Etruscan amphora depicting Chimaerae

In Greek mythology the Chimaera was a terrible hybrid creature which was slain by the hero Bellerophon. The legend is also reflected in Etruscan art, giving us more insight into important cultural, economic and artistic phenomena. “She had the head of a lion and the tail of a serpent, while her body was that of a goat, and she breathed forth flames of fire”. This is how Homer described the terrifying appearance of the Chimaera in the Iliad. Greek artists usually depicted this Lycian monster in a lethal struggle with Bellerophon, a Corinthian hero, who was able to slay the monster through divine intervention and with the help of the winged horse Pegasus. The first depictions of the Chimaera arrived in central Italy thanks to intensive trade contacts between the local Etruscans and the Greeks. Local vase painters eventually adopted the motif and used it to adorn their own produce, and the amphora shown here is one such example. It was made after the middle of the 6th century BC in southern Etruria, probably at Cerveteri. This was a particularly interesting period, both economically and politically; at the time, Corinth, which for several decades had been the leading producer of pottery, was gradually being superseded by the rival city of Athens. At the same time, the Persian conquest of the Greek cities on the west coast of Turkey forced many to flee their homeland and migrate westwards. The vessel shown here combines all these global political events. While the painter has imitated a product from Athens, the new market leader, the style also incorporates eastern Greek elements that were probably introduced by immigrant craftsmen. Even the Chimaera itself is part of this cultural transfer, conforming to Greek models in form while adopting a peaceful and almost domesticated quality. It is seen on both sides of the vessel, once in its female form and once as a male. The female Chimaera is suckling a young lion, probably a Chimaera cub which has not yet developed its other characteristic features (the goat’s body and serpent’s tale). Are these Chimaerae the same as the hybrid creature from the Bellerophon myth or are we dealing with an Etruscan version here? (ed)

K. Schefold, Führer durch das Antikenmuseum Basel (Basel 1966) 118 Nr. 172,6; F. Brommer, Vasenlisten zur griechischen Heldensage 3(Marburg 1973) 301 Nr. 21; J. M. Hemelrijk, Caeretan Hydriae (Mainz 1984) 190 Anm. 996. 234 Anm. 800; K. Schauenburg, Baltimoremaler und Bellerophon, Jahrbuch des Museums für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg 3, 1984, 27 Abb. 21; LIMC III (1986) 263 Nr. 38 Taf. 213, 38; M. Zilverberg The La Tolfa Painter. Fat of Thin?, in: A. G. Brijder u. a. (Hrsg.), Enthousiasmos. Essays on Greek and Related Pottery presented to J. M. Hemelrjik (Amsterdam 1986) 59 Nr. 18: F. Gaultier, Dal Gruppo della Tolfa alla Tomba dei Tori: tra ceramica e pittura parietale, in: M. Bonghi Jovino - C. Chiaramonet Treré (Hrsg.), Tarquinia. Richerche, scavi e prospettive (Roma 1987) 212f. 215. 217 Kat.-Nr. 7. Taf. 61-62; C. Reusser, Etruskische Kunst (Basel 1988) 50f. E 67; P. Blome, Kat. Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig (Zürich 1999) 15f. Abb. 6; M. Iozzo (Hrsg.), La Chimera di Arezzo, Ausstellungskatalog Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 16. Juli 2009 - 8. Februar 2010 (Florenz 2009) 17f. Abb. 12. 49f. Nr. 11; M. Iozzo (Hrsg.), The Chimaera of Arezzo, Ausstellungskatalog Malibu, The J. Paul Getty Museum 16. Juli 2009 - 8. Februar 2010 (Florenz 2009) 17 f. Abb. 12; R. Paris u. a. (Hrsg.), Mostri. Creature fantastiche della paura e del mito. Ausstellungskat. Rom (Milano 2013) 156f.; L. Cherubini - M. Bettini, Antichi mostri... eterne paure, Archeologia Viva 165, Mai/Juni 2014, 33; C. Colombi, in: M. Agliati Ruggia (Hrsg.), Arte. Antichità. Argenti. Le collezioni di Giovanni Züst nei musei di Rancate, Basilea e San Gallo (2016) 158f. 219 Nr. II.12; C. Reusser, Le antichità etrusche nei musei pubblici della Svizzera, in: G. M. Della Fina (Hrsg.), Musei d'Etruria. Atti del XXVI Convegno Internazionale di Studi sulla Storia e l'Archeologia dell'Etruria (2019) 85 Anm. 66; R. Hurschmann, Verzeichnis der im LIMC zitierten Vasen (2020) 66; Tierisch! Tiere und Mischwesen in der Antike. Ausst.-Kat. Basel (2021) 73; L. Gorgerat, tierisch! Tiere und Mischwesen in der Antike, in : A. Schmid – A. Bignasca – M. Zehntner – P. Wanner (Hrsg.), tierisch! (Berlin 2021) 88; L. Gorgerat, animalistic! Animals and Hybrid Creatures in Antiquity, in: A. Schmid – A. Bignasca – M. Zehntner – P. Wanner (Hrsg.), animalistic! (Berlin 2021) 88; M. Chartier-Raymond, Animaux et créatures hybrides de l'antiquité, Achéologia 606, Februar 2022, 25; Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Katalog 101 Meisterwerke (2022) 188f. Nr. 75 (E. Dozio); Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Jahresbericht 2023 (2024) 49; L. Gorgerat, De la bête sauvage au mythe. Créatures fantastiques de l’Antiquité classique, in : Musée d’art et d’histoire de Fribourg (Hrsg.), Corpus. Le corps hybride/Der hybride Körper (Fribourg 2024) 19 Abb. 1;