Getty Museum

Engraved Scarab

Date

400–375 B.C.

Medium

Gem: onyx; modern mount: gold

Culture

Etruscan

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

The bearded male figure engraved on this gem is the hero Herakles, known in ancient Etruria as Hercle. With one hand, Herakles strangles a bird by its neck; in his other hand, he holds his club, which the gem-cutter has represented with five drill-holes. Under one foot, he tramples another bird. The hero is engaged in his fifth Labor, which required him to chase away or kill the troublesome birds--sometimes said to be man-eaters--that inhabited the region of Lake Stymphalos in Greece. This Labor is rarely depicted in Etruscan art, and this gem is the earliest Etruscan example of the myth. Etruscan gems often take the form of a scarab beetle, a shape derived from Phoenicia and Egypt. In the latter country, the scarab had religious meaning as an emblem of the sun. The wire mount attached to the scarab is modern.

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