Etruscan Egg Symbolism
Within a matter of weeks it will be Easter time. Eggs will not only be hidden for little children to find but an egg is a symbol of life. Eggs are often the prime example used in a Christian Sunday school to visually explain the Resurrection of Jesus. The eggs shell represents the stone that separated his tomb from the outdoors. When the hard shell barrier cracks, or in this case when the stone is rolled away, life comes into the world. In the Etruscan tomb of the Lioness lays a Banquet scene fresco that illustrates a man holding up an egg. Like Christians, the Etruscans saw the egg as a rebirth symbol, a life after death. In the words of Lucy Bert, if you want to study the living, you have to know a little bit about the dead.
The Etruscans believed that the dead would not haunt the living if they were pleased with the offerings they received at their graves and if like how their tombs were decorated (Honeycutt, "Funerary Practices throughout Civilizations"). Unlike a cemetery today, the Etruscan burial sites were bright and bursting with colorful frescos along with flamboyant, …show more content…
Sadly, like the Women of Willendorf, there isn’t much known about it. Hence why this sarcophagus has a generic name such as “Etruscan Couple’s Coffin”. However, don’t let the lack of imagination put into the name fool you. This piece of art could take anyone’s breathe away. Unlike well known, Reclining Couple on Sarcophagus, where the two are laying side by side, in this one the couple is facing each other. Not only are they engaging into each other’s stare but they are naked, curled up underneath a blanket. Their hands extend across from each other, touching shoulder to shoulder, tastefully covering up the women’s breasts. Their gazes radiate warmth due to their outmost affection for one another. The the folds carved into the blanket accentuate their relaxed
The Etruscans believed that the dead would not haunt the living if they were pleased with the offerings they received at their graves and if like how their tombs were decorated (Honeycutt, "Funerary Practices throughout Civilizations"). Unlike a cemetery today, the Etruscan burial sites were bright and bursting with colorful frescos along with flamboyant, …show more content…
Sadly, like the Women of Willendorf, there isn’t much known about it. Hence why this sarcophagus has a generic name such as “Etruscan Couple’s Coffin”. However, don’t let the lack of imagination put into the name fool you. This piece of art could take anyone’s breathe away. Unlike well known, Reclining Couple on Sarcophagus, where the two are laying side by side, in this one the couple is facing each other. Not only are they engaging into each other’s stare but they are naked, curled up underneath a blanket. Their hands extend across from each other, touching shoulder to shoulder, tastefully covering up the women’s breasts. Their gazes radiate warmth due to their outmost affection for one another. The the folds carved into the blanket accentuate their relaxed