March
19
/ 2015
Around the time of Jesus Christ in the countryside outside the ancient Galilean city of Hippos-Sussita, adherents of the Greek goat-legged god Pan may have gathered at times to worship. Followers of Pan and other wild gods sometimes practiced their orgiastic rites outside cities because they included drinking alcohol, nudity and having sex. Researchers said they unearthed a large bronze mask of the Greek god of forests and shepherds outside the ancient Israeli city of Hippos-Sussita. The archaeologists said they were unaware of any other bronze masks of a Greek god, and contacts with museums around the world confirmed this. It may be the only mask of its kind. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_original","fid":"9238","attributes":{"alt":"Nymphs and Satyr, an 1873 painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau ","class":"media-image","height":"816","style":"width: 573px
