Within a large villa on the outskirts of the ancient city of Pompeii, resides an intriguing cycle of frescoes. They depict life size mythological creatures and statuesque women engaged in various activities, which have often been connected with the initiation into the cult of the Greek God Dionysus, or Bacchus. (Figure 1-11) Since their discovery in 1909, these fascinating images have become the focus of ample amounts of scholarly research and debate over the true nature of their meaning. Was this a space for domestic cult practice and initiations, or the private apartment of the materfamilias, or domina? Perhaps it was a grand dining room that took full advantage of the panoramic view of the Bay of Naples. The archaeological remains and literary evidence does not easily determine the functions …show more content…
The secrets of the mystery cult of Dionysus were, of course, fully known to those who had been initiated into them, but there remains no ancient text that expounds those secrets. With the addition of the frescoes being considered the setting for domestic cult rituals, there are even more levels of complex understanding to move through. Based on literary evidence, we know that worship played a central role in Roman domestic life and that shrines were spaces that reflected the “relationships of power” of the people dwelling in the house. Yet at the same time, it is exceedingly difficult to characterize the nature of domestic religion with any specificity; literary sources give enticing glimpses into rites of passage and other rituals associated with domestic religion, but not into the underlying beliefs. Even just the word mysteries conveys the fascination of secrecy and the promise of thrilling revelations. Moreover, it is easy to get carried away with fanciful thoughts about the possible initiations and magical gatherings that are typically associated with mystery