While not strictly wine and warfare, this find is still a battle—and a fascinating one at that!
Archaeologists in Israel recently uncovered a unique 1,700-year-old Roman sarcophagus near the ancient city of Caesarea.1 Carved from marble, the coffin features a vivid and rare scene from Greek mythology: a drinking contest (we’ll call it a battle!) between the god Dionysus and the hero Hercules. Unsurprisingly, Dionysus—god of wine and revelry—emerges victorious. Hercules, slumped on his lion-skin cloak and still clutching a wine cup, is thoroughly defeated by his half-brother (both are sons of Zeus, born to different mortal women).
The idea of Dionysus guiding the soul into the afterlife was a common theme in Roman funerary art, often symbolizing a joyful transition beyond death. However, this particular scene—a full-on drink-off—has rarely appeared in burial contexts. It’s more commonly seen in Roman mosaics, and this is the first known example of it on a sarcophagus in this region.
Conservators are currently working to fully restore the artifact so it can eventually be displayed to the public. The discovery not only sheds light on Roman beliefs about death and the afterlife, but also reminds us how central wine was to storytelling, ritual, and identity across centuries and cultures.
- Read the full announcement at the Israel Antiquities Authority’s website: https://www.iaa.org.il/en/page_news/page/סרקופג-רומי-מרהיב-ונדיר-נחשף-בקיסריה ↩︎
