Dionysos in archaic Greece an understanding through images - Isler-Kerényi, Cornelia 1942- (Brill, 2007)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 255-266) and indexes
List of Figures; Preface; Abbreviations; Introduction; Chapter One. An iconography in process; Chapter Two. Turning into a satyr: Small vases from the first half of the 6th century BCE; Chapter Three. Dionysos and the gods: Dinoi and kraters from the first half of the 6th century BCE; Chapter Four. The thiasos of Dionysos: Amphorae and similar vases of the 6th century BCE; Chapter Five. Dionysian happiness: Cups and other small vases from the second half of the 6th century BCE; Chapter Six. Dionysos in archaic Greek art: a summary; Chapter Seven. Modern mythologies: "Dionysos" versus "Apollo."
For the Greek, Dionysos was a very important god: for individuals as well as for the community as a whole. As there are only a few written sources dating from before the 5th Century BC, the many images of Dionysos on Greek vases may well offer a genuine approach to the meaning given by the ancient viewer. This book explores the earliest images followed by those on small vases for private use, on mixing bowls of the symposion, on amphoras, on later drinking cups and on archaic sculptures. It gives an overview of Dionysian iconography of the 5th Century BC as well as an overall interpretation. T.