Getty Museum

Scarab

Date

about 350 B.C.

Medium

Banded black and white agate

Culture

Etruscan

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

Diomedes, one of the great Greek warriors of the mythical Trojan War, holds the stolen Palladion out in front of him on the intaglio of this Etruscan scarab. The Palladion was the sacred statue of the goddess Athena that protected Troy; its theft made the Greek capture of Troy possible. Because the object being carried is rendered only with drilled blobs, its identification is somewhat uncertain, but the pose of the figure indicates running, which would be appropriate for this scene. Scarabs were introduced to Etruria in the later 500s B.C., first through Greek imports and then through emigrant Greek artists. In this period many Ionian artists, including gem carvers, fled Persian aggression in their homeland. Some went to Etruria, which was a stable and wealthy region. In Etruria the jewelry aspect of the scarab was emphasized: the beetle sits on a decorated plinth and its anatomy is carved in detail, usually with incised winglets and stippled heads. The scarab form remained popular into the late 400s and 300s B.C. in Etruria, long after it had gone out of style in Greece.

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