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the ability of horns to ward off evil. 413 The belief in the evil-eye and the powers of malevolent
spirits was quite prominent on the Italian peninsula, and there is further evidence of attempts to
ward off the evil-eye in tomb painting. 414
A second example of this goddess’ presence in an Etruscan context appears on a “Pontic”
vase (Fig. IV.5), on which Uni is again represented with the iconography of Juno Sospita. 415 The
upper register of decoration on one side of the belly of this “Pontic” amphora represents one
facet of the relationship between Uni and Hercle. The enmity between Herakles and Hera is well
known in Greek mythology, as Hera often sought to punish Zeus’ illegitimate child for his
father’s transgressions, 416 and perhaps this enmity is reflected on this “Pontic” vase. It may be
that we are meant to interpret this scene as an Etruscan attribution of this aspect of Hera’s
character to the goddess Juno Sospita. This scene is reminiscent of the battle between Herakles
and Apollo for the tripod of Delphi as the conflict between Hercle and Uni is here set amongst
two large dinoi decorated with snake protomes. Perhaps Hercle and Uni are struggling for
dominance over a shrine. Hercle and Uni are not the only deities depicted in this register of
decoration; Menerva appears behind Hercle, Tinia 417 behind Uni, perhaps to support the
combatants or to end the fight between them. The role of the supporting deities is not clear.
Thus while the earliest recognizable images of this goddess date to the Archaic Period,
the image of Juno clad in a goat skin persisted through the Hellenistic Period, as can be seen on
Etruscan bronze mirrors (Fig. IV.6.), and into the High Empire (Figs. IV.8).The unchanging
nature of Juno Sospita’s iconography is reflected not only in art but also in literature. Cicero
describes her iconographic type briefly in the De Natura Deorum I.82.
And why indeed do you think that Apis, sacred bull of the Egyptians, seems to be
a god to them? For, by Hercules, just such a goddess is your Sospita, whom you
never see, not even in sleep, without a goat skin, spear, shield, and shoes with
turned up toes. But Argive Hera is not like this, and neither is Roman Juno.
Therefore, there is one likeness of Juno for the Argives, another for the men of
413 Moss and Cappannari 1976, 9.
414 Moss and Cappannari (1976, 5,8) note that the belief in the evil-eye was present on the whole of the Italian
peninsula and that “horning the fingers” is an apotropaic gesture made to avert this baleful force. This gesture is
made by one of the dancers in the Tomb of the Lionesses.
415 De Grummond (2006a, 81) states “She [Uni] does appear with weapons, however; like Astarte, Uni had a warlike
aspect. She was sometimes represented armed, and instead of a helmet and breastplate, she wore the skin of a
horned goat, occurring elsewhere in Italy in the Latin cult of Juno Sospita at Lanuvium.”
416 Euripides’ tragedy, The Madness of Herakles, in which the goddess Lyssa, at Hera’s request, drives Herakles
mad and forces him to murder his wife and children, is perhaps the most vivid example of Hera’s hatred for her
stepson.
417 Douglas (1913, 62) identifies the god standing behind Uni as Poseidon.
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