The Vix Krater and the Lady of Vix Was she Princess, Priestess, Queen?

The area around the village of Vix, in North east Burgundy is the site of an important prehistoric complex from the Celtic late Hallstatt period.(500 B.), the beginning of the Iron Age. Overlooking this tiny village (200 inhabitants) are traces of an important fortified settlement of an aristocratic, elitist society influenced by Greek and Etruscan culture. 

In 1953 the treasure of the of "the Lady of Vix was discovered, the site dating back to circa 500 BC. The site had never been looted and contained remarkably rich grave offerings, including important jewelry and the magnificent bronze Vix Krater the largest known metal vessel from antiquity. The wealth of this Celtic tribe was derived from farming (with the iron plough) from collecting tolls at the point on the Seine where the river became navigable for transport.They also exchanged tin and copper, salt, furs, and Baltic amber for luxury goods-- fine bronze objects, Greek ceramics, and coral. The cargos were shipped via the Rhone River, south to Massilia (Marseilles) , to finally reach other Mediterranean ports.

The spectacular jewels buried with the :"Lady of Vix," mark her social position. For these Celts gold was a symbol of power. The gold of the Lady (or Princess, or Priestess) of Vix was meant to show those dwelling in the Otherworld that she was important and therefore deserved special treatment. For this reason one could easily speculate that she was a princess or druidess who would display her power to the gods of the Afterlife. The great cauldron, in this case the krater, was the symbol of immortality and abundance to the ancient Celts. There are no records that indicate if druid burials included ornaments of any sort in their burial chambers or even if they were buried at all. However, since they held the highest places in society, it is likely that their burials were elaborate. Although there are few early references to druids in early history, one of the first known mention was in the works of Aristotle, the teacher of Alexander the Great.

Transfert du Vase de Vix - France 3 Bourgogne

Gorgon-Medusa Anse - The British Museum

A Gorgon-Medusa anse (handle) the British Museum, similar to the massive handle of the Vix Krater in Chatillon-sur-Seine, Burgundy. 

   photo: Terry Stanfill

Although I've always thought that the Vix Krater's Gorgon-Medusa, with her snake legs split to wrap around the vessel, was melusina in her "dark" aspect. It was only recently that I was struck with the similartiy of the two names, Medusa and Melusina. If the D is removed from Medusa and L substituted we have melus--to which the suffix ina or ine is added to mean "little." From my understanding of southern Italian dialect, it occurred to that there's a consonantal shift here--from the d to the L--fairly common in the southern Italian dialects. 

i.e. Sicilia bedda,. for Sicilia Bella

 

Giuseppe di Stefano, Sicilia Bedda

Vix Krater - Detail of The Chariot

Warrior from the Vix krater

This Krater features a frieze showing a procession of warriors and 4 horse chariots.

The warriors are in Greek panoply.

MAP Details

Lid of a krater, from the Tomb of a Princess of Vix

A Quadriga and a Hoplite, Detail of the Frieze Around the Neck of the Vix Krater

Vix Krater

This is the Krater in its old environment, 1996

Vix Krater Statuette

Displayed separately from the Krater is its perforated lid, with a protrusion at its centre which supports a 19 cm statuette of molded bronze, depicting a woman with one outstretched arm, which once may have held some object. She wears a peplos , the body-length Ancient Greek garment worn by women, and her head is covered by a veil. The statuette appears of a somewhat older style than figures on the rest of the vessel. 

Kylix Found with the Krater

With all the jewels, gold and silver and bronze utensils found with the Lady of Vix, why a ceramic cup was included is puzzling. Ceramics, according to the experts, did not have much value. That it was painted with Amazons fighting Greek foot soldiers makes it even more interesting because this was a subject popular in the area around the Black Sea. How and why the kylix found its way to Vix is part of the story-telling in Realms of Gold. 

The Vix Krater Strainer

Fitted neatly into the top. The goddess sat in the middle.  

Adding resin to wine is a process that dates back to antiquity when either pitch, pine resin or a combination of plaster and resin was used to make impermeable clay vases (amphorae) in which wine was transported. Ancient Greeks observed that pine resin not only helped seal the amphorae from moisture, but also helped to preserve the wine within. Pine resin may have also been used to squelch the scent of goatskin, in which wine was locally transported.

source:historyguru.com

Maurice Moisson and René Joffroy at the foot of Mount Lassois

The Vix tomb, discovered in 1953 by Maurice Moisson and René Joffroy at the foot of Mount Lassois, remains the one that has revealed the greatest number of Mediterranean importations (Greek and Etruscan). The extraordinary opulence of its contents, dates the tomb from the beginning of the 5th century (around 480 BC). Learn more about this amazing discovery in my novel Realms of Gold. 

The Vix Krater In Its New Home, Musée du Châtillonnais - La Côte d'Or, Burgundy

The lid of the Krater is in the showcase against the wall




















Côte de Nuits-Saint-Georges Wine Cellar With Robin Tait

Realms of Gold Is Finally Completed!

At last my novel, Realms of Gold is completed. Many of you have heard (countless times) about my coming upon the magnificent cratère de Vix in a museum in Burgundy. The Vix Krater is an immense bronze vessel used in the ancient Greek ritual mixing of wine with water. The Krater was found in the tomb of a Celtic princess (or priestess) and is dated circa 510 B.C.

How the Krater made its way from Sybaris in Greater Greece (Southern Italy) to Vix, a village near Châtillon-sur Seine in Burgundy, is the story I've told. My book is, at heart, a novel about story-telling and the oral tradition. Its settings are Venice, New York and Burgundy in 2007. Bianca Fiore, the protagonist, makes a startling conclusion about this great Krater--what it meant to the ancient Celts--and what (she is convinced) it should mean to us today.