The life-size mysterious Dionysus cult mural discovered by Pompeii –

A large mural was found in a villa in the Pompeii IX community with a scene of a secret initiation ceremony decorated with Dionysian worship. A mural is a superimage, a Greek term that means “big painting” to describe paintings of big figures covering a large space. The numbers are almost life-sized and cover three walls of the banquet hall. The mural is painted in the second Pompeii style, dated from 40 to 30 BC

The mural depicts the ritual procession of wine and the ecstasy of Dionysus, the god of ecstasy, against a vivid red background. Bacchantes is a young female devotee of God, shown as a dancer and a hunter, carrying a slaughtered goat on their shoulders and a sword, holding the internal organs of the sacrificed animal. In the parade, play the double flute and pour wine on your shoulders. In the center of the parade, there is a woman dressed in elegantly, with hilenus (the oldest, oldest man in Dionysus) holding a torch. She was initiated into the mystery of the Dionysus cult. Abnormally, even if they are captured in dynamic motion, all numbers are displayed on the pedestal.

The only other supermap of this type, period and scale is one of the Mysterious Houses, the villa outside the gates of Pompeii. However, its description of the mystery of Dionysus does not contain any images of hunting. The newly discovered murals not only feature Bacchante Huchtresses, but also have smaller border trim above them, including a variety of living and dead animals. The border mural depicts deer, wild boar, birds, fish and shellfish.

Domus was named Thiasos’ house after the ecstasy reveller was reclaimed. It will be open to the public with limited numbers as part of the access to the Regio IX discovery and stability program.

“For a period of 100 years, today will be remembered as historic because the discoveries we have made are historic,” said Alessandro Giuli, Italian Minister of Culture who participated in the fresco.

“Next to the mysterious villa, this mural forms an unparalleled proof of the little-known aspects of ancient Mediterranean life.”