Ancient Veii, and you were a kingdom at that time,

The throne is golden and you had it on the market.

Now the shepherd's horn sounds lazily among the walls

And on your bones ripen the bread of the fields

(Propertius, Elegi. IV, X, 27-30; translated by A. Fet)

...That's what the Veii were once. Who remembers what happened now? Where are the ruins? Where's the trail? With all due respect to the annals, it is difficult to believe in the existence of Wei

(Floras. VI. 12, II; translated by A. I. Nemirovsky)

In the history of ancient Italian culture, the Late Archaic terracotta acroteria statues from Veii (510-500 BC) occupy an extremely important place. Opened in 1919, these works and, above all, the famous Apollo (Rome, Villa Giulia Museum) completely changed the existing ideas about the development of Etruscan art and its interaction with Greek and Roman art. The concepts formed by the end of the 19th century sharply limited the importance of Etruscan art culture, noting the unprecedented role of Hellenic influence on Italian art; they presented the Etruscans as secondary imitators. Thus, the art of Etruria, understood as an original and phenomenal phenomenon in the XVII-XVIII centuries, was evaluated as insignificant and marginal by scientists of the positivist era. All the best works discovered here were unconditionally attributed to the Greeks .1

The study of the large architectural and plastic complex of the sanctuary of Portonaccio in Veii (VI-IV centuries BC) revived the Etruscan myth, which seems to have remained forever in amateur archaeological research of the XVIII century. The discoveries made in Veii in the 1910s and 1940s served as the basis for the formation of the Pan-Etruscan and even Pan-Italian theory of the development of ancient art. It was assumed that on the territory of Italy, ancient art had a more complex structure than it seemed before. This was most clearly demonstrated by the attempts of G. Kashnitz-Weinberg to theoretically substantiate the exceptional original values of Italian art, which continuously develops from antiquity to the Renaissance and Baroque eras. 2 K. Anti, in an article entirely devoted to Apollo of the Vei, enthusiastically justifies the special Italian exclusivity of Etrurian art and Magna Graecia art, which are closely interrelated, but stand out in the historical context.

1 Martha J. L'art etrusque. P., 1889. pp. 614-615.

2 Kaschnitz-Weinherg G. Bemerkungen zur Structur der altitalischen Plastik // Studi Etruschi. 1933. VII. S. 155-161.

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ancient world 3 . Finally, A. Della Seta, developing the idea of the Italian originality of terracotta from Portonaccio in the continuation of the given topic, comes to the conclusion that their creator could only be an Etruscan master himself, whose art had bright individual features. Based on the ancient literary tradition (Plin. NH. XXXV. 157; Plut. Popl. 13; Serv. Aen. VII. 188), A. Della Seta concludes that it was probably the legendary Vulca, who was specially invited to Rome to create clay statues of the temple of Jupiter Capitoline. The researcher also attributes the Capitoline She-Wolf 4 to the circle of the Weian master .

However, K. Albizzati, F. Poulsen and P. Riis note the closest stylistic similarity of the listed monuments with works created on the territory of the Balkans, Ionia and Aegis. The most striking stylistic analogies are the famous kouros and koras from Athens of the late VI-early V century BC, made by Ionian craftsmen .5 The exceptional, seemingly non-provincial Greicism that underlies the style of the Weian school of coroplasty allowed us to continue and develop a skeptical tradition in relation to the Etruscans. 6

Researchers of Veian sculpture have repeatedly noted subtle stylistic fluctuations consistent with the simultaneous phenomena of Greek art. Thus, in Veii, as well as in the other southern Etruscan center closest to Rome - Cere-the influence of various Greek schools can be traced throughout the VI-IV centuries BC7 .

Another major discovery in the sanctuary of Portonaccio is the temple for which the famous acroteriales were intended. It was here that archaeologists first found confirmation of the reports of the ancient tradition about the structure of the Etruscan temple and the methods of its decoration (Vitr. III. 3, 5; IV. 7). Insufficiently well-preserved remains (podium 18.5 x 18.5 m) for a long time did not allow us to definitively determine the type of construction. Initially, researchers interpreted it as a characteristic three-celled temple with a deep portico 8 . Then a second type of Etruscan temple was seen here, marked by Vitruvius. It is a temple with one cella, two aulae and a deep pronaos with a portico in antae 9 . However, at present, the latest data allow us to reconstruct a different version: a three-part cella with a two-column portico in antae 10 .

The archaeological discovery of the Portonaccio complex in 1914 belongs to E. Gabrici11 . Further research and the most significant finds of sculptures and foundations of the temple are associated with the activities of J. P. Blavatsky. Giglioli (1916) and E. Stefani (1917-1920) 12 . Work on the sanctuary was finally completed by the excavations of M. Pallottino (1939-1940) and M. Santangelo (1944-1949), when the area of the complex was completely uncovered. As a result of these works, small architectural structures and several large terracotta sculptures were discovered, adding to the already known number 13 . At the same time, the acroterialismwas finally proved.

3 Anti С. II problema dell'arte italica // Studi Etruschi. 1930. IV. P. 151-170.

4 Delia Seta A. Antika arte etrusca // Dedalo. 1921.1. 3. P.559-580.

5 Ducati P. Storia dell'arte Etrusca. V. 1. Firenze, 1927. P. 261; Alhizzati C. Statue di Veio e statue di Atene // II Primato. Roma, 1920. II. 7. P. 22-29; Poulsen F. Altetruskische Gropskulptur in Terracota// Die Antike. 1932. VIII. 2. S. 90-101; Riis P.J. Tyrrhenica. Copenhagen, 1941. P. 44-60.

6 Bianchi-Bandinelli R. Storicita dell'arte classica. Firenze, 1950. P. 120-122; Rohertson M.A. History of Greek Art. V. 1. Cambr., 1975. P. 592.

7 Sprenger М. Die etruskische Plastik des V. Jh. v. Chr. und ihr Verhaltnis zur griechischen Kunst. Roma, 1972.

8 Giglioli G.Q. L'arte etrusca. Milano, 1935. P. 33.

9 Richardson Е. The Etruscans. Their Art and Civilisation. Chicago-London, 1964. P. 184-188.

10 Colonna G. Note preliminari sui Cuiti del santuario di Portonaccio a Veio // Scienze dell'Antichita. I. Roma, 1987.Tav.I-II.

11 The history of research in 1914-1920 is described in the article: Baglione R. II santuario di Portonaccio a Veio: precisazioni sugli scavi Stefani / / Scienze dell'antichita. Roma, 1987. P. 382-384.

12 Ibid. P. 382-384.

13 Pallottino М. Le recenti scoperte nel santuario "dell'Appolo" a Veio // Le Arti. Firenze, 1939-1940. II. 17-36; Santangelo М. Veio, santuario "di Apollo". Scavi fra il 1944 e il 1949 // Bollettino d'arte. Roma, 1952. P. 147-172.

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Figure 1. Plan of the sanctuary of Portonaccio: a - temple; b-pool; c, d-porticos along the fence; d - oikos; e-altar; g-well. Author's drawing

the purpose of the latter, which is quite consistent with the reports of Varro, Vitruvius and other ancient authors (Plin. NH. XXXV. 157; Vitr. III. 3, 5) on the methods of decoration of the Etruscan temple. The bases discovered by archaeologists are not only combined with the baseboards of statues and calypters in the roof of the temple, but also have special recesses designed for installation on the columen (ridge of the roof).

The analysis and publication of the monuments of Portonaccio, including a huge number of works of coroplasty, ex voto, inscriptions, fragments of monumental paintings and architectural details, together with the restoration of everything found, continues to this day.

The sanctuary of Portonaccio is located outside the city wall, near the western edge of Vey. The territory occupied by its buildings is a flat area of triangular shape, stretching along the west-east axis (Figure 1). From the northwest, it is bounded by a plateau on which the city itself once stood, from the southeast-by steep slopes of the site, facing the deep valley of the Piordo River. The entire complex covers an area of about 1500 sq. m. It was surrounded by a stone fence with a gate that opened onto the sacred road that ran between the sanctuary and the city wall.

In the widest western half of the site, the remains of the foundations of the temple (18.5 x 18.5) with a pool adjacent to them from the north are preserved. Constrained by its position, the eastern part of the complex occupies the" top " of the triangle (it is represented by an altar and small buildings that were attached to each other at the fence-this is a room with a portico, a two-column portico and the so-called oikos).

The hydraulic system of the sacred cult zone included two water pipes that fed the pool with water supplied from the surrounding slopes. There was also a well located at the south-eastern corner of the temple.

Many problems regarding the clarification of the sanctuary's architectural appearance are related to the destruction during the Roman conquest; then there was a tuff quarry, which almost completely destroyed the central part of the complex. Position

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The situation has worsened due to the long-term use of this area for agricultural work. Here, in Roman times, water drains were dug, a cistern was built, and a new road was laid that violated the northern edge of the sanctuary.

The long-standing and incomplete study of the materials of the sanctuary of Portonaccio now raises three main questions. The first is related to the architectural design of the temple, whose remains do not allow us to definitively determine the type to which this building belongs 14 . The second one, which has been the most studied recently, is related to the definition of cults of this sanctuary. Progress in this direction has been made thanks to a comprehensive analysis and the first systematic publication of votive gifts and inscriptions, undertaken by J. R. R. Tolkien. Column 15 . And finally, the third and most controversial issue is the reconstruction of the composition of the monumental sculptural acroterium, consisting of several statues. Our analysis will focus specifically on the acroterialic sculptural composition. The order of placement of the statues on the roof ridge (columen), the style of these works, their iconography and a special program related to the sanctuary cults will be in the center of attention.

The discoverers of these remarkable monuments, as well as their contemporaries in the 1920s and 1940s, enthusiastically insisted on the exceptional nature of Etruscan culture, emphasizing the autochthonous ethnogenesis, isolationism, conservatism, anomaly, mystery and, consequently, the peculiar vision of the world and the original sense of form inherent in this people .16 The Etruscan civilization was opposed not only to the Hellenic, but also to the entire Eastern Mediterranean civilization, because it was here, on the land of ancient Italy, according to K. Anti, the Etruscans first "expressed the spirit of Western art" 17, here they saw the beginning of all anti-classical trends in Western culture 18 . Perhaps, in many ways, the essence of these concepts in Italian science was determined by the ideological atmosphere of the era of the 1920s and 1940s, and the echoes of these opinions are not completely eliminated, but in recent decades, thanks to new discoveries, Western European Etruscanology has changed its orientation.

The most consistent new trends are presented in the program article of M. Pallottino in the collection "Rasenna", where the author, who also underwent the evolution of his views, dissociates himself from the" structural concept "of G. Kashnitz-Weinberg, emphasizes the deep and organic interrelation, interdependence of Italian and other Mediterranean cultures," among which the Etruscan civilization appeared, with which side by side the European civilization was formed. bok existed and passed on its legacy to them." 19

The nature of Etruscan culture is much more complex than previously thought, and its deep retrospective connections point to the eastern Mediterranean, as well as contacts with Western peoples. Etruscan society was not closed, the population of Etruscan cities was often mixed, and the names of ports-Punic and Pyrgi-directly indicated the foreign element. A. I. Nemirovsky, a well-known Russian antiquarian and Etruscan scholar, sees the Etruscans as the successors of the oldest Balkan and Aegean-Anatolian historical and cultural traditions, emphasizing their genetic connection with this particular region of the ancient world .20

The sanctuary complex we are interested in reached its peak at the time of the political, economic and cultural boom that accompanied the development of many cities in Etruria and Latium at the turn of the VI-V centuries BC. However, this is a time of serious crisis in relations between the Etruscans and the Romans, and it is associated with the expulsion of the last of the Tarquins and the establishment of the Republic in 509 BC.E.

14 Colonna G. Santuario in localita Portonaccio a Veio // Santuari d'Etruria. Milano, 1985. P. 101.

15 Idem.Culti...P. 419-446.

16 Kaschmtz-Weinherg. Op. cit.; Ami C. L'Appollo che cammina // Bolletino d'arte. 1920. 14. P. 73-90.

17 Anti С. II problema dell'arte italica // Studi Etruschi. 1930. IV. P. 151-170.

18 Argan JK Istoriya italianskogo iskusstva [History of Italian Art], vol. I. M., 1990, p. 24.

19 Rasenna. Milano, 1986. Quoted from the catalog of the exhibition in Russia " Etruscan Culture and Art. The success of recent research in Southern Etruria". Rome, 1989. p. 15.

20 Nemirovsky A.M. Etruscans. From Myth to History, Moscow, 1983, p. 61.

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However, despite all the difficulties, this period was marked by rapid construction activity throughout Central Italy and the development of fine arts. Monumental complexes of shrines and temples are being created in Caerae, Pyrgae, Vulci, Veii, Rome, Satrica and Lanuvia. Tomb paintings attest to the exceptional skill of Tarquinian painters (the tomb of the Augurs, the tomb of the Lionesses, and many others). Vulchi became famous for the artistic so-called "Tyrrhenian" bronze, which delighted the ancients on a par with Corinthian (Hor. Epist. II. 2,180). After this city, the glory of bronze-casting centers was shared by Cere and Veii. The latter are becoming centers of pottery and vase painting and recognized leaders in the field of monumental coroplastics. It was the Veian and Tseretanian masters who decorated with sculptural compositions many buildings not only in the south of Etruria, but also in Rome, many cities of Latium, even Campania 21 .

The Late Archaic period (520-470 BC) is rightly called the "golden age" of Etruscan culture .22 Stylistic features of the art of this period, its heterogeneity indicate the revival of long-standing ties with the Eastern Mediterranean and the Punic world. An intensive process of mutual penetration is facilitated by the openness of Etruscan society. The diverse influences that intersect in Central Italy bring various artistic components to the late Archaic Etruscan culture. Eastern Greek (Samoan and Phocian) influences are replaced here by impulses of Attic art, which are combined with another wave of the Ionian art tradition .23

Greek artisans are known to have settled freely in many Etruscan cities, forming entire neighborhoods. Cere was a member of the Delphic Community (Herod. I. 167; Strabo. V. 2. 3). The Etruscan ports contained not only Greek but also Carthaginian trading posts. The names of these ports often indicate a mixed population: Punic, for example, indicates the Carthaginian component, and Pyrgi - the Greek one. The shrines and temples of coastal cities and major shopping centers are characterized by mixed, syncretic cults. For example, Uni-Astarte in Pyrgae, Demeter-Veii in Graviscae, or Hercules-Melkart and Fortuna-Astarte in Rome 24 . The unique geographical and strategic position of Veii on the border of Etruria, Latium and the Faliscan country, the important waterways (the Tiber and Cremera rivers) that intersect here, the Salt Road and the routes leading to the south of Italy, to Magna Graecia, largely determined the uniqueness of the local culture.

Veii is one of the largest and most influential cities in Southern Etruria, which was part of the union of the twelve Cities. They are located 20 km northeast of Rome (near present-day Isola de Farnese). The city stood on a tuff plateau, between the Piordo and Cremera rivers (present-day Valchetta) - the largest, once navigable, tributary of the Tiber. The geographical location itself determined the nature and objectives of construction in Veii. This center was a powerful fortress, well protected "both by the walls and by the location itself "(Liv. I. 15.4). Around the city, its inhabitants created an interesting water supply system, which includes small channels (which provided water, including the iconic pool of the sanctuary of Portonaccio), as well as the famous Ponte Sodo tunnel (VI century BC).

The navigable Cremera and the Wei possessions on the right bank of the Tiber, which is not accidentally called "Etruscan" or "Lydian" by tradition (Verg. Aen. X. 199), testify to the important strategic importance of this Etruscan city on the borders with the Latin world. At the northern mouth of the Tiber, on the "Lydian shore", the Veii controlled

21 Crislofani М. L'arte degli Etruschi. Turino, 1978. P. 94- 105.

22 Periodization by R. Bianchi-Bandinelli and O. Brendel: Bianchi-Baiulinelli R. L'arte Etrusca. Roma, 1982. P. 141; Brendel O.J. Etruscan Art. Harmondsworth, 1978. P. 114-115.

23 Another wave of Ionian influence was reinforced by the emigration caused by the defeat of the Ionian Revolt in 500-494 BC, which was brutally suppressed by the Persians.

24 Cristofani. Op. cit. P. 95; Coarelli F. II Foro Boario. Roma, 1988. P. 230-235; Boitani F. Gravisca, port Tarquinii / / Culture and Art of the Etruscans ... p. 47.

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the salt industry (D. H. 55,5) and even the name of this river, according to one of the versions of ancient authors, goes back to the name of the legendary king of Veii (Varro, De L. L. V. 30). There is an opinion that it was the rivalry of the Vei and Rome over the salt industry, control of the Salt Road and the Tiber that caused numerous conflicts and wars between these two cities.

It can be assumed that the early Republican Portus, the predecessor of Ostia, which was located at the northern mouth of the Tiber on the "Lydian coast", did not appear from scratch, but inherited the location of a port or ship station belonging to Veii, in the area of salt baths.

The Veii, like their northern neighbors, the Vulchi, Tarquini, or Cere, probably had their own port. Extensive connections with the outside world are recorded here archaeologically. In this case, it is important to recall the example of Tarquinia, whose port is not mentioned in the literary tradition, but, nevertheless, was recently discovered by archaeologists under the ruins of the later Roman colony of Gravisca (Liv. XL. 29, 1-2; Veil. I. 15.2) 25 . The spread of the cult of Neptune, the ancestor of the local kings, and his companion, the sea nymph Venilia, in Veii, perhaps once again points to the supposed connection of this city with the sea.

The ancient literary tradition identifies Veii as a major urban center, one of the most significant in Etruria, and second only to Rome in all of non-Greek Italy (Liv. II. 50, 3; IV. 58.10). It seemed to the ancients that this city could be compared with Athens and Rome (D. H. P. 54; XII. 15), and its ten-year siege (in 406-396 BC) and destruction are comparable only to the fall of Troy (Liv. V. 21). The acropolis, the city's sanctuaries, and the rectangular grid of regular blocks and squares discovered by archaeologists largely confirm the information of the ancients.

Veii is known to have been a major religious center. On the territory of the city and outside it, six sanctuaries were recorded. Some of them, in particular Portonaccio, were visited not only by local rulers, but also by representatives of well-known aristocratic families from Vulci, Tarquinia and Cere 26 . In the sanctuary of Campetti, the cults of the goddess Veii and Apollo 27 are noted . In this regard, it is important to recall once again that the neighboring city of Tsere was a member of the Delphic community, and the famous sanctuary of Apollo Soransky was even closer - on Mount Sorakt within the Faliscan country. Especially revered was the goddess Veia, who gave the city its name. Veia was identified with Ceres. It is possible that it was paired with Veive or Veiovis, called by Cicero "underground Jupiter" (De nat. deor. III. 62). Servius, commenting on the Aeneid (VIII. 285), reports that there was a college of priests of Mars Salii, that the Veian kings considered themselves direct descendants of Neptune (Nettun) and, apparently, it was not by chance that the name of the Tiber River was identified with the name of one of them. In Veii, the nymph Venilia was worshipped, who was considered the mother of the Rutul king Turnus (Serv. Aen. VI. 90) and was in the retinue of Neptune (Serv. Aen. X.76). Chthonic cults, so characteristic of Etruria, 28 were especially widespread here. The complex natural and artificial hydraulic system in the vicinity of Wei, which was mentioned above, probably had a direct connection with the local religious tradition. For this reason, the swimming pool and well in the sanctuary of Portonaccio are particularly important structures. It is no coincidence that the rite of drainage of Lake Alban (Liv. V) plays a decisive role in the history of the Roman conquest of the Veii. 15, 11; 16, 9; 19, 1), this is evidenced by the dry channel bed that has survived to this day.

Veii was also famous for its temple of Juno (Uni), whose wooden xoan was taken to Rome after the fall of the city in 396 BC. In the temple on the Aventine, specially

25 Boitani. Uk. op.

26 Colonna. Culti...

27 Ibid.; Cornelia A., Stefani G. Material! votivi del santuario di Campetti a Veio. Roma, 1990.

28 Nemirovsky. Etruscans... p.196, 217; Timofeeva N. K. Religious and mythological picture of the Etruscan world. Novosibirsk, 1980. pp. 52-61.

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built for this statue, it was worshipped as Juno Regina (Liv. V. 22, 4-7; Plut. Cam. 6). On the land of their neighbors, the Falisci, the inhabitants of Vey founded a sanctuary for the goddess of fate Feronia (Serv. Aen. VII. 697), who is known to have been especially patronized by slaves, like the Latin Fortuna, the sanctuary of which in Rome was built by the son of a slave - king Servius Tullius.

It is known that Greek vases depicting scenes from the Trojan epic, especially those of Aeneas and Anchises, were widely distributed in Etruria and may have often been created specifically for the Etruscan market. A small votive terracotta figurine of the fifth century BC depicting Aeneas and Anchises found in Veii, together with vase paintings, suggested that it was the Etruscans, and not the Greeks, and most likely through Veii, who transmitted the Trojan legend and the cult of Aeneas to the Romans .29

The findings in the sanctuary of Portonaccio significantly expanded the understanding of the cults common in Veii. A thorough analysis of the epigraphy, ex voto, and sculptural images of deities, including the acroterial statues of interest to us (data summarized and substantially supplemented by J. R. R. Tolkien). They allow us to distinguish the cults of nine deities in the sanctuary: Aritimi/Artemis, Aplu/Apollo, Herkleh/Hercules, Thurms / Hermes, Menerva / Athena, Turan/Aphrodite, Acheloy, the nymph Venilia (Venai) and the mysterious Rath (Rath). The names of Aritimi, Menerva, Turan, Venilia, and Ratha are confirmed epigraphically 30 . Numerous sculptural images of deities and their attributes currently do not allow us to trace only the images of Venilia and Ratha. The rest are already easy to read. At various times, researchers have identified the primacy of a particular deity in this sanctuary. The most common names were Apollo, Menerva, Aritimi, and Turan. The latter were sometimes distinguished as a local triad31 . However, the most complete study of the Column to date shows that the leading position was still assigned to the cult of Menerva, which is attested by seven inscriptions and many votives .32

The cultural impact of the Wei on Rome was not limited to the religious sphere alone. Archaeological discoveries have confirmed the ancient tradition of Veyent coroplasts who worked in the Eternal City during the time of the Tarquins and the early Republic. The most famous of these was Vulka. The ancients singled out Vulca because he was credited with the sculptural decoration of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and the statue of "clay Hercules" (Plin. NH. XXXV. 157). St. Augustine, referring to Varro, reports that the first statues of the gods appeared in Rome only thanks to the Etruscans, 170 years after the foundation of the city (Civ. Dei IV. 31), i.e. in the era of the Tarquins, who invited coroplasts from the Veii.

Referring to the terracotta statue of Jupiter Capitolinus attributed to Vulca, the authors of the early Empire era (Ovid. Fsti. I. 201) give us a romantic image of agreste Latium, when" ... the ancient Jupiter of clay, not yet stained with gold, was always full of concern for the good of Latin " (Juvenile. XI. 116; translated by F. A. Petrovsky). Paying tribute to the splendor and splendor of imperial Rome, Seneca (Epist. 31: 1) bitterly reminds his contemporaries: "When the gods still looked upon us with favor, they were made of clay", i.e., this was in very remote times of Roman history, when Roman and Etruscan art were closely connected.

In the era we are interested in, it wasn't just veients who worked in Rome. The grandiose temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was built by " craftsmen called from all over Etruria "(Liv. I. 56. 1). As Rome was being built and expanded, it was also decorated with Tseretanian coroplasts,

29 Nemironsky A. I. Istoriya rannego Rima i Italii [History of Early Rome and Italy]. Voronezh, 1962. P. 208; Grant, Moscow. The Etruscans. L., 1980. P. 294. Not. 35.

29 Colonna. Culti... P. 381-446.

31 Banti L. II culto del cosidetto "Tempio dell'Apollo" a Veil e il problema delle triadi etrusco-italiche // Studi Etruschi. 1943. XVII. P. 188- 198; Rebuffat-Emmanuel D. Identification des divinites de Portonaccio // Latomus. 1961. 20; idem. Une Triade feminine etrusque // Latomus. 1981. 40. P. 269-279.

32 Colonna. Culti...

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2. Hercules with a fallow deer. Veii. Terracotta, painting. 510-500 BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

3. Apollo of Vey. Terracotta, painting. 510-500 BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

whose works are open on Esquiline. - the territory that was already included in the urban space under Servius Tullius." Tradition also reports the work of Greek sculptors who worked with clay-Damophilus and Gorgas - These masters were the authors of statues and paintings for the Roman temple of Ceres Liber and Libera, consecrated in 490 BC (Plin. NH. XXXV. 154), but built, however, on the" Tuscan " model (Vitr. III. 3, 7).

The findings of Portonaccio confirmed the fame of the Weian school of coroplasty. The sanctuary can be called a real museum of terracotta sculpture, which is represented in all the forms that existed among the Etruscans, from monumental round plastic and relief to small dedicatory statues and miniature ex votos. These works characterize almost all the stylistic trends that have emerged here due to Greek influence for almost two centuries - from the middle of the VI to the beginning of the IV century BC. In this sense, Veii may even seem like a province of Greek art. However, this province has preserved much of what was lost in Greece itself. This is especially true in Greek local art centers of the Archaic era.

33 Cristofani. Op. cit. P. 96. Tav. 66.

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4. Menerva Kurotrofos. Veii. Terracotta, painting. 510-500 BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum.

5. The head of Hermes of Wei. Terracotta, painting. 510-500 BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

The phenomenon of terracotta acroteral decoration of the Etruscan temple proper, represented by tradition, was first confirmed by finds in Portonaccio. From 1916 to 1949, six terracotta statues from 510-500 BC were discovered here, part of a multi-figure composition representing the dispute between Apollo and Hercules over a sacred fallow deer. The best preserved figures were those of Hercules trampling a bound fallow deer with his foot (height 1.76 m, Fig. 2), Apollo (height 1.75 m, Fig. 3) and the statue of the goddess kurotrofos (height 1.66 m, Fig. 4). From the statue of Hermes, only the head and leg fragments remained (Fig.5), and from the statue of Artemis only the foot with the edge of the clothes. The figure of a young man (Fig. 6), represented by a head and a fragment of legs, is also not well preserved. The individual style of the last piece reveals the hand of another master. Simultaneously with the acroterialgroup, antefixes depicting Gorgon and Maenad masks were modeled by the sculptor's hand (without the traditional use of form) .34

34 Listed acroterial statues and antefixes are kept and displayed in the Museum of Villa Giulia (Rome).

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6. The head of a young man (Hippolytus-Virbius?) Veii. Terracotta, painting. 510-500 BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

Recall that the enthusiasm of the discoverers of these highly artistic works unconditionally attributed them to the legendary Vulka, but later finds changed this attribution. The earliest terracotta sculptures of the sanctuary date back to 540-520 BC. This is the head of the statue of Menerva, which shows a clear influence of Ionian, or rather Samoan, art, and similar in style relief frieze plates depicting a procession of soldiers, horsemen and chariots from Portonaccio, from the temple of Piazza d'Armi in Veii, the temple of Jupiter Capitoline and the sanctuary of Fortuna and Mother Matuta in Rome. The latter is also famous for its sculptural acroterium depicting Minerva and Hercules. It is these works, dating back to the time of Servius Tullius, that are now commonly attributed to Vulca (Fig. Vulka's style is characterized by Samo-Ionian influences and, to a certain extent, the spirit of archaic sculpture. The acroterium group from Portonaccio (510-500 BC) probably belongs to the authorship of another equally talented artist, who, thanks to the most famous statue, was called the "master of Apollo" 36 .

So, if the previous stage of the development of the Veian workshop in 540-520 BC was really associated with the name of the famous Vulca, who worked in royal Rome, whose style of works had mainly Samoan prototypes, then the stage of 510-500 BC expressed itself primarily as the creative personality of the "master Apollo", who may have represented the Vulca school, but who worked in in the other direction of the Ionian style. It develops rather early classical representations with their characteristic spatiality and mobility.

The" Master of Apollo " is currently credited with antefixes with the mask of a Maenad and Gorgon, as well as five acroterian statues-Apollo (Aplu), Hercules (Herkle) with a fallow deer, the goddess kurotrofos, Artemis (Aritimi) and Hermes (Turms). The sixth acroterialny statue is attributed to the authorship of the sculptor of the circle "master of Apollo". It was the" master of Apollo " who created the main sculptural decoration of the sanctuary of Portonaccio in 510-500 BC, supplemented in 490-470. antefixes in the Aegina style 37 .

Of fundamental importance is the north-eastern wing of the temple of Portonaccio, parallel to which, behind the fence of the sanctuary, the sacred road passed. Here, between the fence and the wall of the temple, a rectangular pool (22 x 6 m, depth 2-3 m) is arranged, elongated along the axis to the southeast. Created at the same time as the temple, it is laid out of well-treated and carefully fitted tuff blocks. Additionally

35 Cristofani. Op. cit. p. 96. Tav. 66; Boardman J. The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity. L., 1994. P. 275. III. 7. 49, 7. 50 a, b.

36 Ibid.

37 Cristofani. Op. cit.

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7. Hercules and Minerva. Terracotta acroterium of the Temple of Fortune on the Bull Forum in Rome. 540-530 BC Rome, new Museum of Ancient Sculpture "Centrale Montemartini"

the walls and bottom of the pool are covered with a thick layer of clay, which does not allow water to pass through. The structure is framed on all sides by a 1-2 m wide pavement. The north-eastern wing of the temple is also important for the reason that it was here, on its roof, that a multi-figure acroterialic composition was developed, the core of which was the famous statues of Apollo and Hercules. The composition, as already mentioned, had only one viewing position - from the north, from the side of the sacred road. It looked like a painted pediment against the sky. Expressive silhouettes of statues were reflected in the waters of the pool. This vivid and dynamic scene was seen by everyone walking along the fence of the sanctuary.

Throughout the entire history of studying the complex, the most relevant issue was the acroterialic sculptural composition, its reconstruction, and its connection with local cult initiations. If A. Andreiand P. Ducati-saw in this work of coroplastics a ground group of statues, then K. Folkert in his work on archaic acroteria [38], following Giglioli [39], develops the idea of their acroterial position. Just like Giglioli, Folkert offers a reconstruction of two opposing groups led by Apollo and Hercules. The acroterial position of the sculptures was confirmed by finds made in the 1940s-specially designed terracotta bases with recesses for tiles. These findings allowed E. Stefani to further argue the idea of reconstructing the four-figure acroterium. An impressive basis for such a solution was provided by the Greek iconography of the collision of Apollo and Hercules (due to the tripod or fallow deer), where the deity is accompanied by Artemis, and the hero is patronized by Hermes (Fig.

This seemingly flawless version, however, does not take into account the statues of kourotrophos and the youth, and the fact that Hercules in Etruria is not a mortal hero, but a deity equal to Apollo. Herkle's name is not accidentally found among other names of the Etruscan pantheon on a votive bronze liver from Piacenza. Herkle-the ancestor of the Etruscans, patronizes the royal power. His divine consort is Menerva, from whose marriage Maris (Mars) is born 41 .

Just like the images on the bronze Etruscan mirrors, this acroterium, in our opinion, does not represent classical Greek mythology, but a local version of some ancient myth. For this reason, attempts to find a complete iconographic equivalent in Greek art are not well founded. Greek iconography in this case is an auxiliary material. However,

38 Volkert K. Das Akroter: Archaische Zeit. Frankforte, 1932. S. 393.

39 Giglioli G. Sculture in terracotta etrusche di Veio // Antike Denkmaler. В., 1926. III. Fasc. 8. P. 53-66. Tav. 45-55.

40 Stefani Е. Veio, Tempio detto dell'Apollo, esplorazione e sistemazione del santuario // Notizie degli Scavi. 1953. P. 29-112.

41 Pfiffig-Religio Etrusca. Graz, 1975; Shengelia I. G. Etruscan version of the theogamy of Minerva and Heracles. Tbilisi, 1975.

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Fig. 8. Reconstruction of the acroterial composition of the sanctuary of Portonaccio in Veii by J. R. R. Tolkien. Giglioli and E. Stefani. From left to right: Hermes, Hercules and Fallow deer, Apollo, Artemis

following the given scheme of analysis, M. Pallottino offers his own version of the reconstruction, still based on classical Greek material42 . The statue of the goddess kurotrofos discovered by this researcher has raised new questions. Among the huge number of fragments of terracotta sculptures (which have not only an acroterian origin), the scientist's attention was drawn to a fragment depicting the body of a snake (6.2 x 14.1 cm). The figure of kurotrofos-turned towards the pool, just like Hercules-is depicted in a procession from left to right, but M. Pallottino did not dare to connect this character with Hercules, but he made a small fragment of the snake figure a reference in his research and reconstruction, despite the fact that the size of the fragment does not agree with the size of the other statues (the height of kurotrofos is -1.66 m).

Pallottino again finds the basis for this in classical mythography and iconography. He interprets Kurotrofos as Summer with the baby Apollo, and the snake fragment as part of the figure of Python (no less). Thanks to this, the famous scene from Delphic mythology, where the baby Apollo hits the monster with his arrows, was recreated. Pallottino also associated the cult of Leto Kurotrofos with numerous ex votos made of clay depicting wet nurses and babies. The reconstruction proposed by the researcher thus provided for another two-figure composition that complemented the first one. As a result, his interpretation reflects two stories related to the Delphic cycle at once. The names of Apollo and Leto, however, are not mentioned in the dedicatory inscriptions of the sanctuary, as was the case with the names of other deities (especially in the case of Menerva). And this is questionable.

If the reconstruction of the four - figure composition, where Hercules is accompanied by Hermes, and Apollo-Artemis, seemed acceptable, then the plot with Leto Kurotrofos and Apollo Pythonocton, proposed by Pallottino, often caused disagreement of specialists. First of all, because the snake fragment and the presence of certain cults of Pallottino seemed unconvincing to others .43 The desire of most researchers to link cult initiations with the decorative program of the sanctuary seemed quite natural. This was especially true for the acroteria itself

42 Pallottino М. II grande acroterio femminile di Veio // Saggi di antichita. V. 3. Roma, 1979. P. 1037-1091. Fig. 47. Tav. XLIII-XLIV.

43 Bloch R. Etruscan Art. N.Y? 1965. P. 62; Brendel. Op. cit. P. 240; Bianchi-Bandinelli R. L'arte etrusca. Roma, 1982. P. 29.

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a sculptural composition whose reconstruction would require all the listed data.

Colonna, who first published almost all the dedicatory inscriptions and analyzed most of the votive gifts , suggests the concept of such a program44. A small acroterium with Bellerophon, a group of two statues of Hercules and Menerva, antefixes with a Gorgon mask-once again confirm the importance of the cult of Menerva. In the first case, the goddess protects the hero, in the second, she is represented as the spouse of god and the patroness of royal power, which is represented by Hercules. In this connection, it is appropriate to recall the similar role of Athena and Hercules in the decorative programs of Athens of the Peisistratid period, Sicilian cities, or royal Rome, where the Temple of Fortuna in the Bull Forum was decorated with a terracotta sculptural acroterium (1.40 m high) consisting of statues of Hercules and Minerva (c. 530 BC). In the interpretation of E. Winter, such an acroterium on the temple of Fortune, he expressed a certain program. In the second half of the sixth century BC, the cult of the Phoenician Melkart, the city god of Tyre, the patron saint of commerce, spread throughout the Mediterranean and left a certain imprint on the image of the Greek Hercules (also of ancient Near Eastern origin). Phoenician features in the iconography of Hercules (lion skin, worn as a "tailcoat"), reflected in its functions, allow Zymon to see in the statue of god not only the patron saint of royal power, but also the guardian of roads and merchants, like Fortune. Minerva, who guides Hercules to Olympus, appears as the goddess of movement .45 Tradition attributed the creation of the temples of Fortuna and Mother Matuta in the Bull Forum to the Roman king Servius Tullius (Mastarna), who, as the son of a slave girl, enjoyed the special patronage of Fortune, which allowed him to become king (Ovid. Fast. VI. 481; 566). This example once again illustrates the picture of the most complex interaction of different cultures on the territory of Southern Etruria and Rome.

No less interesting is the analysis of the program of acroterial sculptural composition of the sanctuary of Portonaccio, which, in our opinion, should also have a historical aspect. This work dates back to 510-500 BC, i.e. the first years of the early Republican era, when Rome's relations with the Etruscans were strained due to the expulsion of the last Roman king Tarquinius the Proud. At this time, major military conflicts are brewing between Veii and Rome for the possession of the salt fields and Fidenae.

Colonna sees the clash between Heracles and Apollo over the golden-horned fallow deer of Artemis as an expression of well-known political events that took place at this time (510-500 BC). The victory of Heracles trampling the fallow deer underfoot hints at the predominance of the Vei over the Faliscan country, where the large sanctuary of Apollo on Mount Soractus was located. On the other hand, the image of Artemis-Diana personifies the most important opponent of Vei - Rome and the Latin Union headed by it, the patroness of which was considered this goddess 46 .

We dare to offer our own version of this controversial acroterial composition. The six figures most likely represented, as it seems to us, not two, but one group with a symmetrical arrangement of heroes. The core was indeed the opposing Apollo and Hercules. However, the motif of the procession, in our opinion, could have two directions: from left to right (for Hercules, the goddess kurotrofos and Hermes) and towards this group, from right to left (for Apollo, Artemis and an unknown mythological hero). Thus, the stylistic features of each figure allow you to create a whole that is close to the pediment composition, clearly delineated into two halves. Like many Greek pediments, there are two opposing gables.

44 Colonna. Culti...

45 E. Zimon Three archaic types of Hercules/Herkleh / / Etruscans and the Mediterranean, Moscow, 1994, pp. 145-154.

46 Colonna. Culti... P. 442.

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9. Acroterial composition of the sanctuary of Portonaccio in Veii. Reconstruction of the author. From left to right: Hermes, Menerva Kurotrofos, Hercules and the fallow deer, Apollo, Artemis, the young man (Hippolytus-Virbius?)

standing groups (fig. 9). They are rated as warring parties. It is this compositional solution in relief that is most clearly represented on the marble bases of statues from the Dipilon Necropolis in Athens, which depict scenes in the Palaestra, 510-500 BC (Athens, National Museum). On the other hand, numerous examples are provided by the Attic vase painting of the turn of the VI and V centuries BC - the image of the collision of Apollo and Hercules over the Delphic tripod or the Cyrenean fallow deer. For example, the image of the struggle for the Delphic tripod on the amphora "masters of Priam" 500-480 BC (Hermitage), where Apollo is accompanied by Artemis, and Hercules-Athena (the most common combination). However, the Etruscans interpreted this story differently.

The peculiar, original world of Etruscan mythology, which probably included the oldest Balkan and Aegean-Anatolian strata, usually suggests variants of the myth that do not find direct analogies in later Greek mythography and among Greek pictorial sources .47 So, for example, nowhere, except in Etruria, is there a variant of the plot with a bound deer, represented only in Vulcian bronzes and in the terracotta of the "masters of Apollo" 48 . In the collision of Apollo and Hercules from the sculptural composition in Portonaccio, we see not a dispute between the hero and god, but a battle of the gods. For Apollo and Hercules are equal gods in Etruria, as well as in Cyprus. This is another example of the peculiarity of Etruscan myth-making.

The goddess kurotrofos, interpreted by Pallottino as Summer, is considered by other experts to be more of a local mother deity .49 We think this is convincing. The cult of this deity is confirmed by numerous votive texts.

47 Nemirovsky. Etruscans... p. 168.

48 The motif of the bound sacrificial animal is represented, however, in the art of Aegeida, Crete, and Ionia. As an example, a bronze plaque depicting two "hunters" with a bound antelope (third quarter of the 7th century BC, Crete) from the Louvre collection (MNC 689). See also Boardman J. Greek Art. L., 1996. P. 67. III. 53.

49 Brendel. Op. cit. P. 240.

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10. Etruscan mirror with the image of Menerva Kurotrofos and Herkleh (Hercules). Bronze, engraving. III century BC

offerings: clay figurines of a goddess with a baby. The location of these votives is related to the oikos and botros near the altar, which Colonna showed were dedicated to Menerva. Menerva among the Etruscans, as well as a similar deity among representatives of the oldest cultures of the Balkans, the Aegean-Anatolian region, is also known as the mother. This goddess was not only the consort of Herkle (Hercules), but also the mother of Maris (Mars), as evidenced by numerous Etruscan images and accompanying inscriptions (Figure 10) .50

And in Greece itself, there was also a mythological tradition, according to which Athena was not only a virgin goddess, but also a divine spouse, mother, wet nurse and educator of young heroes. Pausanias (III. 3), for example, describes the oldest sanctuary of Athena the Mother in Elis, Homer (II. In 547) mentions the goddess as the wet nurse of Erechtheus. Even in the Roman theogony, Athena-Minerva appears as the mother of Apollo's Hersos (Cic. De nat. deor. III. 22). Extensive visual material dedicated to Athena (Minerva, Menerva) Kurotrofos is analyzed in their works by R. Enking and T. Price. Data from their research shows some iconographic features of the image of Athena Kurotrofos, which, as a rule, no longer carries military attributes. 51 The sanctuary of Athena in Rhodes (VI-IV centuries BC) provides us with numerous votive images.

50 Shengelia. Uk. op.

51 Enking R. Minerva Mater // Jahrbuch des Deutschen Archaologischen Instituts. 1944/1945. 59/60. S. 111-126; Price T. Kourotrophos. Cult and Representations of the Greek Nurcing Deities. Leiden, 1978.

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clay figurines of a female deity (Athena) like those found in Portonaccio 52 .

Thus, there is every reason, as it seems to us, to interpret the statue of the goddess kurotrofos from Portonaccio as Menerva with the infant Maris. It is quite clear that due to compositional features, this statue occupies a location only behind Hercules. Like Hercules, kurotrofos is depicted in a procession from left to right, and her torso is turned in the direction of the sacred road and pool, and the divine baby is supposedly shown to the viewer, facing him. The goddess most likely accompanies Hercules in a clash with Apollo (like Athena in Greek iconography).

Numerous works of Greek vase painting show that in the deeds and exploits of Hercules, he is always followed by Hermes and Athena, who patronized him. Etruscan iconography also presents the goddess Menerva as Herkle's constant companion, and very often with the infant Maris in her arms. This once again confirms our interpretation of the kurotrofos statue only as Menerva. As a result, we are presented with a widespread version of theogamy among the Etruscans. The cult of Menerva, the parent and nurturer of Maris, a deity revered in Veii (Serv. Aen. VIII. 285), dominates Portonaccio and is confirmed not only in inscriptions and ex votos, but also in the sculptures of the acroterial composition of this temple. The presence of the image of the main goddess of this sanctuary in the akroteria program seems absolutely necessary. Moreover, the features of the mother cult in Portonaccio once again emphasize the exceptional importance of the statue of Menerva Kourotrofos. Currently, the only problem is the identification of the statue of an unknown mythological hero located in the Apollo group behind Artemis, due to the poor preservation of this sculpture and the lack of any attributes or iconographic parallels. It can be assumed that this young man is Hippolytus-Virbius, who together with Artemis represents another version of the Italian theogamy. It also personifies the Latin Union.

The style of the works of "master Apollo" is characterized by greater complexity than the style of Vulka. On the one hand, it is certainly inspired by the art of the Attic-Ionian circle (the simultaneous Koras and Kouros from Athens serve as the most striking analogies for it), on the other hand, the distinctive features of bronze sculpture make you think of Vulci and Corinth. The structure of the draperies, executed on dried clay with a grooved tool, reveals a completely different source - traditional Falis pottery, where vases were often decorated in this way.

If the iconographic prototype of the clash of Apollo and Heracles over the fallow deer is found in both Greek and Vulcian art (Figure 11), 53 then the iconography of each individual character is quite unique.

Heracles, described in a Cypro-Phoenician iconography similar to that of Melkart, steps with his foot on a bound doe. Such a motif has never been recorded in Greek art. In our opinion, in Etruscan art, it also has Phoenician roots and goes back to the iconography of the victorious king or god-winner, trampling the fallen victim with his foot. This type was familiar to Italians as early as the eighth century BC, thanks to Phoenician imports. Examples include a silver Phoenician dish from the tomb of Bernardini in Palestrina (Rome, Villa Giulia Museum, Fig. 12) or the image of Hercules-Melkart on the shield of a gold ring from Carthage (Tunis, Bardo Museum. 13) 54 .

The acroterialcomposition currently consists of six figures (they are listed above). All have formal features of high relief. Thus,

52 Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (LIMC). V. 2. Zurich - Miinchen, 1985. P. 705. N 21, 25.

53 Relief images of the collision of Apollo and Hercules due to a fallow deer on a Vulcan helmet (Paris, Cabinet of Medals).

54 Gavrilin K. N. On the question of Etruscan-Phoenician interrelations in archaic time. // In memory of Yuri Viktorovich Andreev. Sb. st. SPb., 2000.

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11. Hercules and Apollo arguing over a fallow deer. Relief image on the helmet from Vulcha. Bronze. Ca. 500 BC Paris, Cabinet of Medals

we are faced with the problem of the gable group, the spatial solution of which is determined by its location on the ridge of the roof, along the main floor beam (columen). The dynamics of the entire composition are balanced by a symmetrical arrangement of figures, as in the solution of a similar plot among works of Attic art, especially vase painting.

A similar compositional solution, combining two opposing groups, can be traced in Greek art itself (the pediment of the treasury of the Siphnians, the base of the statue of Kouros from Athens-N 3476), and in Etruscan painting (the tombs of Bulls and Augurs in Tarquinia) at the end of the VI century BC.

The acroterialic composition of the church in Portonaccio is extremely dynamic. Here, indeed, a freer, more developed movement is transmitted, which is still enclosed in the archaic scheme, but no longer obeys it. The scheme of the so-called kneeling run, still noted in the famous akroteria with Eos and Mullet (c. 530 BC) from Zere (Berlin, State Museums), is not used here. In this sense, the statues of the "master Apollo" are rather close to the Greek compositional criteria, known from the Greek pediments and friezes of the last third of the VI century BC, where the figures are always depicted in motion.

The most striking correspondences can be found in the example of the eastern pediment of the Peisistratid Hecatompedon on the Acropolis of Athens: Athena strikes the falling giant Enceladus (c. 520 BC; Athens, Acropolis Museum). The same is true in the figures of the gigantomachy scene on the pediment of the temple of Apollo of the Alcmaonids at Delphi (Delphi, Museum). This row continues a fragment of a marble relief frieze

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12. The winning king. Image on a Phoenician dish from Praeneste. Silver, gilding. VII century BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

13. Bark Head N 616. Marble. End of VI century BC Athens, Acropolis Museum

Hecatompedon with the image of a young man jumping on a chariot; statue of Nika Callimachus, with her wide step and "flying" draperies (Athens, Acropolis Museum), as well as images in the frieze of the treasury of the Siphnians in Delphi (Delphi, Museum).

A similar concept of movement is also represented by simultaneous sculptural monuments of Magna Graecia, for example, metopes with "dancers" of the Gerayon Foce del Sele (Paestum, Museum). An expressive interpretation of the wide-spread movement will also be characteristic of a number of Etruscan works of this time, including Tarquinian relief bone plates from the Louvre and a stone relief tombstone depicting multi-figure scenes from the National Museum in Palermo.

The faces of the statues of the "master of Apollo" show an obvious connection with the Greek works of the late Archaic period, in particular, with the Attic-Ionian crusts of the turn of the VI and V centuries BC. In this connection, it is enough to compare the head of Hermes from Vei and the head of Cora N 616 (Athens, Acropolis Museum, Fig. 14). The flexible and dense bodies of the characters are dissected by the tense play of draperies, which are crushed by the pointed corners of an almost "metallic", linear pattern. The desire to develop the surface resembles the ionisms of Attic monuments.

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14. Melkart / Hercules-the winner. Image on the shield of a ring from Carthage. Gold, carving. End of VI century BC Tunis, Bardo Museum

The acroteria of the temple of Portonaccio are remarkable from the point of view of their effective application as statues that must be perceived from a great distance. They are distinguished by the maximum expressiveness of the silhouette and concentration in the layout of each group. Narrative is less typical for statuesque images , but it is more typical for painting and relief. However, the need for this is already emerging in sculptural monuments. Acroterial figures have both decorative and narrative functions. The statues of the "master Apollo" were originally conceived as a single whole. They are revealed in a simple field of action, obeying an invisible plane, which coordinates individual figures with the principle of relief: the depicted figures are visible as if from the side and simultaneously turned towards the viewer, spread out along a non-existent wall of a non-existent pediment recess. This composition assumes only one point of view, only one facade. Despite the well-thought-out and widely developed spatial movement of her figures, one can hardly agree with M. Santangelo, who saw in this case the "adaptation" of round statues to the architecture of the city . The coordination of sculpture and architectural volumes in this case is evident, although in a peculiar, purely Etruscan version. It is quite comparable to the gables from Greece itself, which are close in time.

It is important to note another fundamental feature of the Etruscan acroterialcomposition - that it is of the pediment type. But unlike the Greek pediment "box", which assumed a certain spatial niche that allows you to operate with plans, place the composition not only along the plane, but also in depth, the Etruscan acroterium is extremely constrained by its location on the columen (ridge of the roof). For this reason, the combination of two figures can only have an axial, centric character (for example, Hercules, located directly above the figure of the defeated fallow deer). Hence the symmetry, flatness and ornamental rhythm of the entire composition, emphasized by the bright four-color painting of figures (red, white, brown, black). An expressive silhouette solution designed for a natural, heavenly background. On the other hand, like the Greek pediment, this acroterium assumes only one point of view - in this case, from the side of the sacred road and the pool. All the figures seem to be unfolded along the plane and face in the direction of these objects and the viewer approaching the sanctuary.

A similar solution on a reduced scale can be found in the terracotta architectural sarcophagus of the middle of the VI century BC from Procoio di Ceri (Rome,

55 Santangelo. Op. cit. P. 172. N 51.

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15. Architectural sarcophagus from Procoyo di Ceri. Terracotta. Ser. VI century BC Rome, Villa Giulia Museum

Villa Giulia Museum), where lions sitting on the crest of the lid form two opposing symmetrical groups facing the main "facade", with a relief image of panthers (Fig.

All of the above once again confirms the decorative function of the statues of the "master of Apollo", which are consistent not so much with the norms of round sculpture, but with the principles of relief and pictorial representation. It has already been noted above that they were originally conceived as a single decorative and semantic whole.

Obviously, the creators of acroteria, faced with this rather specific purpose of sculptures, practiced the same method of bringing round sculpture and relief together as the masters of bronze sculpture from Vulcha, who made something similar on a reduced scale (tripod decoration, small plastic, relief overlays) 56 . Stylistic features of Portonaccio terracotas and traces of the Weian bronze foundry suggest the presence of permanent and strong links between Wei, Cere and Vulci, which were recognized centers of artistic bronze.

The interest in storytelling itself is characteristic of the bronze tripods from Vulci, with their rich relief decoration, consisting entirely of mythological scenes. The double volutes with palmettes, which the authors of Portonaccio's terracotta paintings used to mark the pillars at the feet of the statues, bear a direct resemblance to similar motifs that fill the curves of the arches - supports at the tripods. Relief narratives also unfolded on them. Moreover, the history of the Cyrenean fallow deer, which is quite rare in ancient art, was known in Etruria and was often reproduced by Vulci's workshops. These data indicate the relationship of such centers as Veii and Vulci. The challenges facing the artists actualized the contacts between the Portonaccio workshop and the Vulcian bronzers. It is difficult to say whether it was the migration of masters from Vulcha or just the influence of imported items, but it is obvious that these connections existed.

Perhaps the concept of sculpture itself, with its active peripheral vision, also came from Vulci.

56 Boriskovskaya S. P. Bronzy iz Vulchi v sobranii Ermitazh [Bronze from Vulchi in the Hermitage collection]. Khudozhestvennye izdelya antichnykh masterov, L., 1982, pp. 70-83.

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movement, clearly defined details and subtle rhythmic lines of clothing folds. Hence the specific "Graecism", perhaps pointing to Vulci's long-standing ties to Corinth. The paradox of Portonaccio's sculptures is that the Greek ingredient becomes a fundamental feature of their style and content. Although the statues appear to be typically Etruscan works, they are Greek in spirit and artistic principles.

The stylistic unity of the works of the "master Apollo" and the Vulcian workshops is complemented, among other things, by a circle of so-called Central Etruscan bronzes, among which are preserved a small figure of "togatus" (London, British Museum), so reminiscent of Apollo from Vey, and a female figure from Falteron (London, British Museum), close to the statue of kurotrofos. The profile of the head of the Veian Apollo, its proportions and painting find parallels in the paintings of the tomb of Lionesses and Augurs from Tarquinia. The latter, which is not without interest, show an affinity for the simultaneous style of painting from Phrygia and Lycia.

Broad-shouldered and dense male figures from Veii have analogies not only among the Etruscan bronzes , but also among the Sicilian and Attic marble couros of 500-490 BC57, as mentioned above. G. Kashnitz-Weinberg wittily remarked that the thin "sharp-edged" folds of the clothes of acroteric statues and the muscles of their legs, modeled with a grooved tool, resemble the techniques of ancient coroplasts. These techniques go back to the Faliscan tradition, and were used by Weian ceramists as early as the 7th century BC, creating a kind of" fluted " surface of impasto and Bucchero vases .

The closest stylistic analogies to Portonaccio's antefixes are found not only in the nearby sanctuary of Campetti, but also in simultaneous material (c.500 BC) from Satrica and Capua. One of the Capuan antefixes with a Maenad mask that resembles the face of Hermes of Wei and is close to the style of the "master of Apollo" is kept in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (N II 1a 553) 59.

The art of the largest Etruscan centers, such as Veii, Tarquinia and Vulci, the cities of Central Etruria, Satrica and Capua, shows us a clear stylistic unity, which was established around 500 BC. The unitary concept of style in this case is formed due to the interaction of many traditions, including Italian, Phoenician, Anatolian, Ionian, Corinthian and Attic features. Thanks to their synthesis, the phenomenon of the "master of Apollo" also took place. It is possible to state with confidence the fact that in this monument the plot unity harmonically correlates with the plastic unity. The mythological event is presented here more as a well-thought-out stage action-a performance, not a story. This is a spectacular mise en scene. The main characters took their positions. The dialog is assumed first, then its resolution. Verbal exposition precedes action, which was also the rule in the nascent Greek tragedy. Portonaccio's characters seem to express this very spirit. The movement is interpreted as an appeal and, of course, as preparation for the main action. It is no accident that Apollo is depicted in a rapid procession:

Quickly from Olympus peaks rushed, bursting with anger,

The bow was slung over his shoulders, and the quiver was covered from everywhere;

The winged arrows thumped loudly behind their shoulders.

In the procession of the wrathful god: he walked through the night like this.

(Homer. Ill. I. 44-47; translated by N. I. Gnedich).

The statue of Apollo from Wei is clearly consistent with this vivid poetic image. The vertical structure of the sedentary archaic kuros is destroyed here by the very setting of the statuesque body, the weight of which is transferred to the right leg, and

57 Ross Holloway R. The Archaeology of Ancient Sicily. L. - N.Y., 1991. P. 98. Fig. 120.

58 Kaschitz-Wemherg. Op. cit.

59 Loseva N. M., Sidorova N. A. Iskusstvo Etruria i drevnoi Italii [The Art of Etruria and Ancient Italy]. Moscow, 1988, p. 77. Fig. 51.

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the hull is pushed forward. The appearance of asymmetry, contrapost-chiasm and general movement of the figure leads to overcoming the hieraticity of archaic kuros. The chiastic composition of this statue requires an additional support, which is decorated with double volutes and palmettes. The pattern of these elements is associated not only with Vulcian prototypes, but also with similar acroteria of funerary steles from Samos and Attica.

Apollo with its bold setting, like the Greek monuments of the late VI - early V century BC, opens the early classical tradition. This image finds direct analogies in the vase drawings of Attic masters, which allow us to restore the lost fragments of this sculpture, for example, her hands. The movement of the Apollo shoulder girdle indicates a certain position of the hands. One of them was probably pointing at Hercules, while the other was clutching a bow and arrow. The closest iconographic analogies to the Weian statue can be found in the drawings of Attic red-figure vases of the late VI-early V century BC. For example, in the image of Apollo on the amphora of Andocides from Berlin, where the deity is represented in a duel with Hercules over the Delphic tripod. An even closer iconography is found on the amphora of "Master Cleophrad" from New York. Here Apollo, looking in the direction of Hercules, turns to him his right arm, slightly bent at the elbow, and in the left, lowered down, clutches a bow. Linear rhythms in the interpretation of the folds of clothing and long curls also bring this image closer to Apollo from Portonaccio (Fig.

The short robes on Apollo and the goddess with the infant reveal an obvious provincialism. Just like the Ionian and Attic cors, the clothes here seem to be soaked. It tightly fits the figure, as if exposing it, but it is interpreted in a completely different way. The folds of clothing in Weian statues are modeled with greater rigidity, as in bronze sculpture, following one another in parallel lines. The abstract regularity of such details helps us trace the main stages of creating such a terracotta statue. Obviously, the figures were first fashioned, they were given the desired shape, made up separately manufactured parts (for example, hands). Then the details were drawn on the formed surface using a cutter. After the first drying, the semi-wet surface was treated with a grooved tool, which was used to represent the folds of clothing or the musculature of the legs. A bright, sparsely colored painting with colored angobes of the already baked product completed the process of creating the statue. As in contemporary Etruscan painting, the nude parts of the male figures are painted red - brown, while the female ones are painted white. The clothes are painted in brown and white, while the hair, eyes, and eyebrows are marked in black.

The complex composition with the statue of Hercules combines two figures and decorative elements-palmettes and volutes. In both the Apollo and Hercules images, a powerful expression of a particular type is established and prevails - as a result, the body appears full of strength and flexibility. It also reveals new structural principles that are characteristic of simultaneous Greek sculpture: boldness and sobriety of construction, the scheme of movement caught in the moment of stopping and transformed in dynamic balance. Thanks to this, we have an obvious unity of the artistic organism of this image, far from the somewhat ponderous counterpart from the pediment of the treasury of the Sifnians. Most likely, Apollo and Hercules from Vei resemble the figures on the Attic vases of the great masters of the turn of the VI and V centuries BC, as well as the famous Aegina pediment sculptures. However, it is unlikely that we will find a direct analogy to the Weian statue: its iconography is unique. Here, Hercules, looking towards the enemy, tramples on a bound doe with his right foot. The movement of the shoulder girdle clearly shows that his right hand was raised high, gripping a club, and in the left, perhaps, was a bow.

60 Ancient art of the Greek Aegean Islands. Exhibition catalog, Moscow, 1981. Tables 81-82.

61 Beazley J. D. Der Kleophrades Maler. V., 1933. PI. 27.

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16. Apollo chasing Hercules, who stole the Delphic tripod. Painting of the amphora "masters of Cleofrad". Attica, 490-480 BC New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

17. Battle of Hercules with Geryon. Painting of Cilius Euphronius. Attica, ca. 510 BC Munich, Museum of Ancient Applied Arts

Confirmation of this iconography can be found first of all among the images of Euphronius (Figure 17), for example, on the red-figure amphora found in Vulci (Paris, Louvre), where, as in Veii, Hercules is depicted in a "Cypriot" dress (lion skin, worn as a tailcoat). On the other hand, relief images on Etruscan bronzes can help us, for example, from San Mariano, where the left leg of Hercules is also raised and bent at the knee, and the body leans forward, towards the enemy (Perugia, Archaeological Museum). A similar example was already given by Giglioli, who drew attention to the images on the Etruscan-Corinthian helmet from Vulci 62 .

Much more static is the composition of the statue of the goddess kurotrofos with its straight body, wide step and frozen gesture of hands supporting the baby. It seems that the iconography of this figure was influenced by more archaic images of the mother deity. Limited by its high-relief function, kurotrofos is designed so that all the most important signs of bodily expression fall into one focus. The goddess is depicted in a procession from left to right, facing the pool and the sacred road.

Thus, six acroteria statues form a single composition, the program of which, perhaps, reflects not only the political features of relations.

62 Giglioli. Op. cit.

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It also confirms the existence of cults of a certain circle of deities in the city. In our proposed reconstruction, these deities are distributed in a strictly symmetrical pattern of two opposing groups: Hercules accompanied by Menerva and Hermes-Apollo leading the procession of Artemis and an unknown young man (Hippolytus-Virbius?). Not only the formal, compositional features of the statues allowed us to draw this conclusion, but also a careful consideration of the Etruscan and Greek iconographic and mythological material, as well as the specifics of local cults.

The Sanctuary of Portonaccio is one of the most striking art monuments of ancient Italy. It synthetically combines all types of Etruscan art. The architectural proportions of this building fully agree with the descriptions of Vitruvius. The sculptural decoration of the entablature (antepagment) belongs to an outstanding master, and, finally, the almost unexplored paintings of pronaos are characterized by a spectacular style similar to the famous Attic vase painters of the turn of the VI and V centuries BC. 63 A careful analysis of the monuments of this complex allows us to conclude that the stylistic unity of the art of the largest Etruscan and Latin centers, which they create numerous masterpieces in both bronze and terracotta.

The works of the "master of Apollo" are one of the highest achievements of this "international" style, which spread in Veii, Tarquinia, Vulci, Cera, Satrica, Rome, Capua and other cities of the Greek world. This style was formed and spread in the Mediterranean at the end of the VI century BC due to Ionian emigration. It is represented by many "national" schools, its geography is extensive. Celebrated in various parts of the ancient world-from Athens and Olbia to Cyprus and Naucratis, from Cyrene to Rome, Vulcha and Massalia-this Ionian-Attic style is probably the first to claim the role of an international artistic language that unites many peoples.

The Wei School of Art left a significant mark on the culture of ancient Rome not only through its direct involvement in the decoration of the Eternal City, but also through its mediation between the artistic culture of other Etruscan centers and the culture of the Punic world and Greece.

The "Master of Apollo", who confirmed the ancient fame of the Veian school of coroplasty, had a significant influence on the work of his followers, who created other remarkable creations in the fifth century BC. A certain continuity can be found in the interpretation of the terracotta head of a warrior in a Chalcedonian helmet (c. 470 BC) and the "head of Malavolt" (end of the fifth century BC). century BC) 64 . The Weian School of Coroplasty seems to have always been distinguished by the vivid personality of its artists, the first of whom were the legendary Vulca and his talented nameless follower, called the "master of Apollo".

THE ARCHITECTURAL AND PLASTIC COMPLEX OF THE TEMPLE IN VEII (The Problem of Reconstruction of Acroterial Group)

K.N. Gavrilin

Analysing vast iconographical material of Italian, Greek and Punic origin, the author proposes his own variant of reconstructing the acroterial sculpture group of Portonaccio temple in Veii (510-500 ВС). The statue of kourotrophos goddess is interpreted as Menerva with infant Maris. Being the consort of Etruscan Heracles, she is placed behind him: such location of the statue is supported by the peculiarities of its form. She is shown walking from left to right following Heracles. The statue of the latter displays

63 Santunari d'Etruria. A cura di G. Colonna. Milano, 1985. P. 104, 106.

64 Both works are kept in the Roman Museum of Villa Giulia.

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dependence upon Punic iconographical sources, namely, upon the image of Heracles/Melqart the Victor. Remarkably, at the same time the cult of Hercules Victor is developing in Rome.

The cult of Menerva is dominant in Portonaccio. This, as the author maintains, is reflected not only in inscriptions and in ex votos, but also in the acroterial sculpetures. The presence of the principal sanctuary goddess in the acroterium programme seems to be necessary. The peculiarities of maternal cult in Portonaccio emphasize the importance of Menerva Kourotrophos statue.

The unidentified statue of a youth (head and fragments of legs are extant) should be placed behind Artemis. It is highly probable that the hero is Hippolytus-Virbius, representing (together with the goddess) one more variant of Italic theogamy.

Arguing with G. Giglioli and Е. Stefani, who set forward the idea of four-figures acroterium (without the kourotrophos and the youth), and with М. Pallotino, who split the acroterium composition in two separate groups, the author reconstructs six-figures symmetric composition consisting of two groups of deities opposed to each other: Heracles accompanied by Menerva Kourotrophos and Hermes are opposed to Apollo and Artemis accompanied by the youth (Hippolytus-Virbius ?).

Inspite of specifically Etrurian acroterial position and iconographic characteristics, the composition displays definite Greek stylistic influence.

The programme, it may be supposed, reflects the historical events of the period (510-500 ВС), as G. Colonna indicated. At this time relations between the Etruscans and Rome became strained. The Heracles group may be seen as personifying Veii lead by the victorious king, treading upon the deer of Artemis and Apollo. The group with Apollo, Artemis and Hippolytus-Virbius symbolizes Rome and the Latin Alliance. The groups present variants of Italic theogamy unparalleled in Greek culture.

The article stresses the role of Veii in the development of early Roman art and in the spread of an international art style, Attic and Ionian in its origin.

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