THE “HALL OF THE MYSTAE” OF DIONYSUS
In the valley northwest of the ancient city, a building dating from Roman times has been identified as a meeting place for a Dionysian association dedicated to the mystery cult of Dionysus. Its floor was paved with a magnificent mosaic decorated with Dionysian motifs, and it yielded several altars, reliefs, inscriptions, and sculptures.
To cite this entry:
E. Le Quéré, “The ‘Hall of the Mystae’ of Dionysus”, Philomilos.org, 2026, online: https://philomilos.org/ancient-sites/hall-of-the-mystae-of-dionysos/
Detail (reconstructed) of the fifth panel of the mosaic, depicting a gazelle under a vine branch and a bunch of grapes
(© Bosanquet 1898, pl. II)
An unusual
sanctuary
North-west of the ancient city of Milos, in the small valley of Tramythia, on the slopes of the western acropolis, archaeologists partially unearthed a building in the second half of the 19th century, identified as the meeting place of a Dionysian association dedicated to the mystery cult of Dionysus Trietērikos, called the “Hall of the Mystae” by the excavators. This sanctuary is located about 500 m from the agora and remains accessible via a difficult path, about ten minutes from the theatre, but almost no remains survive. To this day, it is still unknown what happened to the mosaic.
Reusing the foundations of an older building, this sanctuary was probably constructed during the 2nd or early 3rd century AD, and then modified again during the 3rd century AD. This was a period when the mystery cults of Dionysus and Mithras were very popular in the Greek East, particularly in mixed communities such as Milos, where polytheists, Jews and Christians coexisted peacefully, leading to numerous forms of syncretism. The building most likely remained in use until the end of the 4th century AD, when it was abandoned.
The sanctuary has never been thoroughly excavated, but the architectural features uncovered so far are nonetheless unique. It consists of a long rectangular room, approximately 8 m wide and over 25 m long, surrounded by small rooms with stuccoed walls. The floor was paved with a superb mosaic, bordered by a marble stylobate supporting a row of at least seven marble columns on each side. The main entrance was probably on the west side. At the other end was an uninscribed “pedestal”, which probably served as a support for the statue of the god, as well as an altar in the south-east corner. A large door in the middle of the east wall opened onto an extension that may have been an adyton (secret room) or a banquet hall. The importance of the eastern end of this room in the cult practices of the mysteries of Dionysus is also apparent in the layout of the mosaic.
Plan of the “Hall of the Mystae” of Dionysus
(© Bosanquet 1898, p. 67, fig. 4)
A mosaic with
Dionysian motifs
The mosaic decorates the floor of this building along its entire length. It consists of five quadrangular panels of varying sizes, surrounded by a frieze of geometric motifs known as “Solomon’s knots”.
The first panel to the west, at the entrance to the room, displays a geometric decoration, while the second panel has not been preserved, but undoubtedly featured a figurative theme. The central panel is a long rectangle with geometric designs, composed of rhombuses, squares, swastikas and “Solomon’s knots”.
The last two panels, furthest to the east, feature figurative subjects in the most sacred and significant location of the sanctuary. One depicts, within a circular frame, a fisherman in a marine environment, surrounded by various kinds of fish and crustaceans. Ironically and symbolically, his fishing rod is baited not with fish, but with a vial of red wine! The setting is clearly Dionysian, especially as the inscription above the fisherman’s head reads: MONONMHYΔ[ΩΡ] (μόνον μὴ ὕδ[ωρ]), meaning “Anything but water!”. A theatre mask occupies each corner of the square. The last panel presents in great detail the intertwining branches of a vine laden with bunches of grapes and populated by birds and a gazelle, another traditional Dionysian motif.
Reconstruction of four of the five panels of the mosaic
(© Bosanquet 1898, pl. I)
Numerous sculptures
and inscriptions
The building has yielded a significant collection of sculptures and inscriptions dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD, including the inscribed bust of a wealthy Melian woman, Aurelia Euposia, erected by members of the Dionysian association in honour of the benefactress who financed the restoration of the “Hall of the Mystae”. The hermaic statue of the association’s hierophant, M(arkos) Marios Trophimos, whose name indicates servile origin, was also erected inside the sanctuary. He is depicted with the attributes of Dionysus (chiton, himation, panther skin, ivy crown) and must have carried a thyrsus and a kantharos in his hands.
There is also a portrait of a young initiate, as well as two votive reliefs carved on the columns of the central room: one representing Athena Promachos and the other the goddess Tyche carrying the child Ploutos, both dedicated to Alexandros, “the founder of the sacred Mystae”. In addition, there are two cylindrical altars, one bearing the term “hōros” and the other an inscription in honour of Dionysus Trietērikos.
Another mosaic with
Dionysian motifs
During a visit to Milos in 1825, a Flemish naval officer, Bernard E. A. Rottiers, conducted illegal excavations in the same area, but the sketch of the excavation site is too imprecise to determine exactly where they took place. Nevertheless, he uncovered the remains of a building also paved with a mosaic, an inscribed slab, a portrait of Nerva, and an altar decorated with garlands and bucrania.
In the centre of the mosaic is a bust of Dionysus crowned with vines, surrounded by partially preserved panels, now kept at the Leiden Museum, depicting fish, satyr masks, and various animals (birds and a leopard drinking from a kantharos). Once again, the motifs are entirely consistent with the Dionysian scenes found in the Greek East during the same period.
Drawing of the mosaic unearthed by B. Rottiers, by P. J. Witdoec (August 1825, now held at the RMO Leiden)
(© Halbertsma 2004, p. 62, fig. 5.4)
Other remains discovered
at Tramythia
In the same region as the “Hall of the Mystae”, in the small valley of Tramythia, archaeologists unearthed a Roman aqueduct, houses with black and white mosaic floors, a cistern, and Roman baths, including a caldarium with a hypocaust heating system made of circular and rectangular terracotta pipes set upright. Above this was a floor consisting of a layer of flat tiles, then mortar.
Further reading
Bosanquet 1898: R. C. Bosanquet, “Excavations of the British School at Melos: the Hall of the Mystae”, JHS, 18, 1898, p. 60-80.
Halbertsma 2004: R. B. Halbertsma, Scholars, Travellers and Trade: The Pioneer Years of the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, 1818-1840, 1e éd., London, Routledge, 2004, p. 60-64.
Jaccottet 2002: A. F. Jaccottet, Choisir Dionysos. Les associations dionysiaques ou la face cachée du dionysisme, 2002, Zurich, AKANTHVS, p. 175–182.
Konstantinidis 2011: P. Konstantinidis, “Un relief tardo-romain de Mélos au Musée national archéologique d’Athènes”, BCH, 135.1, 2011, p. 283 311.
Le Quéré 2014: E. Le Quéré, “La drachme au temps du denier : le monnayage impérial de Mélos, entre domination romaine et identité civique”, in G. Bonnin, E. Le Quéré (éd.), Pouvoirs, Iles et Mer. Formes et modalités de l’hégémonie dans les Cyclades antiques (VIIe s. a.C.-IIIe s. p.C.), Bordeaux, Ausonius, 2014, p. 217 237.
Mendoni, Zoumbaki 2008: L. G. Mendoni, S. Zoumbaki, Roman Names in the Cyclades. Part I, Athens, Meletemata 56, 2008, p. 121–163.
Merkelbach 1988: R. Merkelbach, Die Hirten des Dionysos. Die Dionysos-Mysterien der römischen Kaiserzeit und der bukolische Roman des Longus, Stuttgart, Teubner, 1988.
Moormann 1991 : E. M. Moormann, « Imperial Roman Mosaics at Leiden », Oudheidkundige mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden te Leiden, 71, 1991, p. 97 115.
Renfrew, Wagstaff (eds.) 1982: C. Renfrew, J. M. Wagstaff (eds.), An Island Polity: the Archaeology of Exploitation in Melos, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 1982, p. 56.
Svoronos 1908–1911: I. N. Svoronos, Το εν Αθήναις Εθνικόν Μουσείον [= The National Museum in Athens], Athens, 1908–1911.
Sweetman 2025: R. Sweetman, The Archaeology of the Cyclades in the Roman and Late Antique periods. Globalisation, Christianisation and Resilience, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2025, p. 183–188 and p. 228-230 (mosaics).
Wolters 1890: P. Wolters, “Melische Kultstatuen”, AM, 15, 246–251.