Greek, Etruscan and Roman Art and Archaeology

Greek artists and architects were important social agents who played significant roles in the social, cultural, and economic life of the ancient Greek world. In Artists and Artistic Production in Ancient Greece, art historians, archaeologists, and historians explore the roles and impacts of artists and craftsmen in ancient Greek society. The contributing authors draw upon artistic, architectural, literary, epigraphical, and historical evidence to discuss a range of artists, architects, artistic media, and regions. They refer to historiography and modern theory, taking stock of the past while offering some new directions for future research. Incorporating a variety of methodological approaches and making use of often-neglected evidence, Artists and Artistic Production in Ancient Greece re-examines many long-held ideas and provides a deeper understanding of particular artists and architects, their works, and their social agency.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Introduction: Greek artists, yesterday and today/Kristen Seaman
2. The social and educational background of elite Greek artists/Kristen Seaman
3. Portrait of an artist: Euthymides, son of Pollias/Jenifer Neils
4. Kritios and Nesiotes: two revolutionaries in context/Andrew Stewart
5. Craft identity: mosaics in the Hellenistic East/S. Rebecca Martin
6. Artistic choice and constraint on coins/Isabelle A. Pafford
7. Constructing architects: the so-called 'Theseum architect'/Margaret M. Miles
8. Euphranor/Olga Palagia
9. Politics and personality?: the case of Kephisodotos the Younger/Peter Schultz
10. Artists' signatures on archaic Greek vases from Athens/Sarah Bolmarcich and Georgina Muskett
11. Response: reflections on identity, personality, and originality/Jeffrey M. Hurwit

Keywords: Rjabchikov, archaeoastronomy, writing, solar eclipses, Pythagoras, Greek, Etruscan, Etruria, Egypt, Italy

This paper was first read by the author on the scientific session of the Sergei Rjabchikov Foundation – Research Centre for Studies of Ancient Civilisations and Cultures, January 13, 2014, Krasnodar, Russia.

Funde, Eigennamen und Schriftzeichen beweisen Roms lange Zugehörigkeit zur etruskischen Kultur. Die historisch faßbaren Anfänge des Etruskertums in Italien fallen mit der mythischen  Gründungzeit Roms (datiert auf 753 v. Chr.) zusammen. Die Sage berichtet vom korinthisch-etruskischen Ursprung der letzten römische Könige und von Einfällen der Etrusker unter dem König von Clusium Lars Porsenna nach dem Sturz der Tarquinier.  Die zwei römischen Gründungsmythen, die Äneas- und die Romulus-Sage, bezeugen die enge Verbindung Roms mit den etruskischen Nachbarn. Von den sieben sagenhaften Königen Roms, von Romulus bis Tarquinius Superbus, waren vier etruskischer Herkunft. Romulus ist der mythische Ahnherr der *Ruma, eines aus lat. Roma erschlossenen Geschlechternamens. Die erschlossene etruskische Form von Romulus lautet *Rumle. Von ihm leiten sich auch die Gentilizien Romulius bzw. Romilius ab. Auf die Romulii oder Romilii ist auch die erste der  sechzehn ältesten römischen Landtribus, die Romulia zurückzuführen. Remus gilt als der Ahnherr der Remmii, eines Geschlechts, das es wohl im ältesten Rom gegeben haben muß. Dem Gentilnamen liegt der etruskische Name  Rem-ne oder Rem-ni zugrunde. Von diesem Gentilizium leiten sich in und um Rom die Toponyme Rem-ona und Rem-oria her. Tyrrhener  und Römer wurden von den Griechen häufig synonym benutzt: Tyrrhenoì  è Rhomaîoi („Tyrrhener oder Römer“), ebenso wie Tyrrhenía è Italía. Einige Sprachelemente seien zusätzlich genannt: Im Etruskischen lauten die Namensbezeichnungen für Rom Ruma, für Römer Rumach, für Troja Truia, für Trojaner Truial. In der Frühzeit herrschte ein Priesterkönig (lauchme oder lochume, lat. lucumo) in jeder etruskischen Stadt, ein Titel, der möglicherweise auf die Heilskönige und Richter der nordostgeorgischen Bergstämme verweist, die häufig den Namen Luchumi trugen.

Das etruskische Erbe Roms gelangte erst Jahrhunderte später, während des Humanismus und in der Renaissance wieder zum Vorschein. Bei der Hinwendung zur Antike in der Rinascita spielte in der Toskana und in Latium, vor allem in Florenz und Viterbo, die Etruscheria, die Begeisterung für die Etrusker, eine besondere Rolle. Das Etruskertum diente als Modell gesellschaftlicher Erneuerung und fand Eingang in die kulturellen Programme der Renaissancefürsten, nicht zuletzt  der Medici. Der römische Baumeister Vitruv hatte  in seinem Augustus gewidmeten Werk De architectura  die tuskische Säulenordnung beschrieben. Diese Schrift regte die Renaissancearchitekten Andrea Palladio und Giorgio Vasari an. Der Palladianismus bildet zwei Jahrhunderte später eine der wichtigsten Stilrichtungen des Klassizismus. Durch die Lektüre von Palladio inspiriert, errichtete Thomas Jefferson sein Haus „Monticello“ mit toskanischem Portikus – die  erste toskanische Villa in der Neuen Welt.  Den Etruskern verdankt das  abendländischen Denken  schließlich  eine zentrale Kategorie – die Person.

"This paper proposes three new (and tentatively, another two) identifications of sundials in Middle Eastern mosaics of the 5th – 8th century. The author discusses a vignette from the Holy Martyrs’ Church at Tayibat al-Imâm, central Syria, a mosaic panel from the tomb of Georgia and Theodosia in Jerusalem, two
vignettes of Sebastis and Kastron Mefaa from the St. Stephan’s Church at Umm al-Rasas, and a vignette of Jerusalem from the St. George’s Church at Madaba. These mosaics date, respectively, to 442, to the reign of Justinian (527 –565), and to the Byzantine Umayyad era (718). According to the author, these are probably the latest representations of sundials known to date from the Late Antiquity. Until this study, only six representations of sundials on mosaics from the Roman period were known. This paper adds three new items and two hypothetical ones from Byzantine times. It also offers an interpretation of the function of the famous column in Jerusalem, shown on the map of Madaba and the mega-vignette of the Holy City.
Key words: Sundials, Sonnenhuhren, Meridiane, Cadrans solaires, Relojes de sol."

[Gods on the Roof. The acrotherial bases of the Temple of Veii - Portonaccio: installation and function]

Il tempio di Apollo a Veio costituisce il primo e finora unico esempio in Etruria di edificio sacro decorato lungo tutto il columen e le falde del tetto da una serie di statue acroteriali di dimensioni superiori al vero disposte per gruppi a comporre diverse scene del mito greco.
Lo studio minuzioso dell’intero apparato decorativo, in parte molto frammentario, ha permesso di accertare la funzione delle monumentali basi di sostegno certamente pertinenti alle stesse statue acroteriali, più numerose di quanto già noto in letteratura.
Il tetto risulta così incredibilmente affollato di divinità, eroi, animali fantastici a comporre un complesso programma figurativo i cui molteplici messaggi sono certamente connessi ai singoli episodi
del mito rappresentati.
Immediato è il richiamo a quanto conosciamo dalle fonti letterarie e iconografiche del Tempio di Giove Capitolino a Roma, pure animato sul tetto dalla famosa quadriga e da altre statue acroteriali, una cui eco è visibile in ambito laziale nel più tardo tempio di Satricum.

Thanks to the increasing multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of votive contexts, a meaningful amount of information about both archaeological finds and associated faunal remains is available, giving way to interpretations about cults and sacrificial practices. This paper deals with the filling of different categories of “cavities” included in Etruscan sacred areas: the deep ones providing a connection with the underworld (mainly holding a primary hydraulic function); the wide ditches and the artificially delimited hollow spaces. In spite of the uneven quality of published data, this paper attempts to discuss and highlight their possible meaning and common distinctive features, taking into account their stratification, the sequence of operations involved and the evidence of specific rituals performed during the definitive land filling.

Abstract: This article explores the battle scene on a small bronze plaque recovered during the excavation of the Great Altar of Pergamon, initially published in 1913 and subsequently lost. It argues that the most likely identification of the scene is the Battle of Magnesia, fought in 190 BC. The scene features Attalid cavalry riding to the rescue of distressed Roman legionaries, both fighting in opposition to Antiochus the Great’s heavy phalanx and Gallic cavalry. The heroics of the Attalid cavalry are central to the scene, and likely reflect a courtly narrative that gave Eumenes II and his small contingent outsized credit for the joint victory.

The aim is to study ancient fountains in their architectural context, in the belief that the context will reveal their function in the dwelling.  This article first analyzes the fountain structures and examines the relationship between each structure and the architecture. Through this approach, it is possible to reach some conclusions of more general value, concerning the function of central parts of Roman houses.

Updated attached exel file only, 3.09.2024. Updated to include corrections of mirrors. One mirror carries the name TIRANAII (Tyrhenni).  It is the oldest extant document containing the name Herodotus referred to and may predate Herodotus' "Histories." The Etruscan Glossary A spreadsheet presents 2,800 individual words from the major extant Etruscan texts. The texts contain a total word count of 6,000+ words, about 4,000 of which are repetitious. The Etruscan Glossary also sheds light on Etruscan declension and conjugation patterns that are similar to Latin, French & Italian. The glossary accounts for all of the 6,000+ words in the texts, including  the Zagreb Mummy wrapping and important grammatical and mythological data contained in Etruscan mirrors. Each word in the glossary has alphanumeric locators showing exactly where they are used in the cited texts.

Reviews:
Journal of Roman Archaeology 24 (2011) 512–15 [D. Ridgway]; Scholia 20.4 (2011) [R. Roth]; American Journal of Archaeology [online] 114.3 (2010) [S. Stoddart]; Antiquity 84:324 (2010) 565–67 [T. Rasmussen]; Bulletin Antieke Beschaving 85 (2010) 212–13 [B. van der Meer]; Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2010.02.32 [C. Smith]; Classical Review 60.2 (2010) 572–74 [L. Pieraccini].


Table of Contents

1. Between Crustumerium and Eretum: Observations on the First Iron Age Phases and the Finds from the Archaic Period / Paolo Togninelli

2. Civitalba and Roman Programs of Commemoration and Unification / Peter J. Holliday

3. Etruscan Cults in Roman Times: The Strange Ruins of Chianciano Terme / David Soren and Erin Nell

4. The Gods in the Circus / Carin Green

5. Far from Etruria: Etruscan Fakes in Japan / Stephan Steingräber

6. "Etruscan" Gold from Cerverteri (and Elsewhere) in the University of Pennsylvania Museum / Jean MacIntosh Turfa

7. From Crustumerium: A Proposal against Looting. Loans in Exchange for Resources for Preservation / Francesco di Gennaro

8. How Did Painters Create Near-Exact Copies? Notes on Four Center Paintings from Pompeii / John R. Clarke

9. Is Linear Perspective Necessary? / Jocelyn Penny Small

10. Some Thoughts on the Baubo Gesture in Classical Art / Larissa Bonfante

11. One More Etruscan Couple at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston / Marjatta Nielsen

12. Dueling Warriors on Two Etruscan Bronze Mirrors from the Fifth Century B.C.E. / Alexandra A. Carpino

13. The Blood of Animals: Predation and Transformation in Etruscan Funerary Representation / P. Gregory Warden

14. The Deified Deceased in Etruscan Culture / Giovannangelo Camporeale

15. On the Origin of the Vanth: Death Harbingers and Banshees in the Etruscan and Celtic Worlds / Anthony Tuck

16. Guests, Hosts, and Politics at Herculaneum / Carol C. Mattusch

17. The Lost Iter Hetruscum of Athanasius Kircher (1665-78) / Ingrid Rowland

18. Ingrid Edlund-Berry, Larthi, Turms, and Vel: Real Etruscans in Modern Fiction"

This paper proposes a new interpretation of the famous fourth century A.D. mosaic of the “Seven Sages” and the “Anger of Achilles”. Discovered in Merida in 1982, this mosaic was previously analyzed and interpreted by J.M. Aharez Martinez and M.-H. Quet. The occurrence of these two iconographic themes in one mosaic tends the author to compare the description of the “Anger of Achilles” in the first book of the Iliad with the maxims of the Seven Sages of Greece. The study of both written and iconographic sources shows that he image of the “Anger of Achilles” evokes allusively the moral precepts of the Seven Sages. The mosaic constitutes therefore an example of the practical use of “artificiosa memoria “.

The scenes tell the story of the founding of Pella/Apamea and further development of this city on the Orontes river. Three main groups of scenes can be distinguished: (1) the foundation of Pella-on-the-Orontes by the legendary Archippos, (2) the (re)foundation of the city as Apamea-on-the-Orontes (earlier Pella-on-the-Orontes) by Seleucus I Nikator and the simultaneous financial generosity of his wife, Apama, for the development of the new Seleucid colony in 300 BC, and (3) the raising of the town fortifications around monumental public buildings and an illustration of the daily life of a joyous people living in the rich Apamean agglomeration and hinterland. Features of style date the panels to the 4th century AD.

For the interpretation of mythological subjects In the Roman funerary art the author systematically applies the analysis of the Key of Dreams by Artemidorus of Daldis, Greek author of the Antonine period. The funerary art was studied before by F. Cumont and A.D. Nock, and they both discussed also some dreams chosen from the manual of Artemidorus. The comparison of the principles of the analysis of dreams (mental images) with the principles that we encounter in the iconography gives interesting results. This approach has never previously been attempted. To support his argument, the author studies not only numerous decorated sarcophagi but also a series of funerary inscriptions.

Una breve sintesi aggiornata alle recenti ricerche della storia di Populonia in età etrusca, con particolare riferimento alla industria della lavorazione del ferro.

A synthetical overview of the history of Populonia in Etruscan times, updated with the recent researches, particularly referring to iron metalworking industry.

A study about the cultural relationship between the Greek mainland and its apoikiai in the archaic and classical times constitutes a subject of fundamental importance. Among several regional examples archaeology can address, the Black Sea region and the apoikia of Olbia, in the present coast of Ukraine, looks highly remarkable. Nevertheless, being its features connected with many spheres of Greek society, our focus has been especially on the cultic persistence and orphic  revelation in this far away colony surrounded by foreign tribes and different cultural contacts; counting on the fact that religion is frequently the major indicator of a preservation of social customs and creeds. Moreover Olbia is enriched by the discovery, during the excavations of the temenos, of a few bone tablets, carved with Greek words and symbols of still doubtful decipherment. Understanding their function within cult and mythology in Olbia will therefore be a key study.

Cultural decline as a result of the Roman conquest is usually invoked to explain the gradual disappearance of Tarquinian tomb paintings during the third century BC. By contrast, this paper argues that, first, the late tomb paintings of Tarquinia markedly differed from their predecessors by decorating individual burials (fragmentation), as opposed to entire chamber tombs, which should be seen as a culturally meaningful development in the iconographic approach towards representing the deceased; and that, second, the disappearance of this time-honoured type of monument be seen as part of wider changes in the ways in which Tarquinian and other Etruscan elites chose to materialize their ideologies during the cultural and political realignments of the period of the Roman conquest.

From the excavations of Cosa by the American Academy
in Rome comes a large, circular, unpublished object that
resembles a plate with a low ring foot in lumachella orientale,
a marble highly prized in antiquity. Broken and repaired,
less than half is preserved. Since it was sealed
within a shop destroyed during the reign of Claudius, one
wonders where the rest of it is, for the shop was selling
new sigillata ceramics, vessels of glass, and iron tools. It
must have been incomplete when placed there. Given the
history of Cosa in the late Republic, pillaged by the Cilician
pirates ravaging the west coast of Italy ca. 70 B.C.,
desolate for several decades, and not resettled until early
in the reign of Augustus, could it date before the pirate
raid? This date fits Cosa’s increasing prosperity from the
late second century BC. The earliest pieces of this
lumachella so far known belong to the pavement of a
house under the Ludus Magna in Rome dated around 70
B.C., so a similar date for the Cosa piece would not be surprising.

Este breve ensayo examina una bien conocida estela helenística firmada por el escultor Arquelaos de Priene, proveniente de Alejandría y que data del periodo Ptolemaico. En este análisis, se examinarán algunos aspectos iconográficos de esta estela votiva y su rol en el contexto sociocultural helenístico en tanto monumento honorífico a la vez que conmemorativo. Por último y haciendo uso de algunas fuentes literarias y evidencia arqueológica, se analizará la cuestión del estatus divino de algunos poetas y su contribución a la educación (paideia) en la antigua Grecia.

This paper discusses two Roman reliefs from the Dalmatian hinterland, one of the goddess Diana from Proložac near Imotski, the other of the girl Lupa from Sovići near Grude in Herzegovina. Earlier scholarly discussions ascribed artistic values to the portrait of Lupa, while the relief of Diana was considered as superb crafstmanship, but artistically inferior to Lupa’s portrait. Using these two portraits as a case study, the paper will question the existing approaches to Dalmatian provincial art, in particular the notion that Graeco-Roman visual rhetoric was artistically superior to local, provincial interpretations.