Mars of Todi (late 5th century BC)
Museo Vaticano, Rome
Image courtesy of Dr Rozmeri Basic
This bronze nearly life-sized figure of a warrior was found in 1835 in a travertine-lined grave at Montesanto outside Todi. This was the site of an ancient sanctuary that was apparently dedicated to an Umbrian deity based on the Greek Ares (Roman Mars). The statue was probably ritually buried after it had been struck by lightening.
 Mars of Todi |
The inscription on the edge of the warrior's cuirass is one of the earliest to survive in the Umbrian language. It uses an Etruscan alphabet from Volsinii (Orvieto), where the statue itself was almost certainly made.
The inscription records the donation of the statue to the god by a man called Ahal Trutitis, who (judging by his name) was probably of Gallic descent. The figure probably represented Ahal Trutitis himself rather than the god to whom it was dedicated. It once leaned on a lance and seems to have been pouring a libation, presumably before going to war.
The Commune of Todi sold the statue to the Papal Governor in 1836.