Image Details

Gianni Dagli Orti/corbis

Relief from Pozo Moro
limestone, 500 B.C.
This carved panel from the tomb of Pozo Moro most likely depicts an infernal banquet. A hideous creature cooks a small person in a bronze vessel, while clutching a knife with a curved blade—the so-called falcata. The magical dish (its main ingredient still alive and peeking from the side of the pot) is then offered to a two-headed divinity seated upon a throne. The symbolism of the frieze probably has its origins in Phoenician mythology, as does the symbolism of the other reliefs from Pozo Moro. One shows an Iberian hero proceeding into an infernal realm, carrying a tree branch with blossoming flowers and nesting birds; another depicts a nude female fertility goddess with lotus flowers blooming from her arms and legs.