Short note on the Tomb of Augurs

Abstract

The paper outlines a new interpretation of the scene on
the back wall of the Tomb of the Augurs, starting from the
relationship between the painted door and the two tanasar
flanking it. The hypothesis is that the scene does not refer
directly to the burial ritual but, through the icon of the
closed door, alludes to death as a passage in the sign of
Dionysus. Likewise, the epithet apa, applied to one of the
tanasar, could refer to the divine hypostasis for which the
ritual action is performed and, in particular, to Dionysus
in his chthonian side.