694 THE SURVIVAL OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY
logical subjects were allegories of the resurrection of the soul (the finding of
Ariadne by Dionysus, illustrated on page 562, was especially popular in this
connection), the triumph of virtue over evil (e.g., the Labors of Heracles
or scenes of battles with the Amazons), or hope for everlasting life (symbol-
ized especially by Dionysus and the vine). These subjects were equally ap-
propriate for pagan and Christian patrons, and so classical mythology con-
tinued to provide material for artistic representations even after the triumph
of Christianity.
Here are a few examples from the third and fourth centuries. In the ceme-
tery beneath St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is a third-century wall mosaic
showing Christ with the attributes of Apollo as sun-god (see Color Plate 3). He
ascends in the chariot of the sun, whose rays, as well as the cross, emanate from
his head, while in the background the vine of Dionysus is both a decorative and
a symbolic feature. Also in the third century, Christ appears as Orpheus in a
fresco in a Christian catacomb in Rome, and a century later Hercules is shown
killing the Hydra in another Christian catacomb fresco. In the fourth century, a
Christian woman, Projecta, had her splendid silver-gilt wedding casket deco-
rated with figures of the Muses and of sea-gods and goddesses attended by
mythological monsters. The Muses and sea divinities appear in mosaics from
the provinces, including Britain and Germany, and the myth of Actaeon is
the subject of a third-century mosaic from Cirencester (the Roman Corinium)
in Britain.
Of all mythological figures Dionysus proved the most durable, in part be-
cause the vine was a powerful symbol in Christian allegory, in part because
Dionysus and his myths were associated with mysteries that gave hope of sal-
vation to individuals. The myth of Ariadne (mentioned earlier) often appears
for this reason. In the Church of Santa Costanza at Rome, built in the fourth cen-
tury to house the sarcophagi of members of the Christian emperor Constantine's
family, the vault mosaics show Dionysus and the vintage in a Christian context.
The vintage is again the subject of the reliefs on the sarcophagus of Constan-
tine's daughter. In contexts that may be Christian or pagan, Dionysus and his
maenads, along with Hercules and his lion, appear on the silver dishes from the
fourth century that were found at Mildenhall in Britain. An opponent of Diony-
sus, the Thracian king Lycurgus, is the subject of a floor mosaic now in Vienna
and of a famous glass cup (see Color Plate 4), both showing Lycurgus trapped
in the god's vine.
Scenes from classical mythology continued to inspire painters of manuscript
illuminations. For example, the "Vatican Vergil" manuscript of about A.D. 400
has forty-one miniatures, and there are ten in the so-called Vergilius Romanus
manuscript, which dates from about 500. Mythological figures maintained their
classical forms better in the Byzantine East than in the West. They appear in
manuscripts, on ivory plaques and boxes, and in many other media, including
silver work, pottery, and textiles.