LITMIR.BIZ

      Unlike Greek temples, Etruscan, or Tuscan, temples were traditionally decorated with large terracotta sculptures balanced on the roof, along the ridgepole. One of the most important temples in Etruria was in the city of Veii. The temple at Veii, called the Portonaccio temple, featured a group of figures sculpted out of baked clay, or terracotta, along the ridge of the temple’s roof. The two principle figures of the group are Apollo and Heracles. Heracles, shown here, is controlling a hind, a deer sacred to the goddess Artemis. The task of capturing the hind was one of the twelve labours of Heracles, a penance he was ordered to perform by the Oracle of Delphi as punishment for killing his family. The pose of Heracles as he rests his foot on the hind (the head of the animal is not preserved) is typical of the dynamism of Etruscan statuary. While Archaic Greek statues were still and static, this Archaic Etruscan example is frozen in motion, engaged in restraining the animal, showing the strength and power of Heracles.

      21. Anonymous. Apollo, Temple of Portonaccio, Veii (Italy), c. 510 B.C.E. Terracotta, h: 180 cm. Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giula, Rome (Italy). Etruscan Antiquity.

      22. Anonymous. Warrior from Cerveteri, c. 530–510 B.C.E. Terracotta. Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen (Denmark). Etruscan Antiquity.

      23. Anonymous. Athena introducing Heracles on Mount Olympus,c. 530–520 B.C.E. Terracotta. Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giula, Rome (Italy). Etruscan Antiquity.

      24. Anonymous. Young Girl running, pediment, Temple of Eleusis, Eleusis (Greece), c. 490–480 B.C.E. Marble, h: 65 cm. Archaeological Museum, Eleusis (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      25. Anonymous. Kore 686, called “The Sulky One”, Acropolis, Athens (Greece), c. 480 B.C.E., Marble, h: 58 cm. Acropolis Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      Kore 686, from the Athenian Acropolis, shows elements both from the Archaic style and from the Severe, or Early Classical, style that followed. Her long locks of hair and complex layers of clothing are familiar elements of Archaic sculpture. However, the serious, or “severe,” expression on her face, as well as the strict, vertical folds of her chiton are more typical of the new, more serious aesthetic of the Severe style. Her ornamentation has been reduced; she wears no necklace or bracelets, and her gown has none of the decorative patterning seen on earlier pieces. The head and torso fragment probably belong with a base that is inscribed “Euthydikos, the son of Thaliarchos, dedicated (it).” The statue can thus be understood as a votive offering by Euthydikos, representing a goddess, or perhaps Thaliarchos, his mother.

      26. Anonymous. Sarcophagus of a Couple from Cerveteri, c. 520–510 B.C.E. Painted terracotta, 111 × 194 × 69 cm.Musée du Louvre, Paris (France). Etruscan Antiquity.

      Though their civilisation flourished alongside that of the Greeks, our limited understanding of Etruscan language and culture has left a veil of mystery over the people who lived in Italy before the Roman Republic. Their art was strongly influenced by that of the Greeks, as evidenced by this terracotta sarcophagus with its echoes of the style of the Greek Archaic period. In Etruscan sculpture, however, we find more lively subjects, like this couple, animated in their easy affection for each other. Like so much of Etruscan art, this is a funerary piece, designed for placement in one of the elaborate tombs the Etruscans carved out of the soft volcanic bedrock of central Italy. It reveals the Etruscan view of the afterlife: an eternal party, where men and women would lounge at a banquet, enjoying good food, drink, and the company of their loved ones.

      27. Anonymous. Antefixe, 500 B.C.E. Terracotta. Etruscan Antiquity.

      The soft, porous volcanic stone found in Etruria was not suitable for building or carving. Etruscan temples were therefore made mainly out of wood. The wooden structure of the temple was protected by terracotta tiles and ornaments. While wood does not survive the ravages of time, terracotta does, and these small terracotta decorations are often all that remains of the great Etruscan temples of the past. The terracotta pieces on the temples were both functional and decorative. The piece shown is an antefix, an ornament placed at the end of the roofline, hiding the edge of the roof tiles and protecting the wooden framework underneath. Antefixes were often decorated. This one shows the head of a maenad, a woman who worshipped the wine god, Dionysus. Her slight smile and long plaits of hair show the influence of Greek Archaic sculpture.

      28. Anonymous. Antefixe with the Head of a Gorgon, 500 B.C.E. Terracotta. Etruscan Antiquity.

      29. Anonymous. Kore, Delos (Greece), c. 525–500 B.C.E. Marble, h: 134 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      30. Anonymous. Kore 594, Acropolis, Athens (Greece), c. 500 B.C.E. Marble, h: 122 cm. Acropolis Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

      Kore 594 is another of the large group of statues of maidens from the Athenian Acropolis, buried after the destruction of the Acropolis by the Persian army. While the head is not preserved, the piece retains an air of regal elegance, due mainly to the complex folds of richly decorated clothing. Her right arm would have extended outwards, perhaps holding an offering to Athena. While the male statues of this period were completely nude, the female versions were not only clothed, but accessorised with an elaborate array of robes and fancy jewellery. The many patterns, drapes, and folds the sculptor has carved on her garments lend a rich, decorative quality to the piece, heightened by the effect of bright paint, much of which is preserved on her hair and gown.

      31. Anonymous. Kore 675, Acropolis, Athens (Greece), c. 520–510 B.C.E. Marble, h: 54.5 cm. Acropolis Museum, Athens (Greece). Greek Antiquity.

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