Il rituale della lucertola. Una gemma romana con iconografia dionisiaca del Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Cagliari

Abstract

The object of analysis of this paper is a carnelian preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari on which is represented an Eros that holds a lizard in hand. On the basis of the comparison with other artefacts that have a similar iconography, this study focuses on the meaning of this image connected to the Dionysian sphere of the evil forces’ expulsion and of the propitiation of fertility within the cult of Bacchus/Liber Pater in Sardinia in Roman times.