Red-Figure Bell-Krater (Mixing Vessel): Bust of Dionysos and Comic Actors (A); Dionysos, Satyr, Maenad (B)

Dionysos, the god of wine, theater, and the mysteries, dominates both sides of this bell-krater, a vessel for mixing water and wine. On the front, he appears in bust form, wearing a fillet and laurel wreath. Over his shoulder and behind his head rests his <em>thyrsos</em>, sprouting grapevines. Comic actors, identifiable by their masks and padded costumes, flank the colossal bust, stretching for a bunch of grapes on the left and holding a large <em>skyphos </em>(wine cup) on the right. On the reverse, Dionysos marches in procession with his retinue, a satyr and maenad.