Etruscan Studies

Journal of the Etruscan Foundation

Volume 10 | Issue 1

Article 17

1-1-2007

The Vegetal Goddess in the Tomb of the Typhon

Wayne L. Rupp Jr.
Florida State University

Recommended Citation
Rupp, Wayne L. Jr. (2007) "The Vegetal Goddess in the Tomb of the Typhon," Etruscan Studies: Vol. 10, Article 17.
Available at: http://scholarworks.umass.edu/etruscan_studies/vol10/iss1/17

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The Vegetal Goddess

in the Tomb of the Typhon
by Wa y ne L . R u p p, J r .

he Hellenistic Tomb of the Typhon, discovered in 1832 and located in the

Monterozzi necropolis in Tarquinia, housed the burials of the aristocratic Pumpu
family and may have been used from the third quarter of the third century BC until
the Roman Imperial period.1 This tombs painted decoration includes a marine frieze, a procession of men being led by demons, and, on opposite sides of one pillar, a winged, anguiped
male and a winged, vegiped female.2 This winged Rankingottin or Rankenfrau (Fig. 1),
referred to by Steingraber as a possible Lasa or by Brendel as a caryatid, will be the focus of
this article, for she seems more significant than either of these labels indicates.3 Discussions
of this tomb often dwell on the relationship
between the Typhon and the anguiped
giants of the Altar of Zeus and Athena at
Pergamon and do not account for the
iconographic predecessors of the vegetal
goddess.4 The importance of this figure
will be demonstrated, and a proposal for
her identity will be made, after relating her
iconography to the conventions used in
depicting vegetal goddesses in contexts
from the Mediterranean and Black Sea
regions.
The image of a plant-human
hybrid can be found in many areas in the
Mediterranean world and appears from
the Crimea to South Italy, from Egypt to
Macedonia, from Asia to Albania and figure 1 Line Drawing of the Vegetal Goddess in the
Etruria.5 Representations of this goddess Tomb of the Typhon (After Brendel 1995, fig. 319)

211

---- T h e V e g e t a l G o d d e s s ----

follow a general pattern.

She often fulfills an
ornamental function and
is depicted frontally and
symmetrically with the
human portion of her
body forming between
volutes and acanthus
tendrils. The upper part
of the figure is human
and often naked, and the
lower portion is either
covered from the waist
down by leaves creating
a skirt for the figure or
acanthus tendrils that
take the place of legs.6
She sometimes wears a
figure 2 Silver Plaque from the Bomford Collection (Illustration by
polos or is winged.7
C. Buisson)
Stoop cites numerous
iconographic variations
of this goddess and notes that the most striking variation occurs in her use as the decoration of a capital supporting architectural elements. Interestingly, he does not refer to the similar function of the vegetal goddess in the Tomb of the Typhon.
The origins of the vegetal goddess have not
been settled but seem closely tied to that of its pendant
figure in the tomb, the so-called Typhon. Using the
motif of the anguiped giant as their primary evidence,
Pallottino and Steingraber state that the Typhon and
the vegetal goddess are motifs from Asia Minor with
Pergamon as the most probable site of origin and the
Great Altar as a precedent.8 Curtius proposes an
Eastern origin for this goddess,9 and Stoop suggests
Asia Minor, without specifically mentioning
Pergamon, as the place of her origin.10 In discussions
of a royal Thracian tomb near the village of Sveshtari
that contains a similar goddess, Boardman proposes
that the vegetal goddess is a Thracian motif, while
Valeva places the goddess origin in Greece, specifically Athens.11
In a recent article, de Grummond discusses
the
possible
connections between Pergamon and the
figure 3 Bucchero Kyathos Handle
Tomb of the Typhon in relation to the early appearwith Potnia Theron (Illustration by
C. Buisson)
212

------ W a y n e L . R u p p, J r . ------

ances of anguiped giants

in Italy. While she does
not mention the vegiped
goddess,
she
does
demonstrate that giants
appear in Italy long
before the creation of
the Altar of Zeus.12
Cristofani cites evidence
of anguiped figures
appearing in Etruria as
early as the second half
of the sixth century
BC.13 Thus, the use of
both the vegetal goddess
and the anguiped giant
in the Tomb of the
Typhon can no longer
be used as evidence for
an Eastern origin of the
iconography of the vegetal goddess. Both
Cristofani
and
de
figure 4 Athrpa Mirror (After Bonfante 1983, fig. 25)
Grummond have shown
that giants have earlier
precedents elsewhere, and Colonna has demonstrated that the Tomb of the Typhon does not
date later than the third quarter of the third century BC. We must look somewhere other
than Asia Minor for her origins, and, like the Typhon, the vegetal goddess appears earlier
in Italy than in Asia Minor. An Italian origin for the iconography of this goddess is a possibility that must be considered.
Two early appearances of this goddess, or one of her variations, come from Italy. A silver plaque from Italy, possibly Southern Etruria, in the Bomford collection dated by Brown to
the second half of the seventh century BC is perhaps the earliest (Fig. 2). In the center of the
plaque, which may have been a buckle of some sort, is a female bust surmounting a palmette
with two pairs of curling necks that end in lion and griffin heads springing from her waist.14
While this goddess is not strictly vegetal, she is quite similar to the goddess in the Tomb of the
Typhon and also to two later pieces found in South Russia.15 On this plaque, she appears as a
purely ornamental figure, and there are no contextual clues for understanding her meaning; one
possibility is that she served an apotropaic function similar to that of the gorgon. Valentinis
study of the appearance of the potnia theron on bucchero vases also provides an early Etruscan
example of the vegetal goddess. The handle of a kyathos from Chiusi, dating to the end of the
seventh or beginning of the sixth century BC, is decorated with a goddess holding a pair of birds
(Fig. 3). She wears a polos and the lower half of her body is replaced by an incised rosette and
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---- T h e V e g e t a l G o d d e s s ----

vegetal tendrils.16
An example of
the Rankenfrau from the
fourth century BC
appears in the exergue of
the Athrpa mirror (Fig.
4). The subject matter of
the mirror concerns the
ill-fated love of two
mythological couples,
Turan and Atune, and
Atlenta and Meliacr. In
both cases, the death of
the male, which is alluded to by the boars head
and Athrpa holding the
nail of fate, occurred after
a boar hunt.17 This mirror demonstrates a great
deal of thematic unity,
which is continued even
into the exergue. The five
figure 5 Gold Clothing Plaque from Kul Olba (Illustration by C. Buisson)
figures present in the
mirror appear to stand
on top of this goddess as if she indicates a ground line and the earth. Here she functions as
the setting of the myth and as a chthonic earth goddess, a reminder of the cycle of life, death,
and rebirth.
These are only a few examples of this goddess from Etruria and South Italy. This
figure was also commonly used as decoration in South Russia and Thracia, where many
examples are contemporary to the fourth century Italian images of the goddess.18 Stoop
assumes that she appears so frequently in South Russian art due to the popularity of a myth
found in Herodotos 4.8-10 that attributes the origin of the Scythians to the union of an
anguiped goddess and Herakles,19 and scholars have often associated the motif of the
Rankenfrau with this anguiped goddess.20 This figure is not given a name by Herodotos, but
she is surely an earth/mother goddess and does bear great similarity to the Rankenfrau. One
example linked to Herodotos tale appears on a plaque from Kul Oba dated to the first half
of the fourth century BC and is quite similar to the earlier Bomford Plaque (Fig.5). An analogous figure was also used to decorate a horse frontlet from Bolshaya Tsimbalka (Fig. 6).
This frontlet depicts the goddess with plant and serpentine tendrils that end in horned-lion,
griffin, and serpents heads.21
A Thracian tomb near the village of Sveshtari presents yet another variation of this
goddess that is stylistically close to the Scythian Rankenfrau (Fig. 7).22 In this tomb, dating
to the first half of the third century BC, she has been multiplied into ten individualized fig 214

------ W a y n e L . R u p p, J r . ------

figure 6 Gold Frontlet from Bolshaya

Tsimbalka (Illustration by C. Buisson)

figure 7 Caryatid in the Sveshtari Tomb

(Illustration by C. Buisson)

ures (Fig. 2).23 Though they vary in age, each wears the same garment, a chiton rendered
decoratively as an upturned calyx made up of three acanthus leaves.24 They, like the goddess in the Tomb of the Typhon, have been labeled caryatids because they are depicted with
upraised arms that appear to support the ceiling of the tomb. Surely, they are meant to be
viewed as the same sort of earth mother that is present in the Tomb of the Typhon, and they
may be there for a similar reason, as a reminder of the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Valeva
also suggests that they may be present as mediators who would aid in the transition between
life and death; this is a function that Etruscan demons are thought to perform in tombs and
may be the function of the Rankenfrau of the Tomb of the Typhon.25
Now that this goddess has been examined in several contexts, her identity may be
proposed. When the Rankenfrau appears in Scythian and Thracian contexts, she is identified
215

---- T h e V e g e t a l G o d d e s s ----

as an earth mother or an
incarnation of the Great
Goddess.26 Our knowledge of Scythian mythology is scanty and our primary
source
is
Herodotos, as mentioned
earlier. However, there
are other accounts of this
Scythian
deity;
she
appears
in
Valerius
Flaccus, Diodorus 2.43,
and the Tabula Albana.27
Herodotos and Valerius
Flaccus do not name this
goddess, but Diodorus
refers to her as Hora and
the Tabula Albana refer
to her as Echidna. In all of
these cases, we receive
this myth through foreign
figure 8 Celsclan Mirror (After Colonna 1976-7, Fig.1)
intermediaries who syncretized the goddess with
their own equivalents. While Herodotos does not give her a name, he does provide the
Greek equivalents for several members of the Scythian pantheon. One goddess that he mentions who has been equated with the Rankenfrau by Artamanov, Rayevski, and Bessonova
is Api or Ge-Api, an earth mother.28 In the Thracian context, we have no specific name for
this goddess, due to a lack of written sources, but her function is discussed by Marazov as a
goddess of death and rebirth and as a representative of the continuity of a ruling family or
class and its ancestor cult.29
Our knowledge of Etruscan myth also suffers from a lack of written sources, but
we do have a fair amount of knowledge concerning the pantheon of Etruscan gods from various sources, particularly Etruscan mirrors and other visual arts. The Etruscan earth mother has been identified as Cel Ati by Colonna, based on a mirror bearing the inscription
Celsclan (Fig. 8) and several votive statuettes that bear the name of Cel.30 The name Cel
also appears on the Piacenza liver in one of the infernal regions, which may help to confirm
this identification.31
The Rankenfrau in the Tomb of the Typhon may be a representation of Cel. This
does not seem unlikely since Cel is associated with the afterlife, which may be supported by
her appearance in this tomb. The figure on the opposite side of the column is a giant and may
be one of her offspring. In the Tomb of the Typhon, she may serve as an intermediary between
life and death, as Valeva has suggested for the goddesses in the Sveshtari tomb. Lastly, she acts
as a support for the ceiling of the tomb, which is below ground and securely in her domain.
216

------ W a y n e L . R u p p, J r . ------

This goddess, who has been glossed over in discussions of the Tomb of the Typhon,
is representative of a class of images that represent the primal earth mother. I would assert
that she is no mere caryatid; she is Mother Earth, born of the first generation of gods and
mother to a host of goddesses that imitate and reduplicate her in successive generations. Her
function and meaning should not be underestimated or overshadowed by her offspring after
whom the Tomb of the Typhon was named. She should also not be overlooked because she
often appears in an ornamental context; instead we should see her commonality and popularity in art as references to her continuous presence in the world around us.
Wayne L. Rupp, Jr.
Department of Classics
Florida State University
Dodd Hall 105
Tallahassee, FL 32306-1510
wruppjr@hotmail.com

NOTES

1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.
8.
9.

Steingrber (2000, 241) suggests that the tomb was in use from the second quarter
or middle of the second until the first century BC, and was reused in the Roman
Imperial period. However, Colonna (1984, 23) has convincingly argued that the
tombs in Tarquinia were no longer painted after the end of the third or beginning of
the second century BC and he dates the Typhons to the third quarter of the third
century BC.
Steingrber 1986, 349.
Steingrber 1986, 349; see also Brendel 1995, 419.
Pallottino 1952, 128; see also Steingraber 1986, 347.
Stoop 1960, 49.
Another motif that is similar to the Rankenfrau and popular on Apulian vases is the
image of a female head rising from the calyx of a lotus blossom. Stoop (1960, 66) classifies this particular image as a western variant of this goddess iconography, and
Castriota (1995, 66-7, 76) notes the possibility of identifying this figure as the goddess Aura, the fertilizing breeze. Valeva (1995, 340) and Schauenburg (1957, 218)
have suggested that this image had no bearing on the development of the
Rankenfrau. This latter view seems simplistic since both of these images are of a
hybrid female, part human and part plant, and they must possess similar meanings.
The two types of vegetal goddess also appear in the same context as subsidiary elements of decoration.
Stoop 1960, 52.
Steingrber 2000, 242.
Curtius 1958, 196.
217

---- T h e V e g e t a l G o d d e s s ----

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.

29.
30.
31.

Stoop 1960, 56-7, 63.

Boardman 1993, 191-2; see also Valeva 1995, 340.
De Grummond 2000, 259.
Cristofani 1969, 223.
Brown 1974, 24.
Ustinova (1999, 95) equates the vegetal goddess and the anguiped goddess in all of
her variations.
Valentini 1969, 423.
Von Vacano 1960, 10-3.
Haynes (1989, 247-57) notes the similarity between the Italian and Russian images.
Stoop 1960, 57.
Stoop 1960, 57; see also Ustinova 1999, 94; Valeva 1995, 340-1.
Tsetskhladze 1998, 72.
Tsetskhladze 1998, 72.
Fol, A. et al 1986, 129.
Fol, A. et al 1986, 64.
Valeva 1995, 351.
Valeva 1995, 349.
Ustinova 1999, 87-90.
Ustinova (1999, 91-92) does not support this identification and instead proposes that
she was the daughter of Ge-Api by a river god, due to her lack of universality and
her participation in quasi-romantic myths. However, the appearance of this figure
in a quasi-romantic context does not preclude universality, and in Hesiods
Theogony Ge does participate in such myths.
Marazov 1998, 46-9. Ustinova (1999, 97) implies the same concept for this goddess
in Scythian art.
Colonna 1976-7, 45-62.
Colonna 1976-7, 56.

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