this statue of bacchus depicts the roman god of wine precariously perched on a rock in a state of drunkenness. he wears a wreath of ivy and holds a goblet in one hand, brought up toward his lips for a drink. in the other hand, he holds a lion skin, which is a symbol for death derived from the myth of hercules. from behind his left leg peeks a satyr, significant to the cult of bacchus often representing a drunken, lusty, woodland deity