A discovery in Pompeia revealed a type of woman to break free of “the male order” to dance freely, hunt and eat raw meat in the mountains. It is a surprising case of feminism in classical antiquity.
A study this Wednesday by Archaeological Park of Pompeii revealed a curious case of feminism in the old age.
The archaeologists of Pompeii discovered a huge painting that portrays an old mystery cult, in the center of which it is described irreverence of a woman.
As described, the mural painting, in the newborn House of TiasoIt travels three walls along a large banquet lounge, while the fourth wall gives a garden.
On a living red background, there are numerous figures of maenads – women Dionysus followersthe god of wine – which are represented as hunters, with swords in the hands and goats shaken to the shoulders.
A view of the newborn house of Tiaso in Pompeia
In the center of the painting is an old satyr with a young woman who is about to be started in the Dionysian Mystery Worship.
Apology ‘Classical’ of Feminism
The portrayed woman can be One of the first feminism tests in classical antiquity.
As mentioned Gabriel Büchtriegeldirector of the Pompeia Archaeological Park, quoted by Live Science, this is an example of a painting with the theme of Dionysus that reveals the “wild and indomitable side of women”.
This is the type of woman who “breaks free from male orders To dance freely, hunt and eat raw meat in the mountains and woods, ”he said.
“The discovery we are showing is historical,” said the minister of Italian culture, Alessandro Giuli. “Pompeii gives us an extraordinary testimony of a aspect of classical Mediterranean life that is widely unknown“He added.
The newly discovered house of tiaso date of MEDwhich means they already had more than a century when Mount Vesuvio erupted in the year 79 AD.
This type of paintings also revealed a increasing religious crisissaid Gabriel Zuchtriegel, since the festivals that celebrated Dionysus were ostensibly banned as part of a repression of secret rituals in Italy in 186 BC.
The two murals suggest that the prohibition was widely ignored – At least in that region.
Although many aspects of Dionysian mysteries were lost in time due to Secretismhistorical reports suggest that they involved intensive use of wine and other intoxicating substances, such as opium, to induce trance states in followers.
