- Maria Paola Baglione –
Figure 30.7 Architectural terracotta, replacement head from gable of Temple A, fourth century bc.left, Athena, raising the vial of immortality intended for Tydeus, withdraws in disgust
at the sight of such an act of cannibalism. The condemnation of impiety and arrogant
challenge to the will of the gods and the universal, unwritten laws of human society
and order were a warning to those who arrived from the mother city: the choice of such
a theme, inserted in the climate of ethical tension that permeates contemporary Greek
tragedy, expresses a clear condemnation of the previous tyrannical regime of Thefarie and
reveals, in the entire scope of work performed in the sanctuary, the clear desire of the
mother city to enshrine before foreign visitors the complete change that had occurred in
the government of the city.
In full archaism, Caere has now defi nitely entered fully into its urban development and
in this historical phase there is also defi nitively consolidated the role of the sanctuaries
as promoters of cultural exchange and of artistic innovation and production; in the same
way, it should be noted that the sanctuaries guaranteed safety and welcome to foreigners
and also controlled commerce, guaranteed by their titulary gods.
The sanctuary continued to be frequented until about 273 bc, a date which marks the
shift in Roman-Caeretan relations, resulting in the foundation of the colonia maritima of
Pyrgi on the site of the former Etruscan settlement. Following the founding of the colony
it was arranged to dismantle the sacred buildings and to deposit in the earth the complex
architectural decorations, thus marking the end of worship.
The southern sanctuary, identifi ed in 1983, was brought to light almost in its
entirety; its surface area is very modest compared to the northern sanctuary (measuring
approximately 2000 square meters). The bed of a channel, now dried up, at that time fed
from a spring behind the sacred area, divides the two shrines, marking a limit and a ritual
passage. The soil, which at this point formed a slight depression, was not profoundly
altered by agricultural activities and has preserved, in an optimal situation, traces of
ritual actions related to the life of the sanctuary, which excavation has allowed us to
“read,” furnishing information of great importance from a historical-religious viewpoint
(Figure 30.2). The traits of the southern sanctuary, the rituals reconstructed, the typology
of the offerings and the dedicatory inscriptions have recently led to the conclusion that in
this area has been implanted perhaps the oldest cult place of the Demeter cult in Etruria,