- Adrian P. Harrison –
equipped with grisly heads, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth, and a body
comprising 12 tentacle-like legs and a cat’s tail and with four to six dog-heads ringing
her waist. In Homer’s Odyssey Book 12, Odysseus successfully sails his ship past Scylla and
Charybdis, but Scylla manages to catch six of his men, devouring them alive: “...Scylla seized
from out the hollow ship six of my comrades who were the best in strength and in might...
then at her doors she devoured them...” (Murray 1998, Homer, Odyssey 12.245–258).
An example of the skylla in Etruscan art is given by the cinerary urn from the Purni
family tomb at Citta Della Pieve near Chiusi (circa 160–130 bc) which depicts on the
side panels a winged skylla sea-monster with an oar in her hand (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek,
Copenhagen; Moltesen and Nielsen 1996: 86 no. 28).
The Typhon, or marine dragon, was a form of guardian. An example is the Tomb of
the Typhon at Tarquinia (circa 200 bc; Steingräber 1985: color pls. 150–151), which
beautifully portrays this Etruscan demon of the Underworld as a half sea snake (legs) and
half human (winged upper body, head) monster. Another example is that of the painted
terracotta antefi x molded in the form of a bearded typhon that was found at Capua (circa
500–450 bc; British Museum, GR 1877.8–2.14).
The face of the gorgon Medusa was another apotropaic symbol designed to ward off
evil. An example is the Gorgon-head antefi x found at Veii in the Portonaccio sanctuary
dating from the late sixth century bc (Sgubini 2008: p. 32). Another example of a gorgon
is to be found on the relief panel in nenfro found at Tarquinia circa 600 bc, in which the
center panel depicts a winged gorgon (Tarquinia Museo Nazionale, Brendel 1978: 119
and Fig. 76).
The sphinx was represented also with other images of animal composites (see Fig.
60.2d = GR 1889.4–10, British Museum). An example of an Etruscan sphinx is to
be found on the cauldron and stand found at Marsciano (circa 540 bc), which depicts
warriors and a sphinx (Antikensammlungen, Munich). Another example is that of the
bronze mirror from Vulci (circa 300 bc), which depicts Herakles on Olympus with a
sphinx motif (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris). Finally, I should mention the ivory comb
in North Syrian style found at Marsiliana d’Albegna (circa 700–650 bc), which depicts
two sphinxes facing each other (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Florence, Steingräber
1981: 163 and Fig. 76).
A wonderful example of a centaur found at Vulci (circa 600 bc) is that of a terracotta
fi gure some 77 cm in height and 80 cm in length to be found at Villa Giulia (Bloch 1957:
pl. 31). It is there, too, that a plate with attached foot is on display, also originating from
Vulci (tomb 177, circa 520 bc) and said to be by the Tityos painter, depicting a centaur,
with long hair and fully human body with equine hind-portion, around its edge (see Fig.
25.12a – note also central wolf demon, Fig. 25.12b).
The siren is a funereal icon, which seems to fi ll the role of companion of the spirits
in the world of the Afterlife. The more ancient sirens were rapacious birds whilst in
successive eras they were associated with the aquatic world. The double tail is a symbol
of great power, analogous with the iconography of the Hindu divinity with many limbs.
A wonderful example of an Etruscan siren is to be found on an amphora found in Monte
Abatone tomb 424 (circa 530 bc, Museo Nazionale Cerite). See also the sirens painted at
the corners of a carved ceiling coffer in the Chiusine Tomb of the Monkey (Steingräber
1985: 274 no. 25).
The winged horse Pegasus was an immortal and divine horse of the celestial world (see
Fig. 60.2j = GR 1884.6–14.33, British Museum). It serves as a symbol of the transformation