The great period of the mystery religions began when the Romans imposed peace upon the Mediterranean world. The Dionysiac, or Bacchic, societies flourished in the whole empire—in Greece proper, on the Greek islands, in Asia Minor, along the Danube River, and especially in Italy and at Rome. Hundreds of inscriptions attest to Bacchic Mysteries. In some circles, Orphic and Dionysiac ideas were blended, as in the community that met in the underground basilica near the Porta Maggiore (Major Gate) at Rome. There was also a blend of ideas in the community for which the Orphic hymns were ... (100 of 10,563 words)Roman imperial times
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Painted Greek vase showing a Dionysiac feast, 450–425 bc; in the Louvre, Paris.
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Persephone being carried off to the underworld, terra-cotta plaque from the sanctuary of Persephone at Locri Epizephyrii, first half of the 5th century bc; in the Museo Nazionale di Taranto, Italy
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Ruins of the sanctuary at Eleusis, Greece.
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Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus, marble statue by Praxiteles, c. 350–330 bc (or perhaps a fine Hellenistic copy of his original); in the Archaeological Museum, Olympia, Greece. Height 2.15 m.
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Plato, Roman herm probably copied from a Greek original, 4th century bce; in the Staatliche Museen, Berlin.
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Khafre, detail of a statue with the god Horus in the shape of a falcon; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo
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Mithra slaying the bull, bas-relief, 2nd century ad; in the Städtisches Museum, Wiesbaden, Germany.
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Elagabalus, marble portrait bust, c. 221.
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Dionysus and satyrs, amphora painted in the black-figure style by the Amasis Painter, c. 540 bc; in the Antikenmuseum, Basel, Switzerland.
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Thoth, represented in human form with ibis head, detail from the Greenfield Papyrus, c. 950 bce; in the British Museum, London.
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Bronze Roman table or stand with circular top, from the Temple of Isis at Pompeii, before ad 79.
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Detail of stucco decoration in a vaulted chamber of a subterranean basilica near Porta Maggiore, Rome, mid-1st century ad.
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c. 50 bc"/> Dionysiac initiation rites and prenuptial ordeals of a bride, wall painting, Second style, c. 50 bc; in the Villa of the Mysteries, Pompeii, Italy.