Greek krater, 460-440 BCE

A krater is a Greek vessel used to mix wine with water. The illustration shows the Greek god Dionysius (Bacchus is the Roman equivalent) cavorting with his followers. Dionysius is the god of wine and ecstasy. His female followers were called maenads while the men were called satyrs. At the celebrations for Dionysius, worshippers became drunk and would go into trances. Miracles were believed to occ…