Simillimi feminis mares. The problems of men’s affiliation to Dionysos in Rome.

The long-standing assumption that the worship of Dionysos and participation in his cult were exclusively female matters has started to crumble. This paper aims to explore the implications of men's devotion to Dionysos/Bacchus in Roman society. Given the demonstrated involvement of men in Dionysian activities in both literary and material sources, this study shows that male affiliation with the "female-like" (thelumorphos) god often serves as a paradigm for different forms of masculinity. This paper discusses representative examples of men associated with Dionysos' cult in Roman society. Episodes like the Bacchanalia scandal show how problematic Dionysian affiliation could be for Roman men, especially because of the dreadful danger of being associated with the gender-liminal aspects of Dionysos and becoming "men very like the women". However, the god's disruptive power was often linked to military prowess and imperial authority too. Conquering leaders are often associated to Semele’s son, especially in his representations as triumphant conqueror. How can these seemingly contradictory approaches coexist? Is it plausible to assume a rehabilitation of Dionysos' image under Augustus' reign? Or could there be two distinct cultic paths—one more threatening to the affiliates’ masculinity, and the other in line with the political authority?