Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri

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Blue demon
Left wall: the journey into the underworld

The Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri ( Italian for tomb of the blue demons ) is a painted Etruscan chamber tomb that was found in 1985 in the Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia . It got its name from the depictions of large demons, some of which hold snakes in both hands. The grave dates back to the fourth century BC. Chr.

The paintings in the tomb are not well preserved, but show some special features. On the left wall you can see the dead man's journey into the underworld. He stands on a wagon and is accompanied by musicians and dancers. On the right wall you can see a ship and the wife of the grave owner as she arrives in the underworld and is greeted by her ancestors. The river Acheron is symbolized here by Charon . To the right of this are four blue demons that inhabit the rocky landscape in the underworld. The two longitudinal walls of the tomb are obviously dedicated to the man on the one hand and the woman buried here on the other. The back wall of the burial chamber shows a banquet scene with guests lying on Klinen and musicians standing next to them.

Etruscan tomb paintings from the sixth to fourth centuries often depict feasts and athletes. In the third and second centuries BC On the other hand, underworld scenes occur. The Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri shows both themes and seems to be a chronological link.

Although the grave was found robbed, some objects could still be recovered that provide clues to the former furnishings. In the burial chamber there was a pit with burnt objects. Iron parts of a chariot and fragments of Panathenaic price amphoras were found . The amphorae and chariots are older than the paintings.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Stephan Steingräber : Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting . Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , pp. 181-182.
  2. ^ Stephan Steingräber: Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting . Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , p. 163.
  3. ^ Robert Leighton: Tarquinia, An Etruscan City . Duckworth, London 2004, ISBN 0715631624 , p. 93.

Web links

Commons : Tomba dei Demoni Azzurri  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 42 ° 14 ′ 56 ″  N , 11 ° 46 ′ 13 ″  E