Dionysos in classical Athens : an understanding through images / by Cornelia Isler-Kerenyi ; translated by Anna Beerens.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-260) and indexes.

Introduction : Dionysos in 6th-century imagery ; The retinue of Dionysos : Who are the satyrs, who are the women? ; Dionysos in the 5th century, and his transformation after 450 B.C. -- [1] Dionysiac subjects in red-figure pottery -- [2] Dionysos for Athens, Dionysos for all : Dionysiac pottery around 500 B.C. ; Late black-figure vases ; Early red-figure vases ; Red-figure cups of the final quarter of the 6th century -- [3] All kinds of satyrs : The first decades of the 5th century ; The painters of large vases ; Painters of cups ; Tentative conclusions -- [4] Dionysos, a god for the Athenians : Developments after 480 B.C. ; Hermonax and his contemporaries ; The imagery of red-figure pointed amphorae ; The pelikai of the painter of the birth of Athena -- [5] Dionysiac mythology in flux : Vase imagery between 480 and 430 B.C. ; Traditional Dionysiac subjects ; The child Dionysos ; Dionysos in love -- [6] Unfamiliar and unknown Dionysiac rituals : Boys and girls in the realm of Dionysos ; A domestic Dionysiac ritual ; Dionysos' chair : 1) A satyr carrying a chair, 2) The unoccupied chair, 3) Dionysos has arrived ; Child satyrs in Dionysos' retinue ; A ritually honored Etruscan Dionysos -- [7] A new Dionysos at the Parthenon : Decoration program and message ; Dionysos' gigantomachy ; Dionysos in the east pediment ; Dionysos in the Parthenon frieze ; Reflections of the west pediment in vase painting -- [8] The new Dionysos in vase painting -- [9] Images of Dionysos from 430 B.C. onwards : Dionysos on stage : 1) Kratinos' Dionysalexandros, 2) Aristophanes' frogs, 3) Euripides' bacchae ; Dionysos in 4th-century sculpture ; A look at vase painting ; The Derveni krater -- [10] Summing up : Anonymous prototypes ; The changing image of Dionysos ; Dionysos in classical Athens -- Works cited -- Index : 1) Museums, 2) Vases following Beazley, 3) Vases following Beazley archive database (BA), 4) Vases and other works following LIMC ; General.

"Dionysos, with his following of satyrs and women, was a major theme in a big part of the figure painted pottery in 500-300 B.C. Athens. As an original testimonial of their time, the imagery on these vases convey what this god meant to his worshippers. It becomes clear that - contrary to what is usually assumed - he was not only appropriate for wine, wine indulgence, ecstasy and theatre. Rather, he was present in both the public and private sphere on many, both happy and sad, occasions. In addition, the vase painters have emphasized different aspects of Dionysos for their customers inside and outside of Athens, depending on the political and cultural situation"-- Provided by publisher.