Z12.8 DIONYSUS & THE TYRRHENIAN PIRATES
| Museum Collection | Bardo National Museum, Tunis |
|---|---|
| Catalogue No. | - |
| Type | Mosaic |
| Context | Utica, Oceanus or Neptune Mosaic |
| Date | - |
| Period | Imperial Roman |
DESCRIPTION
Dionysus (Roman Bacchus) transforms the Tyrrhenian pirates into dolphins. In the myth the sailors attempted to capture the god to sell into slavery. The god is depicted as a youth clothed in a bright blue robe, holding a thyrsus (pine-cone tipped staff) in his hand. A panther lunges at the pirates as they leap into the sea. The men are depicted partially transformed into dolphins. On the boat beside Dionysus stands the helmsman Acoetes, a Maenad nymph and the plump, old satyr Silenus.
ARTICLES
OTHER IMAGES
Z2.5 Poseidon
Z35.7 Pontus
Z34.10 Nereids
Z31.15 Erotes
