Dionysos has common features with the plants - vitality and ability to come back to life. The mos... more Dionysos has common features with the plants - vitality and ability to come back to life. The most popular plants associated with the deity are the vine, the ivy and the pine tree, but there are some other, less popular ones, that play a role in the cult of Dionysos such as fig, wild dill, etc. Similar to the deity, these plants have light and dark sides and they can bring joy and happiness as well as madness or even death. Dionysos occupies an important place in the rural, agricultural and wild environment. The dualistic nature of the Greek god is represented by his iconography; he has many faces and reincarnations. Sometimes certain plants symbolize a particular aspect of the cult of Dionysos. The article is aimed at defining their importance and symbolic meaning in Thrace based on their representation on artefacts dated back to the Pre-Roman period.
CITIES IN SOUTHEASTERN THRACE Continuity and Transformation, 2017
Regardless of the official character of coins and their important role as a historical source,... more Regardless of the official character of coins and their important role as a historical source, numismatic evidence alone is not enough for the reconstruction of the religious background at a particular time and space. The present study is an attempt to analyze the territorial and the chronological span of the cult of Dionysos in the areas surrounding the Sea of Marmara (the ancient Propontis) and the Bosporus during the Pre-Roman age on the basis of numismatic evidence. This study is a part of the author’s dissertation – “Dionysos in Thrace. Artifacts and Cult”, that will put together the conclusions drawn here and the epigraphic, imagery and architectural monuments from the Hellenic apoikia discussed here as well as from their Thracian hinterland. This defines the non-conclusive character of the deductions in the paper since the cult evidence has to be either proven true or rejected after the future juxtaposition with the other types of artifacts, epigraphic data and literary texts.
Dionysos has common features with the plants - vitality and ability to come back to life. The mos... more Dionysos has common features with the plants - vitality and ability to come back to life. The most popular plants associated with the deity are the vine, the ivy and the pine tree, but there are some other, less popular ones, that play a role in the cult of Dionysos such as fig, wild dill, etc. Similar to the deity, these plants have light and dark sides and they can bring joy and happiness as well as madness or even death. Dionysos occupies an important place in the rural, agricultural and wild environment. The dualistic nature of the Greek god is represented by his iconography; he has many faces and reincarnations. Sometimes certain plants symbolize a particular aspect of the cult of Dionysos. The article is aimed at defining their importance and symbolic meaning in Thrace based on their representation on artefacts dated back to the Pre-Roman period.
CITIES IN SOUTHEASTERN THRACE Continuity and Transformation, 2017
Regardless of the official character of coins and their important role as a historical source,... more Regardless of the official character of coins and their important role as a historical source, numismatic evidence alone is not enough for the reconstruction of the religious background at a particular time and space. The present study is an attempt to analyze the territorial and the chronological span of the cult of Dionysos in the areas surrounding the Sea of Marmara (the ancient Propontis) and the Bosporus during the Pre-Roman age on the basis of numismatic evidence. This study is a part of the author’s dissertation – “Dionysos in Thrace. Artifacts and Cult”, that will put together the conclusions drawn here and the epigraphic, imagery and architectural monuments from the Hellenic apoikia discussed here as well as from their Thracian hinterland. This defines the non-conclusive character of the deductions in the paper since the cult evidence has to be either proven true or rejected after the future juxtaposition with the other types of artifacts, epigraphic data and literary texts.
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Papers by Theodora Nedyalkova