The final seminar paper focuses on the cult of Dionysus and especially the myth of Pentheus in ancient literature, on ancient depictions of maenads and Dionysus, and the various meanings Dionysus, maenads and Pentheus had in antiquity and further acquired in the Middle Ages. The second part of the thesis focuses on Dionysus, maenads, satyrs and myth of Pentheus in Renaissance fine arts and literature, the understanding of Dionysian ecstasy in Renaissance humanists, and includes also an analysis of six Dionysian-themed works of art created between 1470 and 1547. During the Renaissance Dionysus reappears in art for some time in his many and varied roles, which he had in antiquity (and are also presented in the first part of the work); references to ancient literary texts (e.g. Virgil, Philostratus, and Euripides) and the influences of ancient sarcophagi can be found in selected works of art, while the rich symbolism of some also reflects the duality of Dionysus and the significance of his gift to man.
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