Dionysus and Ariadne

This marble sarcophagus relief (early 3rd c.) depicts the mythic encounter of Dionysus and Ariadne. The god approaches the mortal with intimate urgency, while symbols of revelry—panther, serpent, and thyrsus (pinecone-tipped Dionysian staff)—enrich the scene. Common in Roman funerary art, such imagery suggests transcendence through divine love and ecstasy.