- Annette Rathje –
group of people.^10 So, the new building represents continuity in this respect. The persons
depicted in the friezes of the great building at Murlo represent religious, political, juridical
and military power. The banquet on the architectural terracotta decoration shows a large-
scale consumption event in a courtly setting. The participants recline on fi nely cut beds
covered with blankets and cushions, three-legged tables are placed in front of them laden
with dishes and plates, some of which are fi lled with what look like eggs, fruits or cakes. A
big metal cauldron is seen in the center on top of its elaborate stand. Two couples recline
on the couches, to the left a man and a woman, to the right a man and cithara player who
is possibly a woman. The men are drinking from hemispherical metal bowls while the
women use ceramic cups with handles. Cupbearers, another servant and a fl ute player
attend these people. It is very diffi cult to determine whether the banquets held in these
surroundings represent the public or private sphere. The private and the public spheres
are, however, very much entangled in this moment of history and the exact function of
the great building is still under discussion.^11 The palatial complex must surely have been
multifunctional including residential, political and ritual activities. The banquet scene
shows a social ceremony dedicated to the exhibition of power, wealth and status. Other
houses for feasting have been found at Roselle, Acqua Rossa (zone F) and San Giovenale.^12
IMAGES ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEMFeasting and drinking practices are fundamental in securing social ties and alliances and
also to ceremonies and rituals, as can be evinced from the fi nds of sanctuaries and tombs.
Certainly the tombs have rendered the fullest picture of Etruscan feasting that can be
gathered from the aforementioned fi nds and from tomb paintings from the Archaic period
onwards. More than 50 tombs, mostly from Tarquinia but also from Cerveteri, Chiusi
and Orvieto, are painted with banquet scenes, it is the most important representation.
Actually a tradition was constructed when depicting the banquet in the Etruscan tombs,
the “language of the images” was Greek. Therefore the banquet scenes are often called
symposia. However, it must be stressed that the Greek symposion is quite another institution.
It is a drinking event combined with literary and other performances and the participants
were males; if women were ever present they were certainly not wives and daughters but
courtesans, the so-called hetaerae.^13 On the contrary, Etruscan women were agents of their
life and enjoyed an elevated position in the family, as we understand from images and
epigraphic evidence. In fact, the presence of women stresses the signifi cance and power of
family. It is very interesting that women are not represented as mothers at these occasions.
Many of the tomb paintings only allude to real banquets. The men and women are
set up reclining and sitting without being active participants. A discussion is ongoing
about the whereabouts of these banquets. Do they depict real life? Or are they funerary
banquets held to honor the deceased who leaves this life? Or do they represent a fantasy
about the “eternal party” in another world? Perhaps, they are a welcome party by the
forefathers for the newly dead? Thus the banquet can be intended as a religious symbol of
the Otherworld where the living shared a meal with their dead relatives. In other words,
the paintings also refl ect a belief in continuity between life and death.^14 When studying
ancient societies we must bear in mind that their images contained a contextual meaning
as well as a meaning in the minds of the viewers. To understand images you must
understand the mentality of the chosen period to be able to decode consciously chosen
metaphors and meaning. Certainly, much of the evidence is ambiguous and provides an
opportunity for different interpretations.