The 4,000d, stamp of Greece, shows a plate on which is depicted the voyage of Dionysus. According to mythology, Dionysus hired a ship to take him to Naxos, but the ship's crew, who turned out to be Tyrrhene pirates, steered in the direction of Asia, intending to sell the young Greek passenger in the slave markets of that continent. They bound the youth with chains, but had no sooner done so than the fetters dropped from his limbs. Filled with fear and consternation the pilot wished to return to Greece and drop the passenger at the port where he had embarked, but the pirates set sail for the open sea.
Suddenly the vessel stopped. Tendrils of ivy twined about the vessel, the masts and oars were turned into serpents, and strains from magic flutes were heard. The terrified crew entreated the pilot to steer for shore. But it was too late. The youth changed into a roaring lion and, rushing upon the captain tore him in pieces. The sailors, maddened with terror, leaped overboard and were changed into dolphins. Only the pious steersman escaped the fate. The captive, resuming his true farm, revealed himself as the great Dionysus, the god of the vine and the growing principle of Nature, whom the Romans called Bacchus. He was the son of Zeus (Jupiter) the god of the sky, and of Semele, a goddess representing the earth.
The stamp picture shows an ancient plate, probably made for funeral rites, and the vessel depicted is a long war galley. It will be seen that she has a formidable beak. As was usual in ancient galleys of the period the vessel mounted two oars at the stern for steering purposes. The six dolphins of course represent the transformed sailors, and the mast has been changed into a grape vine with clusters of fruit hanging from its branches. Dionysus is the sole occupant of the boat; evidently this plate illustrates an amended version of the myth.
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