Research Items

Abstract

THE DOUBLE AXE IN ETRURIA.—In Man for November, Mr. J. A. Spranger has noted eximp1es of the ooeurrence of the double axe in Etruria in vase paintings merrary, urn reliefs, on bronze mirrors, as votive erings, on coins, in tombs, and on a grave stole with the view of their throwing light upon the Ægean or Asiatic origin of the Etrucans. It has, however, to be borne in mind that the occurrence of the cult does not necessarily mean that they brought it with them ab initio; it may have been introduced later in the course of their wide conimercial relations. The evidence is by no means extensive, and, further, any conclusion must be tentative and liable to be upset by further discoveries. It would appear that the double axe was known from early Etruscan times, as is shown by the unique grave stele in the Florence Museum,—the oldest inscribed Etruscan monument known, and the only one bearing an unmistakable double axe, Further, the later Etruscans were aware of its value as a symbol of Dionysus, and a weapon connected with sacrificial rites, It is, however, at Vetulonia that the best evidence is found of its symbolic value, where it occurs as an emblem of power with the iron fasces in “the Tomb of the Lictor.” Yet nowhere does it occur as a cult in the Cretan sense. It is rather evidence of ‘Mycenaan’ culture affecting the ancestors of the Etruscans.