Bacchus (Roman) or Dionysus (Greek) god of agriculture, wine and fertility, also ritual madness and religious ecstasy. Depicted as a mature bearded figure or later youthful and beardless His plants were vines and twirling ivy. Son of Zeus and Semele or Zeus and Persephone.
Figure: Bacchus with panther, Italian (Roman) School, c. 1730; origin Ashbridge Estate, Hertfordshire.
