2-723-358 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Bacchanalian Relief, 1-100. A procession of people clapping, blowing a long horn, dancing, and carrying grapes once adorned a Buddhist monument in a region that had Greco-Roman roots extending back to 326 BC, with the arrival of Alexander of Macedon and his successors. Bacchanalian scenes were carved on the lower portions of public monuments to reference the joyful abundance of life--which may well be enhanced with veneration of the monument and donations to the monastery with which it was associated.