The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

T h e W arrior and A thena /Menerva: variations from site to site

Two iconographic types, the warrior and Athena/Menerva, illustrate typological
differences between sites. Both occur at Cerveteri as well as Veii in some variations,
but the typologies are different. In one type at Veii, a young warrior, nude except for a
helmet, holds a round shield by his left thigh, right arm close to his body (Fig. 54.9a).
The body proportions and stance, left leg slightly out and bent, recall Classical Greek
works. Another type (Fig. 54.9b), related in stance and proportions to the nude warrior,
wears armour over his upper body, a Greek type of helmet, and holds his round shield
out to the side on his left lower arm. A third type of warrior is seen in a conventional
profile pose, head and lower body in full profile, upper body almost full front. He is
striding toward his left, shield on left arm with a short sword held upright in the same
hand. His right hand is on his hip, arm akimbo. He wears an enormous crested helmet
and a short tunic (Fig. 54.10). A ll three types occur both at the Campetti and at the
Portonaccio sanctuaries at Veii.15 The warrior type at Cerveteri differs significantly from its

F ig u re 54-9a-b Two male warriors from the Campetti Sanctuary at Veii. Photograph courtesy of the

Museo Nazionale di V illa Giulia, Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Etruria Meridionale.

F ig u re 5 4 .10 Striding warrior figure from the Campetti Sanctuary at Veii. Museo Nazionale di Villa

Giulia. Photograph courtesy o f the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell’Etruria Meridionale.

a b

Helen Nagy