that received Achilles’ bones (for discussion, Henrichs 1987:94–5, 113–14 nn.
12–14; Isler-Kere ́nyi 1997:78–9), there is a sinister meaning in the god’s
pose. Dionysus faces the viewer head on, and the amphora is slightly tipped. This
instability and the god’s frontal stare mark both his presence and his gift as potentially
dangerous to those who are not careful.
The amphora was a vessel used to transport wine. When diluted with water and
correctly shared and consumed according to the rules of organized drinking, wine
brought relaxation and encouraged pleasant and orderly conversation (see Henrichs
1982:140–1, for the benefits of wine), whether in a private home or in thepruta-
neion, the dining room of the city. These conditions encouraged a shared male culture
and enabled the interchange necessary for political and intellectual life. Wine,
however, like Dionysus himself, could also be both seductive and destructive (see
Detienne 1989a:33–40, 50, for the risks). By isolating Dionysus and showing him in
full frontal view in the center of the main frieze, Kleitias converts the image into a
medallion. Like the Gorgon on Athena’s shield, Dionysus issues a challenge. His pose
calls attention to the benefits of his gift as well as the possible risks of abusing wine. If
not managed by ritual, wine could threaten the community that made the polis
possible (Isler-Kere ́nyi 1993:8–9).
Frontal views are not common in Greek vase painting, but when they do occur they
are displayed in clearly defined contexts and carry a special meaning (Korshak 1987
collects 255 examples). The majority of the figures shown full face on Greek vases are
connected to Dionysus or associated with wine. Satyrs alone are 40 percent of the
total. They greatly outnumber all other subjects, and black-figure satyrs outnumber
red. Satyrs are imaginary creatures, part-human, part-horse. They are bald but
bearded, nude but hairy, their bodies undersized, their genitals often enormous.
They are highly sexed, easily excitable, and impossible to control, yet unable to
achieve sexual satisfaction (Henrichs 1987; Lissarague 1990b). They inhabit remote,
wooded areas in the mountains; they do not belong in town.
Most of the depictions of black-figure satyrs in full frontal view show them engaged
in frenetic dancing or wine production and consumption. Red-figure satyrs are fewer
in number, but their counterparts are now drunken symposiasts. Full frontal view
on red-figure vases, sometimes accompanied by vomiting, indicates that a drinker
has given himself over to the power of wine, the result of imitating satyrs in the rule-
bound environment of the symposium. Aristocratic bias and, after Solon, contempt
for the newly enfranchised infect the images, but there is also humor in the presen-
tation of the transgressive behavior of those who drink too much (Sutton
2000:180–1; 199–201). Nevertheless, drunkenness is out of place in the formal
symposium, the male institution for controlling the effects of wine. Drunken behavior
is an insult to the god and an impediment to social interaction. Dionysus offers
consumers the opportunity to abuse his gift, because it is up to the drinker to moderate
consumption in order to maintain both sobriety and mental and social equilibrium.
Altered States
The theme uniting the majority of the full frontal figures is transition to an altered
state. The activities that effect this transition are: (1) frenetic dancing; (2) playing the
332 Susan Guettel Cole