Drunken winged putto or cherub needs physical support to stay upright during a Bacchanalian revel. Sculpted on the side of a Roman sarcophagus or tomb chest in the Necropolis of Manastirine, one of the cemeteries outside the walls of the ancient Greek and Roman city of Salona, at Solin near Split in Dalmatia, Croatia.
Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia: Bacchanalian revelry ... drunken putti or cherubs - with one unsteady youngster being held upright - party on the side of a plundered sarcophagus in the Necropolis of Manastirine, outside the walls of ancient Salona, capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Depictions of revelries linked to cult worship of Dionysus or Bacchus, Greco-Roman god of wine, the grape harvest, fertility and abundance, were a common theme in classical art. In ancient Rome, Bacchanalia festivals at first held three times a year deteriorated into drunken orgies held five times a month, with men and women of all ages and social classes indulging in sexual free-for-alls. Such breaches of Rome's civil and religious laws caused moral outrage among its more sober citizens. The Senate clamped down on Bacchic cult organisations, which had to seek official permission to meet and could not be attended by more than three women and two men. Anyone breaking the edict risked death: 7,000 Bacchic followers were arrested, of whom most were executed. Despite the clampdown, Bacchic cults survived into Late Antiquity and Bacchic-style paganism re-emerged as Hellfire Clubs in 1700s Britain and Ireland. Salona, founded in the 3rd century BC, became a Roman colony around 40 BC. It had a population of about 60,000 and its citizens had the use of public baths, an aqueduct, a forum, a theatre and an 18,000-seat amphitheatre. The Roman Empire began to collapse in the 5th century and Salona fell to the Ostrogoths in 493 AD. Although it was later returned to Rome, its citizens fled from invaders in 614 AD, leaving ruined buildings and plundered tombs. The excavated site is now an archaeological park.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Salona, Solin, Dalmatia, Croatia.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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