CIMRM 822-823 - Dionysius, Silenus &c. From the Walbrook Mithraeum, London, Britain
See also: CIMRM 810-811 Tauroctony; 812 Cloaked figure; 813 Oceanus; 814 Mithraeum; 815 Mithras head; 816 Cautopates fragment; 817 Torso of deity; 818 Serapis head + 2 hands; 819 Circular plaque; 820 Minerva head; 821 Mercury statuette; 822-823 Dionysius, Silenus statue; 824 Sandstone bowl; 825 Inscription; 826 Inscription; Supp. Silver box + strainer; Pottery; Lead bull;
The Museum of London adds:
At the end of the Mithraeum's life, the building was refurbished and a new temple emerged. Found on the latest floor of the temple, a marble group depicted the god Bacchus accompanied by Pan and supported by two of his followers, a satyr and maenad.
It bears an inscription, HOMINIBUS BAGIS BITAM or 'giver of life to wandering men'. This suggests a place of worship dedicated to Bacchus in late Roman London and alludes to the eastern belief of everlasting life. Two marble torsos also identified as Bacchus were additional finds during the excavations (WFG44 and see about the Temple to Bacchus in Londinium Lite).
CIMRM entry
822. "Small marble group which shows the god Dionysus reaching up to a vine; on the left is Silenus on a donkey, and, above, on the tree-trunk, the leg of a goat; to the right of Dionysus is a satyr; and, further right, a maenad carrying a wine-vessel, with a leopard at her feet" (Grimes in ILN, 636).
The base carries an inscription:
823.
Hominibus bagisbitambagisbitam: may be vagis vitam "thou givest life to men".
I.e. "... (give) life to men who wander."
Bibliography.
- (Various), Sculptures from the temple of Mithras, Walbrook, Guildhall Museum, 1955.
- J. M. C. Toynbee, A silver casket and strainer from the Walbrook Mithraeum in the City of London. Leyden: Brill, 1963.
- J.M.C. Toynbee, The Roman Art Treasures from the Temple of Mithras, London & Middlesex Archaeological Society, 1986, ISBN: 0903290316.
- Roman Inscriptions of Britain 1.
| Tweet |