DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14142#0021
19
the tomb in which these two bronzes were found, was that
of a Cumaean athlete who had won the prize in the foot-
race. The inscription appears to be an hexameter verse.
Height 1 ft. U in. C. L, No. 32, and ibid, i., p. 886.
Case C contains Etruscan Mirrors. The best authority
on Etruscan Mirrors is the great work of Gerhard, Etrus-
kische Spiegel, Berlin, 1841; see also the memoir, Ueber
die Metallspiegel d. Etrusker, published in his Kleine
Schriften, n. and xviit.
The mirrors of the Ancients were thin plates of bronze,
one side of which was sufficiently polished to reflect
objects. These plates were sometimes square, but more
usually circular disks. Most of those found in Etruria
have a handle attached to them, and on the back of the
disk a design incised in outline, which generally represents
some mythological subject. These designs are usually
encircled with an ornamented border, the whole being set
within a projecting rim. A large proportion of the sub-
jects incised on mirrors are taken from Hellenic mytho- ;
logy. Gerhard, in his memoir above referred to, reckons
that there are on mirrors about sixty mythical subjects
relating to Gods, and about eighty relating to heroes.
Among the former are many relating to Zeus, Athene,
Poseidon. Other Olympic Deities, such as Ares and
Hephaistos, occur only in subordinate parts; others, such
as Demeter, not at all. Subjects relating to Apollo and the-
other Delphic Deities are not uncommon, and we find many
Bacchic myths represented. Among the heroic myths are
subjects relating to Aurora and Cephalus, Perseus, Bellero-
phon, the Calydonian hunt, the Fate of Mel eager, Oedi-
pus, Peleus and Atalanta, and the whole Trojan cycle,
especially myths relating to the bridal of Helen. It is
doubtful whether a single subject is taken from the Odyssey.
As the mythology on these mirrors is for the most part
derived from Greek sources, the types of the Deities and
heroes represented are also Greek, and similar in general
character to the types of the same personages as we know
them on Fictile Vases. There is, however, this difference,
that in the inscriptions on Etruscan mirrors, the Greek
letters are never employed. With the exception of a few
cases in which Latin names occur, the legends on mirrors,
are all written in Etruscan characters. Most of the names
inscribed on these mirrors are modifications of Greek or
c 3
the tomb in which these two bronzes were found, was that
of a Cumaean athlete who had won the prize in the foot-
race. The inscription appears to be an hexameter verse.
Height 1 ft. U in. C. L, No. 32, and ibid, i., p. 886.
Case C contains Etruscan Mirrors. The best authority
on Etruscan Mirrors is the great work of Gerhard, Etrus-
kische Spiegel, Berlin, 1841; see also the memoir, Ueber
die Metallspiegel d. Etrusker, published in his Kleine
Schriften, n. and xviit.
The mirrors of the Ancients were thin plates of bronze,
one side of which was sufficiently polished to reflect
objects. These plates were sometimes square, but more
usually circular disks. Most of those found in Etruria
have a handle attached to them, and on the back of the
disk a design incised in outline, which generally represents
some mythological subject. These designs are usually
encircled with an ornamented border, the whole being set
within a projecting rim. A large proportion of the sub-
jects incised on mirrors are taken from Hellenic mytho- ;
logy. Gerhard, in his memoir above referred to, reckons
that there are on mirrors about sixty mythical subjects
relating to Gods, and about eighty relating to heroes.
Among the former are many relating to Zeus, Athene,
Poseidon. Other Olympic Deities, such as Ares and
Hephaistos, occur only in subordinate parts; others, such
as Demeter, not at all. Subjects relating to Apollo and the-
other Delphic Deities are not uncommon, and we find many
Bacchic myths represented. Among the heroic myths are
subjects relating to Aurora and Cephalus, Perseus, Bellero-
phon, the Calydonian hunt, the Fate of Mel eager, Oedi-
pus, Peleus and Atalanta, and the whole Trojan cycle,
especially myths relating to the bridal of Helen. It is
doubtful whether a single subject is taken from the Odyssey.
As the mythology on these mirrors is for the most part
derived from Greek sources, the types of the Deities and
heroes represented are also Greek, and similar in general
character to the types of the same personages as we know
them on Fictile Vases. There is, however, this difference,
that in the inscriptions on Etruscan mirrors, the Greek
letters are never employed. With the exception of a few
cases in which Latin names occur, the legends on mirrors,
are all written in Etruscan characters. Most of the names
inscribed on these mirrors are modifications of Greek or
c 3