아티카 도기화에 나타난 디오니소스의 다양한 이미지

Abstract

It is generally known that Dionysos was born of Jesus and Semele, the princess of Thebes. Dionysos is also known not as a native Greek but to have originated from the oriental gods. Dionysos frequently appeared in decorative paintings of pottery that was one of the staples in ancient Greece. He appeared most frequently in Black-figure and Red-figure pottery of Attica as subject matter. Dionysos first appeared in early Black-figure pottery not as a main character but a marginal one. However he started to appear with his unique symbolic ornaments and followers increasingly as a central figure. His iconic image initially developed in Black-figure pottery became richer and more diverse in Red-figure pottery influenced by Symposion and Dionysian Festival. Previous studies on Dionysos focused mostly on his typical image appeared in Black-figure pottery. The focus of this study however is the significant image transformation of Dionysos from a marginal character to a central one, during the transition from Black-figure to Red-figure pottery. Thus the scope of analysis expanded to the Red-figure pottery in this study. Analysis of supporting characters around him was also made in addition to the icon of Dionysos as a central topic of the study. An intriguing point here is that tragedy, satire, and everyday life as subject matters began to appear in volume in pottery paintings around this period,hence affecting the image of Dionysos accordingly. Symposion and festivals took place abundantly in Athens from the mid 6th Century BC onwards around which the icon of Dionysos frequently appeared. Consequently Dionysos permeated into everyday lives of the Athenians. Such phenomenon of the “Dionysian influence” in turn changed the image of Dionysos. Analysis of the bride Ariadne was also made in this study as a significant supporting character for Dionysos coinciding with the iconic image changes. Ariadne was originally a Theseus' lover, however, she begins to appear as a bride of Dionysos around the mid 6th Century BC. Most of Black-figure pottery paintings around the mid and late 6th Century BC describe a happy “first encounter” of Dionysos and Ariadne. The historical background of such image changes is also related with the planned policy of Peisistratus who reigned as a tyrant in that era. Pottery makers of Athens might have tried to downplay the scandal of Athens’founding father Theseus for deserting defenseless Ariadne. They might have also expressed their reverence for Dionysos by presenting Ariadne as his bride especially when his influence on the Athenian society increased. It can be interpreted that the desire of the Athenians for aggrandizing Dionysos whose significance gradually grew was captured in such pottery paintings.