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[Auriea.]

Long-lost temple of Dionysus may lie in Bulgaria
By Peter Popham in Rome
27 May 2003

An epic of archeological excavation in the mountains of southern 
Bulgaria may prove to be the Sanctuary of Dionysus, a long-lost Greek 
temple that was of huge importance to the ancient world, many 
scholars believe.

Perperikon, in the Rhodope mountains, located along Bulgaria's border 
with Greece, is a vast complex of ruins that for many centuries was 
clearly a popular centre of pilgrimage and worship.

It is only slowly yielding its secrets, but the head of the 
archaeology team at the site, Nikolao Ovtcharov, says: "Since we 
began our research [three years ago], archeological evidence that we 
may have found Dionysus's Sanctuary has mounted."

A son of Zeus, Dionysus was the god of luxuriant fertility as 
symbolised by the vine, and the death in winter and rebirth in spring 
of the vine was marked by wild, orgiastic ceremonies. At Perperikon, 
thousands of wine presses were cut into the rock linked by stone 
canals, carrying the sacred juice that the frenzied worshippers used 
in their infamously wild rites.

The Roman historian Suetonius described "the Holy Mountain of 
Dionysus", where Octavian, father of Augustus (later to become Roman 
Emperor) was told by the oracle that "his son was to rule the world, 
for as the wine was spilt on to the altar, the smoke rose up above 
the top of the shrine and even unto the heavens". A similar effect 
was observed when Alexander the Great came to call.

But Professor Ovtcharov is hedging his bets. "This hypothesis will 
only be proved if we find a document that supports it," he said.