Archaic England : $b an essay in deciphering prehistory from megalithic monuments, earthworks, customs, coins, place-names, and faerie superstitionsBayley, Harold
History
Archaic England : $b an essay in deciphering prehistory from megalithic monuments, earthworks, customs, coins, place-names, and faerie superstitions
Bayley, Harold
Archaeology; England -- Antiquities
Punch is always represented with an ample _paunch_, and this conspicuous
characteristic of bonhomie is similarly a feature of Chinese and
Japanese bonifaces or Bounty Gods. The skirt worn by the androgynous
British Cadi may be connoted with the kilt in which the Etrurians
figured their Hercules, and that in Etruria the All Father was
occasionally depicted like Punch, is clear from the following passage
from _The Sepulchres of Ancient Etruria_: "Hercules and Minerva were the
most generally honoured of the Etruscan divinities, the one representing
the most valuable qualities of a man's body and the other of his soul.
They were the excellencies of flesh and spirit, and according to
Etruscan mythology they were man and wife. Minerva has usually a very
fine face with that straight line of feature which we call Grecian, but
which, from the sepulchral paintings and the votive offerings, would
appear also to have been native. Hercules has a prominent and peaky
chin, and something altogether remarkably sharp in his features, which,
from the evidence of vases and scarabæi together, would appear to have
been the conventional form of depicting a warrior. It is probably given
to signify vigilance and energy. A friend of mine used to call it, not
inaptly, 'the ratcatcher style'. Neptune bears the trident, Jove the
thunderbolt or sceptre, and these attributes are sometimes appended to
the most grotesque figures when the Etruscans have been representing
either some Greek fable, or some native version of the same story. This
may be seen on one vase where Jove is entering a window, accompanied by
Mercury, to visit Alcmena. Jove has just taken his foot off the ladder,
and in my ignorance I looked at the clumsy but extraordinary vase,
thinking that the figures represented Punch; and though I give the
learned and received version of the story, I am at this moment not
convinced that I was wrong, for I do not believe the professor who
pointed it out to me, notwithstanding all his learning, extensive and
profound as it was, knew that Punch was an Etruscan amusement. Supposing
it, however, to have been Punch, which I think was my own very just
discovery, the piece acted was certainly Giove and Alcmena."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account