21.06.2013 Views

Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University

Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University

Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

head has been turned 180 degrees. 369 This twisting of the head has been interpreted by Faraone<br />

as a common feature of a binding spell, and thus the statue represents the curtailing of this god’s<br />

power. 370 If we accept Minto’s identification of this figure as Herakles, 371 we must ask ourselves<br />

why he is “bound” in such a way. Faraone notes that Herakles was not only a savior but also one<br />

who was thought of as a “sacker of cities,” 372 but this god’s wolf-skin argues against the<br />

identification of this figurine as Greece’s greatest hero. (In Etruria, Herakles also seems to have<br />

a primarily positive aspect.) If not Herakles, in light of the evidence for the prominence of wolf-<br />

gods in Etruria, perhaps we can interpret this as Faunus. If so, we may have yet another link to<br />

the binding and control of Faunus, the theme that appears on the Bisenzio ash urn and the<br />

Hellenistic urns. This argument makes sense when combined with the idea of Faunus as a<br />

creature of nightmare, and his links to Inuus the ravager of sleeping women. The figurine may<br />

represent a magical attempt to ward off night-terrors and evil spirits during one’s sleep. More<br />

information about the find spot of this figurine might help to illuminate its exact function.<br />

As we can see from all of the evidence for lupine gods in Italy, the wolf was a<br />

representative of chthonic powers tied to fertility and death. The physical characteristics and<br />

behavior (large fangs, glowing eyes, role of predator, howling at night, and prowling the edges of<br />

human towns in search of food) make it an animal ideally suited for association with gods of the<br />

underworld. It is concretely associated with the gods Aita and Apollo Soranus, and may have<br />

given its shape to the Etruscan death god, Calu or Tinia-Calusna. Canine iconography may have<br />

been partly a result of Etruscan familiarity with the Egyptian psychopomp and god of<br />

embalming, Anubis, who was accepted into Greco-Roman tradition in relation to the cult of Isis.<br />

The appearance of the wolf in Italic religion extends beyond Etruria into Latium and<br />

Samnium as well. Three groups of priests, the Lucani, Hirpi, and Luperci bear the name “Wolf-<br />

men,” and their rituals are mirrored in fantastic tales of lycanthropy as well as the rites of the<br />

cults of Lycaean Zeus and Apollo. The etymology of the name Luperci, the rituals of the<br />

Lupercalia, and links to deities such as Silvanus and Sucellus hint at a lupine nature of the god<br />

Faunus as well. If this is the case, then a series of cinerary urns from Etruria may preserve a<br />

369 Faraone (1991, 203) mentions that the legs of this figurine are broken off at the knees, but he does not specify<br />

whether or not this has anything to do with a binding ritual or with an accident of preservation.<br />

370 Faraone (1992, 171) notes that the Spartans honored a statue of Ares Enyalius which was fettered. They<br />

represented the god in this way in order to curtail the wanton, destructive power of the god.<br />

371 Minto 1927, 475-6.<br />

372 Faraone 1992, 58-9.<br />

75

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!