Villa dei Misteri
A Villa Dei Misteri freskói (hamarosan lefordítom :)
The chamber is entered through an opening located between the first and last scenes of the fresco.
The fresco images you will see in the Villa of Mysteries seem to part of a ritual ceremony aimed at preparing privileged, protected girls for the psychological transition to life as married women. The frescoes in the Villa of Mysteries provide us the opportunity to glimpse something important about the rites of passage for the women of Pompeii. But as there are few written records about mystery religions and initiation rites, any iconographic interpretation is bound to be flawed. In the end we are left with the wonderful frescoes and the mystery. Nevertheless, an interpretation is offered, see if you agree or disagree.
Interpreting the Frescoes
At the center of the frescoes are the figures of Dionysus, the one certain identification agreed upon by scholars, and his mother Semele (other interpretations have the figure as Ariadne).
Scene 1.
Scene 2.
A priestess (center), wearing a head covering and a wreath of myrtle removes a covering from a ceremonial basket held by a female attendant. Speculations about the contents of the basket include: more laurel, a snake, or flower petals. A second female attendant wearing a wreath, pours purifying water into a basin in which the priestess is about to dip a sprig of laurel. (Above right) Mythological characters and music are introduced into the narrative. An aging Silenus plays a ten-string lyre resting on a column.
Scene 3
A young male satyr plays pan pipes, while a nymph suckles a goat. The initiate is being made aware of her close connection with nature. This move from human to nature represents a shift away from the conscious human world to our preconscious animal state. In many rituals, this regression, assisted by music, is requisite to achieving a psychological state necessary for rebirth and regeneration.
Scene 4.
The Silenus looks disapprovingly at the startled initiate as he holds up an empty silver bowl. A young satyr gazes into the bowl, as if mesmerized. Another young satyr holds a theatrical mask (resembling the Silenus) aloft and looks off to his left. Some speculate that the mask rather than the satyr's face is reflected in the silver bowl. So, looking into the vessel is an act of divination: the young satyr sees himself in the future, a dead satyr. The young satyr and the young initiate are coming to terms with their own deaths. In this case the death of childhood and innocence. The bowl may have held Kykeon, the intoxicating drink of participants in Orphic-Dionysian mysteries, intended for the frightened initiate.
This scene is at the center of both the room and the ritual. Dionysus sprawls in the arms of his mother Semele. Dionysus wears a wreath of ivy, his thyrsus tied with a yellow ribbon lies across his body, and one sandal is off his foot. Even though the fresco is badly damaged, we can see that Semele sits on a throne with Dionysus leaning on her. Semele, the queen, the great mother is supreme.
Scene 6.
The initiate, carrying a staff and wearing a cap, returns from the night journey. What has happened is a mystery to us. But in similar rituals the confused, and sometimes drugged initiate emerges like an infant at birth, from a dark place to a lighted place. She reaches for a covered object sitting in a winnowing basket, the liknon. The covered object is taken by many to be a phallus, or a herm.
Standing behind the initiate are two figures of women, unfortunately badly damaged. One woman (far left) holds a plate with what appear to be pine needles above the initiate's head. The apprehensive second figure is drawing back.
Scene 7.
The two themes of this scene are torture and transfiguration, the evocative climax of the rite. Notice the complete abandonment to agony on the face of the initiate and the lash across her back. She is consoled by a woman identified as a nurse. To the right a nude women clashes celebratory cymbals and another woman is about to give to the initiate a thyrsus, symbolizing the successful completion of the rite.
A megkorbácsolt asszony és a bacchánsnő
(magyar anyag erről a freskóról)
A pompeji Villa dei Misteri freskósorozatának egyik részlete
A pompeji Villa dei Misteri freskósorozata valószínűleg a Dionüszosz kultuszához kötődő beavatási szertartás jeleneteit ábrázolják.
A képen látható freskó részleten korbácsok üldözte, ruhátlan nő társa ölében keres menedéket. Jobbra egy bacchánsnő lejti szédítő táncát, és közben cintányérokat üt össze. A háttérben álló alak a thürszoszt, Dionüszosz jelképét tartja.
A különálló vagy életteli csoportokat alkotó emberi alakok teljességgel uralják a kompozíciót. A meleg, telt, erősen érzéki színek hűen tükrözik a szertartások szellemét. Ezek a szertartások valószínűleg különbözhettek egymástól, egyben azonban megegyeztek: mindet éjszaka tartották.
http://www.sulinet.hu/tovabbtan/felveteli/ttkuj/6het/muvtori/megold6.html
Scene 8.
This scene represents an event after the completion of the ritual drama. The transformed initiate or bride prepares, with the help of an attendant, for marriage. A young Eros figure holds a mirror which reflects the image of the bride. Both the bride and her reflected image stare out inquiringly at us, the observers.
Scene 9.
The figure above has been identified as: the mother of the bride, the mistress of the villa, or the bride herself. Notice that she does wear a ring on her finger. If she is the same female who began the dramatic ritual as a headstrong girl, she has certainly matured psychologically.
Scene 10
Eros, a son of Chronos or Saturn, god of Love, is the final figure in the narrative.