An almost perfectly preserved terracotta mask came to light depicting Dionysus , the god of wine, probably dating back to the end of the 4th century BC We are in Turkey and the mask may have been used in the rituals associated with winemaking.
According to the Anadolu State Agency, the team led by Kaan Iren, an archaeologist from Mugla Sitki Kocman University, claims that the mask that emerged during excavations in the ancient acropolis city of Daskyleion, itself discovered in 1952, dates back 2,400 years.
It is probably a votive mask used during the rituals associated with the grape harvest and the production of wine. Popular legend suggests that wearing a mask of Dionysus (Bacchus for the Latins) freed the faithful from their hidden desires and regrets and the reason is soon said: Dionysus was the god of vegetation and fertility, of grapes and wine, but also of excess and infringement.
This represented the breaking of the barriers between gods and men. Drunk as he was, he favoured the debauchery of the faithful and made them wild.
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A terracotta "Dionysos mask" was found in the ongoing excavations in the Daskyleion Ancient City on the shore of Lake Manyas in Bandırma district of Balıkesir. pic.twitter.com/3v01cBN2qB
“ The excavations at Daskyleion started several years ago but and this is the first time we [have] unearthed an almost intact mask,” concludes Iren.
Source: Anadolu Agency
