worship of Dionysus (maenad)

Maenads - clothing

fawn skins.

ivy

holding thyrsus

loose hair

bare feet

not fully covered - their arms are out.

Dionysus statue

pillar idol of Dionysus worshiping him - decorative and has vines and ivy around the bottom.

the use of objects

tambourine - arrived in Athens during the 5th century with the cult of Bendis.

used in dionysus worship - to make music.

ALSO -

ladle and a styphos - ladlying the wine into the styphos in prep for a libation to DIonysus

useful - worship

shows use the typical worship of Dionysus - no men were present it is a female only cult.

how music was involved.

what they thought Dionysus looked like.

how wine was used and served - what the vases looked like.

what the Maenads wore and looked like.

limitations - play

it is not a play or scene - as there are far too many actors on stage.

limiation - mystery cult

it is a mystery cult so the artist may not know what actually happens or what they looked like.

artist would have most likely been male or female.

where is it taking place?

only shows one form of bacchic worship - no others like sacrifice.

artistic representation

their main aim was just to decorate a pot it wasn’t to be factually accurate.