cemetery under St. Peters Vatican relief of Dionysus and
Ariadne from a sarcophagus in Tomb Z:
The World of Rome, Grant, 1960, figure 32a:
http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/000Dionysus/source/24.html, Dionysus Album, Dionysos og

Ariadne. Romersk sarkofag pa via Appia. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen:
Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, p. 151, illustration 100, Mythological sarcophagus, Rome,
c. AD 200. Marble. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore:
Another Christian one added 2-2-11:

(Appended so the numbered file names of all images above dont change, for people who have already linked to them.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SarcophagusSoissonFrance6thCentury.jpg (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_Rho), Chi
Rho, Sarcophagus with Chi Rho symbol and Alpha and Omega, 6th century, Soissons, France.:

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DIONYSUS SARCOPHAGUS OF JUNIUS BASSUS
SARCOPHAGUS OF JUNIUS BASSUS

359 AD
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03510a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Early Roman Christian Cemeteries,
The Vatican Cemetery:
The "Grotte Vecchie" and the "Grotte Nuove", or subterraneous chapels and galleries in the vicinity of the tomb of
St. Peter, cover the site of this ancient Christian cemetery; in them lie buried also a number of popes; St. Gregory
I, Boniface VIII, Nicholas V, Alexander VI. The rich sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, important for early
Christian symbolism, is in the "Grotte Nuove"
Eros and vines on columns:

Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 41, Vatican, Grottoes of St. Peters. Sarcophagus of the
Roman Prefect Junius Bassus (d. 359) [Eros & grape vines on columns]:
Plate 42, Vatican, Grottoes of St. Peters. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Above (below at top): Christ
as Judge between SS. Peter and Paul. Below (below at bottom): Christs entry into Jerusalem [Eros
& grape vines on columns]:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/Jo...0M%20Allegro/Dionysus_SarcophagusOfJuniusBassus.htm (1 of 21) [24/09/2012 12:16:12 AM]
Plate 43, Vatican, Grottoes of St. Peters. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Adam and Eve [Eros &
grape vines on column]:
The reason this kind of art is available is because when you walk into a room and see grape vines on Christian art,
you think theres a grape vine. But, in the pagan classical period, when someone walked into a room and saw a
grape vine in Christian art, they would think that they honor Dionysus / Bacchus, the pagan god of the vine. The
Early Christians must have been inspired by God to know what would be accepted today and what would not
be acceptable today. The same with Eros: hes a little kid: todays ignorant mind cant see him as a threat. And,
since it takes a two-step thinking process to grasp the correlations, most people arent going to be able to get it.
Plus, the emotional acceptance would be far too much for anyone today to be able to bear, including the ones
who would like to see a free / open sex society based on unconditional love: Just because something logically
fits, doesnt mean people are going to be able to just overrule their gut trust in todays overwhelming corrupt
religious teachings.
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 264. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus,
detail: Entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Grotte Vaticane, Vatican City [grape vines]:
P. 46, 41. Rome. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Grotte Vaticane, Rome:
http://vandyck.anu.edu.au/introduction/earlychristian/L22-02b.htm (via http://vandyck.anu.edu.au/introduction/

earlychristian/earlychristian.html), Detail: Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus:
Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, pp. 194-195, illustration 130, Marble columnar sarcophagus
of Junius Bassus, from Rome, AD 359:
P. 68:
Figure 98:
Figure 99 [Eros with arrows]:
Basilica of Junius Bassus:

Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, p. 193, illustration 129, Opus sectile panels form the basilica
of Junius Bassus:
SIMILAR CHRISTIAN COLUMNAR SARCOPHAGUS:

Same kind of Eros and vines on columns, with two men just about to kiss
C. 350-360 AD
(For some / obvious reason I cant find anything about this on the Internet. You see, Eros and vines arent going to
tell anyone anything today, but the kissing will.)
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 276. Rome. Sacophagus: Christ seated
above a Personification of the Cosmos, with Old and New Testament Scenes:
Enlargement:
P. 250, 277. Rome. Sarcophagus, detail [Eros with grapes and vines, which would have really sent
a mixed message in classical times]:
P. 251, 278. Rome. Sarcophagus, detail: The Judgment of Pilate [grape vines]:
P. 252, 279. Rome. Sarcophagus, detail:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 45, Vatican, Grottoes of St. Peters. Central part of
sarcophagus. Christ gives St. Peter the Law, middle of IVth century [Eros & grape vines on columns]:
Early Christian Art: AD 200-395: From the Rise of Christianity to the Death of Theodosius, Andr Grabar, 1968, p.
35, 33. Rome. Sarcophagus, detail: Christ seated above a Personification of the Cosmos.
Museo Laterano, Rome:
The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art, Mathews, 1993, p. 90, figure 68, The Trial of
Christ before Pilate c. 350-360:
Right side:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 44, Vatican, Grottoes of St. Peters. Narrow end of
a sarcophagus, right side. Healing of the woman with an issue of blood and cursing of the figtree, middle of IVth century. Cf. Pl. 45 [Grape vines on columns]:
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 280. Rome. Sarcophagus, detail:
Moses striking Water from the Rock. Museo Laterano, Rome:

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DIONYSUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD SARCOPHAGUS
THE GOOD SHEPHERD SARCOPHAGUS

Late 4th century
Art Through the Ages, Gardner, 1986, p. 261, The Ancient World | Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic Art
| Early Christian Art:
P. 261, figure 7-18:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 18, Paganism baptized : Christian art before Constantine:
Pp. 22-23, illustration 15, 15, 16 Christian sarcophagus reliefs often used symbols with pagan
associations, to avoid undue attention. Left (below) : the Good Shepherd and the vintage feast. .:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/J...20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_GoodShepherdSarcophagus.htm (1 of 13) [24/09/2012 12:16:13 AM]
Art of the Western World: From Ancient Greece to Post-Modernism, Cole / Gealt, 1989, p. 42 (image mirrored
[negative probably flipped before paste-up]):
The Invisible Made Visible: Angels from the Vatican, Duston / Nesselrath, 1998, p 130, catalogue 26, Origins of
Angel Iconography:
P. 131 (pagan art):
(Back to) p. 130:
Fig. 1 (Christian art):
P. 68, The Classical Origins of Angel Iconography:
P. 134, catalogue 28, Origins of Angel Iconography:
Pp. 134-135, catalogue 28, Origins of Angel Iconography (pagan art):
3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 287. Sarcophagus of the
Good Shepherd [Vines & Eroti]:
P. 258, 3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Sarcophagus Reliefs | 286. Sarcophagus of the Good
Shepherd, detail: The Good Shepherd. Museo Laterano, Rome [Vines & Eroti]:
Shepherd, detail: Vintaging Cupids. Museo Laterano, Rome:
Shepherd, detail of one end: Vintaging Cupids:
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 308, Imperial Christian Art and Architecture and Art:
P. 308, figure 7-24:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 6, Sarcophagus, second half of IVth century. The Good
Shepherd and the Vintage:
Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins, Andr Grabar, 1968, p. 11:
Illustration 19:
http://vandyck.anu.edu.au/introduction/earlychristian/L22-04b.htm (via http://vandyck.anu.edu.au/introduction/

earlychristian/earlychristian.html), Detail: Good Shepherd Sarcophagus:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS WITH HALO (PAGAN ART)

http://theoi.com/Gallery/Z12.14.html, Z12.14 DIONYSOS & ARIADNE:
Museum Collection: Miho Museum, Kyoto, Japan
Catalogue Number: N/A
Type: Floor Mosaic
Context: Probably f rom Syria
Date: C3rd - C4th AD
Period: Imperial Roman
(With DIONYSOS Greek text in actual mosaic:)
SUMMARY
Dionysos rouses the sleeping Ariadne, who has been abandoned by Theseus on Naxos. The god is accompanied by the Seilen Maron,
a Satyros (with panpipe) and winged Eros (love god).
http://www.miho.or.jp/booth/html/imgbig/00001176e.htm (via http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/lettres/

LanguesAnciennes/Ariane/fichiers/ariane_dionysos.htm) (translated from Italian), Images of Dionysos and Ariadne in antiquity:
Roman art. Syria. Mosaics Pamphilos signed by:
Dionysus discovers Ariadne on Naxos.
352 X 357 cm.
Third - fourth century AD
On the left, Maron old (cf. Odyssey: priest of Thrace, he gave Ulysses the wine that helped to intoxicate Polyphemus), under
the guise of Silenus (which is the companion in Euripides).
Miho Museum.:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-Pagan-Halo.htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:16:14 AM]
Note on Greek text:

http://www.behindthename.com/namesakes/lists/greekmyth.php, Behind the Name: the etymology and history of first
names, Characters in Greek Mythology:
The names presented here are of course transcribed from the original Greek. There are many different methods for doing
Greek transcriptions, with the result that the name you are looking for may be spelled in an unexpected way. Greek
(kappa) may be represented by the Roman letter K or C; the Greek nominative suffix (omicron sigma) may be represented
by OS or US. In both cases, the names here use the latter strategy, though searches for either form (eg Clitus or Kleitos)
should return the same result.
Also, artist used the lunate sigma (transliterated as S), which looks like a C, instead of todays , or .
http://altreligion.about.com/library/weekly/aa052902a.htm (http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/savior1.jpg) &

http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_saviors.htm?once=true&, Dionysus:
The Greek characters above the halo reads Dionysos ().

http://www.zeugmaweb.com/zeugma/images/koleksiyon/dionysos1024.bmp (via http://www.zeugmaweb.com/zeugma/
english/download.htm):
The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, p. 315, (illustration) 312:
P. 316, Illustration 312-C, Animal catalogue mosaics C El Djem, Tunisia":
http://altreligion.about.com/library/graphics/bl_saviors.htm?once=true&, Savior/Madonna Gallery One, Infant Dionysuis:
http://www.bibleorigins.net/VictoryNikeCherubimAngels.html (Bible Origins), Angel Illustrations, The Evolution

of Christianty's Pictorial Representation of Cherubim and Angels From Hellenistic Roman Victory and Greek
Nike Exemplars:
Of interest is the god Dionysus as a "Divine Child" with a halo about his head in a mosaic from Cyprus of the fourth century
BCE (cf. fig. 27. Charles Freeman. .The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason. New York.
Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher. 2004. ISBN 1-4000-4085-X):
http://www.bibleorigins.net/DionysusInfantHaloHermesMosaic.html (Bible Origins), DionysusInfantHaloHermesMosaic:
The below illustration is a portion of a 4th century BCE mosaic from Cyprus showing the god Dionysus as the "divine child"
_with a HALO about his head_ being presented by Hermes (who has wings on his head and feet) to the Nymphs for
safe-keeping. In Greek Orphic myths the infant was born of an earthly mother and of Zeus, who intended to make him a ruler
of the earth. Hera (who is the goddess of marriage), seeking the child's life, was successful in getting the 12 Titans to murder
the child and then eat him. Zeus in revenge, vaporized the Titans and from their ashes made mankind. Thus man has the
divine "good" of a god in him (Dionysus) and evil body (of the Titans). (For the photo, cf. fig. 27. Charles Freeman. The Closing
of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason. New York. Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher. 2004. ISBN 1-4000-4085-X)
(With DIONYSOS Greek text in actual mosaic:)
The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, p. 348, The Diffusion of Classical Art:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS OTHER EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

3rd century (200s) to 10th century (900s)
In addition to the vast number of Erotes / Cupids in early and later Christian art, out of all the many pagan
gods, theres a symbol of another reoccurring theme thats used quite often: grapes and/or vines representing
and supporting Dionysus / Bacchus, in that Christ is of a like characteristic:
Overview:
The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art, Mathews, 1993, p. 45:
Gods and Myths of the Romans, Mary Barnett, 1996, p. 106, Rome and Christianity:
3rd century (200s):

The Origins of Western Art, Ann Powell, 1973, p. 202:
The Clash of Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art, Mathews, 1993, p. 159, figure 124, Frescoes from
the Baptistery at Dura Europos, c. 245 (grapes):
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-EarlyChristian.htm (1 of 69) [24/09/2012 12:16:18 AM]
2. Christian Painting and Sculpture before the Peace of the Church | 59. Dura-Europos.
Christian House, Baptisery: Overall View:
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 297, figure 7-10, Dura-Europos [grapes]:
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 188, Palestine and Transjordan:
P. 189, figure 201, Sepphoris (4 miles NW of Nazareth):
http://home.earthlink.net/~jburns31780/gasart.html, Mosaic from Roman Sepphoris, Judaea, early 3rd Century

C.E.:
Familiar looking character there.

http://www.tfba.org/projects.php?projectid=11 (The Foundation for Biblical Archaeology), Sepphoris in
Galilee, Mona Lisa of the Galilee:
4th century (300s):

http://www.heritageexplorer.org.uk/web/he/imagebythemedetail.aspx?id=1793&crit=&ctid=35&large=1, Roman mosaic
from Hinton St Mary, Dorset:
This mosaic is the earliest depiction of Christ found in Roman Britain and dates from the 4th century AD. The figure of Chirst is flanked by two pomegranates
and lies on the Greek chi-rho (the first two letters of His name). The mosaic now lies in the British Museum.
(Chi-Rho & vine scrolls)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2003/apr/19/art.artsfeatures, Jesus, the early years:

The Dorset Mosaic (detail): perhaps the oldest surviving image of Jesus.
But here the artist must have had a real problem. There was no prototype, no model, no description. He had to
invent Christ in order to show him. How do you represent a god that you have never seen? It is a testing
conundrum, theologically and artistically. This artist must have seen and made images of Orpheus and Bacchus
in similar mosaic floors. Orpheus would generally be wistful, young and artistic-looking. Bacchus would be
energetic and sexy. Each would essentially be distinguished by his attributes: Orpheus would have his lyre,
Bacchus a bunch of grapes or something similar. You would know who they were, not because of how they
looked, but because of what they held. But this is difficult with Jesus. What is Jesus's physical attribute? He told
his disciples that he was the way, the truth and the life, but it is very difficult to show any of these physically.
He announced that he was the light of the world, but it is extraordinarily hard to show light in a mosaic. And
although he did compare himself to a vine and his followers to branches, the vine was the property of Bacchus
and could have led only to confusion.
http://idlespeculations-terryprest.blogspot.com/2007_02_01_archive.html, Hinton St Mary, Dorset:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hinton_St_Mary_Mosaic, Hinton St Mary Mosaic:
Early Christian Art: AD 200-395: From the Rise of Christianity to the Death of Theodosius, Andr Grabar, 1968, p.
44, Forms and Aesthetic:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissacorsini/1490149469/, Fragment of a Marble Tomb Relief with Christ Giving the Law in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2007:
Fragment of a Marble Tomb Relief with Christ Giving the Law

Byzantine, from Rome, Italy
Carved late 300s, in Rome
The image of Christ's Giving of the Law, called the Traditio Legis, recognizes Peter's role as the successor to Christ. Thought to have
been developed in Rome, the scene shows Christ offering an unfurled scroll containing the law to Saint Peter. To the left Saint Paul
stands looking up to Christ; four other apostles survive to the sides. The relief is a Christian interpretation of the Roman sarcophagus
type displaying figures set within a series of niches framed by columns; the columns here are decorated with putti in vine scrolls.
Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/elissacorsini/1483807691/in/set-72157602330821377/, Marble Fragment of a Sarcophagus in

the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2007:
Marble Fragment of a Sarcophagus with Putti in a Grapevine

Roman or Byzantine
Carved 200-400 AD
Vines that supported grape-plucking putti, or figures of children, and baskets full of the fruit on Late Roman sarcophagi often refer to
Dionysos, god of wine, and his promise of a blessed afterlife. Christians adopted the motif to represent a biblical passage (John 15:5), "I am
the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit," and as a reference to the wine of the Eucharist service.
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/melange.html, From Apollo to Jesus Christ!:
4th century Antinous, with Cross in one hand and the grapes of Dionysus in the other!
(Stele from Antinoopolis, Egypt. Staatliche Museen, Berlin)
The Calendar and Hunting Mosaics of the Villa of the Falconer in Argos: A Study in Early Byzantine Iconography,
Gunilla kerstrm-Hougen, Text, 1974, p. 107, The Triclinium and the Sigma Table:
P. 153, figure 88, Early Christian lead vessel from Tunisia (grape vine):
Christian Iconography: A Study of Its Origins, Andr Grabar, 1968, illustration 39 (grapevines):
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, figure 163 [Christian Alpha-Omega / Chi-Rho symbol & grapes]:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # VN002953, Mosaic of a Basilica, 4th century A. D., Christian art:
http://www.unf.edu/classes/freshmancore/coreabroad/pictures/ViaDolorosa/holysepulcher-latinchapel-NK1.jpg (via http://www.

unf.edu/classes/byzantium/) (University of North Florida), Byzantium, Rome, Jerusalem: Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, 4th Cent, with later rebuilding / holysepulcher-latinc..>:
Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, p. 27, The Subjects Represented | Profane
Themes (4th century ?):
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 117, London, British Museum. Part of Esquiline Treasure. c.
380. general view of casket [vine borders lower part]:
5th century (400s):

Early Christian Painting, Pierre du Bourguet, 1965, figure 151 [grapes]:
http://www.egyptsites.co.uk/deserts/western/kharga/elbagawat.html, Egyptian Monuments: Cemetery of El-Bagawat:

About 3km from the centre of el-Kharga and 1km north of the Temple of Hibis is the early Christian cemetery of Bagawat.
Inside the Chapel of the Exodus, which is one of the earliest in the cemetery, the interior of the dome is decorated in
two bands illustrating scenes from the Old Testament; Adam and Eve, Moses leading the Israelites through the Sinai desert in
the Exodus, Pharaoh (Rameses II?) and his armies, Noahs ark, Daniel in the lions den, Jonah and the whale and several
other biblical episodes. In the Chapel of Peace, similar themes are depicted on the dome, including the Annunciation of the
Virgin Mary and others, each identified in Greek. The interior walls are also painted with many Byzantine frescoes of grape
vines, peacocks, allegorical figures and inscriptions. The purpose of the Christian tomb-chapels, like their ancient
Egyptian counterparts, was for the reverence of the deceased.
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 123, Salonika, Hagios Georgios (church). Mosaic of the
barrel-vault above the S.niche, c. 400 [grapes]:
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 251 (pagan art that offers many
Christian parallels):
Figure 266, Ephesos, Terrace House 2, Dwelling II vines Dionysus:
The Roman Empire: Art Forms and Civic Life, Hans Peter LOrange, 1985, pp. 222-223, illustration 134, Rome,
Lateran Baptistery (440 AD):
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 76, Istanbul, Archeological Museum. Part of drum of a
column with vine and ornamental figures, Vth century. Above: Pair with sacrificial animals.
Below: Baptism of Christ:
Plate 77, Istanbul, Archeological Museum. Part of drum of a column with vine and ornamental
figures. Shepherd with dog, goat and bull, Vth century:
http://homepage.mac.com/paduan/PhotoAlbum26.html, Detail on presbytery, Grado Basilica, Grado, Italy (c. 450 ?):
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 80, Istanbul, Archeological Museum. Balusters with
acanthus and ivy leaves. Mythological scenes at the ends, middle of Vth century [vines]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, p. 326, Notes to the Plates | 80:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # VN001628, Large Basilica of Heraclea Lynkestis: Narthex Floor Mosaic [detail], 5th century:
Grapes.
Origins of Western Art, Dr. Donald E. Strong, 1965, p. 47, Early Christian Art | 5th century (grape vines):
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 181, figure 193, Antioch (Seleucia), Quatrefoil
church (so-called Martyrion) (Christian art):
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 78, Istanbul, Archeological Museum. Chancel from
Salonika. Details from left and right sides of chancel: One of the three Magi and Mary with the
Christ-child, second half of Vth century [Grape vines above arches]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 100, Five-part ivory diptych, second half of Vth
century [grape vine]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 81, Istanbul, Archeological Museum. Relief. Entry
into Jerusalem, from the Church of St. John the Baptist in the Studios Cloister, Constantinople, late
Vth century [grape vine]:
Origins of Western Art, Dr. Donald E. Strong, 1965, p. 51, Early Christian Art | 5th century | St. Victor:
6th century (500s):

The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 172, Justinian and after [/- surrounded by vine scroll]:
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 98, Early Christian Art: The Synthesis of the Secular
and the Religious Image:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # RW006777, Floor Mosaic of the East Church of Apollonia, Libya, Early
Byzantine, Christian art (c. 539 AD):
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, pp. 192-193, Palestine and Transjordan:
P. 193, figure 205, Maon-Nirim, synagogue vine scrolls:
http://www.catacombsociety.org/vom/119.html , Vaults of Memory:
Antioch Chalice
119. In a similar setting, Jesus assumes the role of philosopher-teacher, enthroned apparently among the apostles, with whom he is engaged in discourse
under the shade of their vine. Silver gilt eucharistic cup of the first half of the sixth century. New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 65, illustration 47, Early Christian Art: The Eastern
Provinces of the Empire and the Foundation of Constantinople [grape vines]:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 138, From Constantine to Justinian:
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 183, chapter 7, illustration 4, Church of St. Michael (my guess 6th century):
Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 71, illustration 36, Art before Iconoclasm | Emperors and
Holy Men | Constantinople and the East | Sculpted pier from St. Polyeuktos, Constantinople, 5247, reused, Piazzetta, Venice:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 208, Venice, before St. Marks. One of the two columns from
San Giovanni dAcri, VIth century [grape vines]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 196, Istanbul, Hagia Sophia. 532-537. Capitals and columns
from the S. corner of the S. W. Gallery [grape vine]:
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/jeremiah.htm, The Monastery of Jeremiah at Saqqara, The Principal Church:
Left: Vine and grape cluster capital;

Right: Another type of capital found at the monastery dating to the sixth century
Coptic Art, Wessel, 1965, p. 28:
(http://www.answers.com/Coptic%20art, Coptic Art: Christian art in the upper Nile valley of Egypt. Reaching its mature
phase in the late 5th and 6th cent.):
:
P. 33, plate 29:
Pp. 60-61, plate 57:
P. 62, plate 58:
P. 62, plate 59:
P. 116, plate 89:
List of Illustrations:
Pp. 182-183, plate 107:
Pp. 187, plate 110, Youthful Bacchus:
Pp. 188, plate 112, Dionysos:
http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/smr04/101910/Slide9.7.jpg (via http://www.arthistory.upenn.edu/

smr04/101910/101910lecture9.html), Lecture 9: : Early Christian-Byzantine, left: synagogue mosaic, c. 530
CE, Maon, Israel right: church mosaic, c. 6th cent. CE, Shellal, Gaza:
http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/arts_of_armenia/detail/165.asp (California State University), Armenian Studies Program:
165. Mosaic with Armenian inscription, birds within a vine scroll, VIth century, funerary chapel of St. Polyeuctos, Musara
Quarter, Damascus Gate, Jerusalem.
http://www.uwic.ac.uk/ICRC/issue004/armenianimages/fig007.jpg (via http://www.uwic.ac.uk/ICRC/issue004/armenian3.

htm), The Armenian Bird Mosaic (fig.7):
7. The Armenian Bird Mosaic, Jerusalem; a pavement mosaic from the sixth century.
These images had symbolic significance in the language of early Christian art. The vine scrolls symbolized the
blood of Christ. The image of the bird in the cage represented the soul imprisoned within the body. The basket of
fruit was a sign for the flesh of Christ, while the birds were common images of the believers' souls.
So, Dionysus is the blood of Christ.
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 128, figure 131, Sabratha, Basilica
of Justinian (Christian art):
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 166, illustration 161, Justinian and after [grape vines]:
7th century (600s):

Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 65, illustrations 48 & 49, Early Christian Art: The
Eastern Provinces of the Empire and the Foundation of Constantinople [vine borders]:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 172, illustration 167, Justinian and after:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 209, Venice, St. Marks. Architrave and capitals from r.
side-entrance on the W. facade [vine leaves]:
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/melange.html, From Apollo to Jesus Christ!:
6th/7th century Coptic Christ, Egypt

note the grapes of Dionysus!
8th century (700s):

http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/Tour/Sculpture/Bewcastle.html, The Bewcastle Cross (late 7th or early 8th century):
The Bewcastle Cross (located in Cumbria, England) is carved from a single piece of stone. Its head is now
missing; still it is a monumental piece of sculpture, standing fifteen feet high. Here one can see the west and
south faces. At the top of the west face (here barely visible) is John the Baptist with the agnus Dei. Below that is
Christ standing on two beasts (compare a similar panel of the Ruthwell Cross), and a panel containing a
runic inscription, now only partly legible. At the bottom stands a man with a falcon: perhaps he is actually John
the evangelist, whose symbol is an eagle. On the south face are classic vine-scroll and interlace patterns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthwell_Cross, Ruthwell Cross:

The Ruthwell Cross is an important Anglo-Saxon cross, also known as a preaching cross, dating back to the eighth century,
when Ruthwell was part of the kingdom of Northumbria.
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 489, figure 14-12, Early Medieval Art in Europe |
Christian Spain (late seventh century or early eighth century):
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, pp. 184-185, Syria and the east:
P. 185, figure 199, Deir el-Adas, Church of St Georgo (Syria):
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL003710, Detail of Plant Motif Border from Archway Relief with Six Female Saints in
Il Tempietto Longobardo, Date Created: ca.760, Christian art, Vine, Wine grapes (photo rotated correctly):
http://www.arengario.net/momenti/momenti27.html, Longobardi a Cividale:
http://www.cividaleonline.com/tour/schede/tempietto.htm, Cividale del Friuli: Tempietto Longobardo (VIII sec.):
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 86, chapter 4:
P. 87, chapter 4, illustration 9:
9th century (800s):

The Medieval World, Kidson, 1967, p. 38, figure 16, Vine scroll 9th century, St Mary, Breedon on the
Hill, Leicestershire:
10th century (900s):

Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 193, illustration 106, Art after Iconoclasm | Orthodoxy
and Innovation | Byzantine Art c.860-c.960 | The Theotokos and Child with Justinian and
Constantine, early 10th century. Vestibule mosaic. St Sophia, Istanbul:
The Origins of the Romanesque: Near Eastern Influences on European Art, 4th-12th Centuries, Atroshenko / Collins,
1986, p. 145, figure 92, Church of the Holy Cross at Aghtamar (914-21):
Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 215, illustration 122, Art after Iconoclasm | Orthodoxy
and Innovation | Byzantine Art c.860-c.960 | Bishop saints and the Cross, Harbaville Triptych, back
with exterior of wings, 10th century:
Period but unknown date:

Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 95, Britain (Frampton, Dorsetshire):
Is this it?:
http://www.georgeglazer.com/prints/antiquity/lysons/lysonsv.html
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # MI001542, Roman Floor Mosaic With Grape Vines in a Church at Naples:
Illustration 154, Church at Kabr-Hiram, Lebanon:
http://www.unf.edu/classes/freshmancore/coreabroad/pictures/ByzantineMuseum/byzmusathensP-1010275.jpg (via http://

www.unf.edu/classes/freshmancore/coreabroad/pictures/ByzantineMuseum/?C=N;O=A), Index of /classes/
freshmancore/coreabroad/pictures/ByzantineMuseum, byzmusathensP-1010275.jpg:


Santa Maria Maggiore in Bergamo, Angelini, 1968, p. 162 (grapevines / Eros) (Christian art):
Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary, Warner, 1976, p. 276:
http://www.finearts.uvic.ca/historyinart/courses/ha321/extras.htm, The Rise of Western Christendom (Oxford

1997), Glossary for R.M. Jensen, Understanding Early Christian Art:
exegesis (Greek): meaning interpretation; in the context of Christianity, it is used to mean the interpretation
and elucidation of biblical text, especially when an obscure passage is concerned. A whole class of theological
writing from Late Antiquity onwards has been dedicated to exegesis.
homily (Greek homilia): a type of sermon which comments on scriptural texts. Hundreds of homilies of the
early Church Fathers survive in written form.
Helios (Greek): the sun and, by extension, the Sun-God, associated mainly with Apollo and Mithras in the
Hellenistic and Roman religious traditions.
Bacchic: related to Bacchus, ie. the god Dionysus. Apart from his association with wine, Dionysus was also the
patron god of theatre. Bacchic masks are grotesque masks worn by theatre actors.
Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Classical World, Yonah / Shatzman, Jerusalem Publish House, 1975, p. 93:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS BASILICA OF AQUILEIA, ITALY
BASILICA OF AQUILEIA, ITALY

C. 313 AD
http://www.cryingvoice.com/Christianity/HunAttila.html (Crying Voice in the Wilderness Christianity); God
Terrifies Attila the Hun, AD 452; Early Christian Churches in Aquileia, Northeastern Italy,
Built Before the Town Was Destroyed by Attila in AD 452:
Mosaic floor from the apse of an early Christian church reconstructed in the Early Christian Museum.
http://www.aquileia.it/mosaics/ (The Official Web Site of Aquileia), Mosaics of Aquileia:
http://www.wineloverspage.com/wines/friuli2001.shtml, Wine Tasting Report:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Aquileia.htm (1 of 3) [24/09/2012 12:16:19 AM]
Ancient mosaic in the Roman cathedral at Aquileia depicts a pilgrim bearing gifts of grapes.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL005907, Detail Showing a Young Woman with Grapes from an
Early Christian Floor Mosaic with Christian and Pagan Themes, Christian art:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL005960, Detail of Descent from the Cross and Entombment in the
Passion of Christ Fresco Cycle from the Crypt of the Basilica of Aquileia, Christain art, Jesus
Christ:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS MILDENHALL DISH
MILDENHALL DISH
Dionysian pagan art kept safe with Christian art, c. 350 AD
Thats like having a Playboy bunny dish in with your Christian collection today
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/lent_talks/scripts/mcgregor.html, The Human Face of God:
The great silver dish found at Mildenhall in Suffolk shows Bacchus the Roman god of wine drunkenly cavorting
with pliant nymphs in an elegant but very alcoholic dance while the spoons found in the same hoard carry
Christian symbols.
http://www.tarmac.co.uk/quarryville/pop/mildenhallDish.html, Mildenhall Dish:
The Oxford History of Classical Art, Boardman, 1993, pp. 320-321, Luxury Goods | Silverware | (illustration) 320:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Mildenhall_Dish.htm (1 of 6) [24/09/2012 12:16:20 AM]
P. 321, illustration 320, Great Dish from Mildenhall Treasure:
Notice Satyr with erection (rotated and cropped):
http://www.britannia.com/tours/bmrbgal/mildenhall.html, The Mildenhall Treasure, Mildenhall, Suffolk:

The most incredible find ever discovered, from the time of Imperial Rome's administration of Britain, can only be the Great Dish
of the Mildenhall Treasure. This mid-fourth century silver-platter measures almost 2ft in diameter and weighs some 18lbs. It
is one of the finest examples of the Roman whitesmith's craft surviving anywhere in the World. The decoration shows a
central head of the sea-god, Oceanus, surrounded by nereids and fantastic sea creatures. The large outer band features
Bacchic revellers. It was discovered in the 1940s, along with over thirty other items tableware, mostly with similarly
elaborate decoration. There are smaller silver platters featured pan and maenads, a covered bowl a frieze of centaurs and
wild animals, and numerous other bowls, ladles and spoons. They appear to be of Continental or North African origin. Most of
the treasure is overtly pagan in nature and the Bacchic items probably had specific religious significance; though there are
a number of christianized items including christening spoons bearing the chi-rho monogram.
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, pp. 284-285, The Late Empire: Roman Traditionalism in
Art After Constantine:
P. 285, figure 6-90:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS DIPTYCH: NICOMACHI AND SYMMACHI
DIPTYCH: NICOMACHI AND SYMMACHI

392-401 AD
http://slides-www.ucsc.edu/subjects/dbms.acgi$detail?54492, Slide Detail:
Main Entry
Title
Title Part
Date
Early Christian
Nicomachi and Symmachi Diptych. Right panel
Priestess of Bacchus before altar of Jupiter
392 or 401
http://166.109.159.22/dedrickd/themes/echr8.htm, Early Christian Art, Luxury Arts:
Priestess celebrating the rites of Bacchus, c.380-400. Right leaf of the

Diptych of the Nicomachi and the Symmachi:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~tart/fall2003arth280website/earlychristian.html, The History of Art Survey:

Lecture 16: Early Christian Art:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/Jo...llegro/Dionysus_Diptych--Nicomachi_and_Symmachi.htm (1 of 10) [24/09/2012 12:16:21 AM]
22 Priestess celebrating the rites of Bacchus, right leaf of

Diptych of the Nicomachi and the Symmachi, c400, 1
Even after Theodosius closed all non-Christian temples and banned all non-Christian cults in 391,
imagery from those traditions continued, as Christian had before it was made legal. Here is half
of a diptych celebrating the marriage of two wealthy, senatorial families. This is a low relief
depiction of a traditional Roman sacrifice, by a priestess at an altar of Bacchus, before a sacred
oak of Jupiter.
Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, p. 190, illustration 127, Ivory leaf from a
diptych issued in the names of the Symmachi and Nicomachi families, Rome, last or
penultimate decade of the fourth century AD:
P. 191:
The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), p. 302, Cultural Change Reflected in
Art:
Illustration 83, Decorative Arts in the Late Empire:
http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rlokay/British/page10.html, Priestess of Bacchus:
C. 390-401 A famous ivory diptych documents the realtionship of particians

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus and Virius Nicomachus Flavianus and their
anti-Christian ways. It is a revival piece of classic culture. It commemorates
the marriage of the two families. This one is inscibed, "Symmachorum" with
a elaborately dressed priest makes an offer to an elaborate altar. Extremely
skilled Roman ivory carvers were commissioned by Pagans and Christians

both. The folds and wrinkles with the foliage is reminiscent of earlier works.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05022a.htm (Catholic Encyclopedia), Diptych:
In the fourth and fifth centuries a distinction arose between profane and ecclesiastical (liturgical)
diptychs, the former being frequently given as presents by high-placed persons. The most
beautiful of the profane diptychs was carved at the time of a marriage between the Symmachi and
the Nicomachi (392 to 394, or 401).
http://dannybornt.tripod.com/art_history/late_antique.html, Early Christian Art, Early Christian A.
D. 29 527:
Priestess celebrating the rites of Bacchus, right leaf of the Diptych of the Nicomachi & the Symmachi, Ivory, 11 3/4 x 5 1/2
ca. 400
http://www.web.virginia.edu/artemis/artgus/showstudents.cfm?lectureid=396 (University of Virginia),

Constantinople & the Eastern Empire:
IVORY:4 C:EARLY CHRISTIAN. Diptych/Nicomachi & Symmachi, R. side: Priestess/

Bacchus. Ca. 390-400.
http://faculty.hope.edu/educ/specialty/fineartsgroup/syll/art109.pdf (Hope College), Art from
Prehistory to Post-Medieval: a Critical History, Early Christian and Constantinian Art:
Priestess celebrating the Rites of Bacchus, leaf of the Nicomachi and Symmachi Diptych, c. 400
http://uwacadweb.uwyo.edu/ArtSurvey/artsurvey/lecnotes/lnpo30.htm, EARLY CHRISTIAN: When the
Emperor becomes Christian, Christ becomes a king:
Diptych of the Symmachi and Nicomachi, Priestess of Bacchus,c. 380 - 400
Both panels:
Early Christian Art: AD 200-395: From the Rise of Christianity to the Death of Theodosius, Andr
Grabar, 1968, p. 150, 3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Pagan Monuments:
P. 153, 3. The Art of the Fourth Century | Pagan Monuments | 157. Rome. Diptych of
the Nicomachi and Symmachi:
http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/arth212/pagan_christian.html, Pagan and Christian at the

End of the Fourth Century:
The left panel now in the Muse de Cluny in Paris show a priestess dedicated to the cults of
Ceres and Cybele, while the right panel now in the Victoria Albert Museum in London shows
a priestess making an offering dedicated to Bacchus and Jupiter. It is likely that the diptych
was made to celebrate the marriage of members of these two prominent Roman Senatorial
families.
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 90, Paris, Cluny Museum. Ivory diptych of the
Nicomachi and Symmachi, end of IVth century. Left panel: Ceres-priestess before the
altar of Cybele:
Plate 91, London, Victoria and Albert Museum. Ivory diptych of the Nicomachi and
Symmachi, end of IVth century. Right panel: Bacchus-priestess with handmaid before
altar:
Epiphanius: Panarion 26.4-5 tells that married Christians were involved in ritual Christian orgies.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS SANTA SABINA DOORS
SANTA SABINA DOORS

C. 432 AD
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 103, Rome, Santa Sabina. Wooden doors of W. portal.
C. 430 [vines on borders]:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Santa_Sabina_doors.htm (1 of 6) [24/09/2012 12:16:22 AM]
Plate 104, Rome, Santa Sabina. Details from wooden doors of W. portal. c. 430. Two reliefs. Left:
Crossing of the Red Sea; Bronze Serpent. Right: Ascension of Elijah [vines top & bottom]:
Plate 105, Rome, Santa Sabina. Details from wooden doors of W. portal. c. 430. Relief: Zacharias is
struck dumb before the Temple [vines on sides]:
http://roma.katolsk.no/sabina_images.htm, Santa Sabina - Images:
Door, 420 - 450, cypress wood.

The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), illustration 44, Pagan into Christian Art:
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 48, illustration 34, Early Christian Art: Rome and the
Legacy of the Caesars:

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS RAVENNA, ITALY
RAVENNA, ITALY
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, c. 425-450 AD:
Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph, Elsner, 1998, p. 229, illustration 154, Christian triumph: a new religion
as state cult | The mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, c. AD 450 [grape vines]:
http://libsrv.skidmore.edu/REDSKID/full/26620.jpg (via http://libsrv.skidmore.edu/REDSKID/VFPCGI.EXE?IDCFile=/

REDSKID/PAGE.IDC,DATABASE=100ar3,CURRENT=1,RECORDMAX=50), Ravenna | c. 425-50 | Mausoleum
of Galla Placidia. Interior. E. bays with sarcophagus niches, lunette mosaic of Martyrdom of
S. Lawrence:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Ravenna.htm (1 of 26) [24/09/2012 12:16:24 AM]
http://libsrv.skidmore.edu/REDSKID/full/5140.jpg:
Art History, Stokstad, Revised Edition, 1999, Vol. 1, p. 303, figure 7-19, Central-Plan Churches:
Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, pp. 108-109, illustration 62, Art before Iconoclasm | Heretics
and Bankers | Ravenna and the West | Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, c.430-50. Interior
looking south:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 145, Ravenna, Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (d. 450). Interior
seen from entrance:
Orthodox Baptistery, c. 458 AD:

Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 113, illustration 64, Art before Iconoclasm | Heretics
and Bankers | Ravenna and the West | Cathedral (or Orthodox) Baptistery. Ravenna, c.458 [grape
vines / scrolls]:
The Decline of Rome, Vogt, 1967 (translated from German), illustration 23, The Basilica:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 140, Ravenna, Orthodox Baptistery. Consecrated c. 458.
Interior seen from the entrance [vines]:
The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 96, From Constantine to Justinian:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 141, Ravenna, Orthodox Baptistery. Dome, Baptism of Christ
in the centre, surrounded by the Apostles:
San Vitale, c. 525-547 AD:

The Origins of Christian Art, Gough, 1973, p. 155, Justinian and after [grape vines / scrolls]:
Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ in Art, MacGregor, 2000, pp. 26-27, plate 4, San Vitale, Ravenna:
Enlargement:
P. 70, Signs and Deeds:
P. 71, plate 21:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 161, Ravenna, San Vitale. Vault of presbyterium and middle
of wall arch:
Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 130, illustration 78, Art before Iconoclasm | Heretics
and Bankers | Ravenna and the West | S. Vitale, Ravenna North presbytery wall mosaics:
Ivory throne of Archbishop Maximianus / Maximian, c. 550 AD:

Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Lowden, 1997, p. 117, illustrations 67-68, Art before Iconoclasm | Heretics
and Bankers | Ravenna and the West | Throne of Maximian, c.550 [grapevines galore]:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 226, Ravenna, Archiepiscopal Museum. Ivory throne
of Archbishop Maximianus (545-553):
Plate 232, Ravenna, Archiepiscopal Museum. Detail from ivory throne of Archbishop Maximianus.
Behind the throne, Baptism of Christ [grape vines]:
Behind the throne, Miracle of loaves and fishes [grape vines]:
Upper half of left side, Joseph receives his Brethren and the Measuring of the Corn [grape vines]:
Plate 235, Ravenna, Archiepiscopal Museum. Detail from ivory throne of Archbishop
Maximianus [grape vines]:
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, pp. 116-117, illustration 94, The Age of Justinian:
Miscellaneous:
Art and Architecture in Europe, Matjek, 1960, p. 139, illustration 228, The Arts of Christian Antiquity |
Choir screen in the Church of S. Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. Beg. of 6th cent. (grape vines / scrolls):
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 181, Ravenna, SantApollinare Nuovo. Three slabs in
the presbyterium, middle of VIth century [grape vines / scrolls]:
Early Christian and Byzantine Art, Beckwith, 1979, p. 123, illustration 99, The Age of Justinian:
Early Christian Art, W. F. Volbach, 1961, plate 223, Ravenna, National Museum. Five-part panel of an
ivory diptych, VIth century. Middle: Christ among Saints and Apostles, among them the three youths
in the furnace [grape vines]:
Id say that the earlier Dionysus grapevine art continued into Christian themes.
Home (Index)
DIONYSUS JORDAN
JORDAN
Church of Saint Stephen, Umm Al Rasas, Jordan, c. 756 AD:
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 204, figure 217, Kastron Mefaa, Church of St. Stephen:
http://www.atlastours.net/jordan/umm_arrasas.html, Umm Arrasas, Jordan, Church of Saint Stephen (756 A.

D.?), Christian art:
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Jordan.htm (1 of 29) [24/09/2012 12:16:26 AM]
DIONYSUS JORDAN
The Old and New Testaments mention it, the Romans fortified it, and the local Christians were still embellishing it
with Byzantine-style mosaics well over 100 years after the beginning of Muslim Umayyad rule: Kastron
Mefaa, modern Umm Arrasas, indeed, has a long history to tell.
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/escurs/Giord/05GiordEn.html, Studium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem,
The nave of the Church of St. Stephen:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://www.archart.it/archart/asia/giordania/umm_el_rasas/img0118.htm (ArchArt: archaeology & art), Umm el Rasas

byzantine church, vedute19:
DIONYSUS JORDAN


DIONYSUS JORDAN

byzantine church, other03:

DIONYSUS JORDAN


DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAIrasas.html, Umm al-Rasas, Jordan, The presbytery of the Church of the Lions, at the
end of the sixth century, Christian art:
To date the mosaic floors of the church of Saint Stephen are the best dated evidence of the welfare of a
flourishing urban Christian community in the region, still well organized as part of the bishopric of Madaba in
the changed political context. The floor is composed of three different mosaics.
Church of Saint Sergius of Nitl, Jordan, c. 500s:

http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/fai/FAIexp98.html, The Church of St. Sergius of Nitl:
a name which can be read in an inscription written in one of the vine shoots scrolls. These vine shoots spring forth from four handled jars
placed in the corners of the eastern panel of the mosaic carpet
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/fai/FAIexp98a.html, The Church of St. Sergius of Nitl, General View:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Opening the tomb:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/sbf/Books/LA51/LA51267Piccirillo_tavCol.pdf, The Church of St. Sergius at Nitl - Jordan:
II-V. Nitl, The Church of St. Sergius. The Greek Inscriptions of the South Church.
http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/Books/LA51/LA51tav07Piccirillo.pdf:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Photo 22 Nitl. The Diakonikon of the South Church of St. Sergius seen from the North.
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/sbf/Books/LA51/LA51285Shahid_Nitl.pdf, The Sixth-Century Church Complex at Nitl,
Jordan. The Ghassanid Dimension, Fig. 2 Nitl. The nave of the South Church of St. Sergius (M. Forgia S. Deruvo):
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/Books/LA51/LA51267TavoleFuoriTesto.pdf:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://servus.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/sbf/Books/LA51/LA51267Piccirillo_Nitl.pdf, The Church of Saint Sergius at Nitl:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://www.banner-net.com/Society/Religion_and_Spirituality/Christianity/People/Saints/S/Saints_Sergius_and_Bacchus,
Saints Sergius and Bacchus:
Military Martyrs
Information on the cultus of the late Roman martyrs SS. Sergius and Bacchus. Includes a translation of
the Passion of SS. Sergius and Bacchus from the Acta Sanctorum. Also ikon, bibliography.
site exerpt
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Ss. Sergius and Bacchus Damaskenos to commemorate the victory of the European forces against the Turks,
in the naval battle of Naupactos in 1571. From the Byzantine Museum of Panaghia Antivouniotissa,
Kerkyra, Greece. Contents Origin of Cult Translation of: BHL 7599 Other Sources Select Bibliography
More Images Resafa in Syria Select Links Excavation of 6th-century Church of St. Sergius, Nitl, Jordan The...
http://www.ucc.ie/milmart/Sergius.html
Moses Memorial Church, Mount Nebo, Jordan, 597AD:

http://www.freezone.co.uk/stuartfarrell/jordan/jordann.htm (9-4-02), Around Amman, Day 4: Amman Karak Petra:
Leaving Amman for Petra, our first stop was at Mount Nebo, where Moses apparently saw the Promised Land
and later died there. Here the Moses Memorial Church has a large well preserved mosaic (pictured left) with scenes
of wine-making, hunting and animals now extinct in Jordan.
http://www.bg-bab.ac.at/jordan/english/enebo.htm, Mount Nebo:
The Moses-church was built by the early Christians.

http://www.jordanjubilee.com/history/mosaics.htm, The Mosaics of the Madaba Plateau of Jordan, Mount Nebo:
Mount Nebo usually means the Moses Memorial Church and the viewpoint from outside it (see
DIONYSUS JORDAN
"Photos of Jordan - Mount Nebo"). The church is a simple one nowadays, but in the sixth century it
was the church for a important monastery with all that this implies. In particular, the floor was
covered with mosaics of different periods. The mosaic shown above dates from 597AD when the
church was rebuilt and greatly enlarged. Again the left and right hand photos are details of the
central one. Today it is displayed on the wall.
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAImukh9a.html:
http://www.petramoon.com/madaba&nebo.html, Madaba and Mt. Nebo:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Wadi Siyagh, around Mt. Nebo, has a collection of several other early Byzantine church establishments
with interesting architecture and mosaic.
Church of Lot and Procopius, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat, Jordan, c. 550 AD:

Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 198, figure 210, Nebo, Church of SS. Lot
and Procopius, view of nave:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Figure 211, Nebo, Church of SS. Lot and Procopius, detail of vine scrolls:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://www.jordanjubilee.com/history/mosaics.htm, The Mosaics of the Madaba Plateau of Jordan, Khirbet

al-Mukhayyat:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
This village just off the road from Madaba to Mount Nebo is mostly neglected by tourists, but it
contains one of the most beautiful mosaics discovered in Jordan, almost perfectly preserved. A
shelter has been built to protect it in the ruins of the church of St Lot and St Procopius. It is pity that
no public transport goes to Khirbet al Mukhayyat.
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAImukh9d.html, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat The Church of Lot and Procopius
Pictures, Central nave:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AW011343, Mosaic of a Hunter and Lion, Christian art, Grapevine:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
A mosaic depicting a lion toying with an arrow fired by a huntsman surrounded by vines. Jordan.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # AW011347, Mosaic of a Grape Harvester, Christian art, Grapevine:
A mosaic of a man harvesting grapes. Jordan.
http://www.jordanjubilee.com/history/mosaics.htm, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat: The Church of the Holy Martyrs Lot and Procopius:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
The little apsed church (16.25 m x 8.65 m) on the acropolis, which was identified in 1913, was built at the time
of Bishop John of Madaba, in the middle of the VIth century A.D. Two sheep facing a tree decorate the
DIONYSUS JORDAN
elevated presbyterium, and traces of two birds are still visible at the side of the altar. In the nave, along the step, runs
a long dedicatory inscription: At the time of the most holy and most saintly Bishop John, Your holy place was
built and finished by its priest and paramonarius, Barichas, in the month of November of the time of the 6th
indiction [A.D. 557]. The eastern panel is decorated with hunting, pastoral, and wine-making scenes, all enclosed
in twenty volutes of vines arranged in six rows of four scrolls each. The four vines proceed from the four corners of
the field, each from a clump of acanthus leaves.
The Lower Chapel of Priest John, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat, Jordan:

http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAImukh9c.html, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Pictures, The Lower Chappel of the Priest
John, The sanctuary:
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAImukh9c.htm, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat Pictures, The Lower Chappel of the Priest

John, General view of the Nave:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Church of Saint George, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat, Jordan, 536 AD:

http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/fai/FAImukh1.html, Khirbat al-Mukhayyat - The Church of St. George:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
At the time of the most beloved by God was built and finished, during the consulate of the most illustrious Flavius, in the month of Dius of
the fourth indiction [A.D. 536]
Illustration 155, Church of St. George, Mt. Nebo, Jordan:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Other Jordan:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # SK002368, Jerash Church Floor Mosaic:
A tilework mosaic adorns the floor of a 6th Century church in Jerash, Jordan.
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # SK002371, Jerash Church Floor Mosaic,:

DIONYSUS JORDAN
A tilework mosaic adorns the floor of a 6th Century church in Jerash, Jordan.
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/fai/FAIexp96.html, KASTRON MEFA'A JORDAN: A "New" Church amongst its

ruins, The mosaic floor, 578 or 593 A.D.:
A detail: grapes From the tree foliage sprout vine shoots with leaves, bunches of grapes and tendrils.
http://198.62.75.1/www1/ofm/sbf/escurs/Giord/04aGiordEn.html (Stadium Biblicum Franciscanum, Jerusalem),

Biblical Excursions: Jordan, Madaba:
DIONYSUS JORDAN
Detail of a mosaic floor from Ma'in. The iconoclastic conflict (8th cent. A.D.) left traces in the obliteration of a biblical scene (still pointed
out in the Greek inscription: the lion shall eat straw like the ox, Is 65:25) and its later substitution by floral motifs.
Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Dunbabin, 1999, p. 200, figure 212, Madaba, Church of Apostles
Thalassa:
DIONYSUS JORDAN

Home (Index)
DIONYSUS LATER CHRISTIAN ART

11th century (1000s) to present
The vine and/or grapes theme has also carried over into later Christian art; I assume not so much in support
of Dionysus / Bacchus, but because of the great amount in earlier Christian art:

The Origins of the Romanesque: Near Eastern Influences on European Art, 4th-12th Centuries, Atroshenko / Collins,
1986, pp. 149-150, figure 96, Early Christian Syrian stone churches | Siah, Syria (grape vines) (probably
11th-12th century):
Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim, Kessler / Zacharias, 2000, p. 74, figure 68 (vine scroll):
file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_ART-LaterChristian.htm (1 of 23) [24/09/2012 12:16:27 AM]
P. 75:
P. 81, figure 75:
P. 82, figure 76:
http://research.yale.edu/divdl/images/cutts068.jpg (via http://research.yale.edu:8084/divdl/adhoc/objectdetail.jsp?

objectid=11118), The AdHoc Image and Text Database on the History of Christianity, Drawing of interior of
Church of St. Clement Rome 12th century (vine scrolls):
It is believed that the medieval Church of St. Clement, built in the 12th century, was built on top of a 4th
century Church, which was in turn built over a house church going back to the first century. Its plan gives an idea
of the interior of a primitive basilica.
Medieval Art, Stokstad, 1986, p. 287, chapter 9, illustration 29, Winchester Bible:

Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim, Kessler / Zacharias, 2000, p. 143, figure 140, Santa Maria
Maggiore, apse (vine scrolls) (1295 AD):
P. 144, figure 141, Santa Maria Maggiore, apse, detail (vine scrolls):

The Medieval World, Kidson, 1967, pp. 138-139, figure 92, The Death of the Virgin. Second quarter of the
14th century (grapevine):

The Life of Christ: Images from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), Burn, 1989, p. 13, The Annunciation
to the Shepherds, The Limbourg Brothers (vines):
P. 94, List of Illustrations | (page)13:

http://www.apt.bergamo.it/lottouk/lottouk7.htm (8-22-02), Lorenzo Lotto: Stories from the Life of St. Barbara, Wall
Fresco Trescore Balneario, Suardi Oratorio:
The remarkable fresco which occupies the entire left-hand wall of the little oratory, once the chapel
of Villa Suardi, has at its centre the large image of Christ inspired by the evangelical verse I am
the vine and you the shoots. From his fingers emerge long tendrils with figures of saints
which eventually run along between dancing putti up on to the ceiling completed by 1524
http://www.abcgallery.com/L/lotto/lotto8.html, Olga's Gallery, Lorenzo Lotto. The Legend of St. Barbara:
Seeing Salvation: Images of Christ In Art, MacGregor, 2000, Till Kingdom Come, p. 199:
Well, the heretics who want to cut down the vine which represents Dionysus/Bacchus, is the Catholic Church.
Just a reminder:
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg16/gg16-45821.0.html (National Gallery of Art); The Collection; The

Infant Bacchus, probably 1505/1510:
Bacchus is typically portrayed as a young man wreathed with vines, his body slouched with the intoxicating effect
of drink. This young child, who wears an ivy wreath and holds a wine pitcher, must also represent the god of wine.
http://www.medolagoalbani.it/gb/special.jhtml, Wine Company Medolago Albani, Special:
Just a bit down the road from us in Trescore you have the opportunity to admire S.Barberas chapel, painted
in fresco by Lorenzo Lotto. In this chapel , built in 1300 there are many delightful works such as Il Cristo
delle vigne(The Christ of the vines): the hands of the Redeemer are extended to form vine shoots
framing around illustrations of Saints.The ceiling of the chapel is decorated with vine shoots among which
grape harvesting angels-lovers play.
Incidentally:
http://www.abcgallery.com/L/lotto/lotto26.html (Olgas Gallery), Lorenzo Lotto. Venus and Cupid:
Lorenzo was familiar with Cupid / Eros.

http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # MI001679, Baroque Wall and Column Ornamentation in Certosa di San Lorenzo at
Padula (Italy), Christian art, Putti, Grapevines (Baroque = 1600 to 1750; church = 1306):

http://myweb.lmu.edu/fjust/Koch-ChristianSymbols.htm, Christian Symbols drawn by Rudolf Koch (1876-1934):
21st century (2000s):
(I havent done in-depth research on any of these dates: all are just what I happened to run across.)
Probably period but unknown date:

http://www.bright.net/~gray0013/symbols/cross.html (11-1-02), Cross Symbols:
Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim, Kessler / Zacharias, 2000, p. 206, figure 211, Saint Peters,
confession, lunette (grape vines):
Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim, Kessler / Zacharias, 2000, p. 180, figure 181, Saint Pauls Outside the
Walls, candlestick (grape vines / scrolls):

(Furman University), Roman Archaeology: Roman Art, Ornamentation:
Vatican and column of the Holy Sacrament with detail (grape vines):
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/spain/valladolid/churches/angustias/P1010252.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/spain/medina_del_campo/churches/san_miguel/P1010949.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/new/portugal/lisbon/churches/s_roque/interior/IMGP0533.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/new/portugal/lisbon/churches/jeronimos/church/exterior/south_door/IMGP0496.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/new/portugal/coimbra/churches/new_cathedral/IMGP2407.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raider4/europe.0602/germany/mainz/churches/s_ignaz/exterior/IMGP4170.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/france/tournus/churches/s_philibert/refectory/P1016057.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/france/tournus/churches/s_philibert/interior/P1016151.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/france/tournus/churches/s_philibert/interior/P1016150.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/france/moissac/church/interior/sarcophagus/P1010466.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/france/moissac/church/interior/sarcophagus/P1010465.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/england/london/churches/city/st_mary_abchurch/reredos/P1014943.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/england/london/churches/city/st_mary_abchurch/baptistery/P1014940.JPG:
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/raid1cdroms/england/abingdon/churches/s_helen/interior/P1015377.JPG
(I didnt have the time to check rubens.anu.edus Italian listing.)

http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # DE003802, Medieval Vase from Torcello Cathedral, Christian art, Vine:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL006298, Detail of an Evangelist from a Renaissance European Gold and
Silverwork Reliquary with the Four Evangelists, Christian art:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL006297, Detail Showing an Evangelist from a Renaissance European Gold
and Silverwork Reliquary with the Four Evangelists, Christian art:
http://pro.corbis.com/, Search # EL006914, Detail of a Putti Figure from a Gold and Silverwork Renaissance
Reliquary, Christian art (Eros holding grapes):
There are much more of these kinds of images, but Ive already gathered too much supportive art. In fact, I feel
I may lose readers simply because its already too long. Then, that can be the new excuse.
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John Allegro Dionysus

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John Allegro Dionysus

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THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=10716 (The New York Review of Books),

Jesus as a symbol of the mushroom

http://www.johnallegro.org/Allegro-SundayMirror.htm, The Sacred Mushroom And The Cross, Beginning

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

the heavenly phallus (representation of the penis).

JESUS AS A SYMBOL OF THE MUSHROOM

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Orgy_DeadSeaScrolls-Essenes.htm (3 of 5) [24/09/2012 12:15:23 AM]

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

http://www.mystae.com/restricted/reflections/messiah/beliefs.html, Early Christian Beliefs, Love Feasts:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Orgy_DeadSeaScrolls-Essenes.htm (4 of 5) [24/09/2012 12:15:23 AM]

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS JOHN ALLEGRO

http://deoxy.org/annex/pbfluids.htm, Psychedelic bodily fluids?:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Orgy_DeadSeaScrolls-Essenes.htm (5 of 5) [24/09/2012 12:15:23 AM]

DIONYSUS / BACCHUS (overview)

Encyclopedia of Values and Ethics, Hester, 1996, p. 816, orgy:

Encarta World English Dictionary, 1999, p. 507, dionysian:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/DIONYSUS%20_%20BACCHUS%20(overview).htm (1 of 4) [24/09/2012 12:15:24 AM]

DIONYSUS / BACCHUS (overview)

http://80-www.xreferplus.com.ezproxy.jocolibrary.org/entry/773212 (subscription required), Dionysus or Bacchus OR

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/DIONYSUS%20_%20BACCHUS%20(overview).htm (2 of 4) [24/09/2012 12:15:24 AM]

DIONYSUS / BACCHUS (overview)

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DIONYSUS / BACCHUS (overview)

CONTINUE TO NEXT PHASE

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DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

Websters New International Dictionary of the English Language, 1933, p. 166:

The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature, 1959, p. 68:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_186-BC_persecution.htm (1 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:25 AM]

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

http://www.theologian.org.uk/churchhistory/persecution.html (The Theologian: The Internet Journal for

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_186-BC_persecution.htm (2 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:25 AM]

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

The New Century Cyclopedia of Names, Barnhart, 1954, Vol. 1, p. 293:

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DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

Lemprieres Classical Dictionary, 1898, p. 207, Dionysia:

The Encyclopedia Americana: International Edition, 1989, Vol. 3, p. 13:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_186-BC_persecution.htm (4 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:25 AM]

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1949, p. 129:

Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, Adkins, 1994, p. 258:

Book 39. The discovery and suppression of the Bacchanalian orgies

(This is referring to another persecution.)

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

and promiscuity [syn: orgy, debauch,

debauchery, saturnalia, riot, bacchanalia, drunken revelry]

Largest Orgy (this site is like a Guinness Book of World Records)

DIONYSUS 186 B.C. PERSECUTION

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_186-BC_persecution.htm (7 of 7) [24/09/2012 12:15:25 AM]

DIONYSUS THE BACCHANTES (or, THE BACCHAE) by EURIPIDES

DIONYSUS THE BACCHANTES (or, THE BACCHAE) by EURIPIDES

The actual play:

file:///C|/Users/lvega/Downloads/Maxwell%20Files/John%20M%20Allegro/Dionysus_Euripides.htm (1 of 10) [24/09/2012 12:15:26 AM]

DIONYSUS THE BACCHANTES (or, THE BACCHAE) by EURIPIDES

http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/euripides/euripides.htm, Euripides: The Bacchae, 404 BC [the actual play]:

Aphrodite: goddess of erotic love and sexuality.)

EIGHTH VOICE: O you dark chambers of the Curetes,

Once I've clamped them all in iron fetters,