Shield sign with Gorgon hybrid creatures (Olympia B 4990)

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Reconstructed shield with the shield sign of a Gorgonian hybrid creature

The shield sign with Gorgon hybrid creatures is a shield sign from the second half of the 6th century BC. BC, which was attached to a shield as an apotropaion . It was found during excavations in Olympia and is under inventory number B 4990 in the Olympia Archaeological Museum .

Shield signs with ornamental or animal and plant representations are already for the 8th century BC. Chr. Of war representations late geometric Attic pottery known and literary descriptions, later joined Gorgoneien and a variation thereof Gorgonenhafte hybrids added. Original shield signs from the archaic era were found mainly in Olympia, they are cut out bronze sheets into which drawings were driven or engraved . With the changes in the Greek religion from the 6th century BC The belief in the protection of the Apotropaia and thus the shield signs dwindled, after the 5th century they can no longer be proven.

The sign was found in 1960 in a well in the northern part of the stadium complex; at the time it was found, it was still on the remains of the sign. It is 68 cm high and just as wide, remnants of the jagged shield edge decorated with a braided band made it possible to reconstruct the entire shield, which had a diameter of 85.5 cm. The hybrid creature was cut from two sheets of metal that were riveted to one another at the base of the abdomen, the forearms leading downward at an angle visually connect both parts. The head corresponds to the archaic form of representation of the Gorgon Medusa , as it is usually found on Gorgonias, the abdomen and tail are those of a fish or sea monster, the legs are those of a lion and another element is the figure with wings Mistake. The sign is based on a circle composition, the preliminary drawings of which can still be seen in some places. On the head sits a hinted helmet, which can only be recognized as such by the wide helmet bush, the ends of the helmet bush are continued almost to the lower edge of the upper sheet metal and, like the entire upper part, are mirror-symmetrical. The eyes consisted of a non-preserved insert, in the corners of the eyes, between the teeth and on the tongue, remains of a corroded color insert can be seen, which is probably cinnabar . Around the sheet metal there is a partially badly damaged edge that served as a seam for the irregularly drilled or punched holes in the sheet metal, where the figure was attached to the shield with nails.

The exact place of manufacture of the piece is unclear, the connection of the different beings and stylistic similarities suggest Greater Greece as the region of origin .

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