Tomba delle Olimpiadi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View into the burial chamber
The left wall with a chariot race
The right wall with athletes
The Phersu

The Tomba delle Olimpiadi (German "Tomb of the Olympic Games") is a painted Etruscan tomb in the Monterozzi necropolis of Tarquinia in central Italy . It was found robbed on March 26, 1958 and contained only a few ceramics from the first century BC. Since the grave was discovered in the run-up to the Olympic Games in Rome and mainly athletes are depicted in it, it was given its name. The tomb complex, which consists of a fully painted room, dates to the end of the sixth century BC. The wall paintings are among the highlights of Etruscan painting. Some of the frescoes are not well preserved, so they were removed from the wall and taken to the National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia , where they can be seen today.

The burial chamber (with a circumference of 5.35 × 3.65 × 1.75 meters) has sloping walls with a gable roof.

Back wall

A false door is shown on the back wall of the grave. To the right of it you can see a richly dressed woman, next to her a naked dancer. Three figures were once painted to the left of the door. However, they are very poorly preserved. On the gable of this wall you can see a red buttress, the lower part of which is decorated with volutes. Two men lie on either side of the pillar. Various vessels are painted on the outside.

Left wall

The whole left wall of the burial chamber is largely taken up by a chariot race. On the far left is a tall, red pole. It's probably the meta , the goal, or the turning point. To the left of this are two poorly preserved boxers. To the right of it you can see the winner's car. The latter looks back to see who is following him. The horses are in poor condition. Three more cars are shown behind it. The last car has an accident. A horse is lying on the ground with its legs up. The charioteer flies through the air, but is also poorly preserved. The four wagons are each pulled by two horses. The horses are differentiated in color, mostly in two shades of red. Only in the case of the second carriage is the horse shown in the background painted blue.

Right wall

Various naked athletes are depicted on the right wall of the grave. Representations of athletes are not uncommon in Etruscan tombs and probably depict games in honor of the dead. The depiction of the discus thrower is remarkable: he appears to run and swing to become the discus. In the Greek world, on the other hand, people have always been thrown out of control. The Etruscans seem to have modified this sport. This is followed by the depiction of two men: one is wearing a high cap, has a long beard and a black and white checked robe. Perhaps a Phersu is depicted here. In front of him is a badly damaged figure, the head of which is completely covered with a hood. The depiction is reminiscent of a comparable and better preserved scene in the Tomba degli Auguri , where this man is attacked and bitten by a dog.

The representations on the entrance wall are badly damaged. Only remnants of figures can be made out, but it is unclear what they are doing.

The decorations of the Tomba delle Olimpiadi, Tomba degli Auguri , Tomba delle Iscrizioni , Tomba del Morto , Tomba Tarantola and Tomb 5898 may have been painted by the same workshop. The paintings of these tombs show Ionic or Phocean influence. Noteworthy are the inscriptions in some of the other tombs of the group, which are otherwise not documented in Etruscan paintings of the Archaic period, as well as the absence of women in various tombs of the group.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Renato Bartoccini, Carlo Maurilio Lerici, Mario Moretti: Tarquinia: La tomba delle Olimpiadi - Le tombeau des Olympiades - The tomb of the Olympiad - The grave of the Olympic Games . Milan 1959, p. 49.
  2. ^ Stephan Steingräber : Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting . Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , p. 67.
  3. ↑ Gigliola Gori: Etruscan Sports and Festivals. In: Thomas F. Scanlon (Ed.): Sport in the Greek and Roman World. Volume 2, Oxford 2014, ISBN 978-0-19-870377-8 , p. 191.
  4. ^ Mario Moretti, Leonard von Matt: Etruscan painting in Tarquinia. Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7701-0541-9 , p. 36.
  5. ↑ See Stephan Steingräber: Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting . Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , pp. 71 and 92.
  6. ^ Stephan Steingräber: Abundance of Life, Etruscan Wall Painting . Los Angeles 2006, ISBN 978-0-89236-865-5 , p. 92.

literature

  • Renato Bartoccini, Carlo Maurilio Lerici, Mario Moretti : Tarquinia: La tomba delle Olimpiadi - Le tombeau des Olympiades - The tomb of the Olympiad - The grave of the Olympic Games . Lerici Editore, Milan 1959.
  • Mario Moretti, Leonard von Matt : Etruscan painting in Tarquinia. DuMont Schauberg, Cologne 1974, ISBN 3-7701-0541-9 , pp. 62–64 Fig. 32–35.

Coordinates: 42 ° 14 '20.3 ​​"  N , 11 ° 47' 40.4"  E

Web links

Commons : Tomba delle Olimpiadi  - collection of images, videos and audio files