The Women of Amphissa, an oil painting on canvas created by the Dutch painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema in 1887, depicts the Greek story recorded by Plutarch in the first century, about the women followers of Dionysus, the Greek god of fertility, who later came to be known as Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and pleasure. The painting, a masterful portrayal of compassion and generosity set against a backdrop of classical antiquity, illustrates perfectly in details a scene from ancient Greece during the Third Sacred War.

The Women of Amphissa housed at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, stands out as a significant work of Alma-Tadema, offering a moral lesson to the Victorian audience by emphasising themes of femininity, protection and charity. Apart from that, the painting also exhibits the painter’s mastery in fusing historical accuracy with rich and realistic details, making the classical world accessible and relevant to his contemporaries.

The painting illustrates a scene from ancient Greece during the Third Sacred War, fought between the forces of Thebes and Phocis for the control of Delphi. Although Amphissa was the capitol of an annual festival in honour of the god Bacchus, during that time it was overflowed with the invading army from Phocis, posing an imminent threat for the bacchantes, the enthusiastic female followers of Bacchus.

But the women, celebrating the occasion with mysterious rituals involving twirling dances, knowingly or unknowingly entered the city of Amphissa, which was at war with Phocis, the city from where the women came from, and danced around the city throughout the night, and finally collapsed to fall asleep in the city square from extreme tiredness. However, despite the ongoing conflict between the city of Phocis and Amphissa, the women of Amphissa consequently stepped in to protect their counterparts, the sleeping Bacchantes, ensuring their safety from potential harm by the soldiers, and provided food in the morning.

The Women of Amphissa vividly depicts the morning after the celebration, when the female followers of Bacchus were just waking up at the marketplace of Amphissa, confused about their whereabouts, while the Women of Amphissa, who protected them, the exhausted Bacchantes, were standing together, and serving them food. The entire painting seems to be a dream sequence, complete with the intricate elements, from the hairstyles and garments of the women to the flowers and architectural details, in contrast with the strong, protective women with the robust architecture of the marketplace, highlighting their role as guardians.

The artist's splendid skill to use different shades of white, symbolising peace and purity, perfectly reflects the benevolent actions of the women of Amphissa.

In the painting, Alma-Tadema aesthetically drew an interesting parallel between the row of standing women in the centre of the painting, and the row of columns framing the right-hand side of the canvas, suggesting the united strength of the row of women of Amphissa guarding the sleeping female followers of Bacchus was as strong as the row of columns of the marketplace. Apart from that, he also paid careful attention to the surfaces, complete with the intricate features, like the flowers, vases, animal skins, in addition to the abundance of food for the exhausted and the weary, and highlighting the generosity of the women of Amphissa. The Women of Amphissa won the Gold Medal of Honour at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, the fifth of the ten major expositions held in the city between 1855 and 1937, marking it a celebrated achievement in the career of the artist.