Victor Henrich BAUMANN

Abstract

The find in Tulcea, close to the ancient settlement of Aegyssus, of a Dionysian bas-relief fragment dated to the Roman period, enables the author to digress briefly into Dionysian mythology. The bas-relief represents Dionysus as a child, symbolizing regeneration and renewal. Given the few plastic representations of the Divine Child myth, this find contributes to better understanding of the cult of Dionysus during the Roman period. The author deems the find one of a kind. Despite clumsy artistic expression, the bas-relief synthesizes the most dramatic episode in the Dionysian myth – the rebirth, the victory on death, the new beginning, the cyclical renewal of the world.

Keywords

• tulcea
• dionysus
• myth
• silenus
• nymphae
• satyr
• hermes
• ariadne
• aegyssus
• lower danube
• roman empire
• romania
• black sea