Introduction to Ramayana in Archaic Greek and Etruscan Art, Part I

Description (Introduction, Part I):

 

South Asian Legend of Rama in Greek and Etruscan artworks during the early Classical period (6th century BCE). Two relics are highlighted as proof of knowledge of the ancient Indian epic Ramayana among Ionian Greeks and Etruscans in Caere  - Campana plaques in the Louvre Museum, Paris and the Caeretan hydria in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. A brief overview of the Mediterranean world, including important facts and maps for visualization, is also presented to help understand the context in which Indian myth traveled to East Greece and Italy.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlzjihOHcmA&t=71s

Transcript (Introduction, Part I):

The title of this presentation is simply, the South Asian Indian legend of Rama in archaic Greek and Etruscan art. The Campana plaques, one of which you can see on the left, from ancient Italy, and one of the Caeretan hydriae, which were painted water jars, are two examples that prove certain Ionian artists in the ancient Mediterranean had knowledge of this particular Indian epic. The South Asian Indian legend of Rama is officially called the Valmiki Ramayana, or just simply the Ramayana. And it is one of the two national epics of India, and definitely one of the great stories of the ancient world.  

The name of the legendary poet who composed the Ramayana is Valmiki, spelled V A L M I K I, and this is why it is called the Valmiki Ramayana. It is a poem that is much longer than the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey combined, as it contains a wealth of stories that have fascinated Indian and Southeast Asian cultures for centuries. And although the epic poem of the Ramayana is probably more than 2,500 years old, the earlist known depictions of it from Asia date only to the 2nd century BCE.

In this presentation, I am making the bold claim that the Campana plaques and the Caeretan hydria that were painted in the Mediterranean world should constitute the oldest collection of imagery portraying the main characters of the Ramayana, including the hero Rama and heroine Sita, who you can see above from right to left. This familiarity with the story of the Ramayana in the ancient Mediterranean world began around the mid to late 6th century BC and probably ended abruptly around the beginning of the fifth century BC. And that is why it has been forgotten to some extent. 

Both the Caeretan hydria that you see on the bottom right and the Campana plaque that you see on the left, they are both artworks that date to the 6th century BC. And to be more specific, probably the third quarter of the 6th century BC, 550 to 525 BC. And this is far earlier than any Indian artwork that depicts the Ramayana by several centuries. And so given that this work of art dates to much earlier, the 6th century BC, it is an astonishing gap and if it was accepted as a depiction of the Ramayana, it would immediately become the oldest known depiction of it. And the importance of this and the magnitude of this is very, very great, meaning that the ramifications for our understanding of world history are enormous.

To gradually and gently introduce this subject matter which is very complex, I am giving  you a preview here of Greek and Etruscan art from a Caeretan workshop in the 6th century BCE. My purpose here is to give a quick overview of terms and important facts from ancient Italy and Greece in the late 6th century BC. And then after that I will give a preview of my own case study of Caeretan artworks. My case study will focus on Greek and Etruscan knowledge of South Asian Indian mythology, particularly the legend of Rama, the great hero of the Valmiki Ramayana, which is very famous even today all over South Asia and even Southeast Asia, in countries such as Cambodia and Thailand and many other Southeast Asian countries. So it’s a very popular epic in the Asian world, and what I am trying to prove is that it also was known in the 6th century BC to the Greeks and Etruscans for a short period of time.

Before getting into terminology, I just want to draw your attention to the pictures on this slide. They are from the Caeretan artworks called the Campana plaques, which are five in number. And this is a sample of faces from three of those slabs. And the Caeretan artworks were produced in the southern Tuscan city of Caere. Tuscany is the modern name for ancient Etruria. So Caere was located in southern Etruria near Rome. And what I was trying to just do briefly here is give you a little bit of a preview based on the facial recognition of these characters. And if you look at these characters from left to right, you can see the similarity in their hand gestures and their facial appearance. Their beard is shaped in a very similar way and the hair is also very similar. And I am going to argue in the presentation that each one of these characters is a depiction of the Indian hero Rama. You can see also if you look at more closely, the right hand side here is a zoomed-in photo of the picture of the man who’s holding bow and arrows and has his right hand raised. So you see that on the right side here, and then on the left side you see two pictures of a man with a beard and also making a hand gesture. But also if you look at it you’ll see that this second picture on the left has another man with a bow and arrows. So Rama is typically depicted with bow and arrows in Indian religion and in the Indian art. And so really the Etruscan artists or the Greek artists in Etruria were doing the same thing here. They were depicting him with bow and arrows. And you see that in the second and third pictures here.

So now I’ll get into more of the terminology from ancient Italy and Greece as well as, you know, getting more in depth about these Campana plaques and the Caeretan hydria. The story of Rama, the great hero of ancient India, was later subsumed into the foundation myth of Rome and into the mythology of the founding king Romulus. And this is a subject that I am not going to go into detail in this presentation, but that’s what this presentation is laying a foundation for. So even though I will not be going into a length discussion about the foundation myth of Rome, I just want the audience to keep in mind that this presentation is meant to act as a bridge towards that even broader subject. I want to establish some important details about the classical world or ancient Mediterranean in the 6th century BC before going into greater detail in this presentation. 

The first important fact is that the Ionians or the Greeks were scattered across the Mediterranean world. And they had colonies in Asia Minor on the western coastline. And many of these Ionian artists from Asia Minor also traveled to Etruria and settled there during the second half of the 6th century BC or 550 to 500 BC. So they were well-traveled. They actually traveled to many different places in the Near East and in the Mediterranean world. But one of the most important places where they settled down was the ancient city of Caere in southern Etruria. The next point I want to make is that, and it’s a very important fact, is that the Persians or ancient Iranians had already conquered the Ionians in Asia Minor, as well as most of West Asia by 525 BC. And their empire actually stretched far enough to include parts of modern-day northwest India or what you would call Pakistan, or Afghanistan. 

And the next point I want to make is that Caere was a city situated in southern Etruria, very close to the boundary between Roman and Etruscan tribes of Latium and Etruria. So the Latin tribes of Rome and the Etruscan tribes were on the border around this area of Caere and Rome. And Rome was a city in Latium, of course, that was situated very close to the Etruscan cities of Caere and Veii in southern Etruria. So, Caere and Rome were in close proximity and that’s what is very important for our analysis and the Persians had an empire that stretched all the way from Ionia and Asia Minor to really, the northwest boundaries of India. So these Ionian artists were able to communicate with ancient Indians and Persians.

Now the next few points are that Rome was ruled by generations of Etruscan kings. And this again ties into the fact that the there was a close relationship between Etruria and Rome in the 6th century BC, especially between Rome and Caere, as well as a few other Etruscan cities like Tarquinia. So Rome was ruled by generations of Etruscan kings whose origins have often been traced to Tarquinia, another coastal city in southern Etruria that was close to Caere and Rome. The next point I want to make that’s very important is that the Etruscans themselves were very fascinated, unusually fascinated, with oriental cultures, especially in the Near East during the Orientalizing and Archaic periods, which primarily span the seventh and sixth centuries BC, which would be approximately 700 to 500 BC. 

Now the Caeretan hydriae are specific works of art in a workshop in Caere that existed about or between 530 to 510 BC. And these Caeretan hydriae were painted water vessels and along with them there was also an established art of terracotta wall painting, which was connected to the hydria. And both of these works of art were often the work of Ionian artists who had immigrated to Caere. And these Ionian artists also had access to interactions with Oriental civilizations including Persia and Egypt as well. For example, in Egypt there was the coastal city, or important trading outpost of Naukratis, where there were many Greek artists. Just to summarize, before we move to the next slide, I just want to re-emphasize that the Caeretan hydriae were produced in the coastal city of Caere in southern Etruria. And these painted water vessels as well as the terracotta wall painting, which includes the Campana plaques, were often the work of Ionian artists who had immigrated to Caere. And these Ionian artists had access to interactions with Oriental civilizations including Persia and Egypt.

To visualize the ancient Mediterranean world, I’ve presented some simple maps here. On the left hand side, you see ancient Italy with Etruria and Latium. Latium is in the southeastern part of the map of Italy. And then you see Etruria in the northwestern part of it. And on the border between Etruria and Latium, you see the cities of Cerveteri and Rome. Cerveteri is the modern name for ancient Caere. And you can see the blue arrow pointing at it and the red arrow is pointing at Rome. And they’re clearly in close proximity to one another. So these two cities had a close relationship in the 6th century BC.

Now moving on to the map on the right hand side, you see the Ionian cities colored in green on the western coast of ancient Anatolia or Asia Minor, which is now modern Turkey. And if you look on the top you can see an orange arrow pointing at the Ionian city of Phocaea, which is of particular interest. These Ionian artists that immigrated to Caere, they likely hailed from Phocaea, which is, you know, located in the northern part of Ionia near the border of Lydia, which was one of the first nations to fall infamously to the Persians and Cyrus the Great around the middle of the 6th century BCE.

The following is a general list of the main ideas I have that I want to prove in this presentation. So what am I trying to prove about the classical world including Greece and Etruria in the 6th century BC, especially the second half of it which was 550 to 500 BC? Well, on a high level, I want to expose the incomplete nature of our understanding of that time period due to Eurocentrism and ignorance of Asian influences, particularly Indo-Persian on the Greeks and the Etruscans. Specifically, archaeological excavation of artworks from the city of Caere has revealed knowledge in Etruscan aristocratic circles of so-called Oriental myths, which are actually traceable to the Indian legend of Rama, the earliest composition of which dates to the 6th century BC in India, the same period coincidentally. 

The next point I want to make is that the Caeretan hydria, that specific work of art which is kept at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in the USA, and the Campana plaques, which are a group of five terracotta painted panels, and those panels are kept at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France; these two separate works of art, the Caeretan hydria and the Campana plaques, they are two major examples of artworks depicting the popular Indian myth of the Ramayana, which was also told in ancient times to countries all over Southeast Asia. Next, I want to talk about the Persian Empire which facilitated the necessary social exchanges between Ionian Greeks from Europe and North Indians from Asia that were required for transmission of this Indian epic Ramayana all the way from India to Italy, or what you would call Etruria.

Ramayana in Archaic Greek and Etruscan Art, Part V (Boston Deer Hunt)

Description (Main Presentation, Part V):

An in-depth study of the deer hunt on the front side of the Caeretan hydria in Boston. Excerpts from Valmiki's text describing Rama's chase of the golden deer Maricha help explain the meaning of the three different poses of the stag on the Etruscan vase, confirming that it is one deer moving away from the hunters in a dynamic scene. Indian medieval artists prefer to employ the device of multiple heads on the golden deer (instead of multiple poses) to illustrate its deceptive form, elusiveness, rapid movement, and duplicity. The turning or twisting of the head of the deer to look back at the hunters is a common feature shared between the Greco-Etruscan and Indian depictions of Rama and Laksmana's deer hunt, however. Both artistic styles, either through multiple poses or multiple heads, emphasize the extraordinary nature of this particular deer that the two 'nude youths' in the forest are pursuing. In the Caeretan hydria, the three poses from right to left signify a sequence of actions by the deer: panicking when seen by Rama (rearing); looking back with a twisted face to spy the hunter Rama aiming a bow and arrow; and fleeing away at full speed beyond the hunter's range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dbXZD2zpZE&t=846s

Transcript (Main Presentation, Part V):

We now return to a more in-depth analysis of the Boston deer hunt on the front side of the Caeretan hydria number 2. So this is a zoomed-in view of the front side of the Caeretan hydria or Boston deer hunt. And notice how the eyes of the two hunters seem to be honing in on the deer in the middle. And you can see how the stag also in the middle is also eyeing them with the twisted head. And so the reality is that this is a hunt of one deer or a single deer, not multiple deer. The other two poses are quite distinct and are from the same deer. And we’ll be going through that in detail on the next slide.

Before going to the next slide, however, I would like to read you a passage from the Valmiki Ramayana itself which describes this scene that you’re viewing right now on the hydria almost perfectly in some ways. So it reads in Aranya Kanda, Sarga 42, Verses 3-6, we have the following description: “The deer spied the Lord of Kings, that is Rama, rushing toward him and he led him on, now timorously hiding, now showing himself again. Taking up his bow, Rama ran toward the deer. At one moment he would spot him running through the deep forest, temptingly near, and would take his bow in hand, only to look once more and find the deer beyond the range of his arrow. In one stretch of forest he (Maricha in his deer form, that is) came into sight leaping through the air in frightful panic and then he passed into another stretch and out of sight.”

So the parts where the deer is beyond the range of his arrow and out of sight are represented by the deer which is fleeing away in the far left corner, you know, furthest away from the two hunters here. And then the leaping through the air in frightful panic when the deer comes into sight is represented by the first deer which is closest to the two nude youths. And you can see it, you know, in a panic mode leaping up, with its front legs; and of course the deer spying the Lord of Kings rushing toward him is represented by the deer in the middle. So really if you look at the description in the Valmiki Ramayana, you can see the multiple poses or positions of the deer as it tries to get in and out of sight of Rama’s range, of his bow and arrow. So it’s just, it’s quite remarkable that the artists were able to depict this in just one painting.

So just to summarize what we’ve discussed here, the Caeretan hydria in Boston on the front side depicts this dynamic chase through the multiple poses of the stag and represents the moments before Rama strikes Maricha with his arrow, killing the demon. Many depictions actually show the moment when Rama finally kills Maricha and his illusory form is disintegrated. This hydria, however, does not depict this last moment, probably because the focus of the artist is on the deception of Rama and Laksmana who are being done in while Ravana abducts Sita. The stag painted in the middle with the twisted head represents the moments when the deer spied the Lord of Kings, Rama, rushing toward him. And the situation where Maricha comes into sight, leaping through the air in frightful panic, is represented on the hydria by the stag closest to the nude hunters Rama and Laksmana. And of course, the leftmost stag, which is the farthest from the two nude youths, represents the deer beyond the range of Rama’s arrow, which passes into another stretch and out of sight, in Valmiki’s words.

So to identify the three positions, the distinct positions or poses of the stag, we have to view them from right to left. And the rightmost stag, we can see, we can observe the panicked fact and the front legs are raised because it has been alerted that it needs to start fleeing away. And we can also see the quote below: “the good East Greek parallel for the panicking of deer is seen on a Lycian wall painting,” which also dates to the same time period. And again, ‘Lycian’ is a hint that this is a scene that originates from East Greece and Asia Minor and also is probably a myth that is from the Eastern world, not from necessarily the Greek world. Now, the next pose is the twisted neck and the deer’s eyes looking back at the hunters while moving away. It (has) started to gallop away but not at full speed. And it’s also eyeing the hunters and making sure that they don’t have a perfect aim. And then the third pose is, clearly, it’s not looking back at all anymore. It’s only looking straight ahead and it’s running away at full speed with its front legs bent perfectly now. So it’s clearly an indication of a transition from, getting ready to flee, to starting to flee at half speed, and then finally fleeing at full speed without any hesitation.

Jaap Hemelrijk explicitly notes that “hunting deer with the bow on foot is rare anywhere in Greek art.” So these nude hunters who are clearly hunting on foot with bow and arrow are not something you normally see in Greek art. That again is another alert that this is not really a Greek myth that’s being depicted. “The frontal head,” he continues, “of the third stag on No. 2 (hydria) is remarkable, a motif popular in East Greece.” And the third stag in this case is actually the first one from right to left, which is the one with the panicked face and the front legs raised to get ready to start fleeing. And so therefore he realizes that a good East Greek parallel as we have noted earlier for the panicking of deer is seen on a Lycian wall painting, and Lycia is located in Asia Minor. So clearly there’s a lot going on here and there’s not a lot of great, complete answers that they have. They only give hints.

So comparing this scene to the reverse side of the Boston hydria, I have noted that he has stated that the maenad Sita “looks round” (and that’s the key phrase) or looks back in fear while moving away when Ravana grabs her arm. The second pose here of the stag on the front side with eyes looking straight at Rama and Laksmana while striding away is comparable. And also the third pose of the stag which is, you know, the leftmost stag, is comparable to Ravana’s rushed movement with Sita fully in his grasp with bent legs and hooves. So we can see the analogy in many different ways here between Ravana and Maricha, who is disguised as the golden deer, as well as even the maenad Sita and the golden deer.

Classical scholars do hint at the realization of one stag making multiple poses. In his book Caeretan hydria, Jaap Hemelrijk recognizes the “lively” drawing of stags multiple times and he reminds us of the dynamic nature of Maricha who shifts from one position to another in his elusive movement away from the hunters. It really is an ingenious way to present the whole myth in my opinion in one vase or water jar. You have Rama and Laksmana distracted by the deer on one side, in a place far away from the two characters on the other side, which is side B, and those characters are Ravana and Sita, of course. The author does remark directly in a revealing way that the “drawing of stags is lively”, and that’s the key word, and he says, “one expects an arrow to be sticking in one of them.” And he explicitly says one of them. So that is exactly what we see happening in the Valmiki Ramayana. That’s what happens to Maricha the demon who disguises himself as an attractive stag. Eventually Rama catches him and kills him. So Hemelrijk also restates the same observation later on in his book emphasizing the deer’s movement. He says “the movement of the fleeing animals on number two is extremely lively.” So this really is a strong indication that the scholars are coming close to realizing the truth but don’t quite have the ability to connect the liveliness of the movement to the dynamic nature of the moving deer, the singular deer which is Maricha in disguise.

So how do the Indian artists depict Maricha’s multiples poses and trickery in their painting? Well, this is an example on the right side from Himachal Pradesh or Chamba painting. And in it, you can see Maricha’s two different poses, one on the left and one on the right (on the far right). On the left, Maricha appears before the two nude youths Rama and Laksmana and then appears again in his buck form with his head tilted back to look at them on the far right side. The Indian artists thus convey his elusiveness and seductiveness through multiple poses or even heads, which we will see on the next slide. And just to remind you, the demon Ravana is also shown with ten heads. So they (the Indian artists) were very fond of depicting these demons and depicting their treachery and elusiveness through multiple poses and multiple heads.

One example is the two-headed deer sculpture which you can see in Orissa, the state of Orissa (Odisha) in India, which is in the northeastern part of India. And the Indian artists in this state, they employ the magic illusion of two heads to illustrate the golden deer’s elusiveness. And so you can see both of these two pictures here. You can clearly see that one of the heads is tilted back to look at the pursuer and the other is feeding on something to seduce the hunter. And this is from Joanna Williams’ book on the two-headed deer in Orissa. 

There are many characteristics of these extraordinary deers. They are elusive. They are illusory. And also the duplicity is another characteristic. So whether Maricha moves so fast that the hunters see multiple stags or (they see) one stag with multiple heads. So either multiple stags or one stag with multiple heads. Either way, the result is the same, duplicity. And Joanna Williams has stated very clearly, “The two-headed deer catches our eye as an emblem of illusion. What are the implications of this image? The golden deer was part of a trick that enticed Rama away from Sita. To endow it with an extra head is in the words of living painters, to emphasize that it is no ordinary deer. The two-ness of the heads implies duplicity.” 

And so yeah, I mean there’s so many characteristics here, but the main thing is that it’s a very extraordinary deer and it’s illusory and it also is duplicitous. And my own comment is that hunters with a bow and arrow do not normally hunt multiple deer at one time because shooting one arrow after another without stopping like a gun with bullets is not possible. So even though there are two hunters wielding a bow and arrow, the three deer we see on the water jar from Caere are the Ionian artists’ rendering of the hasty movement of one deer as it eludes both of them, in my opinion. The turning of the deer’s head in the second part of the sequence of fleeing is comparable to what we observe in many Indian paintings depicting that scene, i.e. the deer hunt of Rama hunting Maricha. So the fact that the artist paints the deer three times in a moving sequence serves to emphasize the difficulty of the hunter’s chase and the extraordinary nature of this particular deer, just as the two-headed deer from Orissa above is no ordinary deer.

So, just to summarize, whether the artists depict multiple stags or one stag with multiple heads, what they’re really trying to depict for us is that the hunters are seeing Maricha, disguised as the golden deer, moving so fast that it’s like a blur. And that can be, you know, depicted with multiple stags moving in a sequence or one stag with multiple heads, (the latter of) which is what the Indian artists in Orissa chose to do. But they can do it either way, but either way the result is the same, duplicity - the depiction of a duplicitous raksasa demon disguised as a golden deer.

Joanna Williams reinforces my point that both rapid movement and illusion, or Maya as they say in India, are encapsulated in the image of the two-headed deer. She writes that “the images also bear out the charm of the creature, which in the first place captivated Sita, and which both puzzles and amuses us. Thus the deer reminds us in a playful way of uncertainty and the difficulty of making judgements. This is true of the motive as it appears in Orissa, whereas in Gujarat, the same form implies primarily rapid movement, also appropriate to the deer but less specifically evocative of Maya.” So what she’s saying is that it can be interpreted in many different ways. The two-headedness or multiple deer moving in a sequence, they can be interpreted as implying rapid movement and elusiveness, but it also can be appropriate or evocative of Maya, or illusion, as well. 

But the two-headedness is better for implying illusion or Maya, whereas the depiction of multiple stags moving in a sequence is more evocative of rapid movement, of course. So it really is a judgement of the artist whether they want to emphasize one or the other. But they are both very important and they’re both applicable and appropriate to the story of the Golden Deer chase. And on the bottom you can see a picture from Williams’ book, figure 60, where it shows Rama and Laksmana on each corner, and they’re both preparing to hunt the two-headed deer. So you can see that in India as well as in the Ionian artist’s depiction, you can see Rama and Laksmana looking to hunt the deer. And both artists in India and the Ionian, they’re both emphasizing the puzzlement of the hunters and how they are being kind of seduced.

These two images that I’m going to show you are more examples from Indian art - Indian miniature paintings of the Golden Deer episode that illustrate Maricha’s duplicity, seductive form and rapid movement or elusiveness. On the left you see from Bengali folk art the golden deer twisting its head to seduce Rama, who’s almost looking like he’s leaping out of his hut getting ready to hunt it. And on the right side you see the chase is already on and Maricha is in full flight. And you can see that half of his body (is changed) - his body is the deer form but his (real) face is showing, and that indicates his duplicity quite explicitly. And he’s also galloping away fast, whereas Rama is about to aim his arrow at him. The right image seems to emphasize more of the duplicity and the elusiveness of the golden deer, whereas the left image from Bengali folk art is more evocative of the seductiveness of the golden deer. But clearly the characteristics of duplicity, seductiveness or illusory Maya form, as well as rapid movement of the deer or the elusiveness - those three characteristics are the ones that are primarily emphasized in different ways in all of these depictions.

Introduction to Presentation of Ramayana in Greek and Etruscan Art, Parts I-III

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaAbN3XCIgKue_q7xq04KEYltEgoNoJ--

https://www.youtube.com/@user-sf9ni5zc3r/videos

The above links are meant to give the viewer and reader a formal treatment of this topic of the Indian Ramayana and its influence on the ancient Etruscans. This blog was originally meant for a more informal treatment of this topic, and not every statement or opinion of mine on this blog was thoroughly backed by objective facts. However, the youtube videos above are intended as an objective and meticulous examination of the evidence for Indian or South Asian influence on Ionians and Etruscans during the second half of the 6th century BCE (550-500 BCE).

The Monteleone Chariot of Italy Depicts Rama and Ravana’s Confrontation: Part I

‘There is no subject, in which we must proceed with more caution than in tracing the history of the arts and sciences; lest we assign causes which never existed and reduce what is merely contingent to stable and universal principles.’ David Hume
[This comment by skeptic philosopher David Hume could be applied to the preconceived notion that all Etruscan art is solely derived from Greek art, which is not really true.]

Before tackling the subject of the Monteleone Chariot found near Spoleto, Italy, which is now on display at none other than the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, I want to give you the context in which this large artifact came to fruition. Sybille Haynes’ book Etruscan civilization: A Cultural History provides us with the following background:

“Taken over from the Near East by the aristocracy in Etruria for transport, warfare, and racing from the mid-eighth century B.C., chariots as well as carriages became status symbols and eventually purely ceremonial vehicles: they served to parade the social rank of their owners in triumphal and other processions and were finally deposited in tombs. Of the surviving remains of over 250 chariots in Italy, Etruria has yielded far more examples than Piceno, Lazio, and Umbria. This proves the overwhelming importance attached to such vehicles by the Etruscans.” (pg. 102)

The Tomb of the Chariots in Populonia, approximately dated from 650-575 B.C., contains the remains of a chariot with a classic design of eight-spoked wheels. The Aryan chariot warriors were clearly important role models for men in the higher strata of Etruscan society. The Monteleone Chariot, a ceremonial chariot depicting key episodes of the Ramayana, beckons from a similar time period (sixth century B.C.) which comprises the major transition from abstract to personal representations of divinity. Haynes believes that “representation of the gods in human form seems not to have taken place until the end of the Orientalizing period,” or about 575 B.C. (pg. 126).

Monteleone Chariot in Etruscan Exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC           Bifurcating Appendage at Front of Car Appears to Represent Winged Flight          

Haynes comments on the Monteleone chariot: “The three relief panels on the front and sides of the box are linked by the frontal figures of two nude, long-haired youths standing on lions.” She adds her opinion that the chief who had it commissioned was a Sabine, and he wanted “the vehicle made to display his high social position and heroic warrior qualities, likening himself to the heroes of the Iliad.” (pg. 168-169). The problem with her analysis is the assumption that a Greek hero served as the Sabine aristocrat’s inspiration. Critiquing this default conclusion, Otto Brendel states: “One must doubt that the narrative method of the bronze chariot was derived from a Greek source, even if the story itself was Greek, which is uncertain… Greek art on the whole was reluctant to accept this form of narrative by progressive episodes: instead it preferred to collect the essential aspects of a story in one single action.” (pg. 150-151, Etruscan Art).

In my humble opinion, the greatest fighters of the Ramayana - Rama, Lakshmana, and Ravana - are likely portrayed on this chariot, NOT the heroes of the Iliad including Achilles. The youths standing between and linking the three relief panels are probably ornamental, based on their non-descript nature and relatively small size (they might also be identifiable as Lava and Kusha). By examining each of the three panels closely, starting from the front, there will be little doubt that this is a Ramayanic scene, primarily the Golden Deer episode. Additionally, I will use the Campana plaques alongside the Monteleone panels for comparative purposes. 

The Golden Deer Episode where Ravana kidnaps Sita

Rama kills the demon Maricha who entices him away by posing as a spotted deer

For those of you who are unacquainted with the story of the golden deer, I will give a brief summary. King Ravana’s sister Shurpanakha convinces her brother to kidnap Sita, wife of Rama. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, instructs his uncle Maricha to decoy the two brothers, Rama and Lakshmana, away from their habitation in the woods, using the attractive golden deer disguise as bait. After Maricha, the demon with magic powers, assumes the deceptive form of a pretty spotted deer, Sita asks Rama to capture it, to either make it their new pet animal or at least acquire its beautiful skin. When Rama kills Maricha, his frightful, demoniac human form reappears just before his death. Maricha cunningly cries for help while imitating Rama’s voice before falling, so that Lakshmana is also drawn away from the hermitage. Sita is now alone, and Ravana pounces on her after fooling her with his own disguise as a humble sage. Then Ravana forces her into his aerial vehicle harnessed with donkeys, which is what we see in one of the side panels in the Monteleone Chariot. The following stanzas from Valmiki’s work make this description explicitly clear:

“Ravana and Maricha ascended the chariot, which was like an aerial car, and quickly departed… Ravana, king of the demons, accompanied by Maricha, then reached Dandaka forest and saw Rama's hermitage.” (3.42.9-11)

“There arrived the great golden chariot of Ravana, illusive and wonderful, harnessed with donkeys and braying like donkeys. Reproaching the princess from Videha (Sita) loudly and harshly, Ravana took her on his lap and put her on the chariot… Passionate Ravana took hold of Sita who was not willing and was writhing in pain. He seized her like an eagle carrying away a serpent queen and flew up. While Sita was being carried off in the sky by the king of demons, she screamed a lot in agony.” (3.49.19-23)

Front Panel of Monteleone Chariot: Bearded Rama (right) receives shield from Sita (left)

The Monteleone Chariot represents something akin to the Pushpaka Vimana, which was owned by both Ravana and Rama after conquering an enemy. When Rama defeated Ravana he received the special flying chariot called Pushpaka Vimana, which could be symbolized by this parade chariot from Spoleto. The chariot Ravana uses to abduct Sita, however, is not the same as the Pushpaka Vimana. Therefore, there is some chance the front scene features Ravana and his sister Shurpanakha, or Ravana and his wife Mandodari (as opposed to Rama and Sita). Then the Monteleone Chariot would symbolize Ravana’s golden chariot, which he used to kidnap Sita, and Rama would thus be absent from the iconography. However, I am going to assume the man in the front panel conforms to Rama’s attributes rather than Ravana’s, while the other man standing in the chariot drawn in the side panel is almost certainly Ravana. I believe the male characters in the two side panels are not necessarily matchable to the male warrior in the front panel. The shield in the central panel, for example, is not equivalent to the shield in the mortal combat scene depicted on the right side of the central panel. The front panel, in my opinion, shows Sita asking Rama to hunt down the spotted fawn positioned between them. The left side panel shows Ravana abducting Sita, who displays figurative resistance when she puts her hand above her head. The right side of the chariot shows Ravana wounding Lakshmana with his guided spear, a famous story from the Yuddha Kanda (Book of War) of the Valmiki Ramayana. The sequence of events runs counterclockwise, starting with the front panel scene.

Left Side Panel of Bronze Chariot: Ravana's Winged Chariot Subdues Sita

If we close in on the front panel, the Jatayu-like birds hover over Rama (right) and Sita (left) while she hands her husband a helmet with a ram’s head on top (signifying he is indeed Lord Rama, the great king) and the mysterious shield with two faces that are identifiable as the demons Shurpanakha, Ravana’s sister, and Maricha, who disguises himself as a golden deer. This front chariot scene represents the golden deer chase by Rama, who kills Maricha, and Shurpanakha’s humiliation at Panchavati. Maricha’s mask is sitting below Ravana’s sister’s mask, with hair and mustache strands that match the deerskin and limbs of the animal, respectively. The spotted deer is drawn upside down, clearly signifying its death. Its skin has ring-like patterns to highlight its attractiveness and these patterns are duplicated in smaller sizes on both sides of Maricha’s hairline. His hair, eyes, and ears represent the deer’s frame in miniature, thus connecting him to the creature he disguises himself as to lure Rama. The pointed ears of Maricha’s face mask mirror the shape of the deer’s ears, and are distinct in shape from the ears of the wicked woman Shurpanakha above. The two dot-sized eyes on Maricha’s forehead and his spotted hair are meant to indicate that he has an alter ego, the golden deer, in my opinion. The spots are oval-shaped, with one smaller oval drawn inside a larger oval, in both Maricha’s hair and in the deer skin. The deer touches the mask of Maricha right under his face. Clearly, the artists were matching the rakshasa (demon) to the spotted fawn.

Maricha's Demoniac Face Mask Above Spotted Deer

Demoniac Face of Rahu "Swallowing the Moon" from Cambodia

Otto Brendel describes the scene in his own words:

“The centre panel shows a bearded man and a woman facing each other while a spotted fawn lies on the ground between them, obviously dead… From the sky birds swoop down, perhaps as lucky omens.” (pg. 146, Etruscan Art)



The classic spotted deer is known as the cheetal (chital), which is native to India (see above photos). Considering its natural range is the Indian subcontinent, there should be no doubt this panel is describing an Indian legend. Notice that the bearded Rama on the front panel of the Monteleone Chariot looks almost the same as the man in the Campana Plaques walking with Sita and Lakshmana. In addition to the similar facial expression, the clothing Rama wears is reminiscent of the clothing worn in the Campana panels. Rama is standing barefooted in the chariot panel along with Sita, whereas he and Lakshmana are wearing some primitive-looking shoes in the Campana plaque. Thus the chariot panel and the Campana plaque are hinting that Rama is living a simple life in the wilderness (see below to compare the portrayals of Rama in the two artworks, one from Perugia on the left and the other from Caere on the right). 



In the case of Shurpanakha, the demoness had transformed herself into a beautiful woman with a lovely figure to seduce Rama. Rama was curious to know who she was, as she suddenly arrived at his hermitage one day (3.17.5). Since the Dandaka forest where Rama lived was mainly inhabited by demons, Rama is surprised by her appearance, remarking to Shurpanakha that “with lovely limbs you do not appear to be a demoness.” (3.17.19). She explains that she is “a demoness who can assume any form at will” and moves alone in the forest. Her romantic advances are not only rebuffed by Rama, but the nasty woman also threatens to literally eat his dear wife Sita (3.18.16). Once her threat becomes serious, Rama responds by ordering his brother Lakshmana to check her. Lakshmana proceeds to cut off her nose and ears with his sword.

We can certainly see from this narration the similarities between Shurpanakha, the horrible Indian Rakshasi, and Medusa, the infamous Greek Gorgon. Medusa is beheaded by Perseus, the Greek hero, while Shurpanakha is defaced by Lakshmana, the Indian hero. Both have ugly and hideous forms, as well as ravishingly beautiful forms, at different stages. According to Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.770), Medusa was originally an attractive woman, but Athena transformed her hair strands into serpents, and her face into one so terrifying as to turn others who peered at it to stone. Because Medusa was a Gorgon, and Gorgons have monstrous forms, there is confusion over whether the Greeks originally thought of her as hideous or pretty. Nonetheless, the Ionian artists of the sixth century BC Monteleone chariot must have had Medusa and Gorgons in mind as models when designing the mask of the wicked Shurpanakha (see pictures below, notice the difference in the two noses).

Terracotta Gorgoneion Antefix (540 BC), South Italy

Shurpanakha with empty slot for tongue and lacerated nose

Analyzing the front panel of the Monteleone chariot again, we see that Sita hands Rama a shield with the ugly face of Shurpanakha (identified by the longer hair, like that of Medusa) above the grim face of Maricha. This seems to be appropriate for a couple of reasons - the deer chase and the confrontation with Ravana’s sister are both initiated after Sita plays a central role. Sita is the one whose life is threatened by Shurpanakha, which leads to Lakshmana cutting off her nose and ears. On her mask, her flattened nose seems to be more torn or ripped than Maricha’s protruding nose (lines and wrinkles are usually seen on the forehead and not the nose), though her ears are intact on her face on the shield. At Panchavati Lakshmana cut off the nose of Shurpanakha and this place came to be known as “Nashik" (from Sanskrit word Nāsikā – meaning nose). Several other references to the Ramayana can be found in Nashik, which includes the Sita Gumpha caves, from where Sita, Lord Rama's wife, was abducted by Ravana. The act of cutting off the nose (as opposed to the ears) thus holds a more prominent place in the memory of Shurpanakha, because presumably that is a more centralized and uglier scar on the body. Therefore, we should not be alarmed if we do not see ears mutilated in the Monteleone chariot scene. The mutilated nose is probably enough evidence to identify it as Shurpanakha. It was easy to model her after Medusa because both had (or could assume) gorgeous forms, before their hideous form became permanent and unbearable (see Valmiki Ramayana 3.17.21-22 - Aranya Kanda, Sarga 17, Verses 21-22, https://www.valmiki.iitk.ac.in/). 

The terracotta relief panel below, conventionally dated to the Gupta period (c. 5th century CE), was found at Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh. On the left is Rama, sitting with his bow and right hand raised (just like the Etruscans depicted him centuries earlier). In the middle is Sita, standing with her hands over her chest in a defensive posture. On the right Lakshmana raises his sword to cut off the nose of Shurpanakha, who is kneeling down and has been restrained by the hair.

Gupta Art Collection, National Museum, New Delhi, India

Shurpanakha, a dreadful, monstrous female rakshasa, fits the description of a Gorgon. The name Gorgon comes from the ancient Greek word gorgós, ”dreadful”, and its root form is also the source of the Sanskrit word “garjana”, a roaring and grunting sound, like the growling of a beast. The Gorgoneion, or a Gorgon face with the tongue sticking out menacingly, is usually accompanied by snakes protruding around the face, and utilized as an apotropaic symbol. Wikipedia notes how the ancient Greeks and Hindus both share this symbolism: “In Hindu mythology, Kali is often shown with a protruding tongue and snakes around her head.” When Rama receives the shield from Sita with Shurpanakha’s ugly expression on it, the signification is that the defensive armour will avert demoniac influences, such as those of Shurpanakha. In the Valmiki Ramayana, Sita does not literally hand Rama a shield or helmet in the forest conflict with rakshasas, so this scene is also figurative as a symbol of good luck against evil forces.

Shurpanakha, after returning from her humiliation at the hands of Lakshmana in the Ramayana, fatefully poisoned her brother Ravana’s mind with covetousness and lust for Sita. To get her own revenge, she convinced him with sweet words to abduct Sita for himself. He could satisfy his base desires as a rakshasa and deal a devastating blow to Rama. Besides, it was his nature to assault the wives of other men, so the plan was very tempting to Ravana and he salivated over the opportunity to feast his eyes on Sita. Shurpanakha can thus be observed as a key instigator in the Ramayanic war. We should not underestimate her importance just because she was a minor character in the epic. The Halloween trick-or-treat masks on the Monteleone chariot panel of Ravana’s sister Shurpanakha and Ravana’s uncle Maricha are critical to a correct decryption of the story being narrated. Apparently the Etruscan or Ionian artists realized how to cleverly imbue the shield with an ominous quality that foreshadowed the wicked deeds of Ravana, the demon king of kings. Both Shurpanakha (first disguised as a pretty woman) and Maricha (first disguised as a beautiful deer) used deception to ‘trick’ Rama with a fake treat; one failed and the other succeeded. The Halloween nightmare that ensued was best encapsulated by the two most painful episodes for Rama before the climax of the war: Sita’s kidnapping and Lakshmana’s near-fatal wound from Ravana’s spear. The other two panels on the sides of the chariot are depicting exactly those two events, albeit with an Eastern Mediterranean flavor.

German scholar Otto Brendel in his book Etruscan Art makes an extremely important observation regarding this point I am making, which is thought provoking for all modern scholars. He realizes that the artistic technique and style may be Greek and Etruscan, but the content and iconography could easily be Oriental:

“By this time (beginning of the sixth century) Etruscan artists had acquired sufficient freedom and mastery of representational form to attempt occasionally the rendition of subjects which lay outside the limits of the Greek parent art… The possibility must at least be taken into consideration that Etruscan works occasionally represent subject matter acquired from oriental art, which may not be immediately obvious to a modern critic because it has been translated into Greek or Greco-Etruscan techniques and forms of representation.” (pg 66-67)



Larissa Bonfante’s book Etruscan Life and Afterlife has provided a drawn reconstruction of the Monteleone chariot (dated c. 550-540 BC). When the Persians conquered Ionia during that period, resulting social changes facilitated the transfer of religious myth from India to Etruria. The artist's rendering above shows the characteristic open tongue of Indian female goddess Kāli on the shield, usually the emblem of the Rakshasas, along with the spotted deer. The bottom face just on top of the deer is a representation of Maricha, and the face above him (with what looks like a broken or wounded nose) is Shurpanakha.