Garments and hair whirling from their frenzied dancing, the half-man, half-goat satyr and the maenad—a female devotee of the Greek god of wine, Dionysos—mirror each other’s movements. Dance played an important role in Dionysiac rites, and these figures originally flanked a mosaic panel showing Dionysos’ triumph over the demi-god Herakles in a drinking contest. Depictions of satyrs and maenads often decorated spaces and objects involved in the symposium, a ritualized drinking event practiced by both Greeks and Romans in which participants showed off their sophistication and culture.