The Evolution of Bases for Acroteria in Etruria and Latium (640/630-510 B.C.)

Winter, Nancy A.

doi:10.2307/j.ctvh1dkxd.11

Deliciae Fictiles IV 2011

DOI: 10.2307/j.ctvh1dkxd.11

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The Evolution of Bases for Acroteria in Etruria and Latium (640/630-510 B.C.)

Nancy A. Winter¹

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2013

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“… 6 Marconi 2007, 90: ‘The appearance of a sphinx on a frieze is not surprising in the sixth century, for it is then that the representation of this monster in temple decoration reaches its peak of popularity.’ Cf . also Marconi 2007, 16, 89–90: ‘Such sphinxes, both in stone and terracotta, were common acroteria from the beginning of the century across the Greek world’; Winter 2009a, 65 with figs. 8–9. …”

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The Sphinx on the Roof: The Meaning of the Greek Temple Acroteria

Petit

2013

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

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In the Archaic period, from the end of the seventh and above all in the sixth century bc, sphinxes are ubiquitous in the figured decoration of Greek temples. They appear not only as acroteria, but also on antefixes and simas. As acroteria, they always occur as lateral versions, flanking the central acroterion at a distance. Although these figures have recently been the subject of several exhaustive studies, their significance remains a matter of debate. In the absence of explicit texts, the only means of comprehending their meaning is by examining the combinations of figures in which the sphinx makes an appearance. It is their association in three-part or heraldic compositions with a central vegetal or floral motif which provides the key to the explanation. This group is similar to that known in the Levant in which two sphinxes flank a ‘Tree of Life’, a group which the Old Testament texts allow us to identify as the cherubim guarding the Tree of Life of Genesis 3.24. This group was transmitted to Cyprus and to the Aegean world without losing its meaning. A series of documents allows us to verify that the ‘extended’ group of acroteria that we are concerned with has not lost its symbolic value by comparison with the ‘compact’ group known particularly from Archaic Greek vase-painting. An explanation in terms of eschatological ends and aspirations also permits us to interpret the other associations of the sphinx – with gorgons, with horsemen and with ‘Nike' figures.

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The Sphinx on the Roof: The Meaning of the Greek Temple Acroteria

Petit

2013

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

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The Evolution of Bases for Acroteria in Etruria and Latium (640/630-510 B.C.)

Cited by 1 publication

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The Sphinx on the Roof: The Meaning of the Greek Temple Acroteria

The Sphinx on the Roof: The Meaning of the Greek Temple Acroteria

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