Mystery Staff of Ariadne and Demeter

Triumph of Bacchus, mosaic from Roman Zaragoza, northern Spain, 2nd century CE. Dionysos is walking behind lionesses, who are pulling a chariot driven by Ariadne, with a leopard skin draped over one shoulder. (Ariadne is usually shown with Dionysos, but Orphic mystics also pair him with Persephone.) The staff she holds is most interesting: it doesn't really look like the dionysiac thyrsus, a fennel stalk topped by pine cone, but comes a little closer to the distaff. But I recently read a description of Demeter carrying a myrtle staff (or bundle) with tufts of wool bound to it, which might throw this image back into the court of Persephone.

Here's an illustration of Demeter from the Hellenic Gods site showing a very similar staff, most definitely not a thyrsus or distaff. This one appears to be crowned with a poppy, one of the symbols of Demeter, along with the wheat sheaf.

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