- chapter 30: The sanctuary of Pyrgi –
on a terrace at the corners of which were dug two wells to collect the dripwater from
the roof. For the system of terracotta revetments the same types already in use at Caere
and at Falerii veteres were adopted; all the care and attention were concentrated in
the decorative program of the plaques designed to cover the ends of the ridge beams
of the roof. The temple was most likely dedicated to the Etruscan goddess Thesan,
as witnessed by a votive dedication of a worshiper, Tanchvil Catharnai (ET Cr 4.2).
Assimilated to Latin Mater Matuta and to the Greek Leucothea, this powerful female
deity forms part of the panorama attested in the Greek and Magna Graecian maritime
sanctuaries in which the titulary gods hold powers as protectors of sea voyages, of
passages between two places, and of all the events considered “passages”: the birth of
the day and the birth of human beings. To the Theban Leucothea, protector of sailors,
who was received on the Italic coast by Heracles after having thrown herself into the
sea to escape the jealousy of Hera, is attributed the head with wind-swept hair found
in one of the wells beside Temple A (Figure 30.7). The choice of a myth rooted in the
cultural heritage of Greek sailors for the decorative program, intended for the front
gable, had been dictated by the desire to evoke the function of welcome and shelter
developed for the nearby port.
On the rear, to the end of the ridge beam, was affi xed the high-relief terracotta plaque,
which measures a little over 1.50 m, in which are concentrated the most dramatic events
of the saga of the Seven Against Thebes, with an amazing, free and innovative “unity of
time and space” (see Figure 24.24). The unknown Etruscan master reveals a very clear
personality and a confi dent and accomplished technique in exploiting the full potential
of malleable clay. Characterized by a strong polychromy, the image was clearly visible to
those approaching the temple from Caere and proceeding along what had come to assume
the character of a “sacred way”: in the background, Capaneus shouts his challenge to Zeus
who, in front of him, raises his arm ready to hurl the thunderbolt that will blast him. In
the foreground, below, Tydeus and Melanippus, wounded, are locked in mortal combat;
in a last act of impiety, Tydeus bites his opponent in the head, to devour his brain. On the
Figure 30.6 Reconstruction model of Temple A; Rome, Museo delle Antichità Etrusche e Italiche,
Università La Sapienza.