Dancing Maenad Marble Relief Analysis

The Roman replica of the Dancing Maenad marble relief showed a dancing woman holding a stick as she looks down in a carefree ecstasy in the famous Greek tragedy The Bacchae. The dancing woman, a maenad, accompanied the Greek god Dionysus up toward the mountains. Although the relief is dated from approximately 27 BCE to 14 CE, the stone sculpture is a replica of a past work from the late 5th century BCE sculpted by Greek sculptor Kallimachos (Metmuseum.org). He also sculpted many other similar works (Richter, 10). Much of Roman culture bore resemblance to past Greek legend, as is exemplified by Dionysus’ transformation into Bacchus. The thorough replication of Greek sculpture and architecture, as is the case with the Dancing Maenad, suggested not only the beginning of new cultural and religious expansion in the Roman Republic, but also the great impact it had throughout the remainder of Rome’s history.
In the marble relief, the maenad, wearing multiple tunics, looks down as she holds a thyrsos stick while dancing in a serene pose. Made of pentelic marble, the slab is 56 5/16 inches high, 29 5/8 inches wide, and 2 3/4 inches thick (Richter, 9). The replica was originally fragmented into three parts; the left upper corner with the top of the thyrsus in tact, the rest of the carved slab,

Two different copies of this replica exist, the New York version as well as one Madrid copy. Both copies are almost identical, excepting the Madrid maenad’s left arm being restored as well as standing in a straighter pose (Richter, 10). Additionally, the maenad’s graceful dances display characteristic classical conventions of perfect symmetry in anatomical proportions in Greek art through the Classical period, which spanned from the early 5th century to the late 4th century BCE. As a follower bewitched by Dionysus in The Bacchae, the maenad permeated as an important figure through Greek