Etrusco-Italic Herclé: a study in the formation of image, cult, and regional identity

My dissertation traces the Italic roots for the iconographies and roles of Herakles in central and northern Italy (i.e., Etrusco-Italic Herclé) prior to Roman hegemony (ca. 1000-300 BCE). The thesis begins with the premise that this hero-god, commonly known as Herclé, after his Greek namesake, may have had an indigenous ancestry in central and northern Italy. I argue that, although one cannot trace a direct teleological evolution for Herclé that goes back to the beginning of anthropomorphization, earlier and more anonymous Italic hero-figures embody indigenous and deeply rooted cultural meanings that are evident in subsequent representations of Herclé. In shaping my theorization of the indigenous, Italic roots of Herclé, I draw especially on the work of Richard White and Mary Helms. White’s concept of the “middle ground,” which refers to both a geographic location (literally a space of interaction) and a cultural stance (the overlap or place between two differing cultures) is a compelling lens through which to understand the interaction between Greeks and Italic populations. Helms outlines a theory of how distance affects the formation of ideology among ruling elites, such that spatial and temporal distances become linked and equivalent on a cosmological scale. In applying these ideas to the study of objects, I used quantitative elements such as iconography and materiality to get at underlying socio-cultural structure and meaning at both local and regional levels.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Art History

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2010

Author dc:creator

• Martinez, Victor M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hostetter, Eric R.
• Dengate, James
• Wisseman, Sarah U.
• Wood, Jeryldene M.

• Etruscan
• Herakles
• Hercle
• Iconography
• Richard White
• Mary Helms

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2009 Victor M Martinez

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/14754

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/14754