The Etruscan World (Routledge Worlds)

Maria P a o I a B a g I i o n e

to the Greek world, where they were used to facilitate the work of spinning and, as an
engagement gift, symbolized the change in status of girls. The strong socio-religious
valence of such objects, which accompanied the offerings associated with rites of passage,
falls outside the Etruscan mentality and is a strong indication of the presence of visitors
accustomed to express important religious acts, such as the consecration of objects that
symbolize the passage of status, according to methods and means that are purely Greek.
Among the materials recovered from the great southern sanctuary is a phiale
mesomphalos, which patient conservation has enabled us to partially reconstruct from
numerous fragments scattered throughout the fill of the northern square; it represents
the most significant offering consecrated in the southern sanctuary, for its dimensions,
its quality and for its decorative subjects (Figure 30.8). The phialai were ritual vases
intended for libations; in this case, the exceptional size (41.7 cm in diameter) does not
make it suitable for this use, but places it in a category of objects produced solely for the

Figure 30.8 Attic red-figure mesomphalic phiale from the southern sanctuary:

Odysseus and the Suitors.

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