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Archaeologies of the Heart pp 183–203Cite as

Emotions in the Dionysiac Fresco in Villa of the Mysteries Outside Pompeii

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Abstract

Emotions are ephemeral phenomena and hard to identify in archaeological materials and contexts. Yet, graves, battlefields, and objects may offer compelling evidence of emotions; and, through millennia, people have depicted human faces in paintings, pottery, sculptures, embroideries, metal works, and more. Some faces display emotional expressions. But how can we systematically record and identify them? The Facial Action Coding System (FACS), an instrument for registering facial expressions (Ekman and Friesen, The facial action coding system. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, 1978), was developed within psychology, but is used within numerous fields. “The Dionysiac Fresco” in “Villa of the Mysteries” in Pompeii, Italy, painted in the first century BCE, is one of the most famous paintings from European antiquity. It shows 29 persons (human and supernatural) engaged in various activities. The interpretations are numerous and varied. Several interpretations claim that strong emotions are expressed. I used FACS when investigating the faces. Results showed few and weak emotional expressions. Emotional expressions are influenced by both human nature and culture. Pictorial conventions and Roman attitudes to emotionality may have influenced the emotions in the Fresco but, possibly, also intentions and experiences related to religion and cultic practices. These results may contribute to the interpretation of “the Dionysiac Fresco” in “Villa of the Mysteries,” Pompeii.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology and SapienCE, Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour, CoE Faculty of Humanities University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Torill Christine Lindstrøm

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  1. Torill Christine Lindstrøm
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Correspondence to Torill Christine Lindstrøm .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Kisha Supernant

  2. Department of Anthropology, DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Jane Eva Baxter

  3. Ursus Heritage Consulting Ltd, Coldstream, BC, Canada

    Natasha Lyons

  4. Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA

    Sonya Atalay

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Lindstrøm, T.C. (2020). Emotions in the Dionysiac Fresco in Villa of the Mysteries Outside Pompeii. In: Supernant, K., Baxter, J.E., Lyons, N., Atalay, S. (eds) Archaeologies of the Heart. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36350-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36350-5_12

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