Ariadne (they/them)

Ariadne (they/them)

@ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social

Amateur; for the love of the subject. Classics, history, and archaeology nerd. Ancient, Neoclassical, and Sandalgoth fashionistx/aspiring experimental archaeologist Maenad🍇🐂🍷🤪🎉 (You might also see some star trek & synthpop stuff from time to time)

664 followers4.1K following480 posts

#ancientbluesky does anyone know if there's any evidence suggesting that the grapes on Dionysiac pottery were additionally decorated with materials that haven't survived? sometimes they look so plain/empty compared to the rest of the image and vs other images of grapes from the same era!

#ancientbluesky does anyone know if there's any evidence suggesting that the grapes on Dionysiac pottery were additionally decorated with materials that haven't survived? sometimes they look so plain/empty compared to the rest of the image and vs other images of grapes from the same era!

#ancientbluesky does anyone know if there's any evidence suggesting that the grapes on Dionysiac pottery were additionally decorated with materials that haven't survived? sometimes they look so plain/empty compared to the rest of the image and vs other images of grapes from the same era!

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

The exquisite 'Cup of the Ptolemies', an utterly stunning kantharos carved from a single piece of sardonyx, decorated with Bacchic imagery. C. 50 BCE - 50CE The kantharos seems to be an attribute of Bacchus/Dionysus, the god of wine, who was associated with vegetation and fertility.

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

The fascinating world of ancient #glass comes to life in this striking #Roman pitcher. Its handle ends in an appliqué featuring the head of a Bacchant, a devoted follower of Bacchus, the god of wine, making it a fitting and evocative decoration for a vessel designed to pour wine. 🧵1/2

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

While tigers are not native to most of Europe, at best coming to the Black Sea's eastern edges, tigers have been part of European art since Antiquity: Dionysus is sometimes depicted in Hellenistic art as riding a tiger or a chariot driven by tigers. #FairytaleTuesday

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

In the #DomusAurea of #Nero, low-relief stucco links military power and divine indulgence. An armed figure stands in a niche while #Dionysiac dancers leap along a delicate pediment above. Here is a theatrical vision of empire: you need strength to bolster otium. #ReliefWednesday #AncientBluesky 🏺

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

This is an Etruscan sarcophagus lid showing a touching, naturalistic representation of a middle aged husband & wife. They lie in bed, toes poking out, holding each other tenderly. It’s a lovely piece but tinged with sadness as it’s a coffin lid & their days of embracing in bed are over 🏛️📷 Boston MFA

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Engraved Ring with Dancing Maenad 400–350 B.C. Unknown artist/maker Engraved gold rings were often used as seals, but were also decorative items of jewellery. The leaf-shaped bezel was also the most common form for rings in the late Classical period. #History #HistoryMatters

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We view sarcophagi under museum lights, forgetting their true context. This #Antonine masterpiece from the via Aurelia Antica was made for a public funeral, then hidden in a dark tomb, seen only by lamplight during family festivals like the Parentalia. #SarcophagusSaturday #AncientBluesky 🏺 #Rome

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Replying to @chapps.bsky.social

These types of floating figures - bodies so expressive, with dramatically billowing drapery - are a hallmark of the art from the former Greek colonies. Greek was still spoken in Pompeii during Roman rule (Oscan, too), alongside Latin. 🏺 3/ House of the Vettii, Pompeii. 📸 me

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✨Dionysos and friends✨ This #MosaicMonday we celebrate the divine Dionysos who here appears with Nike, replete with wings and chariot of big cats (likely panthers given his form!), and a figure identified as a bacchant (maenad).

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

This closeup of a Greek gold diadem reveals its richly worked repoussé decoration. In the center are the figures of Ariadne and Dionysos seated on a blooming and scrolling acanthus, each holding a thyrsus. Said to have come from a tomb at Madytos, in Thrace. #MetMuseum 🏺 ca. 330-300 BCE. 📸 me

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Marble relief sculpture (50-40 BC). A maenad and a satyr #dance for Dionysus. & #ReliefWednesday🎉 Work of Hellenistic workshops. It belonged to the collection of Cardinal Camillo Massimo. 📸 source National Prado Museum #AncientBlueSky

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SEMELE!!! Dionysus' mom. First pic is before she died, Second is her corpse after the whole Zeus' lighting thing and third is her after her ressurection and elevation to godhood.

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

✨A Meditative Dionysus✨ This #MosaicMonday we feel the contemplative mood of Dionysus, represented in this C4th CE portrait from Daphne (Antioch), Antakya (modern Türkiye). With hints of a leopard skin and and abundant wreath, we wonder if the party is about to start or is truly over!

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#AllMetalMonday 🏺 Larger than life-size #Roman bronze bust of Dionysus, C1 BC from House of Golden Bracelet, Pompeii. Delicate crown of flowers in his hair no doubt indicative of dissolute life - or visit to San Francisco? In Pompeii Antiquarium.

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

A pebble #Mosaic floor depicting Papposilenus holding a rhyton (drinking vessel). Papposilenus was tutor to and a (drinking) companion of Dionysus. Hellenistic period. 📸 Us, Archaeological Museum of Corfu #skystorians #ancientbluesky #AncientGreece #archaeology #classicsbluesky #MosaicMonday

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Found in a shipwreck off the French coast near Cannes, this Bronze Silenus head decorated a large drinking bowl. Silenus is crowned with ivy & grapes - befitting a friend of Dionysus 🍇 📸 Us #Roman Museum in Nice 1st C. BCE. #Archaeology #Skystorians #AncientBluesky #Classicsbluesky #AncientRome

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

#MosaicMonday with the Festoon mosaic from the House of the Faun in Pompeii. The festoon is decorated with masks, leaves and fruit Now in the MANN. Those masks summing up Mondays rather well. #AncientBlueSky🏺

Ariadne (they/them) reposted

Clothing was usually homemade, and the same piece of homespun fabric could serve as a garment, shroud, or blanket. Depiction of an ancient Greek loom. #amreading #amwriting #books #greekmyths #mythology #bookshelves #booksky #AncientBluesky #GreekMyths #Books #GreekTales #ThessalonikiMuseum