contained within a chalice (fig 161) The foot of
proximity of the dragon protome to the vessel’s
the chalice is held in place by the interlaced rep-
rim, which is rendered as if eager to reach for
tilian bodies, patterned with scales, which spring
the contents, was perhaps seen as token of the
from the base of a four-columned structure that
liquid’s protection
holds up a fountain, probably representing the
The motif of a serpent lapping from a vessel
“Fountain of Life,” underlining the paradisiac
was a well-known theme in depictions of Greek
symbolism associated with the illumination of
mythology 118 It appears on a sixth-century Byz-
canon tables 114 The composition is flanked by
antine gilded silver dish, preserved in the State
winged mythical creatures, a griffin to the left and
Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, an example of
a sphinx-like being playing a stringed instrument
the reception of Dionysiac motifs in sixth-century
on the right
Byzantine art 119 It shows a young woman with
The symbolism of a dragon with its head placed
one knee bent at a right angle, opening with one
close to the vessel as if eager to reach the contents
hand the lid of a cylindrical container from which
while its body serves as handle attached to jugs
a serpent is emerging, while with the other hold-
and ewers had been known since ancient times 115
ing a calyx-like vessel, from whose contents the
The motif became formalised in the post-Sasanian
serpent is lapping The container has been iden-
period with the body of the dragon becoming
tified as cista mystica, the iconographic emblem
more stylised 116 This type of imagery in which the
of the Eleusinian and Bacchic mysteries to which
gaping snout of a dragon head holds the rim of a
in late Hellenistic times a serpent issuing from
vessel above a handle or, alternatively, releases the
the sacred cista was added 120 The female figure is
liquid when it serves as spout (fig 35), is associ-
probably associated with a mystery cult, perhaps
ated with the reading of the dragon as beneficent
representing a maenad, one of the female follow-
custodian, safeguarding the precious contents of
ers of the god Dionysos (fig 163) 121 A similar
the vessel
motif is associated with Hygieia, goddess of medi-
The dragon’s role as a beneficent creature,
cine, whose cult spread with that of her mythical
guardian of the liquid of vessels, evoked in the
father Asklepios and who like her father is invari-
figure of a winged and horned dragon with elon-
ably associated with a serpent, sometimes shown
gated snout and open jaws, reaching towards the
as drinking from a bowl held in her hand 122 The
folded lip of a vessel while the frontlegs hold onto
motif of the lapping dragon, which seems to be
the side wall just below the rim, is featured on a
rooted in Dionysiac lore, was also known in early
late seventh- or early eighth-century pear-shaped
Kushan-period Gandhāra (present-day Afghani-
gold jug of unknown provenance, preserved in
stan and Pakistan) It is exemplified on a schist
the Moscow Historical Museum (fig 162) 117 The
relief (fig 164) with a nude boy ( eros or putto)
114 For a discussion of the overall iconography of Arme-
nian canon tables (which however does not consider the role
another marble relief, again perhaps from Tomis, dating to
of the dragons), see Mathews and Sanjian, 1991, pp 169–73,
the second or third century ad, now in a private collection,
esp p 171 On the symbolism of the fons vitae, see Under-
London, where the reptile drinks from a phiale offered
wood, 1950, pp 43–138
by a standing goddess flanked by an approaching rider
115 See chapter 3, “The dragon motif on vessels ” Melikian-
See Lane, ed , 1996, p 142, fig K12, p 143, fig K14 The
Chirvani identifies the representation of a feline or mythi-
motif of a goddess offering liquid from a vial to a serpent
cal head griping the rim of a vessel as visual metaphor of
is also shown on a Roman relief in the National Museum,
“the king drinking wine as a substitute for sacrificial blood”
Palermo, inv no 1551 ( ibid, p 157) as well as on a late
which goes as far back as Achaemenid times See idem, 1992,
Roman votive relief, now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris,
pp 101–34, idem, 1995, pp 47–97, esp pp 54–7 for literary
inv no MA 3316 ( ibid, p 148) A distant echo of the motif
images of wine as substitute for blood libations, and idem,
is found on fifth-century bc stone reliefs and terracotta
1996, pp 85–139
plaques from Lakonia, attesting to its great antiquity Cf
116 Cf the parallel development of the feline, most often
Salapata, 2006, pp 541–60 It also appears on an archaic
symbolising a panther, in post-Sasanian art, Ettinghausen,
Laconian relief from Gerakion featuring the descent of the
1972, pp 3–10
dead to Hades Elderkin, 1924, pl II, fig 2, and p 11 with
117 Marshak, 1971, T8, and 1986, pp 58–9, fig 68 (line
further references
119
drawing); Rempel’, 1987a, 63, fig 24b
For a discussion of the reception of Dionysiac motifs
118 See the discussion in Elderkin, 1924, pp 11, 15–9,
in Sasanian art, cf Ettinghausen, 1972, pp 3–10
120
37–8, 41–3, 137 The iconographic scheme of a serpent
Burkert, 1995, p 84 See also Kelhoffer, 2000,
drinking from a vessel appears, for instance, on a marble
pp 364–5
121
relief from Tomis (Constanta), dated to the second cen-
Cf Iskusstvo Vizantii v sobraniiakh SSSR, 1977, vol 1,
tury ad, preserved in Bucharest, Archaeological Institute, a
p 98, fig 133
122
serpent coiled around a tree moves to drink from a phiale-
Cf Thrämer, “Health and Gods of Healing (Greek),”
held out by a rider next to an enthroned goddess See also
ERE, vol 6, part 2, 1914, p 552
vestiges of ancient dragon iconographies
157
attempting to quench the thirst of a dragon who
attested in the eleventh- or early twelfth-century
seems to lap from the contents of a bowl that is
Byzantine encyclopaedia of the Metaphrastian
offered while a second boy, also holding a cup,
Menologion volumes featuring so-cal ed “revenge
rides sideways on its back 123
miniatures ”127 These show the crowned figures of
In Christian iconography the Dionysiac symbol
Roman tyrants responsible for the deaths of mar-
of the cup or the kantharos took on a new sig-
tyred saints, associated with a serpent or dragon
nificance by becoming the Eucharistic chalice 124
seen as an embodiment or emissary of Satan One
The motif of the drinking serpent appears as the
of these depictions portrays a crowned figure,
serpent-topped chalice of John the Evangelist 125
probably representing the emperor Maximian,
While it is likely that this form of imagery was
holding a vessel from which a serpent is drink-
initially imbued with ideas of healing and salva-
ing 128
tion, associated with the beneficial aspect of the
Hence it is a reasonable conjecture that the
serpent, the same motif later increasingly came to
drinking dragons on the “Dragon Cloth” sec-
be reinterpreted and reformulated in a negative
tion of the lining of the coronation mantle of
sense when the meaning of the myth associated
Roger II, those over the door at the monastery of
with the serpent was inverted As a result of this
Mār Behnām and those in the Vani Gospels all
process the (serpent-)dragon assumed an overall
belong to the same symbolic group, representing
meaning as symbol and instrument of a fiend-
the visual remnants that survived the mutations
ish force in Christian imagery, thus frequently
of ancient beliefs The basic association between
bearing the traces of the mental and cultural shift
the vessel as container of liquid and the dragon
imposed by the new religious system 126 In the
was so strong that it survived in different forms
new Christian context, numerous hagiographic
even though the original iconographic association
and other traditions created a restructured ver-
had perhaps long been forgotten 129 Vestiges of
sion of ancient mythical themes pertaining to
the importance of its former cultic associations
the dragon In consequence, there was a shift in
can however still be gauged from the “revenge
mythological paradigm, the force of the earlier
miniatures” in which the original intent of the
myth died, was changed or suppressed and only
iconography of the drinking serpent was inverted
vestiges of it remain This inversion of meaning is
and survives in corrupted form
123 Kurita, 1988, repr 2003, vol 2, fig 737 (erroneously
contained snake venom Already in classical antiquity it was
catalogued as lion) Cf Ingholt, 1957, pp 156–7, no 296;
quite well-known that a viper’s venom is harmful only if it
Boardman, 2003, pp 139–40, fig 10 (line drawing)
enters directly into a person's blood stream (that is, through
124 See Elderkin, 1924, pp 41–7
an open wound) but not if it is imbibed See idem, pp 433–
125 The motif refers to the challenge given to Saint John
452, with further examples of “miracles” involving the drink-
by the High Priest of Diana at Ephesus to drink from a poi-
ing of snake venom
soned cup; in order to warn him, two criminals had been
126 See p 119, n 85
given the same poison to drink and they both died imme-
127 Cf the example of an eleventh- or early twelfth-
diately However the apostle made the sign of the cross, the
century Byzantine encyclopaedia of the Metaphrastian
poison departed from the cup in the form of a serpent and
Menologion, n 986 Cf Walter, 2003, pp 52–3
John did not suffer any ill effects Recorded in Book V of the
128 Sinai, Monastery of Saint Catherine, gr 508, fol 234v:
Acts of the Apostles of the Apocrypha Abdias, reportedly
Inde and Domna (6F7) See Patterson Ševčenko, 1990, p 156
from the Bishop of Babylon; Fabricius, J A , Codex apocry-
129 Cf the parallel transmission of the Dionysiac animal,
phus Novi Testamenti, ed secunda, Hamburg, 1719, vol 1,
the panther or lynx, into Sasanian and post-Sasanian art and
p 577, see Barb, 1953, p 9; also Kelhoffer, 2000, pp 449–52
the concluding remarks of Ettinghausen, 1972, p 10 Note
While it is not specified what kind of harmful substance was
also the use of both serpent and feline (in this case inter-
contained in the potion offered to Saint John, it is of note
preted as lion) on the handle of the Bobrinsky bucket ( idem,
that this deed may not be as miraculous at it appears had it
fig 125)
158