Vanth (right), female deity of the Etruscan Underworld, dressed as a huntress in a short tunic and boots and holding a torch aloft, guides a woman to the afterlife. Detail of wall painting in 200s BC Etruscan tomb in the Monterozzi necropolis of the ancient city of Tarchuna or Tarchna, now Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy. Vanth is one of the Etruscan psychopompoi (guiders of souls) whose task is to guide souls of the recently deceased to the afterlife.
Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy: Vanth, a female demon of the Etruscan Underworld, places a helping hand on the shoulder of a newly deceased woman while holding a torch aloft to light her dark path to the afterlife. Detail of a wall painting in the late 3rd century BC Tomb 5636, the likely burial place of the Arnthunas family in the vast Monterozzi necropolis of the ancient city of Tarchuna or Tarchna. In the complete artwork, the woman and a young boy walking ahead of her are greeted in the afterlife by two men, probably relatives, who died before her and are waiting to welcome her into the Underworld. The men stand before the gates to the Underworld, which are guarded by the male demon Charun. In Etruscan mythology, both Vanth and Charun were psychopomps: deities tasked with escorting the souls of the dead to the afterlife. As in other examples of Etruscan funerary art, Vanth is shown dressed like a young huntress, wearing calf-length boots and a short armless chiton or tunic, belted at the waist, leaving her arms and legs mostly bare. Tomb 5636, discovered in 1969, dates from circa 250 to 200 BC and is among about 200 aristocratic or noble burial chambers with painted decoration in the necropolis, out of more than 6,000 in all. Some are frescoed with scenes offering unrivalled glimpses of Etruscan daily life, including athletics, hunting, banquets, funeral rites and mythical scenes. Monterozzi, first used in the 7th century BC, gained World Heritage Site status in 2004 and UNESCO rates its frescoes as among the best examples of pre-Roman art in the western Mediterranean.
Size: 2848px × 4288px
Location: Monterozzi Necropolis, Tarquinia, Lazio, Italy.
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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