Original scientific paper
A sacred landscape with a naiskos on an Istrian relief – notes on architecture, iconology and mythology
Alka Starac
orcid.org/0000-0002-8254-0849
; Arheološki muzej Istre, Pula, Hrvatska
Abstract
This paper discusses a relief depicting a naiskos in an oak grove on the coast, kept in the Archaeological Museum of Istria. It analyzes the iconographical and mythological connotations and architectural features of the naiskos, identified as a heroon. The oak grove symbolizes the sacred gate to the underworld and is associated with Artemis/Diana. The sea symbolized the journey to the underworld. It could mean a sea voyage, a war campaign or a journey to faraway lands where the protagonist met their fate. The mythical founding of the city of Pola by the Colchians, containing elements of a hero’s cult, could be one explanation of the depicted scene. The myth tells about the arrival of the Colchians from their native land on the Black Sea shores and their landing at the tombstone of the heroic couple Cadmus and Harmonia in Eastern Adriatic. The analysis of the motifs and their interaction led to the conclusion that their main themes were the descent to the underworld with a promise of everlasting life of the soul and the myth of the Colchians’ founding of Pola. The fragment of the naiskos relief was part of the decorative lining of a shrine, theater or other public building or a private house.
Keywords
Diana; Diomedes; Aeneas; heroon; oak tree; Cadmus and Harmonia; Colchians; sea; Pola; relief; sacred grove; snake
Hrčak ID:
284633
URI
Publication date:
10.10.2022.
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