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The allegorical design of the Etruscan wine-pitcher 

The allegorical design of the Etruscan wine-pitcher 

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The meandering or labyrinthine symbol has had a universal appeal throughout history. The conceptual depiction of this figure can variously represent a journey with visible or invisible elements, entrapment or enlightenment, and sometimes both. It is instantly recognizable as embodying one or both of these aspects. As a symbol it has a quasi-univers...

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... ‘Cretan labyrinth’ which is associated with the Myth of the Minotaur, has had a widespread appeal throughout history. This diagrammatic Labyrinth is not just an arbitrary meandering symbol but a complex sequence of turns on eight concentric levels. A path meanders around each level and each level runs in the opposite direction to the level running next to it. The level sequence of this ancient symbol is from the outside to the levels 3-2-1-4-7-6-5 and then to the centre. This symbol has been used in ancient graffiti, rock carvings in England, Spain, Ireland and Sardinia, and they have been dated as early as 7 2500-2000BC. However, this dating has been taken at face value and is without foundation. The Hollywood Stone, found in Ireland with an inscribed ‘Cretan labyrinth’ was originally dated to the Early Bronze Age. However, on closer examination it is now 8 believed to be connected with the early Celtic Church. The earliest dated ‘Cretan labyrinth’ on the basis of archaeological and historical critera for these symbols is on a clay tablet from the palace of Nestor, Pylos, (see Figure 1a). Such clay tablets were not meant to be kept as they were originally unbaked. When no longer required the tablets would have been broken up, moistened and reworked to be reused. This tablet only survived because the fire that destroyed the palace at Pylos, also baked the tablet. The labyrinth tablet was for the scribe’s eye only. The tablet was apparently inscribed with the labyrinth before the 9 writing on the reverse side, and the writing has no relevance to the symbol. It was buried in the ruins of the palace in c1200BC and forgotten until the excavations by Carl Blegen 10 that began in 1938. The Pylos labyrinth was no accidental doodle into wet clay by an idle scribe. This labyrinth has an exact and difficult geometrical structure. This structure suggests that it was drawn from the centre, indicating that a mnemonic device was used. If it had been an accidental doodle this exact structure would not have re-emerged again and again through history. A seventh-century BC Etruscan wine pitcher was found in a tomb near the ancient city of Caera, north of Rome. On this wine pitcher is a Cretan labyrinth (see Figure 1b), but this time it is depicted in an allegorical design (see Figure 2). The imagery has been 11 equated more or less with the myth of Ariadne and Theseus. Ariadne offers Theseus the clue of thread to find his way out of the labyrinth and Theseus offers Ariadne a pomegranate as a symbol of love. The hoplite dancer danced what was later known as the ‘Trojan Dance or Game’. On the handle of the pot a snake slithers upwards emphasizing the theme of fertility that the copulating figures infer. War dance and fertility are linked in Greek mythology. For example, the infant Zeus is protected from being found and devoured by his father Kronos, by dancing hoplites, called the Courstes. The dancing Courstes, danced around the infant Zeus to hide his cries and through their noisy dancing Zeus escaped his father’s teeth. To protect Leto from being found by the jealous Hera, the Courstes danced around Leto to cover the cries of her labour pains as she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis. The theme on the Etuscan wine-pitcher combines war dance and fertility, and Etruscan art was heavily influenced by the Greek myths. The Etruscan labyrinth is round not square as with the Pylos labyrinth. However, these two labyrinths have exactly the same level sequence. A notable feature of the Etruscan labyrinth is the way it was drawn: there is a distinct cross drawn in the centre and the turning points of the labyrinth are placed an equal distance from the centre point of the cross. Compare this with the rough drawing of the rest of the labyrinth and it ...

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