KARTHAGO

"Silenus and Maenad
This sculpture group shows a drunken Silenus, leaning his elbow on a winesack which is expressively flaccid, and a half-draped Maenad, or female worshipper of Bacchus. Though these characters featured in some well-known stories, this is not a narrative piece. Instead, it is typical of the very common Bacchic sculptural ornament for private houses and gardens which the Romans copied in vast numbers from Hellenistic prototypes. The religious connotation of the creatures is here minimized; the presentation is amusing and decorative, suggesting drunkennesss and sexual license. The garden was their natural setting, as these creatures were thought to haunt the woods. Discovered in the House of the Panther."