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Serpent Iconography Kristen Lee Hostetler Etruscan Studies Journal of the Etruscan Foundation Volume 10 Article 16 2007 Serpent Iconography Kristen Lee Hostetler Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/etruscan_studies Recommended Citation Hostetler, Kristen Lee (2007) "Serpent Iconography," Etruscan Studies: Vol. 10 , Article 16. Available at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/etruscan_studies/vol10/iss1/16 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Etruscan Studies by an authorized editor of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Serpent Iconography by Kristen Lee Hostetler ew creatures are as rich in iconographicaL symboLism as the serpent. In fact, their ven - eration is an aLmost universaL aspect of cuLtures past and present. Cross-cuLturaLLy, ser - Fpents symboLize fertiLity, immortaLity, wisdom, and prosperity. Due to their subter - ranean Lairs and poisonous venom, they aLso became associated with death and the under - worLd, taKing on aspects of ancestors, ghosts, and guardians. An important aspect of serpent symboLism is its reLationship with Life, death, and the underworLd. As man saw the serpent emerging from darK recesses and rocKy niches, he imagined it as the guardian of the earth, protecting whatever was pLaced within the ground. As a sexuaL symboL, anaLogous to the maLe member, it became connected with prosperity and Life. With the abiLity to shed its sKin, the serpent appears to renew its youth and increase its strength. This observation Led to asso - ciations with youth, wisdom, heaLth, immortaLity. FinaLLy, the venom of the serpent must have been infamous. As a vehicLe of death and vengeance, it was respected and feared. The Etruscans, who coexisted aLongside these remarKabLe creatures, most LiKeLy acKnowLedged simiLar attributes. Serpentine motifs are found in ItaLy at an earLy date and become part of Etruscan iconography in nearLy aLL art forms incLuding the minor arts, scuLpture, reLief worK, and tomb paintings. ItaLy itseLf has severaL species of snaKes that inhabit the very hiLLtops on which the Etruscans constructed their settLements. Among these are the vipers ( Vipera aspis aspis and Vipera berus berus ). 1 I wiLL argue here that the Etruscans not onLy incLuded serpents in their vision of the underworLd but a specific serpent, nameLy the adder ( Vipera berus berus ). The characteristic marKings of the adder as weLL as its size mirror those found in the representa - tions of serpents depicted in Etruscan art. In addition, the serpent does not mereLy inhabit the underworLd, but it becomes an intricate part of the demons themseLves. The serpent became an important part of Etruscan reLigion. ALthough often over - LooKed, these creatures have a prominent pLace in funerary art and deserve notice. According to J.W. Steward, three species of vipers inhabit mainLand ItaLy, but onLy the adder ( Viper – 203 – ––––––––––------––––––––––––------------–--–----–– S erpent Iconography ––––------–––--------–––----–––––––––––––––– berus berus ) and the asp ( Vipera aspis aspis ) popuLate the area between the Arno and the Tiber today, maKing them LiKeLy to be the modeLs for the representations found in figure 1 – Etruscan wall painting: scene of leave Etruscan tombs. taking, Tomb of the Blue Demons; drawing by E. Ferrero. Late 5th-early 4th century BC. One of the first scenes depicting ser - Tarquinia. (After Jannot 1998, fig. 39) pents in the Etruscan underworLd comes from the Tomb of the BLue Demons Located in Tarquinia (5th /4 th BC). On one of the Long waLLs of the tomb chamber, the artisan has depicted the Journey of the underworLd. 2 At Least three demons appear to be represent - ed in this scene. One of the demons, near the center of the composition, is pushing a femaLe figure towards the Left. This figure iLLustrates an interesting encounter of two more demons, one hoLding two Large serpents coiLed around his arms, and another cLimbing figure 2 – Wall painting of the demon Tuchulcha. over a proJecting rocK. Last quarter of the 4th century BC. From the Tomba dell’Orco II, Tarquinia. (After The serpent carrier is painted the Steingräber 1986, fig. 254) shade of bLue often seen in Etruscan demons and is dressed in a red garment, which is wrapped around the body and cLasped over one shouLder Leaving the other bare. The serpents themseLves are bearded and coiLed around the demon’s arm, and the marKings are quite distinct. Both have a series of spots that run aLong their sides opposing the dorsaL bands. This pattern is represented in other tombs as weLL. One of the most recognizabLe demons in the Etruscan underworLd is TuchuLcha, shown here in the Tomba deLL’Orco II. 3 He aLso appears on the right waLL menacing a figure LabeLed as Theseus. TuchuLcha hoLds a serpent in his weLL-preserved Left hand and has two smaLLer serpents in his hair. As can be seen here in fig - ure 2, the pattern of the serpent is cLear and weLL pre - figure 3 – Detail of serpent held by Tuchulcha from the Tomba dell’Orco II. served. Again, there is a sequence of spots running aLong the fLanK, aLternating with the indentations formed by the continuous zigzag pattern. If a comparison is made between the serpents depicted in the Etruscan tomb paint - ings and the adder that inhabits ItaLy, one wiLL certainLy see the striKing resembLance. The species even inhabits regions in the Arctic CircLe, and no other snaKe covers more Land area. It is found over most of Europe, incLuding the foothiLLs of the Apennines, and prefers wood - – 204 – ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––-–-––––– Kristen Lee Hostetler ––––––––-–-–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– ed areas, rocKy sLopes, and hiLLy country. It dispLays a series of spots aLong its fLanK aLter - nating with a dorsaL zigzag pattern formed when the cross bands Join together. The head exhibits an inverted V-shape with the apex pointing towards the nose and a singLe darK Line that runs aLong the angLe of the mouth terminating near the eye. 4 These are the very features that present themseLves within the figure 4 – European Common Viper (Vipera Etruscan tomb paintings. Figure 4 shows a berus berus). (After Steward 1971, pg. 89) drawing taKen from Steward’s The Snakes of Europe . It depicts two adders engaged in a combat dance. When LooKing at this image, it becomes evident that the serpents depicted in the tomb paintings must be vipers, and most LiKeLy the adder itseLf. For comparison, figure 5 shows the Whip snaKe. 5 This snaKe is an exampLe of a typicaL non-poisonous species which cur - rentLy inhabits ItaLy. The difference is cLear. figure 5 – Line drawing showing two male adders The LacK of marKings is quite different from in a combat “dance.” (After Steward 1971, pg 163) the depictions seen in the tombs examined, and this difference is true for the other non- poisonous species as weLL. And so, we can see that onLy the vipers and the representations share the same pattern, nameLy the zigzag/spot configuration. But now we need to asK ourseLves why the Etruscans wouLd choose to incLude the adder in their vision of the afterLife. The answer becomes evident when one examines the behavior and nature of this reptiLe. No one can deny the cLose reLation - figure 6 – Whip snake.(After www.herp.it/) ship between the serpent and the earth. These creatures have been associated with death and the underworLd cross-cuLturaLLy in part due to their subterranean Lairs and unique form of Locomotion. In addition, the power of the ser - pent to infLict pain and induce death aLso gave it a prominent pLace in the human mind. The adder is one of the most LethaL snaKes found on mainLand ItaLy. According to Swaroop and Grab, ItaLy had the second highest mortaLity rate due to snaKebite in Europe between 1944 and 1948, averaging about 18 deaths per year. 6 ALthough this number may appear to be smaLL, the frequency of encounters was much higher ion the past and anti-venom was not avaiLabLe. The Etruscans shared the same hiLLtops with these creatures and their stone dweLLings sureLy enticed the snaKes to visit. To quote Morris and – 205 – ––––––––––------––––––––––––------------–--–----–– S erpent Iconography ––––------–––--------–––----–––––––––––––––– Morris, “GeneraLLy speaKing, the viperids are not as dangerous to man as the cobras and the mambas, yet in some ways the symptoms of viperine poisoning are even more aLarming.” 7 The power and pain that a snaKe couLd infLict in a singLe bite must have inspired the imagination of the Etruscans. The adder can attacK swiftLy often Leaving LittLe or no signs of a puncture. Within a few minutes, the poison starts to taKe hoLd. Symptoms incLude sweLLing around the area of the bite, which can grow to unbeLievabLe dimensions and spread up the body. The sKin changes coLor due to figure 7 – Photograph showing the LocaL hemorrhages turning bLue, purpLe, green, and effects of the bite of Crotalus ruber bLacK. 8 ruber, similar to the bite of Vipera berus berus. (After Russell 1980, Plate 1.E) Figure 6 shows an exampLe of the discoL - oration associated with a viperid bite. Notice the deep bLue coLor and how visibLy the sKin changes. After the discoLoration sets in, bListers begin to appear Leaving the sKin streaKed red and spotted with darK red or bLacK bLotches. The vic - tim wiLL vomit and experience abdominaL pains and circuLatory faiLure, which is the uLtimate cause of death. It is no wonder that the Etruscans depicted these creatures in their art and gave them a revered pLace in their underworLd. By taKing another LooK at the Etruscan demons, we can see another interesting aspect of their appearance. The Tomba dei Caronti (Tarquinia, 3rd BC) depicts severaL maLe demons, some LabeLed as Charu. 9 These demons exhibit the typicaL bLue sKin, sometimes interpreted as decaying fLesh.
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