Open Collections

Côté, Anisa

University of British Columbia

Tombs and graves are not places we would consider “sexy.” And we especially do not think of the dead as “getting it on” in the afterlife. So, how do we make sense of the deposition of erotic Attic pottery in Etruscan tombs? Scenes of graphic sex depicted on imported Attic pottery from 550-425 BCE have been erroneously interpreted through the patriarchal lens of Athenian society, with the function of these scenes in the sympotic context and all the women on these vessels as sex workers. However, this interpretation ignores their findspot in Etruscan tombs. This thesis will re-evaluate the function of these vessels within the Etruscan funerary context. Due to the general lack of information on Etruscan values surrounding sexuality and the afterlife, the Etruscan funerary context is compared to a culture they have never been compared to — the Moche. Located in Northern Peru and dating to the 1st millenium CE, the Moche similarly deposited ceramic vessels with erotic imagery in their tombs. This novel comparison between erotic Attic pottery and Moche sex pots provides new perspectives regarding the connection between sex and death. Ultimately, it is argued that graphic depictions of sex, such as the ones exhibited on Attic pottery, were integral in supporting the generative powers of Etruscan ancestors. In turn, the active sexual potency of the ancestors would have ensured the fecundity and prosperity of the living. This work is not a one-to-one comparison, inferring that Etruscan society was more similar to Moche society than ancient Athenian or Roman society. Rather, the goal of this approach is to allow space for new ways of reflecting on Etruscan sex practices and conceptions of reproduction. The methodology of this work is based in archaeology but also pulls in modes of inquiry from the fields of gender studies, sexuality studies, and cultural anthropology. Through these modes of inquiry, I analyze Attic black- and red-figure pottery, locally made Etruscan funerary art, and Moche sex pots. My work pushes the envelope of non-traditional routes in interpreting erotic Attic pottery and Etruscan sexuality at large, and challenges modern Western biases surrounding these topics.

Text

2024-04-30

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/88127

Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/