Bacchus standing between a panther and a herm

Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and revelry, stands between a panther, his symbol, and a herm of Priapus, a male figure with an enlarged phallus, symbolizing fertility. The panther turns its head at Bacchus, its lithe body poised to accept the wine the god pours into its mouth. Bacchus holds the decanter in his right hand and a scepter in his left, and wears a crown of vines and grapes on his head. Note his youthful face and sensuous, nude body, reminders of his association with bodily pleasures. This wall painting would most likely have been in the triclinium, or dining room, in which Romans held comissationes, or drinking parties.