In Cerveteri, the monumental Etruscan vase with the blinding of Polyphemus

The monumental 7th-century B.C. E. Etruscan vase depicting theblinding of Polyphemus byOdysseus, a famous episode in theOdyssey, has arrived in Italy, in Cerveteri, its probable place of origin.

Exhibited for the first time in our peninsula, the vase is decorated with the white-on-red technique and testifies to the early popularity of the Ulysses myth in Etruria, as well as the importance of Cerveteri’s role in the Mediterranean. In the depiction, the Cyclops is not a monstrous giant, but is represented as an elegant gentleman sitting on a stool.

The vase will be on display in the Cerveteri Archaeological Museum for a month starting May 6, the day of the opening of the Ulysses Returns Home exhibition organized by the Archaeological Park of Cerveteri and Tarquinia, in collaboration with the Directorate General of Museums, the National Roman Museum, the Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Command and the Municipality of Cerveteri; the vase will be on display until June 5, 2022. First present in a well-known private collection in New York and then acquired by the Getty Museum, the vase has returned to the availability of Italian cultural heritage thanks to the Ministry of Culture and the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which conducted the investigation together with the Antiquities Trafficking Unit of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York.

The museum can be visited Wednesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

In Cerveteri, the monumental Etruscan vase with the blinding of Polyphemus

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