Relief with a portrait and procession of satyrs and maenads (Thiasus)

This sculpture is a relief from a Roman grave monument, depicting a portrait of the deceased surrounded by the frolicsome procession of satyrs and maenads, also known as thiasus. In Greek mythology and religion, the thiasus (Greek thiasos), was the ecstatic retinue of Dionysus, often pictured as inebriated revellers. Many of the myths of Dionysus are connected with his arrival in the form of a procession. Regulars of the retinue were various nature spirits, including the sileni (or human dancers costumed as such), phalluses much in evidence, satyrs, and Pan. The ithyphallic sileni are often shown dancing这件雕塑为罗马墓葬纪念碑出土的浮雕作品，刻画了逝者肖像，其周遭环绕着嬉闹的萨堤罗斯（satyrs）与迈那得斯（maenads）组成的游行队伍，该场景亦被称为酒神伴从队伍（thiasus）。 在希腊神话与宗教信仰体系中，酒神伴从队伍（thiasus，希腊语原词为thiasos）是狄俄尼索斯的狂热随从群体，常被描绘为酩酊大醉的狂欢者。狄俄尼索斯的诸多神话叙事均与其以游行队伍形式降临凡间的情节相关联。这支随从队伍的固定成员涵盖各类自然精灵，包括西勒诺斯（sileni，或装扮为其形象的人类舞者）、随处可见的阳具造型元素、萨堤罗斯与潘神（Pan）。阳具勃起的西勒诺斯形象常被刻画为舞蹈姿态。