Yale University

Etruscan Twins and Mirror Images: The Dioskouroi at the Door

Author(s): Nancy Thomson de Grummond
Source: Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin, le University Art Gallery Bulletin (1991), pp. 10-31

Published by: Yale University , acting through the Yale University Art Gallery
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40514336
Accessed: 28-12-2015 02:33 UTC

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 Fig. ι
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 3rdcenturyb.c.
Reverse,Dioskouroi.h. 23.5cm, diam.
ArtGallery.Giftof
12.6 cm. Yale University
Mrs. William H. Moore. 1952.52.8

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EtruscanTwinsand MirrorImages:
The Dioskouroiat theDoor
NANCY THOMSON DE GRUMMOND

The YaleUniversity ArtGallerypossessesa

well-preserved bronzeEtruscanmirror ofthe
typewhose concave non-reflecting or
side,
reverse,is engraved witha pairofmaletwins,
regularly identified as CastorandPollux,the
Dioskouroi(Figs,ι,2).1As is usualforEtrus-
can mirrors, theconvexreflecting sideis not
engraved (thoughthehandlefeatures an
attractive stylized animal'sheadandthe
borderofthediscis molded). The two
youths, dressedin tunicsandPhrygian caps,
areshownin mirroring poses,framing an
imageofa star.Behindeachofthemis a
shield,againstwhichtheyareperhapsto be
understood as leaning.
The subjectofthesetwinsis oneofthe
mostpopularmythological themesfoundon
Etruscanmirrors.2 Therearemanyexamples
similarto theYalemirror andin factone in
Bologna that is almost identical (Fig.3).
Othermirrors depicting theDioskouroi
showvariousadditional attributes:thepilos,
a softconicalhat,insteadofthePhrygian cap
(Fig.4); an amphora, a swan,spears.The set-
tingis sometimes indicatedbya largeplant Fig. 2
orbysucharchitectural featuresas a pedi- Etruscanbronzemirror
mentorhorizontal beams.Theselatterhave (as in Fig. 1). Obverse,
reflectingside.
beenidentified as partsofthedokana,a gate-
likestructure ofvertical andhorizontal lines
thatwasassociated with the cultof the
Dioskouroiin Sparta.(Sometimes thetwins
themselves serveas thevertical"posts.")The

II

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Kg. 3 Fig. 4
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Etruscanbronzemirror,ca. 3rdcenturyb.c.
Reverse,Dioskouroi(afterCSE, Italia1: Reverse,Dioskouroi(afterES h pl. 47:3).
Bologna 1,no. 9). Bologna,Museo Cívico. Brussels,Musées Royauxd'Artet d'Histoire.

meaningofthedokanais notfullyunder- theywerebegotten bydifferent fathers and

stood,butthereis someevidenceto indicate therefore had ambiguousstatusin regardto
thatthestructure wasconceivedofas a portal theirmortality: Tyndareus, themortalhus-
to theunderworld, an important pointto bandofLeda,wasfather ofCastor,while
whichI willreturn later. Polydeuces wasthesonofZeus,andthere-
Although itis highlylikelythattheYale foreentitledto divinity.The ancientsofboth
andBolognamirrors andothersimilarpieces GreeceandItalywereendlessly fascinated
cameoutofthesameworkshop, thereis withtheproblemofhowthetwinsmanaged,
unfortunately no conclusive evidence forits through an agreement withZeus,to share
location.Mirrors ofthisgeneraltypehave immortality and to go backandforth period-
beenfoundat Cerveteri, Tarquinia,andVulci icallyfrom the underworld to Olympus.
in southern Etruriaas wellas at Praeneste in Therecan be no doubtthatitis indeedthe
Latium;atTuscania,Bomarzo, and Bolsena Dioskouroiwhoarerepresented on these
in centralEtruria; at ChiusiandVolterra in mirrors fromEtruria, butsomeintriguing
thenorth;andevenoutsideofItaly,in Egypt questionsstillhavenotbeenfullyanswered.5
andFrance.3 Theirdatinghasbeenmuch WhyweretheDioskouroiso popularin
discussed,withthesafestconjecture a datein Etruria?Whyaretheyespecially commonon
thethirdcentury b.c., thoughtheymayhave mirrors? Whatsignificance doesthemotifof
lastedintothesecond.4Manyofthepieces twinning haveon mirrors? How did the
arequiteroutine, evensloppy, in their themeoftheirimmortality fitin withEtrus-
engraving; theYale mirror is one oftheex- can religiousbeliefs?I shalladdressthese
amplesthatshowa higherlevelofcrafts- questions, makingreferences to previous
manship. research andbringing outcertainpreviously
Myconcernin thisarticleis notso much unobserved aspectsoftheiconography ofthe
withthequality, style,andchronology as DioskouroiamongtheEtruscans.
withtheiconography oftheseEtruscanmir- In thisexamination we willencounter
rorswiththeDioskouroitheme.Castorand someoftherecurring problems in Etruscan
Polydeuces, thetwinsonsofLeda andbroth- mythography, a of
field study morethan
of
ersofHelenofTroy,famousrespectively for usualscholarly Thereis as yetno
difficulty.
in and
theirabilities horsemanship boxing, standard handbookordictionary ofEtruscan
wereperhapsbestknownforthefactthat mythology;6 manyscholarsofclassical

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archaeology areunawareoftheexistence of mythography. It is to thisterritory thatwe
thisbodyofproblematic material,while mostoftenretreat to "explain" Etruscan
othersbelievethatitis essentially
a subchap- mythical images.YettheEtruscans them-
terin thestudyofGreekmythology. On the selvesmayhavehad ideasofdivinity verydif-
otherhand,a numberofleadingEtruscan ferent fromtheanthropocentric conceptsthat
scholarshaveaddressed someofthechalleng- characterize Greekmythology. As Massimo
ingquestions raised the
by Etruscanmythic Pallottino hasnoted,theEtruscan"concep-
corpus on itsown terms; unfortunately their tionofsupernatural beingswaspermeated by
publications,oftendense withfragmentary a certainvagueness as to number, attributes,
evidencedrawnfromdistantly related sex,andappearance."11 Thus itis thata deity
sources,haveremained in theprovince of liketheEtruscanAchvizrcan appearas male
specialists.7 orfemale, wingedorunwinged, in a mythof
The chiefproblemin Etruscanmythogra- Greekoriginorin a purelyEtruscanone.12
phyis thatno Etruscanliterature hassur- The factthatthenamemaybe spelledin six
vivedto helpus understand theattitude of differentwaysreflects thelackofstandardiza-
theEtruscans towardtheirowngodsand tionofdeityin Etruriaas muchas thelackof
myths andthoseofGreekorigin,andto standards ofspelling.
thedetailsofstoriesandrelation-
articulate In Greece,wherea continuous tradition of
shipsrepresented in a widerangeofmedia: poetry, drama,andhistory repeatedmany
notonlyengraved mirrors butalsowall names,myths, andlegendsin written form
vase
paintings, paintings, carved gems,sculp- over and over again, stories did become stan-
turedashurnsandsarcophagi, andvotive dardized.Suchvariations as existareoften
bronzes.8We knowlittleabouttheirtrans- ignoredin superficial surveys ofGreekmyth
missionofmyths through words,andstill orelse,at a morescholarly level,acknowl-
havesparseevidencewhether theEtruscans edgedas acceptablebecausetheyoccurin the
gavedramatic performances ofmythological writing ofan identifiable author.In Etruria,
themesorrecited thestories publicly. We however, where no written textscreateda
thushavelittleto go on in attempting to find "true"or"correct" version, seemingly outra-
ritual,
moral,political, or emotional signifi- geous variations come to our attention:
cancein anygivenEtruscanrepresentation.9 Hercle(Herakles)insteadofTheseuskillsthe
In manycaseswe wouldbe completely igno- Minotaur;Jasonmaygetcompletely swal-
rantofsubjectsrepresented in artwereitnot lowedbythedragon;on a mirror at Indiana
fortheinscriptions thatlabelat leastsome University, MenrvaandUni (Athenaand
Occasionally
figures. we areableto match Hera) congratulate theirrivalTuran(Aphro-
suchlabeledrepresentations withvotiveor dite)on hervictory in thejudgment ofParis,
funeraryinscriptions having the names of and Vilae (Iolaus) instead of Hercle appears
Etruscandeitiesofcult.Thesescrapsof as an infant strangling serpents (Fig.5); the
evidenceareprecious,
"literary" andscholars TrojanHorsemaybe calledPecse(Pegasus)
ofthelanguage, itselfso dimlyunderstood, andbe builtbySethlans(Hephaestus)and
haveoffered manyinsights.10 Butitis clear Etule(Aitolos?)rather thanAthenaand
thatEtruscanmythography is a fieldthatwill Epeios.13
neverhavethekindofbalancebetweenliter- Modernscholarshaveassumedvarying
and
ary archaeological evidence that is possi- postures in response to suchanomalous
blein thestudyofGreekmyth. material. TherearethoselikeJohnBoard-
StoriesaboutgodsofGreekoriginabound man,whobelievethattheEtruscans under-
in Etruscanart,evidenceofthewidespread stoodpractically nothing of what theysawon
andbyno meanssuperficial interest in Greek imported Greek products: "The Etruscans
mythology thatis a criticalfactor in Etruscan acceptedall theywereoffered, withoutdis-

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 Fig· 5
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 300 b.c. Reverse,
AdornmentofTuran,and Vilae Strangling Serpents
(afterCSE, U.S.A. 1: MidwesternCollections,no.
4). Bloomington,IndianaUniversity ArtMuseum.

Fig. 6
Etruscanbronzemirror,ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse,
Aplu,Artumes,Malavis,and Hercle (afterCSE,
Denmark1,no. 21). Copenhagen,The Danish
NationalMuseum.

% 7
Etruscanbronzemirror,ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse,
Laran,Turan,Elinei,and Elachsantre(afterES 5,pl.
84:2).

crimination [duringtheseventh century

b.c.]. Theycopied- orpaidGreeksandper-
hapsimmigrant easterners to copy- with
littleunderstanding oftheformsandsubjects
whichservedas models."14 Giovannangelo
Camporealewrotea seriesofarticles in
whichhe noted"banalizations" ofGreek
myths in Etruria, citingwhathe identified as
mistakes madein Etruscanrepresentations.15
His attitude thatEtruscanartists were
"wrong" is a common one, evident in such
analyses as Helle Salskov Roberts' treatment
ofan Etruscanmirror in theDanishNational
Museum,Copenhagen(Fig.6).16Inscrip-
tionslabelthefourfigures, fromleftto right,
as Aplu(theGreekApollo),Artumes (in
GreekArtemis, butheremale),Malavis
(unkownin Greekmyth),andHercle(Her-
akles).GustavKörtenotednineadditional
mirrors withverysimilarcompositions but
having a wide variationof labels for the
figures;a specimenfoundnearOrbetello,for
example(Fig.7), changesthegrouponly
slightly,showinga femalefigure in placeof
Artumes; thenames,fromleftto rightare
hereLaran(unknownin Greekmyth),Turan
(Aphrodite), Elinei(Helen),andElachsantre
(theGreekParis).17 SalskovRoberts, with-
outanyreference tovariants suchas the
Orbetellomirror orin factanydiscussion of
thesubjectmatter whatsoever, totally rejects
theinscriptions in theCopenhagenmirror,

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andcallsit"DioskouroiwithHelenand in Greekmythology.22 WithoutEtruscanlit-
Paris,in spiteofinscriptions."18
Certainlywe eraryevidence, we will no doubtremainfrus-
mayallowforthefactthattheserepresenta- tratingly ignorant oftheprecisemeanings of
tionshavea formulaic qualityandmaygo a largeproportion ofEtruscanmythology.
backto someprototype in whichthesubject We can,nevertheless, tryto narrowthe
wasin facttheDioskouroiwithHelenand options. To that end I willfocuson the
Paris.Butwe musttakeseriously theclaims archeological and art historicalcontextofthe
oftheEtruscanengraver thathe meantfor mirrors withtheDioskouroi,as wellas com-
theimagesto standforsomeverydifferent parative mythology andliterary andarcheo-
mythological figures. logicalevidencefromGreece,Rome,and
NigelSpiveyandSimonStoddart have Etruria, in an attempt to siftoutthekey
mostrecently notedtheshortcomings ofthe themesrecurring in theseimages.I willalso
approach that assumes thatthe Etruscans venture severalconjectures on thegeneral
simplybungled,andhaveattempted to shift significance of these key motifs.Although
analysisto other grounds. Treating Greek therewillbe no finalanswersin theend,I
mythas aliveandactuallycirculating in hopeat leastto arriveat a richer, moreclearly
Etruria,theyargueforconsciousEtruscan articulated setofideasthatrelateto thepres-
selectionandmanipulation ofGreekmyths, enceoftheDioskouroion Etruscanmirrors
whether withpolitical,moral,orlocalized and in Etruscanartin general.
bias.19Theythusbelongto theschoolof The context inwhichtheseEtruscanmir-
thought originally championed byErika rorsfunctioned offers majorcluesfordeter-
SimonandRolandHampe,whostudiedthe the
mining significance oftheirdecorative
occurrence ofGreekmythinArchaicEtruria motifs. Theyareofcourseinstruments of
andconcludedthattheEtruscans madeintel- grooming, andall availableevidencesuggests
ligentusage of Greek stories,drawing not thattheywereusedin Etruriaalmostexclu-
only from artistic representations but also sivelybywomen.Representations ofmirrors
fromGreekliterary sourcesthattheyknew in useshowonlywomenemploying them,
andunderstood.20 AmbrosPfiffig, in his andwhentheowner'snameis inscribed on
Religioetrusca, transcends the debate overthe themirror, itis invariably female.Thus far
usageofGreek sources and his
develops own, everydocumented findspothasbeenfuner-
fullybalancedapproach;he attempts without ary,andin all caseswheregenderis clearly
prejudiceto present theevidenceabout ascertainable, thegravesarethoseofwomen.
numerous individual deitiesin Etruscan It is worthnotingthatsomemirrors have
myth and cult, placingthemwithinthecon- beenfoundwithmendedparts,confirming
textofEtruscanreligion.21 He usesGreek thattheseobjectswerecertainly usedbefore
comparisons and influences freely andration- they were deposited in the grave.23Some
but
ally, considers numerous other factors Etruscanmirrors may have been givenorigi-
thataffected howtheEtruscans intended and nallyas weddinggifts, andhavingservedin
understood theirownimages. thisriteofpassageweredeemedappropriate
In thisarticle, theunderlying assumption to accompany theownerin thenextmajor
willbe thatEtruscanmythological represen- transition, to theafterlife. Evidently theanal-
tations,whether ofGreekorEtruscanorigin, ogy between the wedding and the funeral
was
wereintended to communicate specific ideas. regularly made by the ancients.24
Basedon stonesandthemesthatactuallycir- It is notsurprising thenthatthemirrors
culatedin Etruria, theseimageswereliving frequently show themes relatedto adorn-
mythological material thatcannotbe labeled ment,beauty, romance, mating,andbirth.25
"right"or"wrong" anymorethancan the A mythological figure whosepopularity on
incompatible variants thatsometimes occur mirrors wasmatchedonlybytheDioskouroi

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Fig. 8
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse,
Lasa (afterCSE, U.S.A. 1: MidwesternCollections,
no. 18). Columbia, Missouri,Museum ofArtand
Archaeology.

is theEtruscanspirit, oftencalledLasa,who thatshowsLasa as a nudefigure withhighly

is normally represented as female(docu- stylized anatomy and,surprisingly, witha
mentedonlyonceas male),sometimes Phrygian cap.29 There is here and on some
winged,andregularly equippedwithinstru- othermirrors thesuggestion ofan equation
mentsforadornment oranointment suchas a ofthisadornment spiritwiththeDioskouroi;
mirror, perfume or
bottle, dipper(Fig.8).26 on a mirror in Bologna,shedressesin a fash-
Lasa'sactivitieswereofcourserelevant forthe ionalmostidenticalto thatofthetwins.30
womanwhowishedto makeherself physi- This is anotherpointto whichwe willreturn.
callyappealingto herlover,butshealso NumerousEtruscanmirrors aredecorated
playeda rolein theafterlife, supplying the withthemesthatrefer to fertilityanditscon-
fragrant unguents that were a
evidentlyregu- commitant, immortality. Turan, the Etruscan
larfeature in ancientfunerals. Persius(3.103) Aphrodite, appearsfrequently with her
haslefta meaningful description ofa Roman immortalized consort,Atunis;scenesof
in
funeral whichthedeceasedwas "smeared divine birth includeMenrvaspringing from
withthickbalsam":crassis lutatusamomis. theheadofTinia (Zeus),andFufluns, the
Ovid,in hisdescription ofVenus'treatment EtruscanDionysos,emerging fromthethigh
ofthecorpseofAeneas{Metamorphoses ofTinia.The themeofthedivinechild
14.603-607),clearlyrevealsthattheuseof recursin thestoryofEpiur,protected by
unguents wasdirectly relatedto immortality: HercleandMenrva,andin themythofthe
"hismother, having washed thebody, plurality ofbabiesnamedMaris,whoseem
anointeditwitha divinefragrance and to be dippedintoa magicliquidto achieve
touched hismouth with ambrosia mixed immortality.31
withsweetnectar;andshemadehima In additionto thecontext ofthemirrors
god."27The Egyptian artofembalming, in themselves, itis necessary to reviewtheback-
whichthebodywasanointedandcarefully groundforthecultoftheDioskouroiin Italy
preserved fortheafterlife, wascloselyrelated in orderto arriveat a fullunderstanding of
in motivation.28 theirroleon themirrors. I willdiscussthe
DepictionsofLasa,likethoseofthe earliestappearance ofthesedeitiesin Etruria,
Dioskouroi,becameformulaic, even andthena spectrum ofrepresentations from
monotonous in theirrepetition.Sometimes whichwe maydeducesomegeneralconclu-
they were affected by a strand of folkart,as sions.In thecourseofthisargument, I will
in a strangespecimenfromMonteRosello alsointroduce somerepresentations thathave

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notpreviously beenidentifiedas theDios- ofRome,anotherimportant earlycenterfor
kouroi, but thatarecloselyrelated themati- theworshipofthetwins:Ciceromentions a
callyto theimageson mirrors andcan help templeto themthere(De divinatione
to expandourknowledge oftheEtruscan 1.43.98).MarcelleAlbertarguedconvincingly
conceptofthesetwindivinities. The inquiry thatthecultoftheDioscuri(to usetheLatin
nowreachesbackintotheArchaicperiodof spellingofthename)wasimported intocen-
thesixthcentury b.c. andwillembracecer- tralItalyfromGreekcoloniesin southern
tainareasin ItalyoutsideofEtruriaproper. Italy,manyofthemDorianfoundations
The earliestsureevidenceforthecultof undertheinfluence ofSparta,thelocationof
theDioskouroiin Etruriais a dedicatory theearliest, mostpowerful cultofthe
inscriptionfoundat Tarquiniaon a well- twins.36 Locri,in thetoeofItaly,wasespe-
knownhandsome Atticred-figurekylix ciallyfondoftheDioskouroi.The Locrians
paintedby Oltos and dated fairlycloselyto ascribedtheirvictory overtheirrivalCroton
ca. 510b.c. The Etruscaninscription- gener- at thebattleoftheSagrasRiver(latesixth
allyassumedto havebeenaddedsoonafter century b.c.) to themiraculous appearance
theimportofthepieceintoEtruria-records oftwinhorsemen whoturnedthetidefor
"
thefactthat VenelAtelinasgavethisto the them(Cicero,De naturadeorum 3.5);the
SonsofTin(i)a": itunturuce venelatelinas storyis clearlyparallelto,andprobably
tinascliniiaras.02
Although there is no record influenced, thetaleofthebattleofLake
oftheexactfindspotoftheobject,thevast Regillus. Both storiesstresstheactionsofthe
majority ofsuchintactGreekvasesfrom Dioskouroias saviors, a rolethatwasattrib-
Etruriacomefroma funerary context.33 Here utedto themin a numberofdifferent con-
thephrasetinascliniiarasis regarded as a textsin Greece.37
closeequivalent oftheGreekDioskouroi, the ImagesoftheDioskouroiin Etruria
"youths ofZeus."The Dioskouroithemselves duringthisearlyperiodaredifficult to iden-
arenotrepresented on thevasepainting, tify withcertainty andin anycasearerela-
whichdoesinclude,however, a depictionof tivelyrare.A seriesofbronzehandlesthat
Zeus enthroned withthunderbolt. oncedecorated Etruscanvessels,datingto the
Aroundtheendofthesixthcentury fifth century B.c., showtwinhorsemen who
appearsthefirst evidenceofa cultofthese areprobably theDioskouroi,butotherpro-
twinsin Latium(justsouthofEtruria), in posedexampleslackappropriate attributes.38
theformofa bronzeplaquefromLavinium It is in thefourth andthirdcenturies b.c.
witha Latinvotiveinscription reading"to thatCasturand Pultuce,as theyarecalledin
theyouthsCastorandPodlouques":castorei Etruria, becomeextremely popularmytho-
podlouqueiquequrois.34The cult'sexistenceat logicalfigures. Besidesthestandard mirror
Laviniumneatlycorresponds withthe type ofthe thirdcentury seenin the Yale
Romantradition thattheyouthswerefirst example, thereare many other imagesofthe
worshipped as a resultoftheirintervention pair.Another seriesportrays Dioskouroi
the
on behalfoftheRomansat thebattleofLake as nudewarriors in symmetrical poses;con-
Regillus(eastofRome),ca. 496 b.c.; they siderable variety distinguishes thedetailsof
appearedas warriors in purplecapesupon thisseries,whichis hererepresented byan
whitehorsesandralliedtheRomanstovic- attractive example that shows the twins
tory.Livyreports (2.42.5)thatin fulfillment flanking a largestar(Fig.9).39The interest-
ofa vowmadebytheRomancommander ingeffect ofthestarburst musthavebeen
Postumius, a templewaserectedto Castorin enhancedbytheplayofreflected lighton the
thearea ofthe RomanForumin 485b.c.35 bronzediscofthemirror, eventhoughthe
The defeated enemyhadbeenled byforces reverse wasnotmeantto be usedfor
fromTusculum, aboutfifteen milessoutheast reflections. Anothersplendidexampleofthe

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 warrior twinsoccurson a mirror fromPeru-
giaofca. 350b.c. (Fig.10),wheretheyare
barefoot, butdressedin armorandcapesand
armedwithlances.Labeledkastur andpul-
tukey they flank a seminude beautywhose
nameis givenas elinei,certainly theirsister
Helen.Sheleansacrossthelap oflamtun
(Laomedon?), whoseappearanceon this
mirror is uniqueandwhoserelationship with
Helenis unclear.40
As themostbeautiful womanin the
world,Elineiconstituted theperfect model
fortheEtruscanladyat hertoilette and
hencefigured withgreatfrequency on Etrus-
can mirrors (seealso Fig.7). Her brothers
CasturandPultuce,whooftenattendher
andseemto be conversing withher,thus
havea naturalandobviousreasonto be pres-
enton manyEtruscanmirrors.41 Theircon-
cernfortheirsisteris manifest in thedelight-
fulstoryoftheeggfromwhichHelenwas
born.On an inscribed mirror fromPorano,
nearOrvieto,theyouthsappearwiththeir
mother, latva(Leda) andherhusband,tuntle
(Tyndareus).42 Castur,nudesaveforsandals
andchlamys, offerstheeggto Tuntle,seem-
inglyas a topicforconversation, whilepul-
tuce(in tunic)anda nudeturan(Aphrodite)
lookon. Otherexamplesofthethemefrom
Etruriaincludea red-figured stamnosfrom
Vulci,inwhichtheunhatched eggis labeled
elinai,makingitclearthatonlysheis en-
closedin theegg.43Thereis a variantofthe
Dioskouroimythin whichthey, too,were
hatchedfroman egg,laidbyLeda afterher
Fig. 9
Etruscanbronzemirror,ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse, encounter withZeus in theformofa swan.
Dioskouroi(afterES h pl. 51:1).Formerly
E. Gerhard The storyis nottoldin Etruscanart,though
Collection. somewouldseethehatstheysometimes wear
Fig. 10
in placeofhelmetsas alludingto thetheme
Etruscanbronzemirror,
ca. 350 b.c. Reverse, (Fig.5). The pilosorfeltcap wasseenbya
DioskouroiwithHelen (afterES 5,pl. 78). Perugia, stretchoftheimagination as shapedlikeone-
Museo Archeologico. halfofan egg,withthetwins'hatscombined
makingup an integrated cosmicegg.44
Perhaps Castor and Polydeuces were,like
Helen, also associated in theirown rightwith
grooming andphysicalbeauty.Theycer-
tainlyenjoyedgreatfameas handsomeath-
letes,withPolydeuces beingknownforhis

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abilityas a boxerandCastorforhiseques-
trianskills.Thesethemeswererepresented
withgustoon engraved objectsfoundin
Praeneste in Latium,wherethereoccurred
strong Etruscaninfluence on bothmirrors
andthecylindrical bronzecistae(toilette
boxes)usedto containsponges,combs,mir-
rors,andotheritemsforgrooming. Castor
andhistwinappearwiththeirhorseson a
cistain Lyon(Fig.n),45butmostfamousof
all is theFicoronicista,whichshowsthevic-
toriousPolydeuces bindinghisdefeated
opponent Amykos.Discoveredin a tombin
Praeneste withitscontents intact,thecista
contained yet another representationofthe
theme:polocesznaamuces(i.e.,Amykos)on a
bronzemirror. As we knowfromtheinscrip-
tionon itslid,thecistawascommissioned by
a ladynamedDindiaMacolniaandgivenas a
gift"tothedaughter."46 Thus theseartifacts
fromPraeneste sharewithmirrors from
Etruriatheirfinaldestination - a female
burial-andposesomeofthesamequestions
aboutusage,as wellas providing similar
answers in termsofgrooming, beauty,and
physical culture.
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Bornfroman eggandinvokedbywomen
whowishedto be successful in marriage, sex,
andreproduction, Helenis clearlya mytho-
logicalfigureconnected withthemesoffertil-
ityin thebroader sense.Hereagainis a char-
thatmaybe sharedbyherbrothers.
acteristic
In additionto theirownconnections with
suchobviousprocreative motifs as eggsand
theswanofLeda,theGreekDioskouroi
sometimes appearedwiththecornucopiaand
otheragricultural The factthat
attributes.47
theyaretwinsmayalsobe usedin supportof
thisidea,sincemultiplebirthsareclearindi-
catorsoffertility.48
conceptsofbirthandfertility
In antiquity,
werecloselyrelatedto themesofrebirth and
immortality.The deathofCastoroccurred in
Etruscanart,andin all likelihoodtheEtrus-
cansknewa storythatparalleled theGreek
mythaccording to which Polydeuces refused
immortality unlesshisbrother could have it
as well.49The twinswereregularly shownin
Greekartwiththestars - theconstellation
Gemini-thatsymbolized theirjointimmor-
andthestarmotifrecursin Etruria,
tality, as
we havenoted,on theYalemirror as wellas
Fig.π
bronzecista,ca. 3rd
Praenestine
ofCastorand
b.c. Engraving
century
1,2
twin(afterLe Cisteprenestine
[Rome,1979] pl. 133).Lyon,Musée
des Beaux Arts.
19
manyothers(Figs.2, 9). In Etruscanart,the according to whichshe,liketheDioskouroi,
Dioskouroiweresometimes represented as wasdouble,withone twinas mortal(herself)
winged(i.e.,divine);in otherexamples, only andtheotheras immortal (herreflection,
one twinhadwings,in reference to thefact orsoul).
thatoriginally onewasdivineandtheother Therearein facta numberofsetsoftwins
wasnot.50 on Etruscanmirrors, andtheymusthave
Twinship wasa crucialelementin the beenpopularprecisely becauseofthetrick
Dioskouroi's immortality, and I believethat oftwinning playedby mirror.
the Not all
itssignificance wasnotloston thewoman thesetwinsprovidethesameanalogyof
wholookedintoan Etruscanmirror andsaw mortal/immortal thatis inherent in the
herown"twin"in theshinysurface. It is Dioskouroimyth.Menrva,forexample,
difficultto imaginewhatitmusthavefelt appearsas doubleon one mirror wherethe
liketo lookintoa mirror in Etruscantimes. twogoddessesseemto interact as cheerful
The instrument hadonlybeenintroduced in friends (Fig.12);54we maybe witness here
thelatersixthcentury b.c. andwasprobably to someoftheEtruscan"vagueness as to
notan objectthatall orevenmostEtruscan number"ofeachdeitynotedbyPallottino;
womenhad.51Whenitwasheldup andthe oritmaybe thatMenrva,likesomeother
imageappeared,theremusthavebeena Etruscangods,wasthought to residein more
strong senseofa magicalordivinehappen- thanoneplaceand thusto be multiple.55
ing.There is alsogoodreasonto suspectthat TwoTurmses alsooccur,perhapsbecause
shemayhavebelievedthatthetwinshesaw TurmsAitaswaspairedwithan upperworld
washerownsoul. counterpart.56 One alsofindsmoreorthodox
A rarebitoflinguistic evidencesupports twinsfromGreekmythology suchas Apulu
thispoint,forwe happento knowtheEtrus- andArtumes.57
can wordfor"soul."The inscription hinthial Closestto theDioskouroiin twinship is
patrukles identifiesthe bandaged, shrouded theEtruscanHerakles, whoaccording to the
figureofPatroklos in theFrançoisTomb Greekmythwasultimately immortal, while
fromVulci,and hinthial turmucas is written histwinIphiclesremained mortal.Iphicles
nextto a similarly arrayed Amazon- doesnotseemto occurin Etruria, however,
evidently Andromache- on a red-figure crater and I submitthathisplacewastakenthere
ofthefourth century b.c. Finally,a mirror in byHerakles'helper, Iolaus,whoseEtruscan
theVatican,alsoofthefourth century b.c., nameis vilaeor vile.58 Vilaeis surprisingly
showsuthuze(Odysseus)addressing hinthial with
popular,appearing Hercleas an assistant
terasias
as he is lead forward by turms aitas in suchtasksas killingtheMinotaur, but
(HermesofHades).52Thesephrasesaregen- sometimes simplysitting quietly with the
erallyagreedto mean"Soul (orShade)of great hero in a mirroring pose.59 An interest-
Patroklos, Soul ofAndromache, Soul of ingmirror fromCascina(Valdichiana), now
Teiresias."The wordhinthial, alone,occurs lost,depictedHercleandVilaeas twinnude
on anothermirror, whichshowsa ladybeing boysinverysimilarposes,attended bythe
adornedas an attendant holdshermirror for adultTurms(Fig.13).60Further evidencefor
her.53The wordis inscribed right next to the thechangedstatusofVilaein Etruriais pro-
mirror, andaccording to a widelyaccepted videdbytheIndianamirror citedearlier,
interpretation hasbeentranslated to mean whereVilaeactuallyassumesone ofthedeeds
"reflection."Thus thereflection ortwinof ofHerakles,thestrangling oftheserpents
theladyin themirror wasalsoto be under- (Fig-5)·
stoodas hersoul. Whenshelookedintothe A finalsetoftwinson Etruscanmirrors
mirror, shecouldperceive a phenomenon thatseemsto be functionally relatedto the

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Fig. 12 Fig. 13
Etruscanbronzemirror,
ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse, Etruscanbronzemirror,ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse,
twinMenrvas(afterES 5,pl. 7:1). Florence,Museo Hercle,Turms,and Vilae (afterESi> pl. 127).
Archeologico. Locationunknown.

Fig. 14
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 3rdcenturyb.c. Reverse,
Twin Lasas (afterES 5,pl. 30:1).Tarquinia,Museo
Archeologico.
Fig. 15
Etruscanbronzemirror, ca. 3rdcenturyB.c. Reverse,
Twins(Lasas or Dioskouroi).Baltimore,Johns
Hopkins University ArchaeologicalMuseum.
Drawingby David Pearce.

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Dioskouroimaybe identified as thedoubled receivetheDioskouroi.Whendepictednext
figureoftheadornment spirit, Lasa. On a to thedokana,thetwinsaretherefore stand-
mirror fromTarquinia,twonude,winged, ingbeforethegatesto theunderworld.
long-haired femalefigures assumemirroring Becauserepresentations ofthedokanaare
61One holds a staff,whilethe ratherrarein ancientart, Guarduccinotes
poses(Fig.14).
othercarriesa cosmetics box.As wastrueof thattheexamplesin Etruscanartareof
thetwinMenrvasnotedearlier, theyinteract decidedinterest. Shesuggests, however, that
quietlyandgraciously. In another version, themotifmayhavebeenmeaningless there,
theymirror eachotherin a posethatsuggests blindlyanderroneously copiedfromsome
swiftmovement, againhavingdifferent modelfromGreeceorMagnaGrécia.66 She
attributes:onecarriesan alabastron whilethe failedto realizethatin factthenumerous
otherseemsto havea serpent wrapped exampleson Etruscanmirrors providethe
aroundherarm.62 A numberofothermirrors strongest kindof support for her emphasison
withfemaletwinshavebeenassembledby theunderworld connections oftheDios-
Gerhard, includingtwomirrors thatshow kouroi.Theyareindeedstanding at an open
nude,wingedfemales withPhrygian caps portalto theunderworld: themirror itself.
quitelikethoseoftheDioskouroi.63 The The objectmusthavebeenconceivedofas
ultimate stageofthisanalogyis seenin an allowingforthepassagebackandforth ofthe
astonishing mirror in Baltimore thatshows soul.Andhereis a logicalexplanation forthe
thefemalefigures, nowwiththepilosas well unvarying practiceofburying themirror
as withstarsin thefield(Fig.15).64Eitherthe withitsowner.Ifthemirror thatcontained
Lasashavebecomeidentified withtheDios- thehinthial wereleftbehind,thesoulofthe
kouroi,ortheDioskouroihavechangedsex. departedmightcontinueto go backand
I believethattheEtruscanintentin forthbetweentheupperandlowerworlds.
engraving theLasasand Dioskouroiextends Neitherthedeceasednorherrelatives would
the
beyond merecleverness ofputting twin findpeace.Thiskindof"reflection-death"
representations on an instrument thatitself as recently
superstition, notedbyBenjamin
hada "twinning" function. In additionto Goldberg,may be found in cultures around
theirrelation to grooming andfertility,each theworld.67 Evidencethattheancients
ofthesedeitieshelpedin theattainment of thought ofa mirror as a doorwaythrough
immortality, andthusserveda funerary pur- whichanotherworld,or"twinworld,"could
pose.To definethemas underworld deitiesis be seenis providedbya passagein Lucretius
to
perhaps go too far,but one can argue,I writtenin thefirst century b.c. (De rerum
believe,thattheystoodat thethreshold to natura^.269-78):
theunderworld. In a recentstudyofthe
Come nowand learnwhytheimageis seen
attributesoftheDioskouroiin Greekartand
Maria Guarduccinotedthatthereis beyondthemirror; forindeedit seemsremoved
myth, within.It is even as thosethingswhichin
an abundanceofevidencethatthetwinswere far
very truthare seen outsidea door,whenthe
connected withtheunderworld: theirattri-
dooraffords an unhindered sightthroughit,
butesincludedeggsandsnakes,fertility or
and letsmanythingsout ofdoorsbe seenfrom
chthonic motifs.65 The GreekpoetAlcman
thehouse.For thatvisiontoois broughttopass
saidtheDioskouroidwelledaliveunder
theearth.Guarduccifurther notesthatthe bytwotwinairs.Forfirsttheair on oursideof
thejambs isperceivedin sucha case,then
dokana,theenigmatic beamsdepictedon
reliefs
fromSparta,mayhavealsohad under- followthefoldingdoorsthemselves on rightand
the
left,afterwards light outsidebrushes
worldsignificance. According to theEtymo-
throughtheeyes,and [thereis] a secondair,
logicum Magnum,thedokanaweretombsin and thenthosethingswhichin verytruthare
Lacedaimonia thatappearedto standopento
seen[outside]. . . thedoors,,68

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The twinDioskouroi,then,maybe said
to standat thedoorto theunderworld, and
so,perhaps, do the double Lasas, who are
conceivedofas applying theointments that
immortalize. Differentiationin attributesof
thetwoLasasareperhapsmeantto indicate
thatone is connected withtheupperworld,
theotherwiththeunderworld. Thus theLasa
withtheserpent haschthonic connections,
whilehertwinwithan alabastron belongs
to theupperworld;theLasawiththestaff
holdsequipment forthejourneyto theun-
derworld, whileherpartner withthecosmet-
icsboxbringsaid at an earlierpoint.69 Some-
timesbetweenthefigures one findsthecuri-
ouswavyline(Fig.14)thatI haveelsewhere
arguedis "stylized atmosphere" andthatis
sometimes usedin Etruscantombpainting
to indicatetheambientoftheunderworld.70
The Dioskouroiareoccasionally separatedby
suchan indicator as well(Fig.9).
Thereareotherdoublegodswhostandat
thedoorwayto theunderworld in other
genresof Etruscan art.Charu (orCharun),
theserpent-haired demonwiththehammer
whois a frequent escortto theunderworld,
appearswitha doublebesidethedoorin the
third-century b.c. Tombadei Carontiat Tar-
quinia.71Vanth,thewingeddeathangelwho
sometimes joinsCharu,is herself frequently
doubled-sometimes flankinga doorway-on
EtruscanashurnsoftheHellenistic period
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Fig. ι6
Etruscanterracottaash urn,3rd-2nd
centuryb.c. (afterBrunn-Körte3,
pl. 96). Arezzo,Museo Archeologico.
72
(Fig.16). LiketheDioskouroi,twinVanths
maylead horses;presumably themountswill
takethedeceasedon thejourneyto the
underworld. VanthandCharucan actas
"twins" at thedoor,as in theTombofthe
Aninafamily (Tarquinia,3rdcentury b.c.),
whereCharuis represented on theleftofthe
portalto thetombandVanthstandson the
right.73Vanthmayalsoteamwiththedeath
spiritCulsu,whois shownactuallyemerging
froma dooron a second-century sarcophagus
fromChiusi.74The Etruscanrootcul-very
likelymeans"door,"as italsooccursin the
nameofthemalegod Culsans,whois repre-
sentedas havingtwofaces,onelookingfor-
wardandone back.Culsansis regarded as the
Etruscanequivalent oftheRomanJanus,god
ofbeginnings andpassages,whosenameis
derivedfromLatinjanua (door)andwhowas
regularlyrepresentedwithtwofaces.75 In the
Etruscanheavensdescribed in LatinbyMar-
tianusCapella,Janusis present in region1;in
thesixteenth andfinalregionarevague
deities(theirnumber, gender, andindividual
namesareunknown)described as "door-
keepersof the earth"
': janitoresterrestres.76
Region16is generallyregardedas belonging
to theunderworld gods,anditis temptingto
thinkthatthesejanitores
mayhaveincluded
someofthetwinslistedabove.
Thereare,in additionto mirrors,
other
Etruscanmonuments on whichtheDios-
2-3
kouroiseemto be associated withdoors.The workon Etruscanathletics, doesnotaccept
PortaMarzia,a citygateat Perugia,hasa thisisolatedsceneas evidenceofa raceor
kindofloggiaoverthearch,withfiveopen- game.79Discussingthenatureofthedesul-
ingsin it.The robedfigure in thecenter tores at somelengthelsewhere, he notesa fact
opening has been interpreted as Tinia.He is thatis ofsomeimportance forthepresent
flanked by two youths, each in tunicand argument: therewasa tradition in antiquity
chlamys, conjectured to be the Dioskouroi; thattheDioskouroiintroduced in Italythe
fromthefarleftandfarrightopenings trickofjumpingoffone horseandontoan-
emergetheheadsofhorses.77 other.80 In fact,thedesultores
sometimes wore
To theprevious examples, I wishto add thepilos,one ofthecharacteristic capsofthe
somerepresentations in Etruscantombpaint- Dioskouroi.The iconography ofthesetwin
ings.I suggest thatthetwohorsemen on figures beside thedoor,these desultores,is
eithersideofthedoorin theTombadelTri- thusquiteconsistent withan interpretation
clinioat Tarquinia,ca. 470 b.c., in factpor- ofthemas theDioskouroi.
78 Twinsalsoappeartwicein thelater
traytheDioskouroi(Fig.17). The tomb
displaysa banquetsceneon thebackwalland TombaQuerciolaI at Tarquiniaofca.
musicians anddancersall alongthetwosides. 400-350 B.c., wearingarmorandleading
Sincethereareno athletic gamesrepresented theirhorsestowardeachother(Fig.18).81
elsewhere in thetomb,itis unlikely thatthese The horsesaremirror imagesofeachother,
horsemen-nudeexceptfora chlamys- whilethewarriors' posesareonlyslightly
wereintended to represent funeral games. varied.This formal, almostheraldic, motif
StefanSteingräber characterizes themas apo- fillsthespaceat thetopofthechamberin a
bates(in Latin,desultores) >athletesskilledat pedimental areadirectlyoverthedoorto the
jumpingoffofonehorseandontoanother. tomb.Betweenthedoorandthetwinsis a
ButJean-Paul Thuillier, in hisauthoritative biga(two-horse chariot)witha singlerider,a

Fig. 17
Etruscantombpainting,ca.
470 b.c. Tarquinia,Tomba
del Triclinio.Entrancewall,
withtwinhorsemen.Copy
byCarlo Ruspi,1832-33.
Photo: VaticanMuseums.

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 Fig. i8
Etruscantombpainting,ca. 400-350b.c.
TombadeliaQuerciolaI. Entrance
Tarquinia,
wall,withtwinwarriorsonpediment (after
Monumenti ineditii[1831],pl.xxxiii).

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motifthatcommonly refers to thefinaljour- schemesharedbytheTombadélieIscrizioni
neyofthedeceased when it is depictedon (Tarquinia,ca. 520b.c.) and theTombadelia
theentrance wallofthetomb,adjacentto the Fustigazione (Tarquinia;ca. 490 b.c.), where
door.82 The themeofthewarrior twinsis falsedoors-evidently multiple doorsto the
repeated on the interior back wall ofthe underworld- arepaintedon all threewalls
chamber, abovea banqueting scene;the excepttheentrance.88
painting on thelowerpartofthewallis miss- IdentificationoftheDioskouroiin Etrus-
ing, so thatitis impossible to knowifthe can tombpainting ofthelatesixthandfifth
motifofthepainteddoorto theunderworld, centuries B.c. andtheearlyfourth century
frequently usedinTarquiniantombs,was b.c.- in theTombadel Barone,theTomba
present here,to giveyetanotherexampleof delTriclinio, theTombadel LettoFunèbre,
theDioskouroinearthedoor.83 and theTombaQuerciolaI- wouldbe of
therearetwootherpaintedtombs
Finally, considerable significance. Mythological
at Tarquiniathatmayrepresent theDios- themesarerarein thetombsbeforethe
kouroi.The poorlypreserved front wallof fourth century B.c., andrepresentations of
theTombadel LettoFunèbreofca. 460 b.c. theDioskouroifromthisperiodarescarce.89
seemsto feature a bigaon theleftsideofthe The imagesin thepaintedtombsarenearly
door,anda pairofdesultores on theright.84 contemporaneous withtheearliest sureevi-
Perhaps here we have a combination oftwo denceoftheDioskouroiin central Italy:the
themesjustnotedas occurring separatelyin vasewiththeinscription citing tinas cliniiaras
differenttombs:thefinaljourneyin thebiga, andtheinscription fromLavinium.Estab-
andtheDioskouroiat thedoor.The second lishingthethesisthatthemotifoftheDios-
tomb,withunusualandmuchdebated kouroiat thedoorto theunderworld-
iconography, is theearlierTombadel Barone identifiedon Etruscanmirrors- mayhave
ofca. 510-500b.c.85In thistomb,a pairof alreadybeenpresent in Italybythelatesixth
blonde,youthful horsemen recurson allwalls century B.c. significantly enriches our
except the entrance wall itself. Theirhorses knowledge of the cult of the Dioskouroi in its
assumemirroring poses in all three cases,and earlyyears in Etruria. In Magna Grécia and
thetwoyouthsseemidentical exceptfor Latiumduringthisperiod,thetwinswere
minordetailsofdressandgesture. Gisela important as horsemen andalsoas saviors, as
Walberghasrecently arguedconvincingly is evidentfromtheirpresence at the battlesof
thattheseyouthful horsemen aretheDios- theSagraandofLakeRegillus.In Etruscan
kouroi,present to accompany thedeceased art,I suggest, thetwohorsemen mayhave
on hisorherfinaljourney.86 Althoughthey hadsimilarpowers:becauseoftheirphysical
do nothavedoorsto attend(theentrance prowessandtheirownimmortality, theywere
wallis decorated onlywithtrees),I would well-suited to assistthedeceasedandbring
argue that the horsemen themselves carryout himorherto safety in theafterlife.
thethemeoftheportal,as theydo on a The Dioskouroi,themirror, andthepas-
numberofEtruscanmirrors. The Yalemirror sageto theafterlife:havearguedthatthese
I
is butoneofmanyexamples whereexplicit motifs werecloselyrelatedfortheEtruscans
indications ofthedokanahavebeenomitted, andthattheyfigure collectively on such
butwheretheDioskouroiarenevertheless to worksas theYalemirror. As a postscript to
be understood as standing at thedoorwayto theseobservations on Etruscanmyths and
another world,theirownbodiesimplicitly theirmeanings, I wishto mention an aston-
functioning as thepostsforthegate.87 The ishing survival of this combination ofthemes
arrangement in the Tomba del Barone,with in fourteenth-century Tuscany(i.e.,the
theDioskouroion thethreewallsofthe ancientlandoftheEtruscans), in thewriting
chamber, findsan interesting parallelin the ofthegreatFlorentine poetDante.Leonardo

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Olschki,in TheMythofFelt,a.little-known NOTES
butimportant sourceforthestudyofthe I wishto thankSusan Mathesonforencouragingme
Dioskouroi, noted thatTheDivineComedy to studytheYale mirrorand forprovidingphoto-
contains severalkeyreferences to Castorand graphs,slides,and a drawingbyJeanneWarszeski.I
Pollux,relatedto thefactthatGeminiwas am also indebtedto David Frauenfelder forsharing
thebirthsignofDante.90He believesthat his knowledgeof theDioskouroiwithme, and to
thereis an allusionto thesoftfeltcapsofthe otherstudentsin myseminarson Etruscanmythol-
Dioskouroiat thethreshold ofHell {Inferno, ogyat theUniversity of NorthCarolina,Chapel Hill

1.105:trafeltro a twinning
efeltro; motifis (Spring1990) and at FloridaStateUniversity (Fall
1990), as well as to PatriciaRose,who helpedme to
surely present, though Castor and Polluxare formulate some of theprincipalconceptsabout mir-
notnamed)andobserves thatthethemeof rorsand immortality. The ideas presentedherewere
thetwinsis clearlystatedin thePurgatório firstframedin a papergivenat the89thgeneral
4.6iff.)andtheParadiso(22.noff.).In the meetingof theArchaeologicalInstituteofAmerica,
Purgatório, as VirgilandDantepauseat 27-30 December 1987.The abstract,"The Dioscuri
a turning and OtherTwinson EtruscanMirrors,"appearsin
pointin theirjourney, Virgil theAmericanJournalofArchaeology
to 92 (1988): 246.
attempts explaintheequatorandthetwo
hemispheres; he tellsDantethatthesituation 1 Purchasedin 1895,themirrorwas said to have
wouldbe obviousto himiftheZodiacwould come froma tombat CivitaCastellana.It is men-
tionedin Mario Del Chiaro, Re-exhumedEtruscan
rotateonlyslightly, and"ifCastorandPollux
Bronzes(Santa Barbara:University of California,
werein thecompanyofthatmirror which
1981),32 (no. 27), but otherwiseunpublished.No
bringslightup and down."91 The mirror
analysisof thecontentof thebronzealloyis available
referred to hereis not,itis true,a realone, at present.
butrather thesun.Andalthoughthemean-
2 Paola Moscati has done a statisticalanalysisof the
ing is not totally clear,thepoetseemsto
subjectson Etruscanmirrorsbased on the898 speci-
alludeto a doubleworldaboveandbelowthe menspublishedin thegreatGermancorpusof the
sunandthetwinstars. nineteenth centuryby Eduard Gerhard,AdolfKlüg-
The finalreference to theDioskouroi mann,and GustavKörte,Etruskische Spiegel,5 vols.
comesin theParadiso, whenDanteis about (Berlin:G. Reimer,1840-97), hereafter abbreviated
to makehisascentto theempyrean andthe ES. Her resultsshow theDioskouroiat thetop of the
ultimate visionoftheuniverse. list,on 140 mirrors,followedby Menrva(135),and
AgainCastor Lasa (no); cf.Figs.9-10, 17-18.Reviewingthefirst
andPolluxappearat a turning point.Dante fasciclesof thenew CorpusSpeculorumEtruscorum
haltsandaddresses thestarsofhisbirth,the (hereafter CSE), witha muchsmallerstatistical
Twins,andasksforhelpto go through this base, I foundthesame threesubjectsat thetop of
finalpassage: thelist,but in slightly
differentorder:Lasa, Dios-
kouroi,Menrva.See NancyThomson de Grum-
O gloriousstars,0 lightwhichisfilledwith mond in Archaeological News13(1984): 85-87 fora
Immensepower... reviewofMoscati'sbook: Ricerchematematico-
My soul nowsighsdevotedly statistiche
suglispecchietruschi,Contributidel Cen-
Toyou thatit maybegiventhepower troLiceo Interdisciplinaredi ScienzeMatematiche
For thehardpassagewhichis now beforeit.92 e loroApplicazione,no. 66 (Rome: Accademia
Nazionaledei Lincei,1984).
An Etruscanlookingat thetwinsandthestar
3 Denise Rebuffat-Emmanuel, Le miroirétrusque
in thebronzemirror
couldhavemadethe
d'aprèsla du
collection Cabinet des Médailles(Rome:
sameplea. École Françaisede Rome, 1973),1:485-86.Richard
Daniel De Puma,s.v.,"Tinas cliniar,"LexiconIcono-
graphicumMythologiae Classicae,3.1,599 (no. n),
600 (no. 28), hereafter
abbreviatedLI MC Roger
Lambrechts,Les miroirsétrusques etprénestins des
MuséesRoyauxdArt etd'Histoireà Bruxelles

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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
(Brussels:Musées Royauxd'Artet d'Histoire,1978),
263, 267; and Helle SalskovRoberts,"LaterEtruscan
Mirrors,EvidenceforDating fromRecentExcava-
tions,"AnalectaRomana12 (1983):47.
4 NancyThomson de Grummond,A Guideto
EtruscanMirrors(Tallahassee:ArchaeologicalNews,
abbreviatedGuide.See
1982),163-64, hereafter
SalskovRoberts,31-54,fora strongargumentfor
second-century
dating.
of theDioskouroihas been dis-
5 The iconography
cussedin Rebuffat-Emmanuel, 1:483-90; LIMC,
3.1,597-608; Guide,163-64, 186; RichardDaniel De
Puma, in CSE, U.S.A. 1: MidwesternCollections,
no. 1; and mostrecentlyIngelaWiman, Malstria-
Malena, Metalsand Motifsin EtruscanMirrorCraft
(Göteborg:Paul AströmsFörlag,1990), 201.
6 The mostinformation about theEtruscanpan-
theonin one volumemaybe foundin AmbrosJosef
Pfiffig, Religioetrusca(Graz: AkademischeDruck
und Verlaganstalt, 1975).For mythologicalfigureson
Etruscanmirrors, see thebasicgatheringof material
in Guido AchilleMansuelli,"Studisuglispecchi
etruschi:4: La mitologiafigurataneglispecchietrus-
chi," StudiEtruschi20 (1948/49):59-98, brought
up-to-dateby CherylSowder,"EtruscanMythologi-
cal Figures,"in Guide,100-128.Also basic is Rein-
hardHerbig, Götterund Dämonen derEtrusker, ed.
ErikaSimon (Mainz: VerlagPhilippvon Zabern,
1965),withan introductory overviewof Etruscan
deitiesand a usefulcollectionof annotatedillustra-
tions.RecentlyErikaSimon produceda briefalpha-
beticaltreatment of Etruscandeitiesof cult (thirty-
sevenin all), withselectedillustrations, as partof Gli
etruschi: una nuovaimmagine,ed. Mauro Cristofani
(Florence:GiuntiMartelloEditore,1984),153-67.
Cf. also Mario Torelli,"La religione,"in Rasenna:
Storiae CiviltàdegliEtruschi(Milan: LibriSchei-
willer,1986),esp. 191-95.A numberof mythological
figures haveentriesin theEnciclopédiadeWarte
antica,clássicae orientale; WilhelmRöscher,Aus-
fuhrliches Lexikondergriechischen und römischen
Mythologie; and the LIMC (now completethrough
vol. 5).
Of Greekmythsin Etruriathereis no comprehen-
sivetreatment; mostusefulare: Roland Hampe and
ErikaSimon, Griechische Sagenin derfrühenetrus-
kischenKunst(Mainz: VerlagPhilippvon Zabern,
1964); IngridKrauskopf,Der Thebanische Sagenkreis
Kunst
und anderegriechische Sagenin deretruskische
(Mainz: VerlagPhilippvon Zabern,1974); Carlo De
Simone,Die griechischen Entlehnungen im Etrus-
kischen, 2 vols. (Wiesbaden:Otto Harrassowitz,
1968,1970); GiovanniColonna, "Reflessidell'epos
28
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greconell'artedeglietruschi,"in LEpos grecoin occi-
dente,AttidelXIX Convegnodi StudisulU Magna
Grécia(Naples: ArteTipográfica,1980),303-20; and
Torelli,"La religione,"Rasenna,171-85.
7 Notable amongrecentpublicationsareAntonia
e esegesi(Florence:Sansoni
Rallo, Lasa, Iconografia
Editore,1974); EmelineHill Richardson,"The Gods
Arrive,"ArchaeologicalNews5 (1976): 125-33;Mas-
simo Pallottino,"Uno specchiodi Tuscaniae la
legendaetruscadi Tarchon,"Saggidi Antichità
(Rome: GiorgioBretschneider, 1979), 2:679-707
publishedin 1930);JocelynPenny
(articleoriginally
Small, Cacus and Marsyasin Etrusco-Roman Legend
(Princeton:PrincetonUniversity Press,1982); Gustav
Hermansen,"Mares,Maris,Mars and theArchaic
Gods," StudiEtruschi52 (1984): 147-63; L. Bouke
van derMeer, TheBronzeLiverofPiacenza,Analysis
ofa Polytheistic
Structure(Amsterdam: J.C. Gieben,
1987); Mauro Cristofani,"II cosidettospecchiodi
Tarchon:un recuperoe una nuova lettura,Prospet-
tiva41 (April1985):4-20.
8 The Etruscansdid writehistory, and thereare
scrapsof evidencefordramain Etruria.Cf. Massimo
Pallottino,TheEtruscans(Harmondsworth: Penguin
Books Ltd, 1975),153-55;JacquesHeurgon,Daily
LifeoftheEtruscans(New York:The Macmillan
Company,1964), 237-51.A basiccorpusof mytho-
in variedmedia is providedby
logicalrepresentations
thefollowingworks:StefanSteingräber, La pittura
etrusca(Milan: Jaca,1984);JohnDavidson Beazley,
EtruscanVasePainting(Oxford:ClarendonPress,
1947); PeterZazofT,EtruskischeSkarabaen(Mainz:
VerlagPhilipp von Zabern, 1969); HeinrichBrunn
and GustavKörte,/ rilievidélieurneetrusche, 3 vols.
(Rome: Salviucci;Berlin:G. Reiner,1870-1916);
EmelineHill Richardson,EtruscanVotiveBronzes:
Geometric, Archaic(Mainz: Verlag
Orientalizing,
Philipp von Zabern, 1983);as wellas ES and
the CSE.
9 See mostrecently Nigel Spiveyand Simon
Stoddart,EtruscanItaly(London: B.T. Batsford,
Ltd., 1990), esp. 101,106.
van derMeer,Pallottino,and
10 EspeciallyPfiffig,
Cristofani(see notes6 and 7 above).
11 Pallottino,Etruscans,
140.
12 RogerLambrechts,s.v."Achvizr,"
LIMC1.1,
214-16.
13 On Hercleand theMinotaur:FrankBrommer,
"Theseusund Minotaurosin deretruskischen
Kunst,"RömischeMitteilungen88(1981):1-12;and
Spiveyand Stoddart,103.On Jasonand theGolden
Fleece:Bettinavon Freytaggenn.Löringhoff, "Argo-
nautika:Ein etruskischer
Spiegelin derTübinger
Sammlung,"PraestantInterna,Festschrifi fur Ulrich
Hausmann(Tübingen:VerlagErnstWasmuth,
1982),271-79. On theAdornmentofTuran:Larissa
Bonfante,"The Judgment of Paris,theToiletteof
Malavischand a Mirrorin theIndianaUniversity Art
Museum,"Studi Etruschi^ (1977): 149-67. On
Vilae strangling
serpents:Ibid., 153-54.On Pecse,the
TrojanHorse: Rebuffat-Emmanuel, 1:474-80.
14 JohnBoardman,The GreeksOverseas(London:
Thames and Hudson, 1980), 200; cf.commentby
Spivey-Stoddart, 93-94. HerbertJenningsRose
seemsto havea similarly insularattitude.In "Italian
Pseudo-Mythology," Chapter11ofhisA Handbook
ofGreekMythology (New York:Dutton,1959),Rose
confineshimselfto Roman and Latinmyth,totally
ignoringtheEtruscans,evenin thecase ofan Etrus-
can deitysuch as Vertumnus(328).
15 GiovannangeloCamporeale,"Banalizzazioni
etruschidi mitigreche,"in Studiin onoredi L. Band
(Rome: "LErma di Bretschneider," 1965),inff.;
Idem, StudiEtruschi36 (1968): 21-35;Idem, Studi
Etruschi37 (1969): 59-76.
16 Helle SalskovRoberts,CSE, Denmark1 (Odense
UniversityPress,1981),96 (no. 21).
17 ES 5,pl. 84. Cf. LarissaBonfante,"AnEtruscan
Mirrorwith'SpikyGarland'in theGettyMuseum,"
GettyMuseumJournals (1980): 147-54 on tneprob-
lemsinvolvedwithmirrors of thiscategory.
18 SalskovRoberts,CSE, Denmark1: 96 (no. 21).
19 Spiveyand Stoddart,98-106.
20 Hampe and Simon: see note6 above.
21 Pfiffig:
see note 6 above.
22 Therearemanyexamplesof thesevariants,as
maybe seen at a glancein RobertGraves,Greek
Myths,rev.ed., 2 vols. (Mt. Kisco,New York:Moyer
Bell Limited,1955).Oedipus, forexample,is de-
pictedby Sophoclesas dyingblinded,in exileat
Colonus- a storyincompatiblewiththedeathof
Oedipus in gloriousbattle,as describedby Homer
(Graves,2:14).Achillesmayhaveended by marrying
Medea, accordingto Apollodoros,or Helen, accord-
ingto Servius'commentary on Virgil'sAeneid
(Graves,2:317-19).
23 See Guide,172,foreightinscriptions
withthe
owner'sname.A ninthwas publishedby Carlo De
Simone,withBettinavon Freytaggenn.Löringhoff,
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278-79. The inscription on a tenthspecimen,in the
Museo GregorianoEtrusco,inv.12251,is poorlypre-
servedbut does have a femalename; I am indebted
to FrancescoBuranelliforthisinformation. On the
findspots,Guide,172-76. On mending,Guide,183
and Wiman, 175.
24 JamesRedfield,"Notes on a GreekWedding,"
Arethusai^(1982): 188-89.
25 Guide,184-85.
26 Rallo has warnedagainstglibgeneralizations
about thedeityLasa. Lasa oftenoccursin scenescon-
nectedwithlove and/oradornment;one notable
exceptionoccurson a well-knownmirrorin the
BritishMuseum,whereshe seemsto makean
announcementto aivas (Ajax) and hamphiare
(Amphiaraus),an odd pairby Greekstandards.
Here,in myopinion,is confirmation of thefactthat
Lasa is a spiritconnectedwithimmortality; she is no
doubt meetingthesetwo heroesin theafterlife,
whereitwould be acceptableforthemto associate.
Rallo goes too far,I believe,in sayingthatwe may
call Lasa onlythosefiguresthatactuallyhave the
name inscribednextto them.The termis meaning-
fullyand usefullyextendedto theadornmentspirit
rankedso highin Etruscanmirrorpopularitypolls
(see note 2 above). Wiman'sterm"Pseudo-Lasa"
(156),followingLambrechts,attemptsto solvethe
problemwithoutthrowingout thename Lasa; but in
myopinionthetermincorrectly impliesthatmany
of thedeityaredefinitely notLasa.
representations
27 Lustratum divinocorpusodoreI unxitet
genetrix
ambrosiacumdulcenectaremixtaI contigit
osfecitque
deum.
28 ChristineLilyquist,AncientEgyptianMirrors
fromtheEarliestTimesthrough theMiddle Kingdom
(Ph.D. diss.,New YorkUniversity,
1971),257-61.
29 Guide,173and ill. v,p. 174.
30 GiuseppeSassatelli,CSE, Italia1,Bologna,
Museo Civico 1 (Rome, 1981),no. 33.
31 On Turanand Atunis:BrigitteServais-Soyez,
s.v.
"Adonis,"LIMC 1.1,225. On birthscenes:Larissa
Bonfantein Guide,80-81. On Epiur: Rebuffat-
Emmanuel,521-28.On Maris: Hermansen(see note
7 above).
32 See Massimo Pallottino,Testimonia Linguae
Etruscae,2nd. ed. (Florence:La Nuova Italia,1968),
156,forPallottino'srevisedreadingof theinscription
(theearlierreadingis givenin LIMC 3.1,597).
29
33 Cf. VeronicaOlivottoin GH etruschi di Tar-
quinia, ed. Maria Bonghi Jovino(Modena: Edizioni
Panini,1986),51-52.CorpusVasorum Antiquorum,
Tarquinia(1).III, 1,pl. 2-3.
34 Pfiffig,
339.
35 MauriceAlbert,Le Cultede CastoretPolluxen
Italie(Paris:ErnestThorin,Editeur,1883),34-42;
ErnestNash, PictorialDictionaryofAncientRome,
rev.ed. (London: Thames and Hudson, 1968),
1:210-213.
36 Albert,13-16.
37 Albert,11.FortheDioskouroias saviors,see
Lewis RichardFarnell,GreekHero Cultsand theIdea
ofImmortality (Oxford:ClarendonPress,1921),
210-11.
38 For thehandles,see Z/MC3.1, 599 (nos. 17-19).
Cf. LIMC^.i, 600 (nos. 33-36), 599 (14-15)for
silverand bronzebelt-buckleplaques of theseventh
centuryb.c., whichshowtwo male figuresin sym-
metricalposes,attendinga ladyor goddess;two gold
braceletsof theseventhcenturyb.c., withtwo males
stabbingrearinglions,flankinga femalefigure;and a
groupof bronzetripodappliquesdatingto thelate
sixthand earlyfifth centuryb.c., showingtwo un-
beardedyouthswithwingedshoes;none of these
haveattributes to relatethemto securelyidentified
images of the Dioskouroi. Castur,alone,figureson
severalgemsof thefifth
centuryb.c.; see Z/MC3.1,
605-6 (nos. 85,93-94). A pairof candelabrain the
Vaticanfeatureshorsemenon thetops,perhapsthe
Dioskouroi(late 5th-early4th centuryb.c.); see
W. Heibig, Führerdurchdie öffentlichen
Sammlung-
en Klassischer
Altertümer in Rom,4th ed. (Tübingen:
Wasmuth,1963),1:517.I am indebtedto Francesco
Buranelliforthisreference.
39 ES, I, pl. 51,ι. Many of themirrors
of thistype
are routinein execution.They have come to be
knownas the"San FranciscoGroup"on thebasis
ofa studybyMario Del Chiaro,"Two Etruscan
Mirrorsin San Francisco,"AmericanJournalof
59 (1955):277-86.
Archaeology
40 ES 5:95-97 and pl. 78.
41 E.g., ES 5,pl. 81.
42 £55, pl. 77.
43 LIMC 3.1,604 (no. 71).
30
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44 For thevariant,see FernandChapouthier,Les
Dioscuresau serviced'unedéese(Paris:Ε. de Boccard,
Editeur,1935),128-29.VeraBianco, s.v."Dioscuri,"
EnciclopédiadeWarteantica3:122.For theinterpreta-
tionof theDioskourois hats,see Maria Guarducci,
"Le insegnedei Dioscuri,"ArcheologiaClássica36
(1984): 138.
45 LIMC 3.1,599 (no. 22). Only Castoris labeled;
theothertwinis unnamed.
46 Tobias Dohrn, Die Ficoronische
Ciste(Berlin:
Gebr.Mann Verlag,1972), 26-27, 49-51.
47 Donald Ward, TheDivine Twins,An Indo-
EuropeanMythin GermanicTradition, University
of CaliforniaFolkloreStudies19 (1968): 19-20.
48 Especiallyin Italywe findrepresentations of the
motherwithmultiplebabies:LarissaBonfante,
"Iconografiadélie madri:Etruriae italiaantica,"in
Le donnein Etruria,ed. AntoniaRallo (Rome:
"L'Erma"di Bretschneider, 1989),esp. 91-92. The
themeof thetwinsRomulusand Remusnursedby
thelarge-breasted wolfis of courseanothermanifes-
tationof thisfertility
concept.
49 Castor'sdeathis depictedon an engravedscarab:
see Zazoff,no. 858.
50 For an accountof theimmortality of thetwins,
see Graves,248; Dioskouroiwithwings:LIMC 3.1,
599 (nos. 12-13);mirrors withstars:ESi, pl. 45:2,
7-9; pl. 46:2, 4, 7-8; pl. 48:1-2,etc.
51 Guide,140.
52 For inscriptions
withhinthial,see LarissaBon-
fanteand NancyThomson de Grummond,
"Wounded Souls: EtruscanGhostsand Michelan-
gelo'sSlaves,"AnalectaRomana17-18(1989): 99 and
113n.4. For themirrorwithhinthialterasiassee ES 2,
pl. 240.
53 Guide,114and 182.
54 ES 5,pl. 7:1. See also ES 3, pl. 241.
55 Pfiffig,127;van derMeer,esp. 13-15.Some of the
deitiesin the"houses"on thebronzeritualliverfrom
Piacenzaand in thezonesof theEtruscanheavens
reportedbyMartianusCapella dwelledin morethan
one place. See StefanWeinstock,"MartianusCapella
and theCosmic Systemof theEtruscans,"Journalof
RomanStudies36 (1946): 101-29.
56 ES $,plZ:i. 356.
78 Steingräber,

57 ES 4, pl. 291A,292-93 (Apulu and Artumes). 79 Jean-PaulThuillier,Lesjeux athlétiquesdans la

civilisationétrusque(Rome: École françaisde Rome,
58 De Simone,Entlehnungen 1:66; 2:150-51.Bon-
1985),549 n.33.
of Paris,"153-54.
fante,"The Judgment
80 Thuillier,101.
59 ES τ, pl. 128.
81 Steingräber,342-444. The watercolorcopies
60 £5 2, pl. 127.
made by Carlo Ruspi in 1831 are reproducedin Pitt-
61 ES 5,pl. 30:1. ura etrusca,Disegnie documentidelXIX secolo
daWArchivio delllstituto
ArcheologicoGermânicodi
62 £5 1,pl. 42:6.
Roma (Rome: De Luca Editore,1986),pl. 4.
63 ES 1,pl. 42:1-5; pl. 43:1-4; pl. 44. 82 Cf. theGolini Tombs at Orvieto:Anna Eugenia
64 Guide,199 (no. 38). Feruglio,in Pitturaetruscaa Orvieto(Rome: Edi-
zioni Kappa, 1982),24-25, pl. 18,27.
65 See note44 above.
83 See note 88 below.
66 Guarducci,151.
84 Steingräber, 325.Cf. PrenticeDuell and Ruther-
67 BenjaminGoldberg,TheMirrorand Man fordGettens,"A Method of Paintingin Classical
(Charlottesville: PressofVirginia,1985),
University Times," TechnicalStudiesin theField ofFineArts9
1-3·
(1940-41): 85; and Thuillier,128.
68 Lucretius,De rerumnatura,ed. and trans.Cyril
291.
85 Steingräber,
Bailey(Oxford:ClarendonPress,1947), 366-69.
86 Gisela Walberg,"The Tomb of theBaronRe-
69 Cf. thestaffcarriedbythedeceasedas travelerin
considered,"StudiEtruschi54 (1988): 51-59.Earlier,
pl. 90) and by
theTomba dei Giocolieri(Steingräber,
HermannLeisinger,Otto Brendel,and ErikaSimon
thedeceasedlyingin a funeralwagon on a volute
had all suggestedthisidentification.
kraterin the"VanthGroup,"Eugène Mavleevand
IngridKrauskopf,s.v."Charu(n)," LIMC 3:1,232 87 ŒLIMC3.1, 606.
(no. 88). 88 Steingräber,319-20; 312.Severalothertombs
70 NancyThomson de Grummond,"Some have a singledoor to theunderworldpaintedon the
Unusual LandscapeConventionsin EtruscanArt," back wall only:Tomba degliAuguri,ca. 530 b.c.;
AntikeKunst25 (1982): 3-14. Tomba dei Leoni di Giada, ca. 530-520 b.c.; and
Tomba delia Capanna, ca. 550b.c. Steingräber, 289,
305-6. This tombhas two doorways
71 Steingräber,
323,302.
withthetwinCharu motif.
89 See note38 above.
72 Brunn-Körte,
3, pl. 57,94, 96.
90 LeonardoOlschki, TheMythofFelt(Berkeley
287-88.
73 Steingräber, and Los Angeles:University of CaliforniaPress,
74 Brunn-Körte,
3:54. 1949), esp. 39-43, 64-65 nn.119-26.I owe thisrefer-
ence to LarissaBonfante.
75 Simon,in Gli etruschi:una nuovaimmagine,
'<)6-<)j. Van derMeer,75-82. 91 Se Castoree PolluéeI fosseroin compagniadi
quellospecchioI ehesu e giîi dei suo lumeconduce.
j6 Weinstock,102,109, 128-29.
92 Dante, TheDivine Comedy, trans.Charles
77 LIMC 3.1,599 (no. 20). The Portaall'Arcoat HubertSisson (Manchester:CarcanetNew Press,
Volterraalso featuressculpturesin thegate- heads
These are 1980), 404-5.
adorningthekeystoneand two springers.
wornthattheycan be interpreted
so severely onlyby
analogywiththePortaMarzia as Tinia in thecenter
and theDioskouroiat thesides.See EnricoFiumi, Nancy Thomson de Grummond is Professor
Volterraetruscae romana(Pisa: PaciniEditore, and
ofClassicsat FloridaState University
1976), 15. Directorofexcavationsat theEtruscanIRoman
siteofCetamuradel Chianti.

31

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