Thracian Tattoos

DIETRICH BOSCHUNG, ALAN SHAPIRO AND FRANK WASCHECK ( EDS. ) BODIES IN TRANSITION Dissolving the Boundaries of Embodied Knowledge MORPHOMATA This volume engages from the perspective of the ancient Mediterranean world with current debates in the field of cultural studies revolving around the idea of embodied knowledge. In particular, it deals with the dissolution of the concept of the ideal body as a repository of knowledge through instances of deformation or hybridization. The starting point comprises a series of case studies of less than perfect bodies: bodies that are misshapen, stigmatized, fragmented, as well as hybrid human/ animal creatures, transgendered persons, and bodies on the cultural periphery of the classical world. All of these examples represent deviations from the ‘normal’ order of things and evoke familiar feelings of alienation. The ordered knowledge that has shaped the body is subverted and falls into disorder. One strategy for dealing with this is to canonize transgression in visual form. Fluid bodies are captured in the image and domesticated, creating a visual order in KPZVYKLY;OLIVK`HZY\PUPZHÉ_LKÉN\YLVMÈ\PKP[` and thus especially receptive to attributions of meaning, which helps explain its persistence as a cultural trope. It allows for the observation of cultural change. BOSCHUNG, SHAPIRO, WASCHECK ( EDS. ) — BODIES IN TRANSITION MORPHOMATA EDITED BY GÜNTER BLAMBERGER AND DIETRICH BOSCHUNG VOLUME 23 EDITED BY DIETRICH BOSCHUNG, ALAN SHAPIRO AND FRANK WASCHECK BODIES IN TRANSITION Dissolving the Boundaries of Embodied Knowledge WILHELM FINK unter dem Förderkennzeichen 01UK0905. Die Verantwortung für den Inhalt der Veröffentlichung liegt bei den Autoren. Bibliografische Informationen der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte Daten sind im Internet über www.dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. Alle Rechte, auch die des auszugsweisen Nachdrucks, der fotomechanischen Wiedergabe und der Übersetzung vorbehalten. Dies betrifft auch die Vervielfältigung und Übertragung einzelner Textabschnitte, Zeichnungen oder Bilder durch alle Verfahren wie Speicherung und Übertragung auf Papier, Transparente, Filme, Bänder, Platten und andere Medien, soweit es nicht § 53 und 54 UrhG ausdrücklich gestatten. © 2015 Wilhelm Fink, Paderborn Wilhelm Fink GmbH & Co. Verlags-KG, Jühenplatz 1, D-33098 Paderborn Internet: www.fink.de Lektorat: Torsten Zimmer, Alan Shapiro, Thierry Greub Gestaltung und Satz: Kathrin Roussel, Sichtvermerk Printed in Germany Herstellung: Ferdinand Schöningh GmbH & Co. KG, Paderborn ISBN 978 -3 -7705 - 5808 - 7 CONTENT Preface 7 Introduction by Alan Shapiro 9 FRANÇOIS LISSARRAGUE Corps à corps: épisèmes anthropomorphiques dans la céramique attique 11 ERIC R. VARNER Fluidity and Fluctuation: the Shifting Dynamics of Condemnation in Roman Imperial Portraits 33 DESPOINA TSIAFAKIS Thracian Tattoos 89 HANS BERNSDORFF Schmerz und Bestrafung in der hellenistischen ‚Tätowierelegie‘ 119 JAN N. BREMMER Stigmata: From Tattoos to Saints’ Marks 137 VÉRONIQUE DASEN Body Marks—Birthmarks. Body Divination in Ancient Literature and Iconography 153 MARCELLO BARBANERA The Lame God: Ambiguities of Hephaistos in the Greek Mythical Realm 177 LLOYD LLEWELLYN-JONES “That My Body is Strong”: The Physique and Appearance of Achaemenid Monarchy 211 HELEN KING Between Male and Female in Ancient Medicine 249 JAN N. BREMMER A Transsexual in Archaic Greece: The Case of Kaineus 265 ALAN SHAPIRO Alkibiades’ Effeminacy and the Androgyny of Dionysos 287 ANNETTA ALEXANDRIDIS Ζῷα: Bilder des Körpers zwischen Mensch und Tier im Mythos von Aktaion 313 Contributors 350 Plates 355 DES POINA TS IA FAK IS THRACIAN TATTOOS 1 AB S T RACT The employment of the tattooing to mark various parts of the human body, is a ‘custom’ that appears throughout the centuries in numerous regions and cultures. Through the existing examples it is pointed out that it was very popular among the ancient Thracians. Either as a sign of nobility for the men of Thrace, or as a mark of punishment on the Thracian women for the death of Orpheus, the Thracian tattoo is testified through the literary sources and the iconography. Focus of this paper is to explore the visual and written information regarding the Thracian ‘custom’ of tattooing and to investigate its symbolism and meanings. In order to do that within the right context, it is provided some brief general information on tattooing and an introduction to the Thracian people and their habits. The Thracian tattoos are approached through the ancient Greek view and they appear to be signs and symbols of various and different status. A . IN T RO D UCT IO N An interesting and exotic people who lived in the periphery of the Greek world, the Thracians2HSS\YLKHUKH[[YHJ[LK[OL.YLLRZOPZ[VYPHUZWVL[Z HY[PZ[ZL[J[OYV\NO[OLPY^HYSPRLJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJZHUKILOH]PVYZHZ^LSSHZ 1 I would like to thank Prof. H.A. Shapiro, Dr. Frank Wascheck and Prof. D. Boschung for their invitation to participate in this conference and their hospitality. 2 For Thrace and Thracians see Tsiafaki 1998, 19–40; Archibald 1998; Tsiafakis 2000, 364–379; Tsiafakis 2002, 365–369; Marazov 2005; Tsiafaki 2009, 123–134. 90 their appearance and manners. Rude and quarrelsome was the Greek thought for them and they were pictured as red-haired, scorning the plow MVY[OLZ^VYK^P[O[OL;OYHJPHUIHYKZLN6YWOL\Z;OHT`YPZ[VIL celebrated through the ancient history. As a general impression and assumption throughout Antiquity, the Thracians were wild people who tattooed their bodies. Symbol of barbarism for the Greeks, mark of noble birth for the Thracians, the tattoo is tightly connected with the latter. The classical authors describe the high-born Thracians as tattooed, and the depiction of geometric and zoomorphic tattoos on female bodies in Greek art serves as an ethnic PKLU[PÉLY[OH[THRLZ[OLTYLJVNUPaHISLHZ;OYHJPHUZ The Thracian women, angry at the neglect of their husbands, murdered Orpheus and several Greek vases show his death at the hands of a group of tattooed wives. The ancient Greek iconography of the Thracian tattoos is the focus point of this paper in combination with the information provided by the literary sources in order to explore the various aspects and symbolisms of its use. B. THRAC IAN S IN A N T I Q UIT Y ;OYHJPHUŽHZHUL[OUPJ[LYTHWWLHYZMVY[OLÉYZ[[PTLPU/VTLYZIliad Ô×ÛØÚÖÖ"Ö×ÓÛ×ÕÕ×ÕÙ"×ÖØÔ"ÓÒ××Û"ÓÕÓÕ×ÙÙ"ÔÕÔÕÒÚÒÚ^OLYL it designates a people to the north of Greece.3 According to Herodotus ×Õ[OLWYPTHY`ZV\YJLMVY[OVZLWLVWSL;OYHJPHUZJVTWYPZLK[OLIPNgest nation in the world’, and they occupied a large geographical area that was extended from the region between Methone—on the western shore of the Thermaic gulf—and the Black Sea.4 Thrace with its abundance of timber, metals, grain, horses, warriors, and slaves, became important in early times and Greek colonies were LZ[HISPZOLK [OLYL HSYLHK` PU [OL Ù[OJ)* (JJVYKPUN [V /VTLY ÓÕÖ ×ÙØ"ÔÕÚÒÚ;OYHJL^HZ[OLSHUKVMOVYZLTLUHUK;OYHJPHUZ^LYLPU WHY[PJ\SHYMHTV\ZMVY[OLPY^LHWVUZHUK[OLPYÉNO[PUNHIPSP[PLZ;OLSP[erary references also reveal that Thrace was a source for slaves and that Thracians used to sell their children into slavery, and moreover, that 3 Tsiafakis 2000, 365. Tsiafaki 2003, 43. 4 As for the geographical region occupied by the Thracians see Casson 1926, 3–51; Oberhummer 1936, 394–396; Samsaris 1980, 22–26; Michailov 1991, 591–618; Veligianni-Terzi 2004, 10–13; Tsiafaki 2009, 123. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 91 ;OYHJPHUZSH]L^VTLU^LYLMHTV\ZU\YZLZ[YVWOVP5 The Attic inscriptions indicate that women from Thrace were sold as slaves in Athens and Aristophanes in ThesmophoriazousaiÔÚÒYLMLYZ[OH[,\YPWPKLZOHK a Thracian woman as servant. Thracians are clearly called barbarians by both Greek historians of the 5th c. B.C., Herodotus and Thucydides. They are described as people ^OVZLJ\Z[VTZSHUN\HNLHUKYLSPNPVUKPMMLYZPNUPÉJHU[S`MYVT[OVZLVM [OL.YLLRZ/LYVKV[\Z×ՋÚJOHYHJ[LYPaLZ[OLTHZHU\UJP]PSPaLKHUK crude people through the description of their customs and practices. ;O\J`KPKLZÔÛØÔUHTLZ[OLTHZmachairophoroiRUPMLJHYYPLYZHUK describes their capacity for savage and indiscriminate slaughter. In spite of this wildness, Thracians were famous musicians, including the legendary Orpheus and Thamyras, and Thrace was considered the home of music.6 All of those characteristics serve as symbols and attributes of the Thracian identity and they construct an ethnic group different from the Greeks and in particular from the Athenians. In the extant literary sources7 the ethnographic picture of Thracians is completed with a description of their physical appearance that is adLX\H[LS` JVUÉYTLK I` [OL YLWYLZLU[H[PVUZ PU ([OLUPHU ]HZLWHPU[PUN8 ÉNÓ;OYHJPHUTLUHYLKPZ[PUN\PZOLKWYPTHYPS`I`[OLPYLSHIVYH[LKYLZZ HUKZLJVUKHYPS`I`[OLPYWO`ZPVNUVT`/LYVKV[\ZÙÙ×KLZJYPILZ[OL Thracian costume in detail and he highlights its differences from the Greek garments. The Thracian cap, called alopekis, was made from a warm animal pelt, such as that of a fox. Of interest is that in the representations in art the tail of this cap is shown worn at the back and hanging down the neck.9 The cloak, that was called zeira, was a thickly woven woolen mantle, usually embroidered with geometric patterns in contrasting colors. Fawn-skin boots with down folded, overlapping tops, the so-called 5 Herodotus 5.6; Polyainus 7.22; Pliny, Natural History 35.70; Plato, Laches 187b; Eur. Rhesos, 924–926. For slaves in general see Wrenhaven 2012; Bradley and Cartledge 2011; Andreau and Descat 2011. 6 Strabo I.3.17. Tsiafaki 1998, 20. 7 ?LUVWOHULZ VM 2VSVWOVU MYNØ WYV]PKLZ PUMVYTH[PVU YLNHYKPUN [OLPY WO`ZPVNUVT`:LLHSZV?LUVWOVUAnabasis 7.4.3. 8 Best 1969, 3–16; Zimmermann 1980b, 429–446; Raeck 1981, 73–81; Tsiafaki 1998, 31–37; Tsiafakis 2000; Tsiafakis 2002. 9 Best 1969; Zimmermann 1980b, 429–446; Tsiafaki 1998, 31–37; Tsiafakis 2000, 367–371. 92 1 ([[PJYLKÉN\YLJ\WH[[YPI\[LK[V[OL4HUULYVM6ULZPT\ZJHÖÚҋÖÙ× B.C. Cambridge, Mass., Arthur M. Sackler Museum 1959.219 embades, completed the costume. The fame of the Thracian dress is YLÈLJ[LKPU,\YPWPKLZHecubaÓÓ×Õ^OLYL7VS`TLZ[VYPZKLZJYPILKHZ having clothes made by the Edonian women.10 0UHKKP[PVU[V[OLJSV[OLZ/LYVKV[\ZÙÙ×HKKZ[OLJOHYHJ[LYPZ[PJ weapons to his list of the Thracian attributes, with the most popular of them the pelte. The pelte was a type of small light, crescent-shaped shield which although not clearly described by the extant literary sources, is well known from the vase-painting.11 (JJVYKPUN[V?LUVWOHULZVM2VSVWOVUMYNØ;OYHJPHUZOHKYLK hair and blue eyes, and although the latter cannot be rendered on the ISHJRHUK[OLYLKÉN\YL]HZLZ[OLMVYTLYJHUILLHZPS`KLWPJ[LK12 Aside 10 Edonoi were one of the Thracian tribes. For the Thracian Tribes see Archibald 1983, 302–321; Delev 2014. 11 Best 1969; Lissarrague 1990, 151. 12 *M [OL ( ([[PJ YLKMPN\YL 5VSHU HTWOVYH KLWPJ[PUN [^V ;OYHJPHUZ by the Phiale Painter, in Altenburg, Staatliches Lindenau-Museum 281; ARV 2 ÓÒÓ× Ô×" )(7+ ÔÓÖÔÒÔ" 6HRSL` ÓÛÛÒ ÖÕ ÙҋÙÓ UVÔ× WSÓ×H ) D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 93 from their complete foreign costume, and light colored hair, the Thracians shown in various vase-paintings, also have a distinctive pointed beard, that it is not mentioned by the literary sources. The ancient authors, however, refer to another principal characteristic of Thracians that distinguished them from Greeks. And this is the tattooing, that appears to corresponds to the ancient Greek word ‘stigma(ta)’.13 For a better understanding of the Thracian tattoos and their meaning, P[^PSSMVSSV^HIYPLMPU[YVK\J[PVUYLNHYKPUN[OLJ\Z[VT&VM[H[[VVPUN C . TATTOO S Impressive, elaborate and attracting attention, the tattoos are very fashionable nowadays, as they were probably in the past. Taking a look at a few contemporary images of tattooed bodies it may be provided an adequate image of similar icons of the ancient times.14 The experience of a presence that exists beyond but close to our senses has been a cornerstone of the humanity throughout its existence.15 More or less all cultures maintain beliefs and behaviors that represent these experiences, which sometimes come in contradiction with the beliefs and the behaviors of other cultures. Throughout the world history and civilization the tattooing appears to be one of the most widely disseminated customs or at least very well known.16 Following its course through the time it appears that it is very Attic black-figure amphora depicting two Thracian horsemen, one with red hair, by the Bareiss Painter in Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 86.AE.85; BAPD 10152; CVA J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu 1 [USA 23], pls. 27–29. **OHSJPKPHUISHJRMPN\YLHTWOVYHKLWPJ[PUN9OLZVZ^P[OYLKOHPYHUK red beard, by the Inscription Painter in Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 96.AE.1; True 1995, 415–429. 13 Jones 1987, 140–144; Jones 2000. The root ‘stig-’ means ‘to prick ’. The actual word tattoo became known in the 18th century at James Cook’s voyHNL[V7VS`ULZPH"-PZOLYÔÒÒÔÛÔ:LLHSZV)YLTTLYÔÒÓÖWYLZLU[]VS\TL 14 O[[WZ!^^^NVVNSLNYZLHYJO&X$[H[[VVZ OS$LS JSPLU[$MPYLMV_H OZ$ UKI YSZ$VYNTVaPSSH!LS!VMMPJPHS WYTK$PT]UZ ZV\YJL$SUTZ [IT$PZJO ZH$? LP$-Ö5A<1\5-Ú]AÖ8;,Ò@/N)^ ]LK$Ò*(V8F(<V(8 IP^ $ÓÔÚÒ IPO$ØØÓSHZ[]PZP[1HU\HY`ÔÒÓ× 15 Rush 2005, p. vii. 16 1VULZÓÛÚÙ"*HWSHUÔÒÒÒWHZZPT"2Y\[HRÔÒÒÙ)YLTTLYÔÒÓÖWYLZLU[ ]VS\TL 94 WVW\SHYK\YPUNJLY[HPUWLYPVKZHUK[PTLZHUKZVJPHSNYV\WZ^OPSLH[ other stages it is out of favor and it might be detested. There are several publications that present an adequate history of tattooing,17 providing different aspects, interpretations and symbolisms. It is a common agreement in all of them however, that insertion of pigment into abraded, punctured, or incised skin has a long history. Of interest is that some scholars consider tattooing as to be a characteristic especially among the primitive mankind. But there is also the quite opposite aspect that considers it as a ‘civilized’ attribute.18 It is an exclusively human phenomenon and therefore it is a sign of culture, in the actual meaning of the term. The oldest indisputable evidence for the practice is to be found on preserved bodies accidentally or YP[\HSS`T\TTPÉLKPUVULMVYTVYHUV[OLY19 The earliest documented tattoos from a culture we have written history, are found in Egypt.20 There, it is found on mummies of the Eleventh Dynasty, about 2100 B.C. It belonged to the King’s Favorite, Amunet,21 perhaps a priestess of the Goddess Hathor at Thebes, and her tattoos comprise a series of abstract patterns of individual dots or dashes placed upon her body with no apparent regard for formal zoning of the artwork. The color that was used was a dark blackish-blue pigment applied with a pricking instrument, perhaps consisting of one or TVYLÉZOIVULZZL[PU[VH^VVKLUOHUKSL0[ZOV\SKILUV[LKOV^L]LY [OH[HSS[OL[H[[VVLKT\TTPLZ[O\ZPKLU[PÉLKPU,N`W[ILSVUN[VMLTHSLZ although the tattoos appear on both male and female statues and paintings. The act of tattooing might have multiple meanings and symbolisms in various peoples, periods of times and cultures. Meanings and symbolisms that often contradict each other.22 But it should not be forgotten that there is no right or wrong, except through our cultural beliefs. The tattooing may be considered a form of mutilation, such as scariÉJH[PVUIYHUKPUNVYWPLYJPUNKLZPNULK[VW\YNLVYW\YPM`HZHWYPTHY` step to a spiritual life.23 17 Caplan 2000; Fisher 2002, 91–107; Rush 2005, 17 ; Krutak 2007; Norman 2011, 140–143. 18 Rush 2005, 18 19 Rush 2005, 3. 20 Jones 1987, 144; Rush 2005, 19. 21 O[[W!^^^[H[[VVZ`TIVSJVT[PTLSPUL[PTLSPULÕO[TSSHZ[]PZP[LK1HU\HY`ÔÒÓ× 22 It is of interest that tattoo is a sign of noble birth for certain people while at the same time it is closely related with criminals and slaves. 23 Rush 2005, p. vii. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 95 In a Hellenistic curse, on Egyptian papyrus fragments it states: 24 “I will tattoo you with pictures of the terrible punishments suffered by the most notorious sinners in Hades! I will tattoo you with the whitetusked boar!” The author of this curse is not known, but a strong candidate appears to be the poetess Moiro of Byzantium, who lived around 300 B.C. This role of tattooing as punishment appears also about the same time in a scene of the Greek playwright of the 3rd c. B.C., Herodas. In The Jealous Women×[O4PTL[OLZJVYULK)P[PUUHZ\TTVUZ2VZPZHWYVMLZZPVUHS tattooer of slaves, criminal, and prisoners of war, to bring his needles to punish her unfaithful slave lover. Nowadays, the tattooing has a widespread decorative role, although other interpretations and readings might be given according to different cases. In Antiquity, however, tattoos might have also punitive, magical, and medical functions. In Greece for example, the use of penal tattoos was probably introduced from Persia in the 6th c. B.C. According to Herodotus ÙÕ×[OL7LYZPHURPUN?LY_LZVUOPZ^H`[VPU]HKL.YLLJLÖÚÒ)* was so infuriated when the sea swept away his bridge at the Hellespont that he ordered his soldiers to enslave the disobedient body of water by [VZZPUNPYVUML[[LYZPU[V[OLZLH;OLUOLOHKTLUÈVNP[^P[OÕÒÒSHZOLZ 0OH]LL]LUOLHYKŽ^YP[LZ/LYVKV[\Z[OH[OLB?LY_LZDZLU[IYHUKLYZ with them to brand the Hellespont”.25 (UV[OLYM\UJ[PVUVM[OL[H[[VVHSZVRUV^U[OYV\NO/LYVKV[\Z×Õ× is that used by Histiaeus, the tyrant of Miletus, when he was imprisoned by the Persian king Darius, around 500 B.C. In an effort to inspire his son in law Aristagoras to revolt, Histiaeus shaved the head of his most trusted slave and pricked his scalp with pin and ink. “Aristagoras should revolt from the king”, it was the message on the head.26 A few weeks later, when the slave’s hair grew over the tattoo, Histiaeus ‘mailed’ his living letter. The story is well known. On reaching his destination the slave was shaved, Aristagoras red the message and launched the revolt that ended in the Persian invasion of Greece. The literary sources speak about the tattooing in various peoples and periods of time and they present it as an ancient custom that was 24 Mayor 1999, 54. 25 Herodotus 7.35.1, english translation by A.D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. 26 Herodotus 5.35.2, english translation by A.D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920. 96 ^PKLZWYLHK=LYNPSAeneid?0?ZWLHRZHIV\[(NH[O`YZPHUZHIV\[ILPUN [H[[VVLKI\[[OYV\NOHYJOHLVSVNPJHSÉUKPUNZPZZ\ZWLJ[LK[OH[*YL[HUZ and Mycenaeans might also have been familiar with tattooing. Cycladic idols for example, often carry face marks that have been interpreted as a type of tattoo.27?LUVWOVUAnabasis×ÖÔ؋ÕÖ[HSRZHIV\[4VZZ`UVPRVP who like the Thracians tattooed designs upon their white skins. Pliny Natural History ??0 0Ô Z[H[LZ [OH[ [OL TLU VM [OL +HJPHUZ HUK Sarmacians marked their bodies: “corpora sua inscribunt ”. Ethiopians also painted the images of their ancestors on their bodies. Tattooing is also recorded among ancient Gauls, Britons, Celts, and Germans. Arms, legs, bodies, and faces, are all suitable places for tattooing. Ancient Egyptians, southern Chinese, east Indians and Thracians all knew of tattooing. As for the Thracians the people of the primary interest in this paper, it seems that their passion for tattoos involved certain symbolisms which, however, challenged the Greek principles. D. T H R A C I A N TAT TO O S Widespread among ancient people the tattooing was popular in Thrace. (JJVYKPUN [V /LYVKV[\Z ×Ø P[ ^HZ H ZPNU VM UVISL IPY[O HTVUN [OL Thracians to be tattooed, while the lack of it was a mark of low birth. The historian does not mention anything about this custom expanded to the female Thracians. The Greek art, however, and especially the Attic vase-panting of the ÉM[OJLU[\Y`)*WYLZLU[Z[OL;OYHJPHU^VTLU[VIL[H[[VVLKHUKHZP[ will be shown in some cases the tattoos cover most parts of their bodies. In Athenian iconography Thracian women appear to be divided into two major categories: wild free women, and devoted slaves. It will follow a presentation of both, beginning with the latter. D. 1. A T H R A C IA N W O MEN AS SL A V ES As it has been already mentioned, Thracians used to sell their children PU[VZSH]LY`/LYVKV[\Z×ØHUKP[HWWLHYZ[OH[MLTHSL;OYHJPHUZLY]HU[Z were not uncommon in Athens at least of the 5th c. B.C. The Athenian iconography preserves some vase-paintings depicting female slaves with 27 Marangou 1992, 190; Papaefthimiou-Papanthimou 1997, 66–73. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 97 certain attributes that allow to be recognized as Thracians. Those women carry marks on their legs, arms or necks that consist of motives such as SPULZHUKZWPYHSZVYHUPTHSÉN\YLZZ\JOHZHKLLY28 A characteristic example of this category is depicted on an Attic YLKÉN\YLO`KYPHVMHYV\UKÖÙҋÖØÒ)*29 on which occurs a daily life scene with women in a fountain. The short cropped hair of the women suggests that they are slaves. Taking a closer look at those females it is observed that there are tattoos on all three of them. They can be seen clearly on their chins, neck, arms, and legs revealing that way their speJPÉJHSS`;OYHJPHUVYPNPU The most memorable example, however, of a Thracian female slave VJJ\YZWYVIHIS`VUHYLKÉN\YLZR`WOVZVMHYV\UKÖØÒ)*30ÉNÔ Here, 2 Attic red-figure skyphos attributed to the Pistoxenos painter, ca. 460 B.C. Schwerin, Staatliches Museum 708 28 Jones 1987, 145. 29 Attic red-figure hydria by the Aegisthus Painter in Paris, Louvre Museum CA2587; ARV 2 506.29; Addenda 2 252; BAPD 205691; CVA Louvre 9, pl. 50.3–6; Osborne 2011, 141, fig. 5.12. 30 Attic red-figure skyphos by the Pistoxenos painter, in Schwerin Staatliches Museum 708; ARV 2 859, 862.30, 1672; Addenda 2 298; BAPD 211358; CVA Schwerin Staatliches Museum 1, pls 24.1–2, 25.1, 26.1, 27.1–2, 28.1–4; Tsiafakis 2000, 374, fig. 14.4. 98 the young Herakles is depicted on his way to a music lesson with his teacher Linos. The hero is escorted by his nurse, Geropso[OLUHTLPU .YLLRTLHUZ6SK^OVOVIISLZHSVUNZ\WWVY[LKI`OLYJYVVRLK^HSRPUN Z[PJRHZZOLJHYYPLZOPZS`YL.LYVWZVJHUILPKLU[PÉLKHZ;OYHJPHUI` means of the tattoos that decorate her body, which are shown as parallel wavy lines on her arms, feet, and neck. ;OVZL[^VYLKÉN\YL]HZLZJV\SKILJVUZPKLYLKHZJSLHYYLWYLZLU[Htives of the image of the Thracian female slaves in Athenian everyday life. Apart from those daily life scenes, however, Thracian female slaves appear to be included in scenes related to more intimate moments of an Athenian household, such as death and burial ritual. Examples of this category will be discussed in the next section, since due to their special role they deserve a separate treatment. D. 1.B ATHEN IAN B UR IAL R ITUAL The ancient Greek funeral was divided into three-step procedure: prothesis SH`PUNV\[VM[OLKLHKIVK`ekphoraJHYY`PUNŒV\[VM[OLKLJLHZLKMYVT [OLOV\ZL[V[OL[VTIHUKexpositio[OLKLWVZP[PUNVMP[ZJYLTH[LKVY PUO\TLKYLTHPUZ31 The prothesis, took place the day after a death in the house and prior to being transported to the grave. It lasted the whole day, and this was when the traditional laments were sung and the relatives and friends of the deceased said farewell for the last time. Bandaged in a linen wrapper endyma[OLJVYWZL^HZWSHJLKVUHIPLYŒHOPNO[YLZ[SL^P[OH[OPJR mattress. The head of the deceased was raised on a head-rest. It was the women of the family who were in charge of preparing the corpse for its laying out. They washed it, rubbed it with olive-oil, dressed it, and decoYH[LKP[^P[OÈV^LYZ^YLH[OZHUKQL^LSY`Prothesis is frequently depicted on Attic pots.32 31 Kurtz, Boardman 1971; Garland 1985; Felton 2010, 86–88. 32 Shapiro 1991; Oakley 2004; Sabetai 2009; Oakley 2012, 489–491. Cf. also an Attic red-figure loutrophoros by the Kleophrades Painter in Paris, Louvre Museum CA 453; ARV 2 184.22, 1632; Paralipomena 340; Addenda 2 187; BAPD 201675; CVA Louvre 8, pls. 56–57. On the vase is presented a prothesis scene with mourning women, probably servants, who do not carry, however, any attribute of their origin. It should be noted though, that the scene below the prothesis shows Thracian horsemen. It is not clear whether there is any connection of the two representations. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 99 One of the vase shapes that preserve prothesis scenes is the Attic loutrophoros.33 Among the several representations of the subject on this type of vessel, there are some that include Thracian female servants for the mourning of the dead.34 One of most characteristic and well preserved, is a loutrophoros coming from a grave at Pikrodaphne in Attica, of about 460–450 B.C.35 ÉNÕ /LYL H MLTHSL ZLY]HU[ PZ KLWPJ[LK ^P[O ZPTWSL 3 Attic red-figure loutrophoros attributed to the painter of Bologna 228, ca. 460–450 B.C. Athens, National Archaeological Museum 1170 33 The subject appears to be popular on black- and red-figure loutrophoroi. Of interest is that the shape plays an important role in two principal aspects of the human life in Athens: marriage and death. Vases of this shape are commonly decorated with scenes of mourners or wedding processions. Cf. the At[PJSV\[YVWOVYVPPU)LHaSL`(YJOP]LO[[W!^^^ILHaSL`V_HJ\RPUKL_O[T SHZ[]PZP[LK1HU\HY`ÔÒÓ×-VYSV\[YVWOVYVZZLL2VR\SHÓÛÚÖ"4lZJOÓÛÚÚ" Shapiro 1991, 647–649; Sabetai 1993, 129–174; Mösch-Klingele 2006; Sabetai 2009. 34 Zimmermann 1980a, 168–183; Tsiafaki 1998, 38–39. 35 Attic red-figure loutrophoros by the painter of Bologna 228, in Athens National Archaeological Museum 1170; ARV 2 512.13, 1657; Paralipomena 382; Addenda 2 252; BAPD 205750; CVA Athens, Musée National 2, pls. 21.1–4, 22.1–3, 23.1–3, 24.3–4, 25.1–3, 26.1; Tsiafaki 1998, 38–39, 326, pl. 4.a–b; Sabetai 2009, fig. 5a. 100 4 Attic red-figure loutrophoros attributed to the painter of Bologna 228, ca. 460–450 B.C. Athens, National Archaeological Museum 1170 5([[PJYLKMPN\YLSV\[YVWOVYVZMYHNTLU[ZH[[YPI\[LK[V[OL:`YHJ\ZL Painter, ca. 470–460 B.C. Athens, National Archaeological Museum 17420 D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 101 linear tattoos on her face and she tends the body of a deceased woman who must have been her mistress. The Thracian ethnicity of the tattooed slave is also indicated through her light-colored hair, rendered in dilute glaze. On the other side of the vase are presented some Thracian OVYZLTLUÉNÖHUKVULTPNO[^VUKLYZPM[OLYLPZHU`RPUKVMYLSH[PVU between the two scenes. Another Thracian female apparently servant,36 mourning in a prothesis scene is depicted on the preserved fragments of one more loutrophoros, KH[LKHYV\UKÖÙҋÖØÒ)*ÉN×0U[OPZJHZL[OL^VTHUVMPU[LYLZ[PZ not standing nearby the deceased, but she is probably lying down on the ÈVVYL_[LUKPUNOPNOIV[OOLYHYTZHUK^P[OOLYOLHKHUKMHJLSVVRPUN up. Her mouth is wide opened as if she is crying or screaming for the death of a beloved person. The Thracian origin of the woman is indicated through the tattoos that decorate her arms and face. A deer like animal is presented on the upper part of her right arm with parallel curved lines to follow. A second tattoo akin to an animal is observed beneath the lines and a snake below that. It is not distinguishable the shape of the tattoos that decorated the left arm of the woman, but it can be seen that they are HSZVL_[LUKLKVU[OLLU[PYLHYT;OL[H[[VVZZOV^UVUOLYYPNO[WYVÉSL are simple parallel lines. In all the above mentioned scenes, the female Thracians are depicted as servants in a Greek household. The vases present them through three different aspects. They can be depicted in typical housekeeping works, such as to bring water for the household needs. In the second posi[PVU[OL`HWWLHYPU[VTVYLZWLJPÉJYVSLZHZMVYL_HTWSL[OL`JV\SKIL paidagogoiVYU\YZLZtrophoiVM[OLJOPSKYLU;OL[OPYKHZWLJ[[OLMLTHSL Thracian servants are presented is that of the mourners. In all the cases, however, they appear as members of the house. This is indicated in the earlier mentioned Pistoxenos’ painter skyphos for example, on which the Thracian Geropso proves also the information provided by the literary sources,37 that the Thracian women were MHTV\ZU\YZLZtrophoi;OL;OYHJPHU.LYVWZVPZKLWPJ[LKHZ[OLU\YZL of the most important hero, Herakles. The pose of the tattooed, meaning 36 Attic red-figure loutrophoros frgs. by the Syracuse Painter, in Athens, National Archaeological Museum 17420; A RV 2 519.22; Addenda 2 253; BAPD 205827; Zimmermann 1980a, 194, no. 35, fig. 29. 37 *M (YPZ[VWOHULZ PUMVYTH[PVU Thesmophoriazousai ÔÚÒ HIV\[ [OL Thracian trophos of Euripides, and this is perhaps where the Thracian themes in his tragedies came from. 102 Thracian, slaves in the prothesis scenes display great affection as well.38 The mourning Thracian nurses presented before, for example, are presumably meant to be perceived of as loving, caring family members. It should be noted here, however, that in all those scenes—and in the ones that follow—the Thracian women are not showed as how female slaves were or perceived themselves, but they are images of how their masters or Greeks and especially Athenians, wanted them to be or pictured them. Especially for the 5th c. B.C. a period with a great activity between Athenians and Thracians,39 Thracians and their myths are interpreted through their depictions in the vase-painting and their references within Athenian drama and Greek historians. D. 2 . A F R E E T H R A C IA N W O MEN The second category of the Thracian women depicted in the Athenian iconography is that of the free females. In this case the women show a quite different temperament than the one presented through the enslaved females. Furthermore, the free Thracian women appear to play an active and important role in the representations of the death of the Thracian musician Orpheus, a myth very popular in Attic vase-painting of the 5th c. B.C.40 D. 2 .B DEAT H OF O R P H EUS The jealous Thracian women, who according to the myth,41 dismembered and decapitated Orpheus for having lured away their husbands—the Thracian men—with his music, are depicted in the preserved vasepaintings as tattooed foreigners, often with unkempt hair or exposed breasts, and they wield a makeshift arsenal of weapons, including not only spears and knives, but boulders, spits, double-axes, and the harpe ZPJRSL [OL [VVS \ZLK MVY KLJHWP[H[PVU PU .YLLR HY[ HUK JHZ[YH[PVU PU Greek myth. On an Attic calyx krater of around 450–440 B.C.42 it is depicted a typical scene of the death of the musician Thracian Orpheus, whose 38 Oakley 2000, 246. 39 Tsiafaki 1998. 40 Tsiafaki 1998, 41–93; Cohen 2000, 107–109. 41 Paus. 9.30.5. Kern 1922, 33–41, nos. 113–135. For visual representations of the reason of the murder see Tsiafaki 1998, 68–77. 42 Attic red-figure calyx krater in Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum 80.AE.71; Tsiafaki 1998, 74–77, pl. 20–22. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 103 6a Attic red-figure calyx krater, ca. 450–440 B.C. Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 80.AE.71 Thracian origin is denoted through the embadesVUOPZMLL[ÉNZ6a–c He is killed by two Thracian women who have tattoos on their arms and legs. In this case the tattoos are simple lines, vertical and curved, placed PUNYV\WZWHYHSSLS[VLHJOV[OLYÉNZ6.b–c Tattoos in the shape of ‘V’ appear on the arms of the Thracian woman ^OVH[[HJRZ6YWOL\ZVUHU([[PJYLKÉN\YLHTWOVYHVM[OLTPKKSLVM[OL 5th c. B.C.43ÉNÙ+V[ZHYL[OLZOHWLVM[OL[H[[VVZVU[OLHYTZVM[OL 43 Attic red-figure Nolan amphora by the Phiale painter, in Paris, Louvre Museum G 436; ARV 2 1014.1; Addenda 2 153; BAPD 214178; CVA Louvre 8, pl. 37.1–3; Tsiafaki 1998, 55–56, pl. 12a. 104 6b Attic red-figure calyx krater, ca. 450–440 B.C. Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 80.AE.71 Thracian female presented on a stamnos by Hermonax.44 The preserved vase-paintings indicate that the simpler tattoos found on the Thracian women, the more lately in date are the depictions. It appears that the wildness is lost gradually during the time.45 44 ([[PJYLKÉN\YLZ[HTUVZI`/LYTVUH_PU7HYPZ3V\]YL4\ZL\T.ÖÓØ" ARV 2 484.17, 1655; Addenda 2 247; BAPD 205400; CVA Louvre 3, pl. 19.1, 19.4, 19.6–7; Tsiafaki 1998, 52–53, pl. 10a–b. 45 Cf. the representations of the subject in Tsiafaki 1998, 48–77. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 105 6c Attic red-figure calyx krater, ca. 450–440 B.C. Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 80.AE.71 The pattern is so obvious and well known, that it is recognized even if Orpheus is not included in the scene. As an example it might be mentioned the tondo of a cup dated in 480–470 B.C.46 that depicts only a 46 ([[PJYLKÉN\YLJ\WI`)Y`NVZ7HPU[LYPU5L^@VYR4L[YVWVSP[HU4\seum of Art 96.9.37; ARV 2 379.156; Addenda 2 227; BAPD 204053; Zimmermann 1980a, 169, fig. 2. 106 7 Attic red-figure Nolan amphora attributed to the Phiale painter, ca. middle of the 5th c. B.C. Paris, Louvre Museum G 436 ;OYHJPHU^VTHUPUHUH[[HJRPUNTVKL;OLHIZLUJLVMHU`V[OLYÉN\YL within the tondo could be due to the lack of space. The tattoo, however, in the shape of an up-side-down ‘V’ that covers all her arm can be recognized—not only here but in similar cases—as the principal attribute not only for the recognition of the ethnic identity of the female but of the depicted myth as well.47 47 The reverse can be said for the depiction of Orpheus himself, who is not depicted with tattoos in any of the known representations. In a very few of them he might be dressed in Thracian garments and usually he is D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 107 Of special interest is, however, the white-ground Orpheus cup from the Athenian Acropolis, that dates around 470 B.C.48WSH[LÓ;OLZJLULKLpicted on the tondo of the vase has often been linked with a prototype in ,HYS`*SHZZPJHST\YHSWHPU[PUN([ÉYZ[NSHUJLNP]LU[OPZ^OP[LNYV\UK composition’s fragmentary state of preservation, the image suggests a young couple in a romantic tryst. But the careful viewer knows better; death comes closely. The Acropolis cup, however, presents another version of the moment before Orpheus death. Although decorated with tattoos and in this case they are not only abstract motifs, but there is also a deer, the Thracian woman is rendered in a different way than the others we saw so far. She is a beautiful calm lady, with carefully rendered long hair and jewelry on her neck and ears and if it weren’t for the tat[VVZŒHUK[OLZ\IQLJ[ŒZOL^V\SKOH]LILLUPKLU[PÉLKHZHYLZWLJ[HISL Athenian. The Thracian female is tattooed with a deer like animal on her right shoulder, such the one presented on the loutrophoros fragment I`[OL:`YHJ\ZL7HPU[LYTLU[PVULKHIV]LÉN×^OPSLVU[OLPUZPKLVM her left forearm she carries a pattern of diagonal lines. D. 3 T Y P E S OF T H E TH R ACIAN TATTO O S The Athenian vase-painting provides an adequate information for the types of the tattoos occurred on the bodies of the women of Thrace. Based on the iconography of the vases, all the naked presented parts of their bodies—legs, arms and even their faces—can be decorated with tattoos.49 YLWYLZLU[LKHZ.YLLRHTVUN;OYHJPHUZTHSLHUKVYMLTHSL/LYLTPNO[ HWWS` 96ZIVYULZ ÔÒÓÓ ÓÕÔ Z\NNLZ[PVU [OH[ ˆ [OL Z[H[\Z VM ILPUN H WYV[HNVUPZ[^P[OHUHTLL]PKLU[S`WYLJS\KLZILPUNNP]LUHMVYLPNUIVK`ˆŽ Therefore there was not a need for the vase-painters to highlight to the viewers Orpheus’ non-Greek origin. 48 Attic white ground cup by the Pistoxenos Painter, in Athens, National (YJOHLVSVNPJHS4\ZL\T(JYVWVSPZ*VSSLJ[PVUÔÖÕÛMVYTLY5H[PVUHS(YJO 4\ZL\TÓ×ÓÛÒ"ARV 2 859, 860.2, 1672; Paralipomena 425; Addenda 2 298; BAPD 211325; Zimmermann 1980a, 177, no. 16, fig. 13; Tsiafaki 1998, 53–54, pl. 11a–b; Cohen 2000, 112–113, fig. 4.4. 49 The ‘decorated’ here does not mean that they had simply a decorative role, as it will be shown below. It is not known whether tattoos decorated other parts of their bodies since they are never depicted naked on the Attic vases. It is remarkable, however, that the representations of the nude hetaerae do not preserve any signs of tattoos, but they show a perfect body without any mark. Since it is difficult to accept that there were not Thracian females who served as hetaerae in the Athenian society, they either 108 The tattoos might be in the shape of an animal, such as a deer for example, or a snake, or can consist of a variety of abstract designs, including vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines. They can be shown singly or in groups that form patterns such as zigzags and chevrons, as well as curvilinear motifs, such as rosettes, dots, and spirals.50 E . S YMB OLISM OF TH E T H R ACIAN TATTO O S The existing information on both literary and iconographic sources, indicates a multiple and often contradictory symbolism and meaning for the presence of the tattoos on the human body, in our case of the Thracians. 0[^HZ\UKV\I[LKS`HUHUJPLU[J\Z[VT[OH[ZPNUPÉLK[OLL[OUPJPKLU[P[` of the Thracians and it was probably interpreted in various ways through place and time. E .1 S IGN OF N O B IL IT Y (ZP[OHZILLUHSYLHK`TLU[PVULK/LYVKV[\Z×ØKLZJYPILZMVY[OL;OYHcians that to have punctures on their skin is with them a mark of nobility. ;OL.YLLROPZ[VYPHUHSZVPUMVYTZ\Z×Ø[OH[MVY[OL;OYHJPHUZILPUN free of tattooing is for the lower born. This information can be translated that not all the Thracians were tattooed but only the nobles and that for the Thracians tattooing was a custom which clearly indicates the contrast between the aristocracy and the peasantry. Taken that information into the Athenian iconography it is interestPUN[OH[P[PZUV[JVUÉYTLKZPUJL[OL;OYHJPHUTLUVU[OL([[PJ]HZLZHYL dressed in Thracian garments but they do not have any tattoos on their bodies.51 This could be due to the fact that the male Thracians depicted on the Attic vases were not among the Thracian aristocrats, but they may be considered as ordinary people. On the other hand, their clothing in addition to the occasionally depicted physical features such as the red hair or the pointed beard might be enough attributes for their foreign origin. didn’t have any tattoos—something hard to believe—or it is due to the ideal of the nudity as it was perceived by the Greeks, that it is not preserved any depiction of a nude Thracian female body with tattoos. Cf. also Berard 2000, 390–391; Bonfante 2011, 20–21. 50 Zimmermann 1980a; Tsiafaki 1998, 48–77; Tsiafakis 2000, 373. 51 Zimmermann 1980b, 429–446; Tsiafaki 1988, 31–93; Tsiafakis 2000, 365–376. D E S PO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 109 E.2 S IGN OF B ARB AR IAN S In contrast to the cultural beliefs of the Thracians, the ancient Greeks and in particular Athenians, regarded tattooing as sign of barbarism.52 They were not in favor of its use on their bodies and they recognize it as a barbaric practice and abomination. They consider tattoos as marks of ignominy, something understandable, since in Antiquity the tattoos were used to mark slaves, war captives etc. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that the Greek, and in particular the Athenian approach to the nudity.53 The ‘costume’ of nudity was a ritual costume that set the Greeks apart from the barbarians. The nude IVK`^P[OJLY[HPUWYVWVY[PVUZÉ_LKZVTL[PTLPU[OL×[OJ)*ZLY]LKHZ the ideal model until the end of antiquity and the rise of Christianity. The model was total and absolute nudity. Any body mark was an intolerable Z[PNTH;OLYLMVYLPUZJYPILKWHPU[LK[H[[VVLKVYZJHYPÉLKIVKPLZ^LYL not and would never be Greek. E.3 S IGN OF E TH N IC I D ENT I T Y Based on what it has been said before, this sign of barbarism functions at the same time as sign of ethnic—with the contemporary meaning of the term—recognition. This information based on the literary sources PZJVUÉYTLKHSZVI`[OLPJVUVNYHWO`0[HWWLHYZ[OH[P[^HZHJVTTVU practice for the vase-painters to employ bodily features in order to distinguish the various non-Greek groups around them.54 The ancient Greeks recognized a barbarian as Thracian through his exotic garments and the tattoos that covered different parts of the body. Especially in the case of the Thracian women, where the Athenian iconography doesn’t preserve any special types of garments, it is the acquired physical attribute of tattooing that gives them their ethnic identity. Especially in the case of the death of Orpheus a tattooed woman is enough to identify the subject the vase-painter meant to depict. Furthermore, a tattooed woman does not signify only her Thracian identity but something more; it separates the woman who performs this 52 Herodotus 5.6; Zimmermann 1980a, 163–196; Jones 1987, 139–155; Jones 2000, 15; Lee 2009, 173. 53 Berard 2000, 390–391; Bonfante 2011, 20–21. 54 Osborne 2011, 130. 110 cruel act from the other respectable Greek female.55 The tattoo is also an expression of her wildness; an element that leads to the next sign presented through the tattoo. E .4 SIGN O F WIL D N ESS /LYVKV[\Z×ՋÚKLZJYPILZ[OL;OYHJPHUZHZ^PSKHUK^HYSPRLWLVWSL It is interesting enough that the Attic vase-painting does not depict this crudeness on the male Thracians. On the contrary, the appearance of the women of Thrace, especially in the early representations, keeps strong the feeling of their wildness that is rendered mostly through their hair and their tattoos and secondly through the weapons they hold in their hands. ;OLZLUZLVM[OL^PSKHUKIHYIHYV\ZPZYLÈLJ[LKJSLHYS`PU[OL;OYHcian woman, depicted by the Pan painter on a column krater of about 470 B.C.56ÉNÚ(S[OV\NO6YWOL\ZPZUV[PUJS\KLKPU[OLZJLULLHJO side of the vase shows a Thracian female who undoubtedly is running to kill him. Apart from the streaming long hair, the arms and the legs of both women are completely covered with tattoos of various types, such as zigzags, rosettes and deer. Her depiction and the tattoos remind of the mourning servant shown on the loutrophoros by the Syracuse painter, WYLZLU[LKLHYSPLYÉN× The long hair is an attribute that is found on the women who participate to the death of Orpheus; meaning the free Thracian females. The Thracian women who have been enslaved carry short hair, a typical attribute of slaves in general. E .5 S IGN OF SLAV ER Y One of the principal attributes that identify female slaves with near certainty is the short hair.570[PZRUV^UMYVT/LYVKV[\Z×Ø[OH[;OYHcians used to sell their children into slavery and that Thrace was a source MVYZSH]LZPUMVYTH[PVUJVUÉYTLKHSZV[OYV\NO[OLLWPNYHWOPJL]PKLUJL Tattooing was a custom of the free Thracians that they had to have it also into slavery. 55 Osborne 2011, 140. 56 Attic red-figure column krater by the Pan Painter, in Munich, Staatliche (U[PRLUZHTTS\UNLU\UK.S`W[V[OLRÔÕÙÚ1ÙÙÙ"ARV 2 551.9; Addenda 2 257; BAPD 206284; Tsiafaki 2000, 375, fig. 14.5; Lee 2009, 175, fig. 9. 57 Oakley 2000, 246. For slavery in antiquity see Wrenhaven 2012; Bradley and Cartledge 2011; Andreau and Descat 2011. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 111 8 Attic red-figure column krater attributed to the Pan Painter, Munich, :[HH[SPJOL(U[PRLUZHTTS\UNLU\UK.S`W[V[OLRÔÕÙÚ1ÙÙÙ In addition, it is known that slave bodies, regardless their place of origin, were marked in various ways. Moreover, slaves who misbehaved or ran away were sometimes tattooed.58 In one of Herodas’ Mimes4PTL×[OL mistress of Gastron, a slave used for sexual pleasure, threatens him with 58 DuBois 2010, 132. Fisher 2002. 112 tattooing. Slaves sometimes were marked with the names or signs of the divinities into whose service they had willingly or unwillingly fallen. Tattooing is found also in the case of prisoners of war.59 Since they were usually turned into slaves, this type of tattoo can also be conceived as sign of slavery. E .6 S IGN OF P UN ISH MEN T As a sign of punishment tattooing was mentioned in the case of slaves, [OL\UY\S`HUKYLILSSPV\ZVULZWYVUL[VÈPNO[H^H` Most punishment rituals are designed to render the individual physically and emotionally helpless without choice, just as interestingly enough, other types of rituals do, as for example the rites of passage.60 Punishment rituals are enacted to remove something from the social system. That could be for example an unacceptable behavior in order to bring the system back to ‘normal’, regain control, or undoubtedly to remove obstacles to the future. 0U[OLJHZLVM;OYHJPHU^VTLUOV^L]LYP[PZZWLJPÉJHSS`TLU[PVULK that the tattoo was their punishment for the death of Orpheus. AccordPUN [V 7OHUVRSLZ MYNÓÔ׋ÔÛ [OL ;OYHJPHU ^VTLU HYL ZHPK [V OH]L been tattooed by their husbands for their cruelty to Orpheus. Plutarch De sera num. vind. ××Ù+JVUÉYTZP[I`ZH`PUN[OH[[OL;OYHJPHUZVMOPZ time made tattoo marks on their wives to avenge the death of Orpheus whom they had murdered in Maenad fury while celebrating the mysteries of Bacchus. Of interest is that in the same passage Plutarch does not consider this as something to be proud of. That interpretation of the Thracian female tattooing comes to a contradiction with the male tattooing, which was considered a mark of social standing. Furthermore, in the representations on the Attic vases of the 5th c. B.C., however, Thracian women already have tattoos when they attack Orpheus. According to other traditions,61 however, it was the Scythian women who tattooed the bodies of the wives of the Thracians who lived to the west and north of them, using pins to produce the designs. Other symbolisms, such for example, sacral or ritual tattooing could be also traced in the case of Thracians. The role of cosmetic and decorative cannot also be excluded. Through various references is suspected 59 DuBois 2010, 132. Fisher 2002. 60 Rush 2005, p. ix. 61 Jones 1987, 145. D E SPO INA T S IA FA K I S: T H R AC I A N TAT TO O S 113 that it was cosmetic for the Thracians to tattoo their daughters and that it was a mark of beauty for Thracian women.62 Some of them or all of them, symbolism or decoration, the ThraJPHU [H[[VVZ L_PZ[LK HUK PKLU[PÉLK [OL WLVWSL VM H YLNPVU ^P[O JLY[HPU characteristics and attributes, that attracted the Greek attention. Beyond any further reading, their presence on the vase-painting indicates that they consisted a visible feature that the Athenians had come to notice and to depict it. It is worth of note that the depiction of the Thracian tattoos disappears in Athenian iconography after the 5th c. B.C.63 It seems that it is related to a certain period of the Athenian society and history and it might follows the changes of the Athenian relationship with the area of Thrace. For the time that it lasted, however, it appears as a denoting of a certain WLVWSLKPZ[PUN\PZOLKMYVT[OLV[OLYZ.YLLRZPUJS\KLK64 C ONC LUS IO N The interpretation of the ancient Thracian tattoos images, subject of this brief study, was set within the view of a particular culture, that of the .YLLRZHUKZWLJPÉJHSS`[OL([OLUPHUZ;OLMVJ\ZOHZILLUVU[OLPJVUVNraphy of the Athenian vase-painting and the literary sources as evidence for the customs of the Thracians and their meanings. The employment of the tattoo by the ancient Thracians indicates that the Thracian tattoo carries similar interpretations and symbolisms as they are found in other cultures from the antiquity until nowadays. The history of the tattooing shows that it occurs throughout the human record, with changes in the ways of its perception by the various 62 Jones 1987, 145 with reference to literary sources. 63 Tsiafaki 1998, 48–77. It seems that the tattooing gradually disappears after the middle of the century, when the Thracian female lose also their physical wildness and become more Greek looking females. Of interest is the depiction of the Thracian woman killing Orpheus on the Pistoxenos cup mentioned before; unless for the context and the tattoo the Thracian female would not easily be distinguished from any Athenian woman. The jewelry that adorns her could be easily recognized as sign of nobility. 64 Although not referred to Thracians it is interesting the suggestion of 0]HUJOPRÔÒÒ×ÓÒҋÓÓÕ[OH[[OL:R`[OPHUJVZ[\TLLSLTLU[ZOHKUV[OPUN [VKV^P[O[OLPKLU[PÉJH[PVUVMHJ[\HS:R`[OPHUZVY^P[OL[OUPJP[`PUNLULYHS 114 people and cultures.65 Popular among certain peoples in Antiquity as for example the Thracians, it was heavily detested by others, such as the Greeks. 0UNLULYHS[H[[VVPUNJHUILKP]PKLKPU[V[^VTHQVYJH[LNVYPLZ!H[OL ]VS\U[HYPS`HUK[OLIPU]VS\U[HYPS`[H[[VVPUN;OLWYLZLU[LKL_HTWSLZPUdicate that in the case of the Thracians both categories could be recognized through the reading of the preserved iconography and the literary sources. Primarily, it was voluntarily since it was considered a sign of noble birth for the male or of beauty for the female. The hint of the involuntarily tattooing is distinguished through the fact that it was considered a punishment to the Thracian women for the death of Orpheus. 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Athens, National Archaeological Museum, Acropolis Collection 2.439 MVYTLY5H[PVUHS(YJO4\ZL\TÓ×ÓÛÒ