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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

#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!

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

anyone know a Greek pottery expert who's super indulgent of non-professional nerds? I have a hypothesis/might have noticed something and I wanna talk to someone in the know about it 😂

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Svetovid @svetovid.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

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.

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Archaeology News Online Magazine @archaeologynews.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

2,000-year-old Bacchante statue found at Tusculum could be one of Cicero’s lost sculptures A marble statue found at the ancient Roman city of Tusculum could solve a mystery that has lasted for more than 2,000 years. Researchers believe the sculpture... More info: archaeologymag.com/2026/07/bacc...

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Alain Truong ♎🏳️‍🌈🏴‍☠️ @alaintruong.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Tête du Jeune Bacchus, Rome, Ier siècle après J.-C. Photo © Getty Museum.

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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

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

The picture shows a yellow pitcher. The handle is decorated with a blue glass thread that terminates in an appliqué with a woman's head.

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Nicolas Robert @robertsnickc.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

‘Portrait of the Hon. George Lamb, as The Infant Bacchus.’ #Painting (detail) by Maria Cosway [18th century] #art

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Hot Men in Art @hot-men-in-art.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Lambert Sigisbert Adam the Elder. Bacchus.

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M. @severalcloudydays.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Angelica Kauffmann, "Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus" (oil paint on canvas), 1774 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (USA)

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Olivier de Saint-Aubin du Pressoir @chrisoligh.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Mosaic Fragment with a Dionysiac Procession. Date: A.D. late 2nd–early 3rd century Culture: Gerasa (Jordan) Period: Roman Mosaic: limestone and glass tesserae

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The Godyssey Podcast @godysseypodcast.com · 28/07/2026

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

A Roman era depiction of a chariot of Dionysus and an attendant driving a chariot of four tigers, using a branch with pinecones, his symbol, as a whip; behind him Hercules hangs out and others dance about him; a cheetah is also being fed.

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pmamtraveller.bsky.social @pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Dionysus Riding a Leopard, Delos, Greece, 180 AD

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Lindsay Powell FRHistS @lindsaypowell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The fresco shows the mythological romance of Dionysus and Ariadne. Photo: Pompeii - Parco Archeologico | Pompeii Archaeological Park.

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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

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 🏺

FAÇADE DECORATION WITH STUCCO RELIEF, 64–68 CE. DOMUS AUREA

Here we have a vertical slice of Fourth Style wall decoration from the porticoed façade of Nero’s Domus Aurea, combining painted panels with delicate stucco in low relief. In the central red niche of the lower register, an armed military figure in silhouette anchors the composition, symbolising the martial power that underpins the state. Above him, semi-draped seated figures occupy the middle zone in quiet contemplation, while four ecstatic Dionysiac dancers leap in stucco across the sloped pediment of the upper register. To the right, traces of a blue-green landscape peeking behind the frame open the wall into floating atmospheric space. The entire scheme articulates a Neronian ideal: military force giving rise to cultivated otium and joyful, divine celebration. On the left edge, the fragile plaster skin has sheared away to expose the raw brickwork beneath.

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Matthias Hoernes @matthiashoernes.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

The incredible Villanovan lake-dwelling settlement of Gran Carro has yielded parts of a vertical, warp-weighted loom, a new textile fragment, and a basket that was used for producing cheese or other milk products. #AncientBluesky 🏺 www.storicang.it/a/piu-antico...

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Lindsay Powell FRHistS @lindsaypowell.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Completed restoration of a ceiling fresco that once adorned a banquet hall in the House with Bakery in Pompeii’s Regio IX has been revealed. Decorative fragments of the ceiling depict the union of the god Dionysus and Ariadne. #FrescoFriday #AncientBluesky www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/s...

smithsonianmag.com

See a Rare Ceiling Fresco From Pompeii That Archaeologists Are Carefully Reassembling, Piece by Piece, Like an Ancient Puzzle

Located in the banquet hall of a home with an adjoining bakery, the fresco shows the mythological romance of Dionysus, the god of revelry and wine, and Ariadne, the Cretan princess

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

if anyone has any Dionysus related monographs to recommend I am basically collecting them 😂 related topics are going on the list too but bonus points if it mentions him in the title

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

if anyone has any Dionysus related monographs to recommend I am basically collecting them 😂 related topics are going on the list too but bonus points if it mentions him in the title

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Carausius @carausius286.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

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

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

the reason I always end up disappearing for awhile is the app itself pissing me off and it JUST occurred to me today to try a third party app 😂

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Paul @atticusfinch-105.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

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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Anthony Majanlahti @anthonymajanlahti.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

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

SARCOPHAGUS WITH DIONYSIAC THIASOS, VIA AURELIA ANTICA, 160–180 CE. BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN

This front panel and lid of a late Antonine Luni marble sarcophagus features a structured Dionysiac thiasos centered on Dionysus and Ariadne, who act as divine stand-ins for the deceased couple. On the left, Hermes Psychopompos holds his caduceus, guiding souls alongside the relaxed Dionysus. To the right, Ariadne appears as a veiled matron next to a melancholic youth in a classical pose of sleep or grief. The imagery uses the Dionysiac realm as a metaphor for "securitas," a blissful afterlife of eternal marital fidelity far removed from worldly duties. The lid repeats this theme, depicting a celestial banquet of the couple bracketed by theatrical masks. Though destined for an underground hypogeum, this costly chest served a dual purpose: a public display of status during the funeral parade, and later an intimate monument animated by flickering lamps during family festivals.

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

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

Fourth style fresco from the Room of the Cupids (triclinium) in the House of the Vettii in Pompeii, depicting a floating Dionysus-Bacchus and his wife, Ariadne. Both are mostly nude, save swirling garment that catch an unseen wind and plaster themselves to their bodies. The god of wine carries his traditional thyrsus. Both are sent against a vibrant (cinnabar mix?) wall with an illusory painted inset frame.

ca. 1st century CE, before 79 CE.

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

✨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).

Image description: from left to right - Dionysos, Nike and a maenad. Dionysos stands on a chariot led by big cats. Dionysos has a nimbus and holds a thyrsos. Next to him stands Nike, who also rides in the chariot and holds the reins for the panthers. To the right a maenad dances with a cymbal. Zeugma Mosaic Museum. Photo credit to Dosseman via Wikimedia Commons.

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 11/02/2025

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

Pediment-shaped (it has a peak in the middle top) gold diadem, part of the Madytos Jewelry.

This group of jewelry is said to have come from a tomb at Madytos on the European side of the Hellespont, in the Thracian Chersonesos. The gold diadem is richly worked in repoussé with an elaborate floral pattern. Dionysos, the god of wine, and his wife, Ariadne, sit in the center, looking back at one another; muses playing musical instruments perch among the vines and along the sides.

Amazing the detail on such a small scale, from the beaded and egg and dart borders, to the little birds beneath the central characters.

Greek, ca. 330-300 BCE.

Met Museum, New York (06.1217.1)

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Jon Hawke @archaeohawke.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

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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Rat @a1ienrat.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

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.

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Antinous the Gay God @antinousgaygod.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

🪷 #Takeyourdogtoworkday 💙🐕💙 The #Lanuvium basrelief shows #Antinous as #Dionysus or #Aristaeus #Silvanus, harvesting grapes, as a dog looks up at him adoringly. Its inscription says #Antinoos ' birthday is Nov 27th. #AntoniusSubia explains it in full: antinousstars.blogspot.com/2026/06/the-... 🪷

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Ciapamia @ciapamia.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

“Portrait of Antinous, depicted as Greek god, Dionysus”. (mid -2nd century). Artist unknown. marble, with bronze vine wreath. Discovered at Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli. Acquired in 1861 by Emperor Alexander II of Russia, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

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The Partial Historians 🏺 @partialhistorians.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

✨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!

This mosaic medallion depicts Dionysus in his distinctive wreath of fruits and garb that looks like a leopard skin. The facial expression registers something akin to dissatisfaction.

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Becky Wallower @bwallower.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

#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.

Head and shoulders of Dionysus with three flowers protruding from curly hair. One (?) glass eye remains in place.

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Sistory History Podcast @sistoryhistory.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

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

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Sistory History Podcast @sistoryhistory.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

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

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James Heath @mumblerjamie.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

#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🏺

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Sophia Kouidou-Giles @sophiakg.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

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

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

I donated the money I would have spent on voting (and a lil extra) to a family in G@za it felt like the right thing to do Def not posting to brag or virtue signal or whatever 😅 I just thought I'd mention it for any other [former] Eurofans following me who might find the idea appealing!

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

This year I'm watching ESC while driving [as a passenger ofc LOL] to the city I'm moving to, the drive should cover the first half pretty much exactly 😁

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 24/08/2024

I love this fresco of a Bacchante or priestess holding silver vessels - implements of sacrifice - in her wicker basket. She also holds a thyrsus and has an ivy leaf crown on her head, befitting a priestess of Dionysus. 🏺AncientBluesky Room of the Cupids, House of the Vettii, #Pompeii. 📸 me

Somewhat ghostly fresco depiction of a Bacchante or priestess of Dionysus, holding a wicker basket with silver vessels covered in a red cloth in her left hand, and a thyrsus (magic ivy-leaf crowned staff) in her right hand. She has an ivy wreath on her head, and wears a light blue semi-transparent wrap over a long pale pink himation or peplos. She also appears to be wearing gold ball earrings.

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

A very similar pair of grappolo earrings can be seen at the #MetMuseum, and an Etruscan polychrome shell antefix featuring the head of a maenad - also at the Met - shows how a very large pair would be worn, the pointed end downwards. 🏺 2/ 📸 me (left), Met Museum (right)

This type of earring - frequently seen in Etruscan art - is called a grappolo; its general shape resembles a bunch of grapes. The rounded shield part at the top has a series of small circles in a pattern, and below that are the globes, looking like grapes.

Etruscan, 4th-early 3rd century BCE, gold.

Met Museum, New York (18.103.1, .2)

On temple roofs, maenad antefixes often alternate with satyr-head antefixes. Here, the maenad wears an elaborate diadem and very large grape-cluster earrings, a type of jewelry especially popular in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.

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Chapps @chapps.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

This #Greek terracotta drinking cup sort of nails the theme. In the shape of a cow’s hoof, it depicts a seated herdsman with two cows on the cuff. Top-notch detailing, including the attire of the youth, who‘s wearing a cap and cloak, suggesting cold weather. 🏺 1/ 5th c. BCE, #MetMuseum. 📸 me

This red-figure terracotta cup in the shape of a cow's hoof depicts a seated herdsman holding a stick/goad with two cows, a dog, and a hare on the cuff. Because landscape is rarely depicted on Attic vases, the amount of detail here is exceptional. Moreover, the herdsman's attire—shoes and a cap and cloak of fur or hide—suggests cold weather.

Greek, Attic, red-figure, ca. 470-460 BCE, attributed to a painter recalling the Brygos Painter. Said to have been found in Salamis.

H. 4 1/16 in. (10.3 cm)

Met Museum, New York (38.11.2)

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Ariadne (they/them) @ariadnes-subthread.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Oh the last time I posted about my life on here things were going p bad but my partner got a job by Portland (where I grew up) and we got the most amazing house with enough rooms for all of us, a yard and a garage/ventilated workspace, in the neighborhood I last lived there as a teen 😍😍😍😍😍😍

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James Heath @mumblerjamie.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

#ReliefWednesday with a Maenad and a Goat from Palazzo Massimo (man, I love that museum). Dating to the Hadrianic period, a seated female follower of Bacchus holds the horn of a goat. #AncientBlueSky🏺

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