TEXTILES IN CLOTHES AND CLOTHS IN THE DIONYSIAC FRESCO IN POMPEII
Channel: European Association of Archaeologists
Date: 2020-11-20

“The Dionysiac Fresco” in the Villa of the Mysteries (Villa dei Misteri) in Pompeii, Italy, is probably the most famous, possibly the best preserved, and definitely the most debated fresco-cycle from Roman antiquity. It contains lots of textiles, garments as well as other. This fresco has been given numerous interpretations. The interpretations have been mainly connected to the behaviour of the persons in the fresco, the fresco’s total composition, and the fresco’s visual references to Dionysiac mythology and rites, including divinations and initiations. However, I claim that the fresco contains data that are still poorly explored and explained, in particular the textiles. This paper will present a full registration of the garments and other textiles in the Dionysiac Fresco; and will focus on possible semiotic elements connected to them. – I demonstrate that certain colours and colour-combinations can be found both in the persons’ costumes and in other textiles. A statistical chi-square analysis revealed that these colour combinations are not arbitrary, but carefully chosen. This finding may have relevance for the interpretation of the Dionysiac Fresco. I suggest that it is possible that particular symbolic colours and dress-codes may be hinted at, or even spelled out in the fresco. Fixed dress-codes and colour-symbolism often have particular functions in religious societies and rites. They have semiotic functions. So, finally, in this paper I relate the dress-codes in the fresco to other information (written sources) about Dionysiac congregations (thiasoi).


Author(s): Lindstrom, Torill Christine (Dept of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen; SapienCE, Centre for early Sapiens Behaviour, CoE, University of Bergen)