Description
Book SynopsisMystery Cults in Visual Representation in Graeco-Roman Antiquity aims to fill a gap in the study of mystery cults in Graeco-Roman Antiquity by focusing on images for investigating their ritual praxis. Nicole Belayche and Francesco Massa have gathered experts on visual language in order to illuminate cultic rituals renowned for both their “mysteries” and their images. This book tackles three interrelated questions. Focusing on the cult of Dionysus, it analyses whether, and how, images are used to depict mystery cults. The relationship between historiography and images of mystery cults is considered with a focus on the Mithraic and Isiac cults. Finally, turning to the cults of Dionysus and the Mother of the Gods, this work shows how depictions of specific cultic objects succeed in expressing mystery cults.
Trade Review"In conclusione, sono molti gli interrogativi e gli stimoli che il volume di Belayche e Massa offre sul linguaggio visuale che ruota intorno ai misteri. Il volume è molto ben curato editorialmente, pochissime le sviste e buono l’apparato iconografico (...). La sfida nel rintracciare testimonianze visuali sui misteri ovviamente prosegue, ma questa raccolta costituisce di certo un utile punto di partenza." - Margherita Facella, Università di Pisa, Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2021.10.29
Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations List of Contributors 1 Mystery Cults and Visual Language in Graeco-Roman Antiquity: an Introduction Nicole Belayche and Francesco Massa part 1: Do Images Depict Mystery Cults, and If So, How? 2 Sub-Introduction 3 Comment figurer l’ineffable, comment lire les images ? Cornelia Isler-Kerényi 4 Le phallus qui cache le mystère ? Les images dionysiaques dans les décors romains : à propos d’une fresque de la Domus Transitoria Stéphanie Wyler 5 Échos de la Télétè dionysiaque dans la mosaïque romaine tardive Janine Balty part 2: Historiography and Images of Mystery Cults 6 Sub-Introduction 7 ‘The Seven Grades of Mithraism’, or How to Build a Religion Philippa Adrych 8 Les mystères isiaques et leurs expressions figurées. Des exégèses modernes aux allusions antiques Richard Veymiers part 3: Depicting Objects to Signify Mystery Cults 9 Sub-Introduction 10 The Liknon and the Bundle: Does the Ritual ‘Initiatory’ Object Make the Mystery? Anne-Françoise Jaccottet 11 The Cista, a Hallmark of Mater Magna’s Mysteries in the Roman World? Françoise Van Haeperen Selected Bibliography Index
