2-730-377 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Gorgon Plaque with Incised Figure of a Dancing Satyr, c. 525-475 BC. This plaque, made in a Greek colony in South Italy, probably decorated the side of a coffin. The spirited dancing satyr is on the side of the plaque facing the coffin wall, visible only to the spirit of the deceased inside the coffin. The side of the plaque that faced out (look in the mirror) bears the head of the gorgon Medusa, a goddess who could kill with her gaze.