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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Phasis 21-22, 2019
AROUND THE APOLLO’S STATUE:
A CASE FROM SOUTH ITALY
ANGELA BELLIA
Abstract. The representations of musical and dance performances around
statues allow us not only to explore the mythical, cultic, and historical contexts within which they were performed, but also their relationship with
local cults and ceremonies. Taking into account visual evidence from Magna
Graecia, this paper aims to take an interdisciplinary “big picture” approach,
as opposed to a micro-focus on organology.
INTRODUCTION
Vase paintings from the Archaic to the Hellenistic periods often depicted musical performances around statues.1 However, no study has explored this subject as an important aspect of musical iconography related to religious aspects of ancient cultures in terms of the behaviour of
worshippers and cult practices.2 This is in sharp contrast to the field of
musical iconography, where the study of musical instruments and musical scenes in mythical contexts has been the main subject of investigation. However, paintings of musical performances around stat-
1
Brand 2000, 99-113; Kubatzki 2016, 5-8.
Nordquist 1992.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)ues merely scratch the surface of a large field of inquiry that leads to
questions regarding performance, space, and ritual, and the role of
music and dance in ancient society and religion more widely. Indeed,
these representations allow us not only to investigate the cultic and ritual contexts, but also the symbolic role of musical instruments in sacred sphere.3
In this essay I would like to focus on one of the masterpieces of music and dance performances around statues in Greek visual culture:
the fragment of the Apulian red-figure calyx-krater from the Spartan
colony of Taras, modern Tarentum, attributed to the painter of the
Birth of Dionysus (Fig. 1).4 Preserved at the Allard Pierson Museum in
Amsterdam, this vase depicts the meeting of Apollo and Dionysus.5 It
is possible that the fragmented vase came from Apollo’s sanctuary in
Tarentum, but we do not know where this was located in the Doric
polis.6 As Clemente Marconi has argued,7 this vase belongs to a group
of Greek and South Italian vases where the rare coexistence of the divinity in close proximity to its statue is represented. Since the Early
Classical period, vase painters tended to differentiate the statues of
gods from the “living gods”: representation and represented are separated, and the image of the divinity is doubled, with both the “living
god” and its representation standing close to one another.8 This brings
us back to the general interpretation of this series of vases featuring
“living gods” alongside their images:9 “by showing the divinity in
close proximity to its statue,” as Marconi pointed out, “these vases are
emphasizing the fact that statues of gods translate in a visible way the
Bellia 2016, 16-17; 2018, 89-91.
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum, 2579. RVAp I, 34, 36, nr. 10, tav. 9,2.
5
Schefold 1937, 48-49; Schneider-Herrmann 1972, 31-34, fig. 1; Todisco 1990,
921-928, fig. 4; Alroth 1992, 39, fig. 20; de Cesare 1997, 94-97, fig. 46; Oenbrink
1997, 385, nr. D7; Marconi 2011, 162-164, fig. 17; Platt 2011, 120-122, fig. 2.10;
Todisco 2012, 336, tav. 56.
6
Hernández Martínez 2004, 92-99; Chaniotis 2011, 164.
7
Marconi 2011, 162.
8
Shapiro 1989, 24-27.
9
Schefold 1937, 48-49.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)invisible presence of the gods, acting as symbolic manifestations of
their presence, and that statues of gods are powerful catalysts for the
divine presence.”10 The Apulian vase fragment shows a temple of
Apollo with open doors and a colossal bronze statue of the god inside.
The statue is an Early Classical figure holding a phiale and a bow:
though the posture has been rendered relatively stiff, the muscles are
well-depicted. The attempt to foreshorten the columns and the door,
as well as the use of highlights and shading on the statue painted
white, gold and brown to simulate the metal original, clearly illustrate
the new approach towards the problem of perspective.11 Marconi has
noted that the configuration of Apollo’s statue,12 which is holding attributes recalling his role as a vengeful god or as a justice dispenser,
are suggestive of antiquity of the sanctuary and the local worship of
the divinity, albeit in an archaic and primitive form.13
Sitting on the ground in front of him, the “living Apollo,” holding a
string instrument, is a High Classical figure positioned in three-quarter view beside his Doric temple. Next to him, a fragmentary figure of
Artemis is sitting holding a spear. As Gisela Schneider-Herrmann
pointed out,14 the god has a youthful aspect and a sad expression:
above his reclining head there is the inscription ΑΠΟΛΛ[ΩΝ].15 A tripod and the temple seem to separate this “Apollonian” scene from a
Dionysiac group also depicted on another fragment from the vase: the
god, named by the inscription ΔΙΟΝΥΣΟΣ above his head, is holding a
branch; he is accompanied by his retinue composed of a maenad playing a tambourine with her right hand, and by a satyr in lively movement raising a kantharos. The percussion instrument is a frame drum
enriched by small rattling disks and a handle, and by the presence of
stiffening bands along both edges of the frame: since the 5th
Marconi 2011, 162.
RVAp I, 34.
12
Marconi 2011, 163.
13
Scheer 2015, 173-176.
14
Schneider-Herrmann 1972, 37.
15
Todisco 2012, 46.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)century B.C., this is the distinctive trait of the tambourines depicted on
the vase paintings of southern Italy.16 Used typically to accompany
dance, these large instruments were usually kept almost vertical like
the tambourine held by the maenad on the vase from Tarentum.
Figure 1. Fragments of a calyx krater depicting Apollo
and his cult image and Dionysiac group (400-385 B.C.).
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum 2579
(from de Cesare 1997, 95, fig. 46).
Di Giglio 2009; Bellia 2014, 25-29; Vergara Cerqueira 2014, 53-57.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Dating to ca. 400-385 B.C., these fragments feature a unique scene
within the context of South Italian vases. Visual evidence from this Apulian red-figure calyx-krater suggests a Dionysiac connotation of a festival devoted to Apollo cult, recalling the particular sacred sphere in
South Italy, where the celebrations related to Apollo and Dionysus were
often associated with seasonal rituals.17 This vase seems to show that the
Apolline festival might have involved Dionysiac elements and the related musical and sonic aspects. Thus, the uniqueness of this depiction
concerns not only the coexistence of the statue of Apollo and of the “living god” holding a lyre, but also the scene of musical and dance performances and sonic events in a Dionysiac setting, however, linked to an
“Apollonian” figurative context and to the epiphany of the god.
DANCING AROUND THE APOLLO’S STATUE
Taking into account that cults of Apollo Hyacinthus – and possibly
that of Artemis Hyacinthotrophus (“the one who nourished Hyacinthus”) – existed in the Spartan colony of Taras, Schneider-Herrmann
has interpreted the scene on the Apulian vase from Tarentum as a depiction related to the Hyacinthus feast, during which a festival dedicated to Apollo was celebrated both in Amyclae, near Sparta, and in
Tarentum.18 This festival was celebrated among Dorian Greeks;19 it is
directly attested at Sparta, but there is indirect evidence from many
other Doric areas.20 We know very little about Hyacinthus honoured
annually at the Amyclaean shrine and about the identities and cults of
Hyacinthus and Apollo of Amyclae. In the historical period, Hyacinthus was regarded as a hero. As Pausanias said (3.19.1-5), his grave
was honoured at Amyclae in order to celebrate him as the beautiful
boy with whom Apollo and the wind god Zephyrus fell in love: while
Apollo and Hyacinthus were competing in discus throwing, the jealous west wind made Apollo’s discus turn and kill the boy.21
Lippolis, Garraffo, and Nafissi 1995, 172-174. See also Carbon 2015, 538.
Schneider-Herrmann 1972, 31-34.
19
Chaniotis 2011, 164.
20
Hernández Martínez 2004, 81-85.
21
Calame 2001, 174-175.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 2. Marble gable-topped stele (3rd Century B.C.).
Sparta, Archaeological Museum, 689.
From the Amyclaeum (from Moreno Conde 2008, 79, fig. 6).
At the shrine of Amyclae a Late Geometric fragmented vase and a
marble gable-topped stele dating to the 3rd century B.C. with the depiction of musical and choral performances were found. On the Geometric vase, a group of three dancers joining hands is depicted and at the
head of the group are two solo dancers.22 This round dance, which is
performed with accompaniment from the lyre around the Apollo’s
statue, is also carved on a dedicatory stele from the 3rd century B.C.
(Fig. 2).23 The stele has been linked to the Hyacinthia and to musical
Papadopoulou 2004, 322.
Sparta, Archaeological Museum, 689. Papadopoulou 2004, 323, nr. 193; Moreno
Conde 2008, 78-79; Petropoulou 2011-2012, 155.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)and dance activities belonging to the older cultic tradition of Amyclae
performed during the festival. The upper zone shows a sacrificial scene around the archaic statue of Apollo, who is helmeted and holds a
spear and a bow; there is an altar in front of him, and a man drawing
bull to the altar. Below, there is a scene of five women: the first is
dancing the kalathiskos, the second and the third are probably dancers
(or spectators) resting, the fourth is holding a lyre and a plectrum, also
resting, and the fifth is an aulos player.
According to Angeliki Petropoulou, these performances were related to
Hyacinthus’ apotheosis, which had been depicted on the exterior of an
altar in the last quarter of the 6th century B.C.24 Written sources could also
show that since the Archaic period, music and dance around Apollo’s
statue were performed in Amyclae. Since the written sources mention
only the Spartan version of the festival, it seems that it acquired a more or
less fixed form at Amyclae, from where it was diffused to other Doric areas.25 As Claude Calame highlighted, the process of absorption was very
rapid, as is proven by the event linked to the foundation of the only Spartan city in the West:26 indeed, the festival bearing the name Hyacinthus is
first accepted in connection with the conspiracy of the Partheniae and the
foundation of Taras. The importance of the Hyacinthus festival to the
Tarentines is such that it features in their origin story when Antiochus of
Syracuse27 describes how during the
of the Hyacinthia, the signal
for the attack of the conspirators was to be given because the whole Spartan population was present. Thanks to a Delphic oracle, Sparta rid itself of
the conspirators, who then sought their fortune at Tarentum, which was
traditionally founded around 700 B.C. These athletic games of the Hyacinthia are the oldest known religious events related to the Hyacinthus’ supposed burial place under the colossal statue of Apollo.28 This statue had
already been erected around the 7th century B.C., given that an inscription
Petropoulou 2011-2012, 154.
Chaniotis 2011, 162.
26
Calame 2001, 179.
27
Strab. 6.3.2 = FGrH 555 F 13.
28
Paus. 3.19.3.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)dated to 600 B.C. is the earliest indication of a cult devoted to Apollo at
the shrine of Amyclae.29 It is worth noting that during roughly the same
period (650-600 B.C.), Alcman composed a poem to be sung by a chorus of
young girls that might have taken place in Amyclae, perhaps during the
Hyacinthia.30 The idea that it was performed around the colossal Apollo’s
statue at the end of the 7th century B.C. cannot be dismissed.31 To judge
from the chorus of young boys described by Polycrates32 which sang on
the second day of the Hyacinthia, it is likely a chorus of young girls sang
on the same day; this would have occurred as early as the second half of
the 7th century B.C.33
An echo of the joyful cultic sonic event of the Hyacinthia is also described in Helen,34 in which Euripides quotes the nocturnal female rituals
involving dances or revels for the Hyacinthus slain.35 The nocturnal celebration culminated with a common banquet and dances of women and
komoi, perhaps including a short song; the brevity of this song was categorized by Nonnus (Dion. 19.102-105) as being in the Amyclaean style.
At the end of this joyful moment, the words – “Apollo restored to life
the long-haired Hyakinthos, and Dionysos will make Staphylos live for
ever” – were sung.36 Thus, nocturnal komoi and dances performed by
women and the presence of Dionysus in the joyful celebration suggest
Petropoulou 2011-2012, 154.
Ferrari 2008.
31
Petropoulou 2011-2012, 155.
32
Polycrates, FGrH 588 F 1 in Ath. 4.139d-f: “But in the middle of the three-day
period there is held a spectacle with many features, and a remarkable concourse
gathers which is largely attended... full choirs of young men enter and sing some
of national songs, and dancers mingling among them go through the figures in
the ancient style, accompanied by the flute and the voice of the singers.” Trans.
Gulick. Papadopoulou 2004, nr. 178.
33
Papadopoulou 2004.
34
Eur. Hel. 1468-1470: “And shalt join in the dances again, or the revels for Hyacinth slain, when with rapture night’s pulses shall quiver.” Trans. Way 1930.
Papadopoulou 2004, nr. 176.
35
Papadopoulou 2004, 321.
36
Petropoulou 2011-2012, 154.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)the Dionysiac aspects of Hyacinthia:37 they seem to echo the Hyacinthus’
identity as a dying and reborn god of the Dorians.38
A LYRE RECALLING A RITE OF PASSAGE?
There is no doubt that the components of Hyacinthus’ heroic cult consisted of mourning for his violent death at a young age, propitiatory
offerings at his tomb, and the celebration of a festival in his honour
involving the whole community.39 The main source of the Spartan festival discusses how on the first day, a sacrifice was offered to Hyacinthus, perhaps during the evening in the form of a funerary ritual honouring the memory of the hero.40 On this day of the feast, it seems the
singing of the paian, Apollo’s song par excellence, was not permitted
in order to express grief for the death of Hyacinthus.41 As Calame
pointed out,42 the second day was characterized by a different mood
including a sort of many-coloured spectacle: musical and choral performances were an important part of this phase of the feast and of the
procession to the sanctuary of Apollo and Hyacinthus. Boys played
the lyre; they also sang songs, perhaps including the song for Apollo
not sung on the first day. Moreover, choruses of young people performed dances accompanied to the sound of the aulos. The dances performed by both youths and maidens had a local and traditional character, and stood in direct relation to the past of the city, annually renewed by the children at each festival.43
The two ritual phases seem to translate a sort of passage from death
to life in which, after a short period of death, Hyacinthus is reborn and
begins a new life. Thus, as Calame has argued, music, songs and dances in the Hyacinthia have been interpreted as elements of initiation
Nobili 2014, 140-141.
Chaniotis 2011, 164.
39
Calame 2001, 182; Papadopoulou 2004, 322.
40
Burkert 22003, 85-86.
41
Polycrates, FGrH 588 F 1 in Ath. 4.139d-f. Chirassi Colombo 1968, 157-177;
Chaniotis 2011, 166.
42
Calame 2001, 174.
43
Papadopoulou 2004, 322.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)rites aimed at the integration of adolescents into the civic body, as well
as to express gratitude to Apollo, their protector god.44 It is worth noting that this phase of the feast was linked to musical performances of
the boys playing their lyres not only to accompany the rhythm of the
procession, but also to strengthen the bonds in the community.
Taking into account this element of the ritual aimed to dramatize the
myth of Hyacinthus and his resurrection, one wonders if the lyre represented on the fragmented vase from Tarentum may depict not only
the passage from childhood to adulthood, but also musical performances related to the Hyacinthia introducing youths in the society of
adults. This iconography could allude to premature death of Hyacinthus as an element associated with the periodic death and birth of
vegetation, a motif linked to a male rite of passage and to the ritual
death of the boys before they were accepted into the male adult community in the city. In this case, the depiction of the instrument held by
Apollo on the Apulian vase fragment helps us to reconstruct its symbolic role in a specific context of worship.
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS AS SYMBOLS OF DEATH AND REBIRTH
On the Apulian vase fragment the “living Apollo” is holding a sevenstring lyre stretched on his left knee while he pulls two strings with
his left thumb and index finger (Fig. 3). The fingers are bent forward
and look as if they hold or pull rather than pluck the strings, whereas
no action is combined towards the strings by the right hand with the
plectrum: the position of the right arm does not entirely exclude the
possibility that Apollo is holding a plectrum. Indeed, as his arm lying
at his right side, the god does not seem to play his lyre or to sing: his
gesture apparently illustrates the god checking his instrument before
tuning or starting to play it.45 The depiction of tuning the seven-string
lyre is a clear way of illustrating the preparation for a musical performance that is about to start, indicating that within the musical context
Calame 2001, 174-185.
For visual evidence of musical scenes and musical instruments, especially on
vase paintings of the Classical period, including details of playing technique,
see Goulaki-Voutyra 2016, 364-365.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)depicted, the instrument is not yet being played. On the one hand, the
representation of the lyre may be a reference to an upcoming musical
event, but on the other hand, the lyre may be related to the particular
religious customs of the Italiote community of Southern Italy and to
the festival dedicated to Apollo in Tarentum, which the ancient observer knew how to decode.46
As Schneider-Herrmann highlighted,47 the image of the “living god”
could be linked to the first day of the festival dedicated to Hyacinthus,
austere and funerary, during which his death was celebrated without
music. In this case, the Apollo’s sad face on the Apulian vase fragment
could be related to his sadness at Hyacinthus’ death. Thus, the representation seems to evoke the notion that Apollo is displaying a silent “musical symbol” belonging to the Hyacinthus age as a young man ready to
enter into society and able to take part in the symposium after a symbolic death:48 thanks to music, resurrection could be celebrated through
expressing the joy of the Hyacinthus’ apotheosis. On the second day,
numerous animals were sacrificed and fire burned on the grave of the
hero in Tarentum,49 possibly culminating with a banquet and the joyful
nocturnal dances of women.50 It is worth noting that the male statuettes
probably representing Hyacinthus holding the kithara (Fig. 4)51 and the
tambourine,52 which were found in the different sanctuaries of Tarentum, could have been offered during this celebration: these instruments
are depicted as merely being held in the hand, functioning as attributes
or sacred objects53 related to musical performances in seasonal celebrations and rituals dedicated to Apollo Hyacinthus.54
Fontannaz 2014, 71-72.
Schneider-Herrmann 1972, 31-34. See also de Cesare 1997, 94-97.
48
Bellia 2016, 8-11.
49
Lippolis, Garraffo, and Nafissi 1995, 225-226.
50
Papadopoulou 2004, 321-322.
51
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 52024, tav. XV, 2.
52
Lippolis, Garraffo, and Nafissi 1995, 56-58.
53
Angliker 2018, 25-32; Bellia 2018, 89-95; Bundrick 2018, 15-21; Liveri 2018, 39-46.
54
Vergara Cerqueira 2019, 102-108.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 3. Particular of the Apulian vase fragment depicting Apollo
holding a lyre (400-385 B.C.).
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum 2579
(from de Cesare 1997, 95, fig. 46).
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 4. Male terracotta statuette likely representing Hyacinthus (?)
holding a lyre (4th-3th century B.C.).
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 52024
(from Lippolis, Garraffo, and Nafissi 1995, tav. XV, 2).
Furthermore, the reclining banqueters holding a lyre discovered in
Tarentum have been identified in terms of votive contexts (Fig. 5). 55
Their interpretation has given rise to many discussions concerning the
meaning of this theme, some of which contradict one another. Interpretations range from a divine figure (and in particular Dionysus) to a
deceased hero, sometimes in connection with the funerary realm and
the chthonic cults. Arguments in favour of Dionysus are based on the
drinking vessels held by the male figure, which are related to the
symposium. It has been also proposed56 that the reclining banqueter
holding a lyre could be considered a specific votive offering that recalls the symposium during which, as is well known, music was a
fundamental component.
55
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 20074. Bellia 2016, 5-11, fig. 1.
Lippolis, Garraffo, and Nafissi 1995, 56-58; Bellia 2016, 4-11.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)The presence of tortoise shells, used for the sound box of lyres and
found in graves at Tarentum (Fig. 6),57 seems also connected to the
idea that music and banquets additionally represent the joys of the
afterlife.58 It is not particularly surprising that a Dionysiac group is
depicted on the vase from Tarentum: while the lyre recalls rituals celebrated in the “Apollonian” sacred sphere and its role of a musical
instrument related to initiation and changes of status, the tambourine
and dance within the Dionysiac scene are a parallel reference to rebirth and new life.
Figure 5. Terracotta figurine of a banqueter holding a lyre
(6th-5th century B.C.).
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 20074
(from Bellia 2016, 7, fig. 1).
57
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 66158. Bellia 2012, 67, fig. 69.
Bellia 2016, 5-11.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 6. Sound box of lyres found in the grave 57,
necropolis of “via Otranto” at Tarentum (5th century B.C.).
Tarentum, National Archaeological Museum, 66158
(from Bellia 2012, 67, fig. 69).
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Furthermore, depicted on the fragment of the Apulian red-figure calyx-krater from Tarentum is the double power of Apollo: on the one
hand, he is the bringer of death and disease (symbolized by the bow);
on the other hand, he is able to heal through the music of the lyre. It is
also possible to attribute a symbolic value to the stringed instrument,
one that is connected with the affirmation of religious afterlife beliefs
in the western Greek colonies from the 6th century B.C.: particularly for
those concerned with personal salvation, the music of string instruments was indispensable in raising the soul of the faithful to overcome
death.59 Thus, if on the one hand the coexistence of musical themes in
the same figurative space seems related to the local rituals and cults in
Tarentum to which Apollo and Dionysus are often closely associated,
on the other, music seems to be linked to the cycle of human and
chthonic life. Moreover, music could be also symbolically linked to the
leisured life of the cultured male élite in Tarentum, where the paideia,
particularly those involving music and gymnastics, were fundamental
to the education of young people.60 This aspect would also have been
relevant to the potential owner of the vessel.
It is interesting to note that the “Dionysiac” scene on the Apulian vase
fragment (Fig. 7) has a parallel on a volute krater (400 B.C.), preserved at
the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, also attributed to the
painter of the Birth of Dionysus.61 In this complex depiction of a sacrifice
to Dionysus from the indigenous tomb 152 from Ruvo a naked young
god reclines above while below him preparations are made for a sacrifice of a goat in front of a bearded statue of the god. On this vase music
and dance performances are also depicted in the representations of the
“living Dionysus” along with his archaic idols (Fig. 8).62
According to Oliver Taplin, the viewers of the depictions on these vas-
Burkert 1972, 350-368.
Bellia 2016, 10; Vergara Cerqueira 2019, 108.
61
Naples, National Archaeological Museum, 82922. RVAp I, 35, nr. 8; Alroth 1992,
39, fig. 21; de Cesare 1997, 95-96, fig. 47; Carpenter 2014, 272, fig. 12.4.
62
de Cesare 1997, 95-96.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)es from Apulia could be also viewers of the actual performances.63 In
this case, a painter’s use of a distinctive version of myth and ritual can
point to familiarity on the part of his audience with the performance
itself and the spread of these kinds of religious rites. The primitive figure of the god stands behind the altar in his sanctuary, where libations,
offerings, and music and dances are performed.64 The cult image is stiff
and front-facing wearing a polos, and holding a kantharos and a thyrsus
staff.65 Lively dancing maenads are playing tambourines and cymbals
around his archaic idol, while one maenad is holding a sacrificial basket
and another maenad is killing a goat with a knife at the table where a
fire is depicted. The “living Dionysus” himself is watching the performance of a sacrifice in his honour from the upper register. The god is
seated with a thyrsus and is accompanied by his retinue formed by a
seated satyr holding a kantharos and a maenad playing a tambourine:
the instrument is enriched not only by small ratting disks and a handle
like those of the instrument of the fragmentary krater housed in Amsterdam, but also by the depiction of thyrsus or vegetal elements related
to the rebirth of the cycle of vegetation. As a percussion instrument suited to marking time and producing an exciting sound for the rhythmic
movements, the tambourine was particularly connected with cults and
closely related to dancing movements, shaping the soundscape and
dancescape66 of celebrations of seasonal festivals of fertility. It is not by
chance that its depiction is often related to performances linked to the
cycle of vegetation, as well as to wedding rituals: on the Sicilian redfigure skyphos from Lipari attributed to the Painter of Palermo 401 a
woman holding a tympanon is depicted in a nuptial scene (Fig. 9):67 this
frame drum is enriched by decorative ribbons and small rattling disks
embedded in the frame suited to emphasize the rhythm of dance.
Taplin 2007, 25.
Platt 2011, 60-72.
65
Alroth 1992, 39.
66
Naerebout 2017, 39.
67
Lipari, Regional Archaeological Museum Luigi Bernabò Brea, 185 bis. Trendall
1967, 3/80; Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1986, 18, fig. 26.
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 7. Particular of the Apulian vase fragment
depicting a maenad playing a tambourine (400-385 B.C.).
Amsterdam, Allard Pierson Museum 2579 (from de Cesare 1997, 95, fig. 46).
Figure 8. Volute krater from Ruvo.
The “living” Dionysus along with his archaic idols (400 B.C.).
National Archaeological Museum in Naples, 82922.
(from Carpenter 2014, 272, fig. 12.4).
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Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)Figure 9. Skyphos representing a woman holding a tympanon
in a wedding scene (4th century B.C.).
Lipari, Regional Archaeological Museum Luigi Bernabò Brea, 185 bis
(from Bernabò Brea and Cavalier 1986, 18, fig. 26).
Seite 20
Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
As Marconi has noted, by juxtaposing the “living god” and his archaic
idol, “the vase painter ... appears here to be carrying to their extreme
limits both the notion that the statue of a god is inanimate and the notion that the statue makes the living god present.”68 The representations of percussion instruments on the fragmentary krater in Amsterdam and on the volute krater in Naples appear to communicate the
function of their sounds: to accompany dance during the epiphany of
a deity.69 Percussive rhythms served to emphasize the presence of the
god, creating a sacred soundscape around the idol; this soundscape
was a distinct element of the ritual sphere and the related religious
experience.70 As a founding act of the cult, epiphany in a sacred space
was usually established in places where divinities have chosen to “reveal” themselves. Musical and dance performances served to add
prominence to their appearances. The depiction of a god (or a goddess) next to a temple is therefore an allusion to the foundation of the
sanctuary’s cult. This means that the fragmented vase from Tarentum
may have meant far more than a mere visual display of gods meeting:
by alluding to the epiphany of Apollo that was the basis for the establishment of a local cult, they may have reminded the viewer of how
close the “living god” and his idol had come and how musical and
dance performances were offerings to the deities completed in the
framework of the ritual ceremony. Thus, music and sound, alongside
dance as a component inseparable from music in the sacred sphere,
strengthen the power of performances, which relies in great part on
the effect of the heightened multisensory experience.71
The desire to retain a tangible memento of a musical performance in
a sacred place could have brought worshippers to offer particular dedications that depicted musical and dancing performances; this may
have contributed to evoking the presence of the gods in the worship-
Marconi 2011, 164-165.
Platt 2011, 120-121.
70
For the sound experience in a sacred environment, see Miles 2016, 183-186.
71
Bell 1997, 159-164.
Seite 21
Im PDF ansehen(öffnet in einem neuen Fenster)pers by recalling sounds related to their epiphany and their soundscape in
a sacred setting.72 These depictions are emphasizing the fact that music
and sound are acting as “aural manifestations” of the divine presence;
translating in a visible way the invisible presence of the god, the representations of music and dance performances are powerful recalls to their
epiphany. Keeping this perspective in mind, the musical scenes on the
Apulian vase fragment could be associated not only with a specific idea of
ritual and musical performances in the local cult of Apollo Hyacinthus in
Tarentum, but also to an explicit preservation of their memory.
National Research Council, Italy
Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage, Italy
angbellia@gmail.com
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