Considerations on a probable fragment of arula with the depiction of Scylla from Catania

Abstract

This paper describes a fragment of an arula found in the votive deposit of Piazza San Francesco in Catania and stands out for its unique technical and iconographic features. The fragment depicts Scylla and is dated between the late 5th and early 4th century BCE. The closest comparison comes from Himera; it suggests that the Catania fragment may be associated with a ‘ἀποσκοπεύσα’ Scylla, who shields her eyes with her left hand to observe sailors to attack. The article also analyzes other representations of Scylla in Sicily, Magna Graecia, and Greece, in terracottas, pottery and numismatics. Finally, possible functions and meanings of the fragment within the votive context are explored, suggesting that it may have been used as an ex-voto offered to the female deity of the sanctuary.

The papers published in this volume were presented at the International Conference “What Can Terracottas Tell Us: Coroplastic Polysemy in the Ancient Mediterranean” (Cagliari – Cittadella dei Musei, 10–12th November 2022) organized under the scientific direction of Romina Carboni, Claudia Cenci and Nicola Chiarenza.