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A Tarentine Victory Monument of Possibly Pyrrhic Date

2023/2024, TOM 15

Nicholas Sekunda

0000-0002-0737-676X

University of Gdańsk, Faculty of History, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Department of Mediterranean Archaeology

Publication date

06.09.2026

Publishing model

open access

License type

CC BY 4.0 Int.

Field

Humanities

Discipline

history, arts studies, culture and religion studies

Language of publication

English

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Abstract

I have spent considerable time searching in libraries for possible representations of Tarentine thureophoroi, partly to argue that it would be possible that the Tarentine leucaspides phalanx could be composed of troops of this type. Tarentine sculpture of the early third century BC is mainly funerary, and ‘heroizing’ in its nature. The only depiction of any thureophoros which I found in my search is a sculpture dated to the early third century BC which emerged on the art market in Basel in 1972, of which the present whereabouts are unknown. The other equipment and dress used by this thureophoros warrior can be identified as of a type used by the native ‘Oscan’ population of Italy. The figure seems to be only a part of the original monument. The warrior is depicted in defeat, and one assumes that beside him to the left towered the figure of a victorious Tarentine. The monument is uninscribed, and we have no idea of whether the original sculpture was of a public or private nature. Pyrrhus crossed over the Adriatic to the aid of the Tarentines against the Romans in the winter of 281/0 BC, and it is possible that this monument was erected during his intervention. Previously, however, the biggest threat to Tarentum was posed by Oscan peoples, and it is equally possible that the sculpture formed part of an earlier Tarentine victory monument.

Keywords:

Tarentum,Pyrrhus of Epirus,Italian armour

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