Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 brill.com/acss A Terracotta Relief with a Dionysiac Motif from Kepoi1 Denis V. Zhuravlev, Georgii A. Lomtadze* Abstract A unique terracotta relief with a depiction of a Dionysiac scene is published in this article: it was found during excavations of the city of Kepoi in the Asiatic Bosporus. The authors of the article reach the conclusion that the relief shows a depiction of two actors in satyrs’ masks carrying a third in the role of Dionysos. The relief dates from the second half of the 4th century BC. Keywords Kepoi, Terracotta relief, Satyrs, Dionysos, Theatrical performances, Actors The collection of the department of archaeological artefacts in the State Historical Museum includes a unique work of Classical art from the territory of the Asiatic Bosporus – a large terracotta plaque with a depiction in relief of a Dionysiac scene2 (Figs. 1-2). For a long time this relief had remained unpublished as it lay in the depositories of the State Historical Museum in a fragmentary state. As far as we know, N. P. Sorokina had been preparing a publication of this work, but for some reason did not succeed in completing it. Even if some preparatory materials for that publication had existed, they would have been lost along with the archive of N. I. Sokol’skiï and N. P. Sorokina. After restoration work3 had been carried out, we were confronted with a Greek terracotta relief of unique quality and in an outstanding state of preservation. 1 One of the authors worked on this article in the libraries of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin and Rome in the framework of a grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, to whom he is grateful. * Denis V. Zhuravlev: State Historical Museum, Moscow, 109012, 1, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, Email: denzhuravlev@mail.ru; Georgii A. Lomtadze: State Historical Museum, Moscow, 109012, 1, Red Square, Moscow, Russia, Email gylomtadze@mail.ru. 2 State Historical Museum, Inv. No. Б. 2691. 3 The restoration was carried out in the Restoration Department of the Historical Museum by E. A. Samoïlova. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2013 DOI: 10.1163/15700577-12341245 14 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 Fig. 1. Relief with a depiction of a Dionysiac scene from Kepoi. State Historical Museum. Photograph by I. A. Sedenkov. D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 15 Fig. 2. Relief with a depiction of a Dionysiac scene from Kepoi. Side view. State Historical Museum. Photograph by I. A. Sedenkov. In our preliminary presentation of this relief we dated it to the 5th century BC and were obliged to state that there was no information available regarding its find-spot.4 Today we have at our disposal information about the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Dionysiac relief,5 which makes it possible for 4 Zhuravlev, Lomtadze 2007, 199-207. 5 We are grateful to N. I. Sudarev, who drew our attention to the field report written by N. I. Sokol’skiï, which contained a description of the context in which the relief had been found. 16 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 us to return to the attribution of the work and to specify its date with greater precision. Description of the Relief 6 The relief (Figs. 1-2) has been executed on a rectangular base – a large hollow plaque of rectangular shape. On the front of it there is a depiction worked in high relief: two men in masks are carrying a seated figure draped in a hymation on their crossed arms. The maximum dimensions of the plaque forming the base of the relief are 65.8 × 37.1 cm and its side edges are 2.7-3 cm thick. The maximum height of the relief is 8.5 cm. The clay is pale-brown with a pinkish tinge, well mixed and containing limestone particles. The reverse of the plaque is plain, and after restoration had a layer of plaster applied to it so that our article contains no illustration of it. Both of the standing figures representing satyrs or sileni7 are wearing a short belted chiton without sleeves and also close-fitting trousers which come down as far as their ankles and end in thick ridges. From under the chitones artificial phalluses can be seen hanging down. Both the satyrs are barefoot. The satyr on the left is depicted moving towards the left with his legs set wide apart. His right leg is half bent and shown in profile, while the left one is extended diagonally in a three-quarter turn. The trunk of the satyr is also presented in a three-quarter turn, while the head is shown frontally. The satyr’s face with its large ears, wide open eyes, fleshy nose and slightly open mouth with thick lips is complete with hair, a moustache and a long wedge-shaped beard. He is wearing a diadem. The painted decoration of this figure has survived: black for the moustache and beard, pink for the lips and in places white, while remains of blue paint have survived on the diadem.8 The second satyr with a prominent, blatantly unnatural, left ear is depicted standing: his legs are shown in profile, but the left one is depicted in a 6 We are grateful to L. I. Akimova and T. A. Il’ina (the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts) for a number of valuable consultations for the description of the relief. 7 It should be noted that the terminological issue as to the clear distinction between depictions of satyrs and sileni is rather complex and confused (see, for example, Hedreen 1992, 9 with a bibliography). Without entering this debate, we shall call these figures satyrs in this study. 8 The North Pontic region cannot boast an abundance of surviving polychrome works by sculptors of antiquity working in terracotta. In addition to the well-known vessels from Phanagoria, it is worth mentioning the recent find of a polychrome terracotta plaque dating from the 5th century BC found in Olbia and bearing a depiction in relief of a priestess of Aphrodite (Krapivina 2002, 26; 2006, 195, fig. 3). D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 17 three-quarter turn so that the foot can be seen. Unlike the first satyr, the belly and part of the chest of this one are visible to the beholder. A large part of the wide face has been lost and of the left eye all that remains is a large socket. Part of the satyr’s wedge-shaped beard has survived complete with traces of brown paint. The right-hand satyr (possibly an older figure than his companion) is bald: only over his ears can strands of hair be seen. The standing satyrs are supporting a seated man on their crossed arms (the right-hand satyr is gripping his left arm above the elbow with his right hand). The seated man is draped in a long hymation, which leaves the right-hand part of his chest bare. The descending folds of the garment cover the man’s legs down as far as his ankles. Under his cloak all that can be seen are his feet with long thin toes: the man is wearing sandals and the one on his right foot stands out particularly clearly. On his right shoulder the remains of a long wave of hair can be seen. His left arm, covered by folds of his garment down as far as the hand, rests on his lap between his knees, while with his right hand the seated man is gripping the shoulder of the satyr on the left (Fig. 2, 1). This gesture rules out the possibility that the seated man represented a statue. Archaeological Context of the Find The relief we are publishing was found in 1967 by the Taman Archaeological Expedition of the Institute of Archaeology of the USSR Academy of Sciences, led by N. I. Sokol’skii, during excavations of a Classical city traditionally identified as Kepoi9 by Russian archaeologists. The terracotta relief was found in Trench A in the in-fill of the northern cistern of Winery No. 17610 (Figs. 3-4). This winery (Kep-1) was published by N. I. Sokol’skiï but without any mention of the unique find from it. Sokol’skiï dated it to the first half of the 1st century AD and considered it to be “one of the most interesting Bosporan wineries”.11 It was included in N. I. Vinokurov’s Corpus12 of the wineries, classified as Type KI-2. Given the importance of the archaeological context we shall cite extracts from N. I. Sokol’skiï’s report. Winery No. 176 was located in Squares XXXVI, XXXIX and XL on the upper edge of a bank stretching from the upper plateau of the city-site in a westerly 9 10 11 12 See Zhuravlev, Kuznetsov 2010, 540-555 (with all the previous literature). Sokol’skiï 1967, 10-18, figs. 8-12. Sokol’skiï 1970, 82-85, figs. 9-10. Vinokurov 2007, 137-138, 430, fig. 100, 1, 4. 18 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 direction down to Taman Bay. Its sides face from south-west to north-east and from south-east to north-west. . . . The winery’s state of preservation is moderately good; the collapsed parts of the structure are of a kind which does not cause problems for our understanding of the building as a whole . . . Investigations have indicated that the winery had been a rectangular building with a tiled roof, fragments of which have been found in large quantities around the winery including semicircular kalupteres. Its walls were of mud brick, and its base-platform of stone. Inside it a wine-press had been erected complete with open areas and cisterns . . .13 The wine-press which took up most of the building had evidently been built up against the west wall and it had consisted of three areas for crushing grapes and two cisterns to the east side of them. The areas for crushing the grapes and the cisterns were linked by stone drains set into the wall . . .14 . . . Both the cisterns were rectangular in plan and measured 1.34 × 1.16 m, with a depth of 1.9 m. Each had a capacity of 2.8 cubic metres. Their walls were vertical, while their floors with rounded corners sloped slightly towards the east . . . At the top the winery was covered by dirty dark-brown loam containing finds dating from the 1st century BC. The cisterns were filled in their upper half by homogenous yellow loam containing a very small quantity of finds, but the in-fill – starting from a depth of 1 metre – consisted of dark loam containing traces of a large fire (soot, ash, pieces of charcoal) and this layer was visible above the areas used for crushing grapes. In the lower part of the in-fill of the cisterns numerous finds were made, specifically: . . . in the northern cistern: fragments of a broken, almost complete pithos similar to those found in the southern cistern; fragments of amphorae of varying date, the latest of which were from pale-clay amphorae of the 1st century BC/1st century AD; some fragments of red-glaze vessels of the same period,15 pieces of crushed brick, bone, fired clay material, small stones, part of an iron rod, part of a fibula made of bronze wire, fragments of a large, thin terracotta plaque with a fluted surface (so far of unidentified function) and finally, the best find of the season – a large terracotta relief broken into pieces and depicting two full-length sileni carrying a draped female figure (goddess) [our italics: D.Z., G.L.]. The 13 Sokol’skiï 1967, 10. 14 Sokol’skiï 1967, 13. 15 Unfortunately, only the briefest of descriptions are provided for these finds, which does not allow us to form any confident views with regard to their date. On the basis of the descriptions in the report, the main date-indicators are the fragments of the pale-clay narrow-necked amphorae of the 1st century BC/1st century AD (probably Type A according to Shelov [Shelov 1978, 17-18, figs. 1-3] and Type CIVA according to Vnukov [Vnukov 2006, 167]) and also the “wide-necked amphorae with a twisted handle typical for the fortresses on the Fantalov Peninsula. Mention in this connection should also be made of the “red-glaze pottery of the 1st century BC/1st century AD”. What N. I. Sokol’skiï is most likely to have had in mind is the so-called “Bosporan sigillata” the most widespread pottery at that time on both coasts of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Zhuravlev 2005, 235-254). D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 19 Fig. 3. Kepoi. Trench A, 1967. Plan from the field report compiled by N. I. Sokol’skiï (Sokol’skiï 1967). parts of the relief were found at different depths in the trench (some at the bottom and others 80 cm from the bottom). This shows that the relief, which had been broken earlier, had found its way into the cistern together with the earth used for the in-fill”.16 To judge from the material mentioned in the report17 from the layer covering the remains of the winery, the cessation of its activity should be dated to the first half of the 1st century AD. What would indicate this are the finds of narrow-necked, pale-clay amphorae and glass unguentaria and also of lamps 16 Sokol’skiï 1967, 15-16. 17 Sokol’skiï 1967, 17-18. 20 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 Fig. 4. Kepoi. Trench A, 1967. Winery No 176. Photograph from the field report compiled by N. I. Sokol’skiï (Sokol’skii 1967). from the same period.18 It is likely that the winery was not in existence for more than a century, since in the ditch under the wine-press a structure was found dating from the 1st century BC which had been laid out under it.19 Attribution of the Relief It should be noted that we virtually failed to find any direct parallels not only for the relief itself, but also for the subject depicted on it, which of course makes the attribution of this art-work particularly difficult.20 For this reason it is important to point out straight away that our interpretation is based first and foremost on certain features of the style and content of this unique terracotta relief. One of the features of the relief ’s composition is the central figure supported on the arms of the other two. The central figure has been worked in higher relief than the others and its details have been executed more clearly, while the figures of the standing satyrs have been conveyed in a more summary way. In addition the figure seated on the satyrs’ arms is not wearing such frivolous apparel, which probably points to his higher position in the hierarchy of the 18 Among the lamps mentioned in the report there is a two-nozzled red-glaze specimen of Bosporan (?) production (Sokol’skiï 1967, fig. 32); cf. Zhuravlev et alii 2010, 142-148, Type 4. 19 Sokol’skiï 1967, 11. 20 The only direct parallel for this motif, to which reference will be made below, is not very informative, since the fragment concerned does not originate from excavations but from a range of purchases made by a famous nineteenth-century dealer in Kerch antiquities, E. R. Zaporozhskiï. D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 21 day. Unfortunately the upper part of the figure – its head and the upper part of the chest – have not survived, which makes it impossible to identify it with any confidence. The director of the expedition, N. I. Sokol’skiï, noted in his report that the sileni were carrying on their arms a “draped female figure (goddess)”.21 In our view what can be regarded as confirmation of the fact that the figure is that of a man are the folds in his cloak, worn in such a way as to reveal the right part of the chest. Despite the fact that this part of the relief has not survived in its entirety, it is clear that the chest is that of a man. The remains of a wave from the figure’s hair on its right shoulder make it possible to assume that the figure is a depiction of Dionysos, widely represented in the iconography of the Classical period. The figures of the men carrying the central figure have been portrayed by the craftsman in a more summary fashion. It is possible that they are no more than theatrical characters. What would indicate this is the grotesque nature of the two depictions (the deliberately protruding belly of the righthand satyr, the masks and – most important of all – the artificial phalluses conspicuously displayed over the two satyrs’ trousers). The poses of the standing figures are extremely artificial and unnatural. If this assumption is correct, then we are confronted by two men dressed in masks of actors of a tragedy or Old Comedy. This is what has led us to conclude that the composition is a depiction of two actors in masks of sileni or satyrs, carrying another actor in the role of Dionysos on their crossed arms. Another important feature of this art-work is the fact that the head of the seated figure extends beyond the upper edge of the relief. It is highly likely that the relief had been part of a composite work consisting of several depictions linked together as parts of a single theme. It should nevertheless be noted, however, that there are no elements on the plaque with the relief that would point to any kind of joining together (holes, grooves and so forth). The only possible method that might have been used for joining parts together would have been to place the relief in a frame or niche (aedicula) set in the wall of some public building.22 21 Sokol’skiï 1967, 16. 22 A similar suggestion was also made by E. Savostina in connection with the stele depicting two warriors found in the Yubileïnoe I settlement (Savostina 1999, 259-261, figs. 1-3). 22 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 Fig. 5. Terracotta plaque. Kerch. Purchased from E. R. Zaporozhskiï. State Historical Museum. Photograph by I. A. Sedenkov. D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 23 Parallels for the Subject and Dionysiac Scenes in Classical Art Probably the only direct parallel for the motif examined here is a small terracotta plaque with a depiction in relief from Kerch, which is also held in the State Historical Museum (Fig. 5).23 Two figures are depicted on it, carrying a man in a long chiton and a hymation, which falls to his knees, on their shoulders. The right hand of the seated figure hangs down at the side of his body, while his left hand has been placed round the neck of one of those carrying him, the man on the right. His feet clad in shoes (or ankle boots?) rest on the thighs of the men carrying him. The men are wearing caps, masks and caftans fastened at the chest with a clasp. They are standing with their legs slightly bent under the weight of the seated figure: their arms have been placed under the figure’s knees. The head of the seated figure and the feet of those carrying him have been lost. The surviving part of the relief is 13.2 cm high and it is 11.4 cm wide. The relief was made using a matrix to lend it shape (there are no signs of the details having been finished with a modelling tool). In its first publication this Kerch terracotta was dated to the Hellenistic period and interpreted as a depiction of two actors carrying Dionysos.24 This terracotta composition is the only close parallel for the relief examined here, which means that we now have to consider specific details of the relief under discussion. It has to be made clear straight away that the vast majority of parallels for the subject and style of the relief from Kepoi reveal only distant similarities to it. Attempts to discover any kind of parallels for our relief among architectural terracottas from Italy, Greece, Asia Minor and the North Pontic region have proved fruitless. Some common features come to light when we examine wellknown compositions found in terracotta sculptures, such as the terracotta relief from Olympia with a depiction of Zeus carrying Ganymede in his right hand.25 Zeus’ beard, as in our relief, is decorated with black paint. Zeus’ legs are positioned in the same way as those of the left-hand bearded bearer in our relief, but he is moving to the right.26 Another interesting group is the famous depiction of a satyr with a maenad – from Olympia27 again – which dates from 520-500 BC.28 The beard of the satyr, as in the case of the Kepoi relief, is 23 Zhuravlev, Il’ina 2002, 62, No. 212. Collection of E. R. Zaporozhskiï (purchase made in Kerch). State Historical Museum, No. 27332. Inventory Б-32. 24 Zhuravlev, Il’ina 2002, 62. 25 Moustaka 1993, pls. 33-35. For more detail on the chronology of this group, see Moustaka 1993, 44. 26 Moustaka 1993, pl. 33. 27 Moustaka 1993, pls. 40-47. 28 Moustaka 1993, 51. 24 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 decorated with black paint. Similar depictions of satyrs and maenads have also been recorded on terracotta reliefs from southern Italy.29 Antefixes in the shape of a satyr’s head30 have also been found in the same region. Finally there is one more antefix kept in Boston which is also faintly reminiscent of the image of our satyr.31 As regards style the bearded figure can be compared with a scene on an antefix from the temple of Apollo in Thermon dated to 540–530 BC.32 The depictions of the satyr and maenad originate from the temple excavations in Satricum.33 The figure to the left in our scene with a long pointed beard is reminiscent of depictions of Dionysos on coins of the 6th century BC.34 Dionysos is depicted with a similar beard in Attic black-figure35 and red-figure36 vase-painting. A bronze figurine from Modena,37 dated to c. 280 BC, is also fairly similar to the depiction of the figure on the left (hair, moustache, beard). What might also be compared to the depiction of the bearded figure is the limestone head of a three-headed monster from the pediment of the temple of Athena on the Athens Acropolis,38 which dates from c. 550-540 BC. Its moustache and beard are decorated with blue paint. The list of such resemblances could be extended a good deal further, but there is no need for that. The second figure is portrayed as a typical theatre-actor in a mask. Figures of this kind have been found in art works illustrating satyr plays and tragedy and also Old Comedy.39 At the same time similar depictions can also be found among later characters in New Comedy. They are no longer shown with artificial phalluses as their predecessors had been, but their faces are covered by masks of a similar shape.40 Numerous masks and depictions of theatrical figures date from a somewhat later period, i.e. to the 4th and 3rd centuries BC: 29 Andrén 1939, pl. 147, 510; pl. 148, 511; pl. 149, 512. See also Cat. Los Angeles 1997, 78. 30 Andrén 1939, pl. 146, 505-507; pl. 157, 532, 533, 535. 31 Andrén 1939, pl. 154, 520. 32 Winter 1978, 37, pl. 14, 1. 2. 33 Andrén 1939, 453. Here it would be appropriate to mention a similar depiction of a demon abducting a woman found among Etruscan bronzes (Haynes 1985, 154, fig. 52a; cf. also pp. 62-63, figs. 64, 64a). 34 Hamdorf 1986, 54, fig. 2. 35 Hamdorf 1986, figs. 41, 42, 47; Carpenter 1986, pls. 8; 9; 13; 14; 17 et alii; Isler-Kerényi 2001, figs. 102-103. 36 Hamdorf 1986, figs. 15, 52; Carpenter 1997, pls. 9B; 11A; 14A-B; 15A-B et alii. 37 Cristofani 1985, 204-205, No. 99. 38 Boardman 1978, fig. 193. 39 Webster 1967; Webster 1978, pls. IIIb, V et alii. 40 For a specialized work on the subject, see Webster 1995. D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 25 for example the phallic satyr 41 or satyr in a pointed cap42 could be compared to one of the ‘bearers’ on the terracotta plaque from the collection of the Historical Museum in Moscow (Fig. 5). Depictions of Dionysos – one of the most revered gods in Greece – were conspicuous for their great variety.43 A depiction of a draped figure of Dionysos seated on a throne, similar to that published here, has been recorded, for example, in marble sculpture.44 One such statue is held in the Hermitage Museum45 and it is a Roman copy of an original from the 5th century BC.46 Another sculpture of a seated Dionysos wearing a chiton and himation is held in the British Museum.47 The right foot of the deity is extended forward slightly. A draped statue of “Dionysos” in Archaic style is held in the National Museum in Athens48 and there is an Early Hellenistic variant of that image in London.49 Another terracotta sculpture of a seated Dionysos was found at the fortified settlement of Chaïka in the North-Western Crimea, although it is rendered very differently from ours.50 Depictions of one of the figures from the Dionysiac range being carried are well known, but they are more often linked with a different hypostasis of the god – wine-making. In these scenes what we behold is a drunken Dionysos (or one of his companions).51 The image of Dionysos accompanied by a satyr, silenus or Pan is to be found in a considerable quantity of art-works.52 41 Bernabó Brea 2001, figs. 95b, 122-126. 42 Bernabó Brea 2001, fig. 78a. 43 Carpenter 1986; 1997; Hamdorf 1986; Isler-Kerényi 2001; 2007; Lyubov’ i éros 2006, 63-85 etc. 44 LIMC, III. 2, Dionysos 136. 45 Waldhauer 1928, pl. VII, 9. The left foot of Dionysos can be seen protruding from under the himation, while the right one has been broken off. 46 Muzÿ i maski 2005, 46, No. 1. 47 LIMC, III. 1, 439; III. 2, 312, Dionysos 147. 48 Ridgway 1977, pls. 38-39. 49 Ridgway 1990, pl. 97. 50 Il’ina 2007, 354-365. 51 There is a well-known depiction of Dionysos in a plaster impression reproducing a metal depiction for a situla or large cup, which represents a drunk and nude Dionysos, supported by a satyr (Richter 1958, 373, pl. 93, fig. 24). This can be compared with a terracotta relief dating from the mid-5th century BC from the collection of the Berlin Museums with a depiction of Dionysos sitting sideways on a donkey (Jacobsthal 1931, pl. 47, 86). Dionysos is wearing a chiton and himation and is holding a kantharos in his right hand, while with his left he embraces a standing satyr, who is supporting him (LIMC, III. 1, 458-459; III. 2, 344, Dionysos 402). Terracotta compositions of two actors in masks supporting each other have been recorded in the North Pontic region (Silant’eva 1974, pl. 13, 6; Muzÿ i maski 2005, No. 83). 52 This subject is well represented by a large number of bronze figurines from the Hellenistic and Roman periods (Manfrini-Aragno 1987, 91-95, Nos. 125-131; Marquardt 1995, pl. 27, 3). Many depictions of Dionysos supported by satyrs and maenads originated from marble sarcophagi decorated with Dionysiac motifs (Matz 1975, pl. 306, 282; pl. 310, 283, 285, 287; pl. 311, 284; pl. 312, 26 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 Among rather distant parallels it is worth mentioning a 2nd century AD marble sarcophagus held in Cambridge, on which two satyrs have been depicted – an old satyr and a young one carrying an infant Dionysos in a basket.53 Dating the Relief As has been pointed out above, we dated the relief to the 5th century BC in our preliminary publication. Since then other considerations have led us to assign the relief a somewhat later date. The find-spot only provides us with a terminus ante quem – mid-1st century AD. At the same time, in the fill of the winery material was found from both the Classical and the Hellenistic period. With a certain degree of caution we can assume that the lower limit of the disturbed level covering the remains of the winery would not pre-date the 4th century BC.54 It thus follows that the circumstances in which the relief was found allow us to state that it had been in a disturbed level of a period between the 4th century BC and the first half of the 1st century AD. It is only possible to specify the date more precisely on the basis of the style of the depiction on it. The realistic nature of the depiction, the way in which the details of the garments have been worked with soft, flowing folds closely wrapping the figures 288-290 et alii). In all these compositions Dionysos is depicted nude. Depictions of satyrs have also been recorded carrying along a drunk silenus laid out on an animal skin (Matz 1969, 377-378, pl. 224, 209). In one of these reliefs the satyrs are following a chariot, on which Dionysos and Ariadne are riding (Matz 1968, 194-195, pl. 95, 78). In some cases he is being carried (Matz 1968, 98, No. 84; pls. 99, 84a; 102, 84a). In some reliefs Erotes are also helping to carry a satyr (Turcan 1966, pl. 12b; Matz 1968, pl. 114, 88; pl. 157, 129). On the famous monument by Karystios on the island of Delos, Dionysos is depicted in the centre of the composition between a silenus with a kantharos and a maenad with a thyrsos (Ridgway 1990, 213, pl. 98c). On a 2nd century AD sarcophagus held in the National Museum in Naples, Priapos is presented in the centre of the composition dressed in a himation and supported by two nude satyrs (Matz 1969, 323-325, pl. 196, 176). 53 Matz 1968, pl. 157, 129; Merkelbach 1988, 245, fig. 50. 54 N. I. Sokol’skiï wrote that in that level amphora material of the 6th-4th centuries BC was found (Sokol’skiï 1967, 17). However, the amphorae from Thasos and Sinope mentioned in the text dated most probably from the 4th century BC. Sinope vessels of this kind did not appear at all before the eighties or seventies of the 4th century BC (Monakhov 2003, 146). As for amphorae from Thasos, although container-loads of pottery from that production centre have been found dating from the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC (Monakhov 2003, 60-61), in the 1960s scholars only identified and recorded two types of Thasian amphorae: biconical amphorae from the last third of the 5th and the 4th century BC and conical ones dating from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC described in a monograph by I. B. Zeest (1960, 82-88, pls. VII-IX). D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 27 and also the fairly free poses of the figures would point to Greek sculpture of the Late Classical period, which had been strongly influenced by Ionian masters. This is also indicated by the turns of the figures and, in general, by the movement of the group in three-quarter turns towards the beholder. A similar device is to be found in works of Greek art starting from the 4th century BC. What would also confirm such a date is the symmetrical nature of the way in which the master has filled the whole space on the terracotta plaque. As regards its overall composition, this relief is reminiscent of the famous marble stele with two warriors from the Yubileïnoe I settlement on the Taman Peninsula55 and many other funerary monuments from the Late Classical period. A similar positioning of the figures’ legs has been recorded in the celebrated frieze from the Halikarnassos Mausoleum by Skopas and Timotheos.56 A monument of slightly later date by Karystios from Delos (early 3rd century BC) portrays Dionysos accompanied by a silenus and a maenad: the legs and torsos of the figures have been executed identically. On the basis of all this the relief should be dated to the 4th century BC – evidently to its second half. The somewhat Archaic flavour of the images (in our case – images of satyrs) is also a characteristic feature of art from the Late Classical period. There is no doubt that the relief published here is not an object of mass production by craftsmen, but a high-quality work of art executed as a special commission by qualified sculptors working in terracotta. So far it is difficult to state with confidence where it was made, but the style of the depiction and also the visual characteristics of the clay used, as well as the absence of any parallels at all, apart from the above-mentioned terracotta composition from Kerch, make it possible cautiously to suggest that this relief is of Bosporan origin.57 When the article was already with the editor, thanks to the kind efforts of H. Mommsenn and U. Schlotzhauer, we received data (obtained through neutron activation analysis [NAA] from the Bonn laboratory) establishing that the relief had been made from clay typical for most pottery items found in the Asiatic Bosporus and traditionally considered local. 55 A collective monograph has been published on this remarkable work of art: Taman Relief 1999. 56 See, for example Lullies 1960, pls. 214-215; Stewart 1977, pls. 34a; 36; 40; and other publications. 57 N. I. Sokol’skiï suggested also that the relief was the work of a “terracotta artist from Kepoi” (Sokol’skiï 1967, 16). 28 D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 The “Carrying of Dionysos” in the Bosporus The most complex question to be confronted with regard to this terracotta relief is the interpretation of the scene depicted on it. It is possible that it portrays a moment from a theatrical performance in honour of Dionysos, since actors are involved in carrying Dionysos.58 An enormous number of phallic depictions of satyrs and sileni exists.59 It is well-known that phallic characters participated in satyr plays,60 however, the satyrs involved were not dressed but nude. In our case this could be an additional argument in favour of the depicted figures being actors, who, as we know, attached phalluses over their garments during satyr plays. Nor should we overlook the fact that the carrying of a statue of the deity took place during Dyonisiac festivals. It is well known that during the celebration of his festival in Athens, a statue of Dionysos was carried to the temple along the road from Eleusis to Athens, in which official celebrations were held and sacrifices made. In that procession an important role was that played by epheboi, who carried the statue.61 It is possible that similar ceremonies took place in the Cimmerian Bosporus as well.62 On the other hand, on both the relief published here and on the terracotta plaque from the collection of E. R. Zaporozhskiï, the seated figure has his arm round one of the bearers. This fact, as pointed out above, contradicts the idea that it is a statue which is being carried. There is, however, no doubt that both Dionysiac festivals and actual theatrical performances had common roots. Today we can thus put forward a preliminary suggestion to the effect that the relief found in the Taman peninsula depicts two actors, playing satyrs, carrying Dionysos (or rather the actor playing that role). The relief published in this article can probably be linked with the Dionysiac festival on the Taman Peninsula, which had long been an agricultural region. It is likely that the relief 58 On theatrical performances and their associations with Dionysos, see Arnott 1962; Winkler, Zeitlin 1992; Green 1994; Moraw, Nölle 2002; et alii. 59 For more detail on this, see Hedreen 1992; Isler Kerényi 2001; 2007. 60 Green, Handley 1999, 22-29. 61 Pickard-Cambridge 1968, 59-61; Goldhill 1987, 59. 62 The famous Chersonesos decree (IOSPE I² 343), which – after the appearance of Yu. G. Vinogradov’s article – “had lost the right to be known as the decree about the ‘carrying of Dionysos’ ”, could have been confirmation of a similar practice in the North Pontic region. Vinogradov himself, like his predecessors, also admitted the possibility of another “more problematic” restoration of part of that inscription as “τοῦ Διονυσί[ου vel – ακοῦ e.g. ξοάνoυ vel sim] – “carrying of a Dionysiac sculpture”. See Vinogradov 1997, 114 (complete with a list of earlier literature on the subject). D. V. Zhuravlev, G. A. Lomtadze / Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia 19 (2013) 13-31 29 was part of a composite work which had been placed in a temple or another cultic or public building. Taking into account the find of the small plaque with an identical motif in E. R. Zaporozhskiï’s collection, we can, albeit cautiously, state that the subject of the “carrying of Dionysos” was known in the Bosporus and possibly even popular. We cannot rule out the possibility that the small rather clumsily made terracotta plaque from Kerch (?) is a copy, or rather an imitation of the Kepoi relief. If so the lack of any parallels makes it possible to assume that there existed a specifically Bosporan motif linked with these depictions. 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