CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Emerging from acanthus leaves is the bearded Silenus cradling the infant Bacchus. According to the Greek tradition, Dionysos was raised far from Mount Olympus by nymphs and silenoi to avoid the rage of Hera after Zeus’ adulterous affair with his mother Semele. This composition is based on a 4th century B.C. bronze by Lysippus, now best preserved in a Roman marble copy at the Louvre (see no. 215 in E. Simon, “Silenoi,” LIMC, vol. VIII). For a similar example from Pompeii, see no. 35 in C.C. Vermeule, “Bench and Table Supports: Roman Egypt and Beyond,” in W.K. Simpson and W.M. Davis, eds., Studies in Ancient Egypt, The Aegean, and The Sudan: Essays in Honor of Dows Dunham.