Per the Zeuxian and Albertian models of artistic creation, Equicola’s invenzione for Raphael’s compositional drawing for the Triumph of Bacchus in India originates from two distinct sources. The first is a passage from Ovid’s Ars Amatoria, in which the author writes that India was conquered by Bacchus’ thyrsus, which was a type of staff or spear that is commonly associated with the wine god and his followers.[71] As the son of the god Jupiter and a mortal woman, Bacchus’ godhood was somewhat dubious, which led to the classical depiction of Bacchus as “a vigorous demigod who won a place in heaven through military conquest and the bestowal of benefits upon humankind.”[72] It was this tradition that inspired Ovid to write about Bacchus’ great triumph of India, a tale that would became increasingly popular near the end of Hellenistic period, with kings and generals alike adopting it as a part of their iconography.[73] Eventually, Nonnus, the great Greek poet of the fifth century AD, would write the Dionysiaca, a 48-book long epic detailing Dionysus’ Indian campaign and his triumphant return. In the epic, Dionysus defeats the Indian armies by introducing them to alcohol, with Nonnus writing, “After he had made captive the Indian nation, shackled in sleep by their potations, immovable, without a wound, Dionysos did not commit his quarrel to the forgetful winds.”[74] This massive tome would become the most extensive mythological account of Bacchus/Dionysus’ Indian adventures, with many artists using it as a basis for their depictions of the wine god’s celebratory processions.[75]
Many lines in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca parallel elements of Raphael’s drawing of the Triumph of Bacchus in India. Firstly, numerous exotic animals, such as the lion, elephants, camels and panthers, make up a large portion of the composition. These four species, all of which are native to India, are all described in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca with great detail and frequency. In book forty, Dionysus contemplates the many spoils of war he and his army had acquired during their campaign, with Nonnus writing,
“The whole wealth of the enemy was given to the army as their plunder. One got an Indian jasper…another hurried under the lofty peaks of broad-based Imaios the straight-legged elephants which he had captured by his spear. Here was one by the deepcaverned mountain of Hemodos driving to exile a team of Indian lions, in triumph; there was another pulling a panther to the Mygdonian shore with a chain fast about its neck.”[76]
Nonnus also refers to the “longlegged camel” several times throughout the text, though with less frequency than the other animals.[77] Raphael’s prominent depiction of these four specific animals in his drawing can be seen as an iconographic allusion to Dionysiaca.
Similarly, Raphael’s inclusion of Jupiter and Juno at the top right of the composition could also be a nod to the Dionysiaca. In the thirteenth book, Zeus beseeches his son to “destroy the race of Indian, untaught of piety… For the immortal court of Zeus will not receive you without hard work, and the Seasons will not open the gates of Olympos to you unless you have struggled for the price.”[78] As stated previously, Bacchus’ godhood was frequently called into question due to his half-human identity, and as such he had to prove himself worthy to his father before entering the domain of the gods. This provides an explanation as to why Jupiter and Juno are depicted as spectators in Raphael’s drawing, as they were judging Bacchus’ performance in his Indian campaign.
Aside from the abundance of formal similarities between Nonnus’ description of Bacchus’ triumph and the drawing itself, there are several other reasons why Dionysiaca is often credited as the drawing’s sole inspiration. Firstly, Equicola, who was an expert on Ovid, would have been familiar with Nonnus’ work because of its Ovidian origins and popularity. This is supported by the fact that Titian’s Andrians, which was conceived by Equicola for the Camerino, was based on the tale of Nicaea as told in Dionysiaca.[79] In all likelihood, Equicola was alluding not only to the text, but to an earlier, sculptural depiction of the myth as well, specifically a sarcophagus depicting Bacchus’ triumph in India.