THE RECEPTION OF HELLENISTIC MUSICAL ICONOGRAPHY IN THE IBERIAN ART: THE PATERA OF SANTISTEBAN DEL PUERTO.

The so-called Patera of Santisteban del Puerto constitutes one of the most singular archaeological findings in the Iberian Peninsula (Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid, inv. 1917/39/1). The artifact displays an eclectic iconography that dates back to the second century BC: its central clypeus shows a motif of Iberian roots (a wolf devouring a human head surrounded by snakes) encircled by purely Hellenistic motifs: putti in different hunting scenes and a group of centaurs and centauresses carrying musical instruments in a nocturnal banquet. Four of the nine hybrid figures play musical instruments: one centauress blows the tibia (tibicina), another one thrums the cymbals and a third one is holding a tympanum, while a centaur strums the lyre with a plectrum. This paper focuses on the reception of Hellenistic musical iconography and its adaptation by the Iberian peoples settled in Jaén, where the patera was found. Possibly copied from a foreign model, the reutilisation of the Hellenistic repertoire evidences certain connections between Eastern and Western sets of beliefs and practices, as well as a clear appropriation of the plastic language. Canids, monsters and "medusas" were usually found in Iberian iconography, especially associated with the funerary world. These monsters would have incarnated evil, which had to be defeated by a warrior in a heroic fight. Hence, this battle would have emphasized the warrior's strength and courage, qualities that would have allowed him to reach eternity as a hero. In this patera, the Iberian wolf in the center should be understood as a gate to the underworld, where the deceased is welcomed by hunting scenes, which would have referred to the regeneration of nature, and by a nocturnal banquet, full of music and eternal happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]