The red of Dionysus belongs to women. So dark it is almost black, it calls up old wine, deep wounds, and the marbled walls of the womb itself heavy with twisted veins reaching inevitably toward the heart. At the heart of the Mystery chamber that anchors these pages in Pompeii there is an unabashed love of women . . . Wreathed in red and weighted by soulfulness, she is an image of the Roman Mater Matuta — mother of maturation — assessing the ripeness of a process eloquently described in Linda Fierz's analysis of feminine ritual activity on the walls of a unique Mediterranean Villa” (Nor Hall).
Preface (Nor Hall) -- Women's Dionysian The Villa of Mysteries in Pompeii (Linda Fierz-David) -- Those Women (Nor Hall) -- plates -- publisher's note. Incl. 5 color plates.
Includes Those Women, originally published 1988 by Spring Publications.
This is very difficult for me to read - have to look up the meanings of many terms - totally confused by the Dionysus and Ariadne cult - don't get the Jung psych stuff - but I am fascinated with the Villa Dei Misteri - and the red paintings speak to me! Will continue to wrangle my way through it!