A school of two tailed Scyllas on Etruscan urns
While I have more research I want to post about the iconography of Scylla, and how she's likely related to the two tailed siren, today we're just going to admire her. Here's all the images I've found of two tailed Scyllas on Etruscan urns.
A note: keep in mind, that these may not all be images of Scylla herself. Some are clearly male; others may be a different character. I'll address these ideas in an upcoming post. The main takeaway here: after the Scythian ancestral goddess, Scylla is the most common two tailed being in ancient art with this distinctive pose.
Scylla, Etruscan grave stele, Giardini Margherita cemetery, Bologna. She holds two clubs or sticks in her hands, has dogs around her was it, and her tails end in animal heads.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan urn. 3rd-2nd century BCE. Lourve museum. This Scylla's tails end in serpent heads, and she has dogs around her waist.
Two tailed Scylla and Cerberus, Tomb of the Reliefs, end of the 4th-beginning of the 3rd century BCE. She holds an oar. Banditaccia Necropolis, Cerveteri, Italy. Image via Wikipedia.
Two tailed Scylla with wings, holding two anchors. She has an acanthus leaf skirt, but no dogs are her waist. National Archeological Museum, Florence. 300 BCE. My photo.
Two tailed Scylla, holding two anchors. First half of the 2nd century BCE. National Archeology Museum, Siena, Italy. Photo by Sailko, Wikipedia. Info from Goring.
Scylla urn, Etruscan, late 3rd century BCE. She has wings, an acanthus leaf skirt, and no dogs around her waist. Boston Museum.
Scylla with two tails, Etruscan urn, Perugia, end of the 2nd century BCE. Civic Archaeological Museum of Bologna. Full post here.
Scylla, two tailed with wings and holding an oar, club, or sword. She has an acanthus leaf skirt, eyes on her wings, and no dogs.The Museo Etrusco Guarnacci, Volterra. Necropolis of Portone. Photo by Sailko, Wikipedia.
Two tailed Scylla, Chiusi, 2nd century BCE. She has an acanthus leaf skirt, no dogs, and swings an oar. Nicholas Collection, Chau Chak Wing Museum Australia.
Two tailed Scylla holding an oar, Etruscan cinerary urn. National Archeological Museum, Florence. My photograph.
Two tailed Scylla, 200 BCE-100 BCE Etruscan urn, Siena, Italy. She swings an oar or club, and has two men, possibly Odysseues’ crew, in her tails. British Museum.
Two tailed Scylla with oar, 2nd century BCE, National Museum, Palermo, Sicily, Italy. From Sach's article.
Scylla, Etruscan urn, 300 - 100 BCE. British Museum.
Scylla with two tails, Etruscsn urn, Medelhavsmuseet, Stockholm. Ca 170-160 BCE.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan urn. Castellano area, ca. 200-190 BCE, Florence. Photo via Sailko, Wikipedia.
Two tailed Scylla on an Estruscan urn, museo archeologico nazionale dell’umbria, Perugia. Photo by Sailko, Wikipedia.
Scylla with two tails, Etruscan urn, Sant’Appiano Museum, Antiquarium (Archaeological museum in Sant'Appiano, Italy.) In her hands, she could be holding anchors or an oar, but the statue is damaged. Full post here.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan cinerary urn, National Archeological Museum, Florence. This “Scylla” is likely male. My photograph.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan urn. National Archeology Museum, Siena, Italy. Photo by Sailko.
Two tailed Scylla, holding an oar. National Archeology Museum, Siena, Italy. Photo by Sailko.
Bearded two tailed Scylla, holding an oar. Etruscan urn, 260-220 BCE. Turin Archeology Museum, Italy. Photo via Peter on Flickr.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan urn, Rosavecchia, Tuscania, ca. 3rd-2nd century BCE. This Scylla is hoisting a boulder, an unusual weapon for them, as Scylla usually wields an oar. Photo by Sailko.
Two tailed Scylla, Etruscan urn. Photo via Peter on Flickr.
Two tailed Scylla, Perugia, necropolis of Palazzone. From Körte's book.
Two tailed Scylla, Perugia, Villa Monti. From Körte's book.
Two tailed Scylla holding an oar, National Etruscan Museum, Rome. My photograph.
Scylla with Centaurs, Etruscan urn. Drawing from Jane Harrison’s “Myths of the Odyssey,” page 365.
Sources
Archaeological Studies Author(s): G. W. Elderkin Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 21, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1917), pp. 397-408. Section “Scenes from the Odyssey on an Etruscan grave stele.” Figure 2.
Sachs, Eleanor B. "Some Notes on a Twelfth-Century Bishop’s Mitre in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Bulletin of the Needle and Bobbin Club 61 1 & 2 (1978): 69.
Körte, Gustav [Editor]; Brunn, Heinrich von [Editor]; Körte, Gustav [Editor] I rilievi delle urne etrusche (Band 3) Berlin, 1916.
Harrison, Jane Ellen. Myths of the Odyssey in Art and Literature. London: Rivingtons, 1882.
Goring, Elizabeth. Treasures from Tuscany: The Etruscan Legacy. Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 2004. Fig. 231.
