Mirror with Engraved Scene: Thesan and Memnun (Eos and Memnon)

c. 470–460 BC

Mirror with Engraved Scene: Thesan and Memnun (Eos and Memnon), c. 470–460 BC. Italy, Etruscan, 5th Century BC. Bronze; diameter: 14.4 cm (5 11/16 in.); overall: 19.8 cm (7 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1952.259 Two figures occupy the reverse side of this nearly circular bronze mirror, neatly enclosed by a continuous ivy-leaf border. Equipped with wings and winged shoes, the dawn goddess Thesan (Eos) carries the body of her son Memnun (Memnon). Slain by Achilles on the battlefield at Troy, he still wears armor and greaves, though his crested helmet has fallen below. The subject occurs on several other Etruscan mirrors and Greek vases of the same time period, though not nearly as frequently as scenes of Eos in pursuit of lovers (including Tithonos, father of Memnon). The short tang below the disc of this mirror fit into a larger handle, likely of bone or ivory.