Sheet 3 from a series for the worship of Ceres, Venus and Bacchus: Cult of Bacchus

Bacchus is depicted as an idealized youth crowned with grape leaves and draped in a leopard skin, offering bunches of grapes to his followers. To his left, a group of peasants kneel in supplication while one drinks deeply from a bowl; to his right, a young satyr assists the god. In the distance, Bacchus's celestial chariot pulled by panthers is visible in the clouds, while a thyrsus and overturned vessels lie in the foreground.

In the Neoplatonic tradition revived during the Renaissance, Bacchus (Dionysus) represented 'divine madness' or Dionysian frenzy, which thinkers like Marsilio Ficino categorized as a sacred state that could elevate the soul. This work, part of a series on the gods of sustenance and desire, reflects the Mannerist interest in using classical mythology to explore the psychological and spiritual forces governing human nature.