Felix Romuliana, Gamzigrad, Serbia and Dio-NySuS 

The village Gamzigrad, 200 AC, is at the banks of the Crni Timok River in Serbia. In 1984 the fragment made of limestone, with an inscription FELIX ROMULIANA, confirmed that Romula’s villa was the memorial of Galerius, co-ruler of Diocletian and Constantine..

“The mosaic representation of Dionysus and the wall relief depicting a sleeping Ariadne symbolize the idea of death – and resurrection, that is, they indicate the two acts of the apotheosis whose impressive material evidence was discovered... The Gamzigrad depiction of Dionysus is the visual representation of this god’s permanent aspiration to bring humans into the world of gods after making them immortal. Dionysus is the saviour of souls and the one who bestows eternal life. Like Dionysus and his mother Semele who joined the gods at the Mount Olympus after Dionysus’ triumphal expedition to India, Galerius, the new Dionysus, and his mother Romula ascended to heaven from the top of Magura hill.”

Maja Živić, Felix Romuliana – Gamzigrad, University of Archaeology, Belgrade, 2011.

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