Rare fresco discovered in Pompeii shows type of woman who 'breaks free from male order to dance freely,

and eat raw meat in the mountains'


Archaeologists have brought to light an enormous fresco depicting a secretive cult practice in Pompeii.

Archaeologists at Pompeii have discovered an enormous, extremely rare wall painting depicting an ancient mystery cult, at the center of which is a woman being initiated under the cover of night. The find was announced by the Pompeii Archaeological Park on Wednesday (Feb. 26) as they revealed the newly excavated House of Thiasus.

The wall painting, which is nearly life-size, runs the length of three walls along a large banquet hall, while the fourth wall opens onto a garden. Against a bright red background, there are numerous figures of maenads — female followers of Dionysus, the god of wine — who are depicted as hunters, carrying swords in their hands and slaughtered goats on their shoulders. The fresco also depicts young satyrs, part-goat and part-human creatures, playing the flute and performing a sacrifice of wine.

At the center of the fresco is an old satyr with a young woman who is about to be initiated into the Dionysian mystery cult. The ancient cult, which dates back at least to the classical Greeks of the fifth century B.C., is called a "mystery" because the initiation and practices were kept secret from outsiders. But the fresco has given experts a new clue to what went on in the rites: Roman initiates may have hunted like the Greek ones before them. The murals suggest these mystery rites echoed that ancient connection between Dionysus and wild animals.

Although many aspects of the Dionysian mysteries have been lost due to secrecy, historical accounts suggest that they involved heavy use of wine and other intoxicating substances, like opium, to induce trance-like states in followers. Dionysus was also known as a re-born god and became associated with resurrection, something that may have been promised to those initiated into the mysteries.

https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/romans/rare-fresco-discovered-in-pompeii-shows-type-of-woman-who-breaks-free-from-male-order-to-dance-freely-go-hunting-and-eat-raw-meat-in-the-mountains

Sounds good to me.