179 Arheološki vestnik 63, 2012, str. 179–198
Izvleček
Prispevek obravnava osrednji motiv na spodnjem delu 
grobne edikule v Gornjem Gradu, ki je bil od temeljne 
študije Erne Diez dalje skupaj z reliefoma iz Oswaldgrabna 
(zahodna Štajerska, Norik) in Akvinka razložen kot snidenje 
Menelaja in Helene po koncu trojanske vojne. Pomisleke 
o pravilnosti te interpretacije vzbudijo primerjave tega 
motiva s slabo poznanim ogledalom z nekropole Bulla 
Regia (provinca Africa proconsularis), z domala enako 
kompozicijo. Na sredini reliefa je upodobljena starejša 
ženska, ki pa se v omenjeni zgodbi ne pojavi. Osnovne 
karakteristike motiva, roka na ročaju meča in ženska, ki 
moškemu nekaj ponuja, nastopijo pri še enem prizoru, 
namreč pri redko upodobljenem srečanju med Minosom 
in hčerko kralja Nizusa, Skilo, najnatančneje opisanem 
v krajši pesnitvi, epiliju Ciris. Skila se po posredovanju 
Erosa zaljubi v sovražnega kralja Minosa, v zaroti proti 
domovini ter lastnemu očetu ji pomaga tudi starejša žen-
ska, njena dojilja.
Na podlagi ikonografske analize in literarnega izročila 
avtorica doslej znanim upodobitvam Minosa in Skile dodaja 
štiri druge: tri na kamnitih reliefih iz Norika (Gornji Grad, 
Oswaldgraben) in Panonije (Akvink) ter eno na bronastem 
ogledalu iz Bulla Regia v Tuniziji. Vse te upodobitve so 
bile prej razložene kot snidenje Menelaja in Helene po 
koncu trojanske vojne.
Ključne besede: rimska doba, grobna edikula, Minos, 
Skila, Menelaj, Helena, Parisova sodba, ikonografski motiv, 
epilij Ciris, Norik, Gornji Grad, Slovenija
Abstract
The article discusses a central motif on the socle of a 
funerary monument at Gornji Grad, Slovenia. Together 
with those from Oswaldgraben (western Styria, province 
of Noricum) and Aquincum, it has been interpreted ever 
since the fundamental study written on the subject by 
Erna Diez as showing the reunion of Menelaus and Helen 
after the end of the Trojan War. This interpretation, how-
ever, becomes less certain upon comparing the relief to 
a less well-known mirror from the Bulla Regia cemetery 
(province of Africa proconsularis). The latter shows an 
almost identical composition, but includes the figure of 
an elderly woman who does not appear in the reunion 
story. The main features of the scene, the hand on the hilt 
of the sword, the woman offering an object to the man, 
and the active role of Eros, can be found in another, rarely 
depicted myth, namely the meeting of Minos and Scylla, 
described in most detail in the Ciris epyllion. According 
to the latter, Scylla, the daughter of King Nisus, falls in 
love with the enemy King Minos after an intervention by 
Eros, and is aided, in conspiracy against her father and 
homeland, by her nurse.
Iconographical analysis and literary sources have enabled 
the author to add four new depictions of Minos and Scylla 
to those already known. Three of those newly-added are 
depictions on stone reliefs, from Noricum (Gornji Grad, 
Oswaldgraben) and Pannonia (Aquincum), with the fourth 
one on the above-mentioned bronze mirror. All of them 
had previously been interpreted as the reunion of Menelaus 
and Helen after the end of the Trojan War.
Keywords: Roman period, aedicula tomb, Minos, Scylla, 
Menelaus, Helen, the Judgment of Paris, iconographic 
theme, Ciris epyllion, Noricum, Gornji Grad, Slovenia
A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: 
the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Katarina ŠMID

180 Katarina ŠMID
The church of St. Hermagoras and Fortunatus 
(sv. Mohor in Fortunat in Slovenian) at Gornji Grad 
(Oberburg in German in early literature) houses 
a small collection of ancient stones in the belfry. 
The collection includes a relief-decorated marble 
slab (figs. 1–4), measuring 1.82 × 1.20 × 0.36m, of 
unknown provenance.
1
 Originally, it formed the 
front side of a socle of a funerary monument. The 
precise form of the latter cannot be determined on 
the basis of the slab alone, though the repertory 
of the monuments at nearby Šempeter v Savinjski 
1
  The area of Gornji Grad has so far revealed no re-
mains from the Roman period (cf. Pahič 1975). As for the 
slab, Josip Klemenc supposed it could originally have been 
brought from the cemetery at Šempeter (Klemenc 1955, 
60). It is further possible that it was brought to Gornji Grad 
by the order of Krištof Ravbar, Bishop of Ljubljana, who 
resided at Gornji Grad. It is known from written sources 
that Ravbar had the church and the former monastery 
enclosed within defence walls with towers in 1517, while 
the slab was immured into the exterior wall of the so-
called prison inside the defence walls. It remained there 
until 1955 when the stone collection was arranged in the 
belfry (Kastelic 1998, 440–441; Kokole 2003, 194–197).
Fig. 1: Socle of a funerary monument at Gornji Grad. Immured into the exterior wall, before 1955 (photo: F. Ugovšek).
Sl. 1: Spodnji del grobne edikule v Gornjem Gradu. Vzidan v zunanji steni, stanje pred letom 1955 (foto: F. Ugovšek).
dolini indicates the possibilities.
2
 The front of the 
slab is divided into three panels, each of which 
has a relief within a moulded frame. On the top, 
the latter takes the form of a Norico-Pannonian 
volute. The wider central panel (fig. 4) shows a 
man wearing a chlamys standing to the right. 
His right hand rests on the hilt of a sword and 
his left hand holds the folds of the cloak. Behind 
him is another, less well-preserved figure with a 
crested helmet on his head and an oval shield at 
his feet. Opposite, on the left, stands a half-nude 
female figure in a himation, which covers only 
her feet. Behind her, on a cylindrical pedestal, 
stands a winged boy in a posture as if pushing the 
woman forward, with his hands against her back. 
Discernible between the two main figures, closer 
to the female but facing the male, is an outline of 
another female figure wearing a dress that reaches 
to her feet. Frontally depicted in each of the side 
panels is a standing female figure with parted legs. 
In her left/right hand she holds folds of clothing 
2
  Klemenc 1955, 57–60; Pahič 1975; Toynbee 1977, 
365; Kahil 1988, 539, no. 234; Kremer 2001, 206, no. 108.

181 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Fig. 2: Socle of a funerary monument at Gornji Grad. In lapidarium, after 1955 (photo: S. Habič).
Sl. 2: Spodnji del grobne edikule v Gornjem Gradu. V lapidariju, stanje po letu 1955 (foto: S. Habič).
arching above her head. Both sides of the socle 
are decorated with plant motifs (fig. 3).
The socle slab from Gornji Grad was first pub-
lished by Josip Klemenc in 1955. He interpreted the 
central scene as the Judgment of Paris. The female 
figures in the side panels were conditionally inter-
preted as Aphrodite’ s companions Charites, but the 
possibility was not excluded that they represented 
erotes, namely Himeros and Pothos. As for the 
central relief, the male with the sword on the right 
was interpreted as Paris wearing a chlamys. In front 
of him stood the half-nude Aphrodite holding a 
wreath in her right hand extended towards Paris. 
Behind her, on a pedestal, was Eros, while standing 
behind Paris was Athena wearing a helmet with a 
large crest and an oval shield leaned against her 
legs. The barely discernible figure between them 
could only, in analogy with the mythological story 
of the Judgment of Paris, be Hera.
3
Klemenc’s interpretation was considered valid 
until the study on the subject published by Erna 
Diez in her 1966–1967 article entitled Nochmals: 
3
  Klemenc 1955, 57–58.
Helena und Menelaus.
4
 Based on the analogy with 
the reliefs from Oswaldgraben at Voitsberg (figs. 
5, 6)
5
 and Aquincum (fig. 7),
6
 Diez interpreted the 
scene on the Gornji Grad slab as the reunion of 
Menelaus and Helen after the end of the Trojan 
War.
7
 Common to all three reliefs is a standing 
bare-breasted female figure, depicted in profile, 
with the folds of her dress only enveloping her 
4
  Diez 1966–1967. Jože Kastelic was not familiar with 
the articles by Diez on that subject and repeated Klemenc’s 
interpretation (Kastelic 1998, 440 ff).
5
  Immured in a road-side chapel (see Hebert 1993, 
139–146).
6
  Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, inv. no. 72.1857,3. On the 
reliefs see Diez 1952; Toynbee 1977, 364–365; Ghali-Kahil 
1955, 246, no. 200, pl. LXXV: 3; Kahil 1988, 539, no. 233; 
Kremer 2001, 239, no. 229.
7
  Diez had already interpreted the relief from Os-
waldgraben as representing the reunion of Menelaus and 
Helen after the end of the Trojan War in 1952, mostly 
on the basis of literary sources and comparison with the 
relief from Aquincum (see Diez 1952, 21 ff). The latter 
had previously been interpreted with some doubt as the 
reunion of Menelaus and Helen by Julius Ziehen (Ziehen 
1890, 65–66).

182 Katarina ŠMID
Fig. 3: Socle of a funerary monument at Gornji Grad, side view. Immured into the exterior wall, before 1955 
(photo: F. Ugovšek).
Sl. 3: Spodnji del grobne edikule v Gornjem Gradu, pogled od strani. Vzidan v zunanji steni, stanje pred letom 1955 
(foto: F. Ugovšek).
lower legs. The reliefs from Aquincum and Gornji 
Grad show a winged boy on a pedestal behind her, 
with his hands against her back as if trying to push 
her towards the male on the right.
8
 The male on 
both reliefs (Aquincum and Gornji Grad) has the 
right hand on the hilt of his sword, although the 
chlamys of the male on the Aquincum relief is 
only thrown over his left shoulder. The relief from 
Oswaldgraben is, unfortunately, less well-preserved 
and only the lower legs and the lower part of the 
drapery are clearly visible of the person in the 
middle. The person further to the right is more 
discernible, with a crested helmet on his head, 
8
  Eros was probably also depicted on the Oswaldgraben 
relief, as suggested by the traces of a hand behind Helen’s 
back and the lack of the left side.
an oval shield leaning against his left leg, and a 
spear in his right hand. As a motif, it corresponds 
to the figure on the far right on the Gornji Grad 
relief. The apparent similarities between the three 
above depictions led Diez to interpret the bare-
breasted figure depicted in profile as Helen, and 
the juxtaposed male figure, with his hand on the 
hilt of his sword, as Menelaus. The arms-bearing 
figure behind the latter would be one of his com-
panions, possibly Agamemnon or Odysseus. The 
poorly preserved figure between the two main 
protagonists on the Gornji Grad relief,
 9
 could 
9
  In spite of there being sufficient space in front of 
Helen for another figure to be carved, investigation of 
the relief from Oswaldgraben has shown that the space 
was left empty (Diez 1952, 24; ead., 1966–1967, 105–106).

183 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Fig. 4: Socle of a funerary monument at Gornji Grad, front slab. Depiction of Minos and Scylla (photo: S. Habič).
Sl. 4: Spodnji del grobne edikule v Gornjem Gradu, osrednji del. Prizor Minosa in Skile (foto: S. Habič).

184 Katarina ŠMID
Fig. 5: Relief in Oswaldgraben, western Styria, Austria.
Sl. 5: Relief v Oswaldgrabnu, zahodna Štajerska, Avstrija.
Fig. 6: Drawing of the relief in Oswaldgraben, western Styria, Austria (after Hebert 1993).
Sl. 6: Risba reliefa v Oswaldgrabnu, zahodna Štajerska, Avstrija (po Hebert 1993).

185 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Fig. 7: Relief from Aquincum (Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, inv. no. 72.1857,3).
Sl. 7: Relief iz Akvinka (Madžarski narodni muzej v Budimpešti, inv. št. 72.1857,3).
only be the goddess Aphrodite, whose interven-
tion had thwarted Menelaus’ evil intentions and 
rekindled his love for his wife.
10
 Diez interpreted 
the two figures in the side panels as maenads, 
which frequently appear on Norican monuments.
The reunion of Menelaus and Helen after the 
end of the Trojan War is recounted in two epics 
preserved in only a few fragments, namely the 
Ilioupersis and the Little Iliad. The type inspired 
by the Little Iliad shows Menelaus threatening 
Helen, sword in hand following the fleeing Helen, 
or already lowering his sword at the sight of her. 
The second type follows the Ilioupersis, with Mene-
10
  Diez 1966–1967, 101–103. Either Aphrodite herself or 
her altar forms part of this motif as early as in Greek vase 
painting (see esp. Ghali-Kahil 1955, 81–83, nos. 53–57).
laus grabbing or about to grab his wife’s himation, 
elbow, or wrist. Both types show Menelaus as a 
mature bearded man; sometimes depicted in heroic 
nudity, but more often dressed in a long chiton 
and himation, sometimes even shown as a soldier. 
The scene can also contain Aphrodite or merely 
Eros as her attribute. Diez, in her interpretation 
of the reliefs, depended on the fragment of the 
Little Iliad (fr. 13), which tells how, after the war 
had ended, the enraged Menelaus threatened his 
unfaithful wife with his sword but, captivated by 
the beauty of her nude breasts, dropped his arms 
and forgave her. Both the sword, which the male 
figure was intent on putting back into its scabbard, 
and the nude breasts, closely corresponding to the 
literary evidence, represent the main iconographi-
cal features of all the relief depictions discussed 

186 Katarina ŠMID
above. The sword, which Menelaus lowers at the 
sight of Helen, already represents one of the main 
iconographical features of the motif in early Greek 
vase painting.
11
A year after publishing her first article on the 
reunion of Menelaus and Helen, Erna Diez drew 
attention to a poorly preserved fresco from Nero’s 
Domus Aurea (fig. 8).
12
 The fresco depicts a female 
figure dressed in a long chiton facing a male figure 
wearing a chlamys. Standing between them is a 
female figure holding a small branch in her left 
hand, and beside her is a small nude winged boy 
holding a piece of clothing in his left hand and 
reaching with his right hand towards the female 
depicted in profile, as if attempting to draw her 
closer towards the male. In the background behind 
the man, another less well-preserved male figure is 
discernible, dressed in a knee-length chiton. The 
poor state of preservation of this fresco, however, 
11
  Hedreen 1996, 165–166. For the typology in vase 
painting, cf. esp. Ghali-Kahil 1955, 71–113; Kahil 1988, 
537–552, 559–560. For depictions of Menelaus, cf. Kahil 
1997, 834 ff.
12
  Diez 1953. About the fresco in Domus Aurea cf. 
Ghali-Kahil 1955, 246; ead. 1988, 523, no. 130; Bažant 
1992, 571, no. 13; Canciani 1994, 793, no. 2.
Fig. 8: Fresco in Domus Aurea (after Salis 1947).
Sl. 8: Freska v Domus Aurea v Rimu (po Salis 1947).
made it difficult to interpret the scene, which 
thus remained unexplained for a long time. It was 
Fritz Weege who finally tackled it and proposed 
an interpretation of the first meeting of Helen 
and Paris in light of the context of other frescos 
and the supposed iconographic programme of 
the Domus Aurea.
13
 Diez, in her study titled Zur 
Wiedersehensszene zwischen Helena und Menelaus: 
ein Nachtrag, pointed out certain iconographical 
problems of Weege’s interpretation; she instead 
interpreted the scene as the reunion of Menelaus 
and Helen. She interpreted the central figure, with 
no shadow of a doubt, as Aphrodite.
14
 Based on 
a comparison with the fresco, she also explained 
the weathered object in Helen’s hand on the relief 
from Oswaldgraben (figs. 5, 6) as some sort of a 
ribbon or other symbolic object that would either 
13
  Weege 1913, 223–225. According to Weege, Helen 
may be holding part of her drapery, a ribbon, or the edge 
of her dress in her extended hand, while the female in the 
centre is interpreted as Aphrodite with Eros at her side. 
Standing behind Paris is Aeneas.
14
  Diez 1953, 246; ead., 1966–1967, 106–108. The 
fresco’s motif could serve as a parallel to the scene of the 
parting of Hector and Andromache and thus underline 
the contrast between the two couples, between the faithful 
Andromache and the unfaithful Helen.

187 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
abate her husband’s anger or show that she was 
under the goddess’ protection.
15
An object overlooked in the repertory of the 
depictions of Menelaus and Helen reuniting after 
the end of the Trojan W ar,
16
 but of great importance 
for the interpretation of the relief from Gornji 
Grad, is a bronze mirror (figs. 9, 10), found in 1889 
in a sarcophagus at the Bulla Regia cemetery in 
northwestern T unisia.
17
 Upon discovery, the scene 
on the mirror was described in detail, but not in-
terpreted.
18
 Based on stylistic features, particularly 
the hairstyle of the female figure – reminiscent of 
the hairstyle of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife – Auguste 
V ercoutre dated the mirror to the beginning of the 
first century AD.
19
 The first to tackle the mirror’s 
mythological content was Salomon Reinach. Tak-
ing into consideration the relief from Aquincum 
(fig. 7), published a bit earlier and interpreted as 
the reunion of Menelaus and Helen after the end 
of the Trojan War by Ziehen, Reinach accepted 
his interpretation.
20
 On the other hand, according 
to Auguste Vercoutre, the mirror would show a 
scene from the Odyssey, when Odysseus is leav-
ing the island of Phaeacians and bids farewell to 
Nausicaa.
21
 Reinach’s interpretation was further 
15
  Uninfluenced by Diez, the fresco in Domus Aurea 
was also interpreted as the reunion of Menelaus and Helen 
by Gisela Zahlhaas, who knew only the first article on that 
subject written by Diez (Zahlhaas 1975, 49–50).
16
  See for example Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen 
und römischen Mythologie [herausgegeben von W. H. 
Roscher] (Stoll, Menelaos, II, 2, 1890–1897, 2776–2791); 
Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswis-
senschaft (Schmidt, Menelaos 2, XV, 29, 1931, 808–829); 
Ghali-Kahil 1955; Enciclopedia dell'arte antica classica e 
orientale (Comotti, Elena, III, 1960, 293–297; Paribeni, 
Menelao, IV , 1961, 1018–1022), LIMC (Kahil, Hélène, IV 
1, 1988, 498–563; ead., Menelaos, VIII 1, 1997, 834–841).
17
  The mirror was formerly in the collection of the 
Alaoui museum and is now kept in the Bardo National 
Museum, present-day Tunisia (Musée National du Bardo). 
On the mirror, see Reinach 1890, 93–96; Vercoutre 1893; 
Zahlhaas 1975, 48–49, no. 28, pl. 26.
18
  Carton 1890, 197–199.
19
  Vercoutre 1893, 81.
20
  Cf. note 7. Reinach 1890, 93–96.
21
  Vercoutre 1893. The walls would represent the pal-
ace, in front of which the farewell took place, while the 
branch would represent the tree in the garden adjacent 
to the palace. Standing to the left of Odysseus would be 
old Alcinous, the father of Nausicaa. Nausicaa is stand-
ing behind her father and is extending her hand towards 
Odysseus in a plea for him not to leave her; nonetheless, 
Odysseus leaves. Pallas Athena is shown behind the latter.
supported by Gisela Zahlhaas, who also drew a 
comparison with the relief from Oswaldgraben.
22
The socle slab from Gornji Grad, which clearly 
shows more similarities with the bronze mirror 
than the reliefs from Aquincum and Oswaldgraben, 
was apparently not known to Gisela Zahlhaas. The 
similarity between the mirror and the Gornji Grad 
slab is primarily in the figure of the winged boy, 
standing on a pedestal on the far left and pushing 
a bare-breasted female with his hands towards a 
young beardless male. Furthermore, the depiction 
of the latter corresponds exactly to the posture of 
Menelaus on the relief from Gornji Grad, hold-
ing a chlamys in his left hand and with his right 
hand on his chest. The part of the hand on his 
chest is not well preserved, making it impossible 
to determine whether he is, in fact, reaching for 
his sword. Standing behind him is a soldier with a 
helmet on his head and a large oval shield leaning 
against his leg, which he is touching with his left 
hand. Standing in the background between the 
two main figures, though slightly closer to the 
young woman, is an elderly female figure hold-
ing a branch in her hand.
23
 The three figures are 
positioned in front of a wall.
It is clear that both the bronze mirror from 
Tunisia and the Gornji Grad relief show the same 
motif, which raises doubts about the correctness of 
the interpretation. The first feature to raise doubts 
is the central figure, which, per analogiam with 
the figure on the mirror showing distinct signs of 
old age, cannot be interpreted as Aphrodite and, 
moreover, an elderly woman does not appear in 
the story of the reunion of Menelaus and Helen. 
Additional uncertainty is caused by the figure of 
Menelaus, who is described in literary sources but 
also depicted as an elderly man, whose old age is 
underlined by his beard. The reliefs from Gornji 
Grad and Aquincum, on the other hand, show the 
figure as beardless, the relief from Aquincum even 
with youthful-looking locks of hair tumbling down 
his neck. Moreover, the figure of Helen is shown 
as completely calm, standing before her husband 
intent on killing her for infidelity and for being 
the cause of the Trojan War. Other depictions of 
the reunion of Menelaus and Helen depict the 
22
  Zahlhaas 1975, 48–49, no. 28, pl. 26.
23
  This figure was interpreted as male (Carton 1890, 
197; Reinach 1890, 93; Vercoutre 1893, 82; Zahlhaas 1975, 
48), although both the clothing and the hairstyle instead 
indicate an elderly woman.

188 Katarina ŠMID
Fig. 9: Drawing of the bronze mirror from the Bulla Regia cemetery, Tunisia (after Zahlhaas 1975).
Sl. 9: Risba bronastega ogledala iz nekropole Bulla Regia v Tuniziji (po Zahlhaas 1975).
latter as terrified and on no other depiction does 
she offer something to her husband.
Apart from the relief from Gornji Grad (figs. 
1–4) and the mirror from Bulla Regia (figs. 9, 10), 
a female in the middle is also shown on the fresco 
from the Domus Aurea (fig. 8), which Carl Robert 
in 1914, differently from Weege (1913) a year 
before him and Diez (1953) and Zahlhaas (1975) 
after him, interpreted as a rarely depicted scene 
of Scylla who, accompanied by old nurse Carme, 
is handing a lock of her father’s hair to Minos.
24
 
A detailed account of the meeting of Scylla and 
Minos is given in Ovid’ s Metamorphoses (8.87–100), 
with even more detail in the Pseudo-Vergil Ciris. 
According to the latter, Minos, in his campaign 
24
  Instead of the name “Scylla”, Robert uses “Ciris,” 
a sea bird into which the girl transformed herself due to 
her indirect patricide (Robert 1914, 158–159). Robert’s 
interpretation was rejected both by Diez (1966–1967, 
107–108) and Ghali-Kahil (1955, 243).
against Athens, first attacked the city of Megara. 
The city was ruled by King Nisus, who possessed a 
purple lock of hair with magic powers that granted 
him invincibility against Minos’ siege. After an in-
tervention by Eros, however, who punished Nisus’ 
daughter Scylla for an offence she had committed 
against Juno as a girl, she fell in love with Minos.
 25
 
At night and with the aid of her nurse, she cut off a 
lock of her father’s hair and brought it to Minos in 
the hope of inspiring love in him. Minos, alas, was 
horrified by her treachery and the consequential 
patricide, and recoiled from Scylla, damning the 
young girl, according to some sources even killing 
25
  Ps. V erg. Ciris 158–162; edition commented by Lyne 
1978, 164–165. “But that fickle god (by whom whatever 
falsehood lurks in any spoken word is ever marked out 
of punishment), drawing golden shafts from his gleaming 
quiver (shafts which, alas, strike home with aim all too 
sure), had lodged them all in the damsel’s tender heart.” 
[Translated by: H. Rushton Fairclough].

189 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Fig. 10: Drawing of the bronze mirror from the Bulla Regia cemetery, Tunisia (after Vercoutre 1893).
Sl. 10: Risba bronastega ogledala iz nekropole Bulla Regia v Tuniziji (po Vercoutre 1893).
her.
26
 The literary sources and figural depictions 
are primarily in accordance with the figures of the 
nurse and Eros, the latter playing an active role also 
on all of the above-mentioned Norico-Pannonian 
26
  The nurse as Scylla’s co-conspirator and helper only 
appears in the Ciris (206–385; edition commented by Lyne 
1978, 185–186). Lyne refutes the possibility of the nurse’s 
already appearing in earlier versions of the myth and 
rather supposes her the consequence of contamination 
with Cinna’s lost epyllion of Zmyrna. Knox, on the other 
hand, in his review of Lyne’ s commentary, does not exclude 
the possibility that Ovid decided to drop the nurse so as 
to give more emphasis on Scylla’s inner sense of morality. 
He proposed this on the basis of the word crevit (Talia 
dicenti curarum maxima nutrix / nox intervenit, tenebrisque 
audacia crevit […] “While Scylla said this, night that heals 
our cares / came on, and she grew bolder in the dark”; 
Met. 8.81–82 [translated by: Brookes More]), which in 
Ovid’s epics usually refers to a particular person. It follows 
from this that the nurse had, in fact, appeared in earlier, 
unpreserved versions of the myth (Knox 1990).
reliefs,
27
 on the mirror from Bulla Regia, but also 
on the fresco from the Domus Aurea, since he is 
pushing the female figure towards the male one. 
Moreover, the branch, held by the woman in the 
fresco from the Domus Aurea and the mirror 
from Bulla Regia, could also be the aspergillum 
mentioned by Pseudo-Vergil (Ciris 376).
28
The meeting of Scylla and Minos is a scene that 
rarely appears in the figural art of the Imperial 
period and is completely unknown before that. An 
27
  Cf. note 8.
28
  Ps. Verg. Ciris 376 (pergit Amyclaeo spargens altaria 
thallo […] “and sprinkling the altars with Amyclaean 
branch” [translated by H. Rushton Fairclough]). The word 
thallus appears extremely rarely in Latin and it is difficult 
to be translated. The two principal translations are either 
a hyacinth growing at Amyclae, where Hyacinthus’ tomb 
was also located, or an aspergillum. Carme could thus have 
sprinkled the altar with holy water, while the thallus could 
most likely be identified as a laurel branch (Cazzaniga 
1959, 453 ff; Lyne 1978, 262).

190 Katarina ŠMID
Fig. 11: Drawing of the terracotta medallion from Arles (after Wuilleumier, Audin 1952).
Sl. 11: Risba terakotnega medaljona iz Arlesa (po Wuilleumier, Audin 1952).
undisputed, inscription-supported depiction of the 
couple can be found on a Gallo-Roman terracotta 
medallion (figs. 11, 12) from the mid-first century 
AD. The original, found in Arles, is unfortunately 
lost.
29
 The relief shows King Minos standing on 
the left, nude, beardless, with only the chlamys 
falling across his left shoulder. He holds a sword 
in his right hand, already half-drawn from the 
scabbard.
30
 In this, it is strongly reminiscent of the 
reliefs from Gornji Grad and Aquincum. Facing 
him is Scylla, bare-breasted, offering the lock of 
her father Nisus’ hair. The composition of a pair 
of figures standing opposite each other, one male, 
his hand on the sword hilt, and the other female, 
29
  Its cast is kept in the Musée d’ Archéologie Nationale 
at Saint-Germain-en-Laye (inv. no. 31653). Wuilleumier, 
Audin 1952, 122, no. 208; Bažant 1992, 571, no. 14; Can-
ciani 1994, 793, no. 5.
30
  The visible elements are the hilt, the upper part of 
the blade, and the upper part of the scabbard with two 
transverse mounts (observation by Dragan Božič).
half-nude in a calm pose, offering something to the 
male in her extended hand, is practically identi-
cal to the depictions supposedly representing the 
reunion of Menelaus and Helen from Noricum 
and Pannonia, where the unidentified object in 
her hand could easily be a stylized lock of hair.
Apart from this terracotta relief, Minos and Scylla 
also figure on a poorly, though in situ preserved 
wall painting in the Casa dei Dioscuri (VI, 9, 6–9), 
dated to the Flavian period. The scene here takes 
places within a palace, as indicated by a wall (fig. 
13).
31
 Minos sits on his throne, standing before 
him is Scylla, holding a lock of invincible hair in 
her hand extended towards Minos. Behind him 
stand his servants, while standing beside Scylla 
is again an elderly woman, extending her right 
hand towards Minos. Scylla further figures on 
a wall painting from a villa at Tor Marancia in 
31
  Bažant 1992, 571, no. 12; Canciani 1994, 793, no. 
1; Hodske 2007, 260, no. 290, pl. 178: 1–2.

191 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
Fig. 12: Terracotta medallion from Arles, cast (after Canciani 1994).
Sl. 12: Terakotni medaljon iz Arlesa, odlitek (po Canciani 1994).
Rome, near Porta San Sebastiano, as part of a 
series of heroines destroyed by their unrequited 
love. Scylla wears a long himation, again holding 
the fatal lock of hair in her right hand; as such 
she is most similar to the woman on the left on 
the fresco from the Domus Aurea.
32
Iconographical discussions about the reunion 
of Menelaus and Helen after the end of the Trojan 
War rarely cite the mirror from the Bulla Regia 
cemetery. The scene on the mirror is clearly the 
same as the one on the socle slab from Gornji 
Grad, but this shows that the female figure in the 
centre cannot be that of Aphrodite, but rather of 
an elderly woman. This leads us to question the 
above interpretation, all the more so when con-
sidering the youthful appearance of the beardless 
male figure and the calm, self-confident posture 
of the bare-breasted female figure, which only ap-
pear on the reliefs from Noricum and Pannonia 
32
  Canciani 1994, 793, no. 4.
and the mirror from Bulla Regia. Also pointing 
towards a different interpretation is the fresco from 
the Domus Aurea, cited by Diez and Zahlhaas as 
among the depictions of Menelaus and Helen, but 
previously identified by Carl Robert as representing 
the meeting of Minos and Scylla. The most detailed 
account of this meeting is to be found in the Ciris 
by Pseudo-Virgil. This motif had been completely 
unknown prior to the Imperial period and even then 
was very rarely depicted, most frequently under the 
Flavian dynasty. In these depictions, Scylla is always 
shown holding a lock of hair in her hand extended 
towards a beardless Minos, who is appalled at her 
betrayal, his hand already holding the hilt of his 
sword. The exact same gestures can be found on 
the reliefs from Noricum and Pannonia, whereby 
the oblong object in the female’s extended hand 
could easily be a lock of hair. Scylla’s nurse appears 
as an elderly woman on the frescos in the Casa dei 
Dioscuri and the Domus Aurea and on the mirror 
from Bulla Regia, and features as a co-conspirator 

192 Katarina ŠMID
Fig. 13: Drawing of the fresco in Casa dei Dioscuri (VI, 9, 6–9) (after Hodske 2007).
Sl. 13: Risba freske v Casa dei Dioscuri Pompejih (VI, 9, 6–9) (po Hodske 2007).
in the Ciris epyllion. The latter source also men-
tions Eros, whose intervention made Scylla fall in 
love with the enemy of her homeland – this would 
explain his pushing the female figure towards the 
male figure on the reliefs from Noricum and Pan-
nonia, on the fresco from Domus Aurea, and also 
on the mirror from Bulla Regia. Although Diez and 
Kahil rejected Robert’s interpretation of the fresco 
in Domus Aurea (cf. note 24), all these observations 
speak in favour of the hypothesis that the fresco in 
Domus Aurea (fig. 8), the mirror from Bulla Regia 
cemetery in T unisia (figs. 9, 10), and the reliefs from 
Gornji Grad in Slovenia (fig. 4), Oswaldgraben in 
western Styria (figs. 5, 6), and Budapest (fig. 7) do 
not represent the reunion of Menelaus and Helen 
after the end of the Trojan War, but rather the fatal 
meeting between Minos and Scylla.
Acknowledgments
In researching the article, I was greatly aided by numerous 
discussions with Stanko Kokole. The article was read and 
commented on initially by Irena Lazar and Marjeta Šašel 
Kos. Later, several close readings, as well as useful advice 
in preparing the final version, were given by Dragan Božič. 
The translation of the text from Slovenian was provided by 
Andreja Maver and the translation of the Latin quotations 
into Slovenian by Gregor Pobežin. The photos of the relief 
at Gornji Grad were provided by Bojan Djurić and Stanko 
Kokole. A photo of the stone relief kept in the National 
Museum in Budapest is published with the permission of 
that institution. I would like to sincerely thank everyone 
for their help.
Translation: Andreja Maver

193 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
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194 Katarina ŠMID
V majhnem lapidariju v pritličju zvonika cer-
kve sv. Mohorja in Fortunata v Gornjem Gradu 
(v. nem. objavah Oberburg) se nahaja reliefno 
okrašen spodnji del marmorne grobne edikule 
(sl. 1–4) z merami 1,82 × 1,20 × 0,36 m neznane 
provenience.
1
 Prvotno je verjetno pripadal grobni 
edikuli, podobni tistim v Šempetru v Savinjski 
dolini.
2
 Razdeljen je na tri polja, vsako posebej 
obdaja profiliran okvir, nad katerim se pne nori-
ško-panonska voluta. Na osrednjem, širšem polju 
(sl. 4), je na desni strani upodobljen stoječ moški, 
oblečen v hlamido. Desno dlan polaga na ročaj 
meča na svoji levi, z levico pa drži za hlamido. Za 
njim stoji še ena, slabše ohranjena figura, ki ima 
na glavi čelado s perjanico ter ob nogah ovalen 
ščit. Nasproti njiju stoji napol gola ženska figura 
v himationu, ki ji zakriva le spodnji del nog. Za 
njo na valjastem podstavku stoji krilati deček, za 
katerega se zdi, kakor da bi jo z rokami, uprtimi v 
hrbet, potiskal naprej. Med obema glavnima likoma, 
bliže ženski in obrnjen proti moškemu, je viden 
obris ženske figure v do tal segajočem oblačilu. V 
levem in desnem stranskem polju je v razkoraku 
prikazana po ena frontalno stoječa ženska figura, 
ki z levico oziroma desnico drži za del draperije in 
ta se ji v obliki loka boči nad glavo. Obe stranski 
stranici sta obdani z rastlinskim okrasjem (sl. 3).
Relief v Gornjem Gradu je prvi objavil Josip Kle-
menc leta 1955. Osrednji prizor na njem je razložil 
kot Parisovo sodbo. Ženski figuri v stranskih poljih 
je pogojno interpretiral kot Afroditini spremljevalki 
Hariti, ni pa izključil možnosti, da bi figuri lahko 
bili tudi erota, Himer in Potos. Moški z mečem na 
desni strani naj bi bil Paris v hlamidi. Pred njim 
1
  Na območju Gornjega Grada ni nikakršnih ostankov 
iz rimske dobe (prim. Pahič 1975). Josip Klemenc je postavil 
domnevo, da bi del grobne edikule lahko izvorno prihajal 
s šempetrske nekropole (Klemenc 1955, 60). V Gornji 
Grad bi lahko prispel po volji ljubljanskega škofa Krištofa 
Ravbarja, ki je tedaj rezidiral v Gornjem Gradu. Ravbar je 
namreč leta 1517 cerkev in nekdanji samostan ogradil z 
obzidjem in stolpi, relief pa je bil do ustanovitve lapidarija 
leta 1955 vzidan v zunanjo steno t. i. jetnišnice, ki je bila 
vključena v obrambno obzidje (Kastelic 1998, 440–441; 
Kokole 2003, 194–197).
2
  Klemenc 1955, 57–60; Pahič 1975; Toynbee 1977, 
365; Kahil 1988, 539, št. 234; Kremer 2001, 206, št. 108.
Redko upodobljeni mitološki prizor v Gornjem Gradu: 
zgodba o Skili in Minosu?
naj bi stala napol gola Afrodita, ki bi mu z desnico 
ponujala venec. Za njo bi bil na podstavku Eros, za 
Parisom pa bi bila Atena s čelado z ogromno per-
janico ter ovalnim ščitom, prislonjenim k nogam. 
Skorajda povsem izlizana figura med Afrodito in 
Parisom bi po analogijah z mitološko zgodbo Pa-
risove sodbe lahko bila le Hera.
3
Klemenčeva razlaga se je obdržala vse do študije 
Erne Diez iz let 1966–1967 Nochmals: Helena und 
Menelaos.
4
 V njej je prizor na gornjegrajskem reliefu 
na podlagi primerjav z reliefoma iz Oswaldgrabna v 
V oitsbergu (sl. 5, 6)
5
 in Akvinka (sl. 7)
6
 interpretirala 
kot Snidenje Menelaja in Helene po koncu trojanske 
vojne.
7
 Vsem reliefom je skupno, da je na levi strani 
v profilu prikazana stoječa ženska figura z deloma 
razgaljenim oprsjem, ki ji draperija ovija le noge od 
peta do zadnjice (Oswaldgraben in Akvink) oziroma 
do malo nad koleni (Gornji Grad). Na reliefih iz 
Akvinka in Gornjega Grada je za njo na podstavku 
upodobljen krilati deček z rokami, uprtimi v njen 
hrbet, kot bi jo želel poriniti k moškemu.
8
 Nasproti 
ženske stoji na reliefu iz Akvinka prav tako moški 
z desno roko na ročaju meča, ki pa je za razliko 
od reliefa iz Gornjega Grada gol, le preko levega 
ramena ima vrženo hlamido. Relief iz Oswaldgrabna 
je žal slabše ohranjen, tako da so od figure v sredini 
vidne le noge in spodnji del draperije, ohranjena 
pa je oseba s čelado s perjanico, ovalnim ščitom ob 
levi nogi ter sulico v desnici na desni, ki motivno 
3
  Klemenc 1955, 57–58.
4
  Diez 1966–1967. T e študije niti prejšnjih na isto temo 
ni poznal Jože Kastelic, ki je obdržal Klemenčevo razlago 
(Kastelic 1998, 440 ss).
5
  Relief je vzidan v obcestno kapelico (gl. Hebert 
1993, 139–146).
6
  Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, inv. št. 72.1857,3. O reliefih 
glej Diez 1952; Toynbee 1977, 364–365; Ghali-Kahil 1955, 
246, št. 200, t. LXXV: 3; Kahil 1988, 539, št. 233; Kremer 
2001, 239, št. 229.
7
  Relief v Oswaldgrabnu je Diezova zlasti s pomočjo 
literarnih virov in primerjave z reliefom iz Akvinka že 
poprej interpretirala kot Snidenje Menelaja in Helene po 
koncu trojanske vojne (glej Diez 1952, 21 ss). Relief iz 
Akvinka je z nekoliko dvoma tako razložil že Julius Ziehen 
(Ziehen 1890, 65–66).
8
  Eros je bil bržkone tudi na reliefu iz Oswaldgrabna. 
Namreč, glede na voluto manjka ves njegov levi rob, vidni 
pa so sledovi roke, ki se naslanja na hrbet ženske figure.

195 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
ustreza oni na skrajni desni strani osrednjega prizora 
reliefa v Gornjem Gradu. Zaradi očitnih podob-
nosti med vsemi tremi upodobitvami je Diezova 
razgaljeno žensko figuro v profilu interpretirala 
kot Heleno, nasproti njej stoječega moškega z roko 
na ročaju meča pa kot Menelaja. Oboroženi lik za 
njim bi bil eden od njegovih spremljevalcev, morda 
Agamemnon ali Odisej. Slabo ohranjena figura med 
obema protagonistoma na reliefu v Gornjem Gra-
du
9
 bi lahko bila le boginja Afrodita, ki je s svojim 
posegom preprečila Menelajeve zlobne namene ter 
mu vdahnila vnovično ljubezen do žene.
10
 Figuri v 
stranskih poljih reliefa bi lahko bili menadi, ki tudi 
sicer pogosto nastopata na noriških spomenikih.
Srečanje Menelaja in Helene po koncu trojanske 
vojne je opisano v dveh izgubljenih fragmentarno 
ohranjenih pesnitvah, in sicer v Ilioupersis in Mali 
Iliadi. Na prizorih, navdahnjenih po Mali Iliadi, 
Menelaj grozi Heleni, jo z mečem v roki zasleduje 
oziroma mu meč ob pogledu nanjo že pada iz 
rok. Ilioupersis sledi druga vrsta prizorov. Menelaj 
ženo že grabi oziroma bo kmalu zagrabil za njen 
himation, komolec ali zapestje. Pri obeh vrstah je 
Menelaj prikazan kot zrel, bradat moški. Ponekod je 
upodobljen v herojski goloti, večkrat pa je oblečen 
v dolg hiton in himation oziroma je upodobljen kot 
vojščak. V prizorih se lahko pojavita tudi Afrodita 
ali Eros kot njen atribut. Diezova se je pri razlagi 
reliefov naslonila na fragment Male Iliade (frg. 
13), ki opisuje, kako je po koncu vojne razkačeni 
Menelaj z mečem grozil svoji nezvesti ženi, a ji je 
potem, poražen od lepote njenega golega oprsja, 
oprostil vse. T ako meč, ki naj bi ga moški nameraval 
vtakniti nazaj v nožnico kot tudi razgaljeno oprsje 
ženske figure se skladata z literarnim pričevanjem 
in sta glavni ikonografski posebnosti vseh zgoraj 
naštetih reliefnih upodobitev. Meč, ki ga Menelaj 
ob pogledu na Heleno povesi oziroma spusti, je 
ena glavnih ikonografskih značilnosti prizora tudi 
že v starejšem vaznem slikarstvu.
11
Leto dni po izidu svojega prvega članka o snidenju 
Menelaja in Helene je Erna Diez izpostavila slabo 
9
  Kljub temu da je na reliefu iz Oswaldgrabna pred 
žensko figuro dovolj praznega prostora za še eno figuro, 
so raziskave pokazale, da je bil ta prostor dejansko prazen 
(Diez 1952, 24; ead. 1966–1967, 105–106).
10
  Diez 1966–1967, 101–103. Afrodita oziroma njen 
oltar se v tem prizoru pojavi že v grškem vaznem slikarstvu 
(glej zlasti Ghali-Kahil 1955, 81–83, št. 53–57).
11
  Hedreen 1996, 165–166. Za tipologijo v vaznem 
slikarstvu prim. zlasti Ghali-Kahil 1955, 71–113; Kahil 
1988, 537–552, 559–560. Za upodobitve Menelaja prim. 
Kahil 1997, 834 ss.
ohranjeno fresko v Neronovi Domus Aurea v Rimu 
(sl. 8).
12
 Na njej drug nasproti drugemu stojita v dolg 
hiton oblečena ženska ter gol, s hlamido ogrnjen 
moški. Med njima je ženska z vejico v levi roki, ob 
kateri je majhen gol krilat fantič, ki z levico drži 
kos tkanine, desnico pa izteza proti ženski na levi, 
kakor bi jo želel povleči k moškemu. V drugem 
planu za moško figuro prepoznamo še en slabše 
ohranjeni moški lik v do kolen segajočem hitonu. 
Zaradi slabe ohranjenosti freske ni bilo lahko inter-
pretirati in prizor je dolgo časa ostal neprepoznan, 
dokler ga ni Fritz W eege v povezavi s kontekstom in 
domnevnim ikonografskim programom preostalih 
poslikav v Domus Aurea razložil kot prvo srečanje 
Helene in Parisa.
13
 Diezova je v svoji študiji Zur 
Wiedersehensszene zwischen Helena und Menelaos: 
ein Nachtrag opozorila na določene ikonografske 
pomanjkljivosti te interpretacije ter fresko povezala 
s srečanjem med Menelajem in Heleno. Osrednjo 
figuro z vejico je brez kanca dvoma označila za 
A f r o d i t o .
14
 Na podlagi primerjav te freske z reliefom 
iz Oswaldgrabna (sl. 5, 6) je tudi razložila izlizan 
predmet v Helenini roki na reliefu iz Oswaldgrab-
na; Helena naj bi tako soprogu ponujala nekakšen 
trak oziroma kakšno drugo znamenje simbolnega 
pomena, ki bi ublažilo moževo jezo ali pokazalo, 
da je sama pod zaščito boginje.
15
V sintetičnih pregledih upodobitev srečanja 
Menelaja in Helene po koncu trojanske vojne 
spregledano,
16
 a za razlago osrednjega prizora 
gornjegrajskega reliefa še kako pomembno je 
12
  Diez 1953. O freski v Domus Aurea prim. Ghali-
Kahil 1955, 246; ead. 1988, 523, št. 130; Bažant 1992, 571, 
št. 13; Canciani 1994, 793, št. 2.
13
  Weege 1913, 223–225. Po Weegeju bi Helena v 
naprej iztegnjeni roki držala morda del draperije, trak ali 
rob oblačila, ženska v sredini bi bila Afrodita, ob njej pa 
bi bil Eros. Za Parisom bi stal Enej.
14
  Diez 1953, 246; ead. 1966–1967, 106–108. Freska bi 
bila motivno pendant prizoru s slovesom Hektorja od Andro-
mahe in bi tako vsebinsko poudarila nasprotja med obema 
zakonskima paroma; zvesto Andromaho in nezvesto Heleno.
15
  Neodvisno od Diezove je fresko v Domus Aurea kot 
snidenje Menelaja in Helene razložila tudi Gisela Zahl-
haas, saj je poznala le prvi članek Diezove o tem motivu 
(Zahlhaas 1975, 49–50).
16
  Kot npr. Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und 
römischen Mythologie [herausgegeben von W . H. Roscher] 
(Stoll, Menelaos, II, 2, 1890–1897, 2776–2791); Paulys 
Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft 
(Schmidt, Menelaos 2, XV , 29, 1931, 808–829); Ghali-Ka-
hil 1955; Enciclopedia dell'arte antica classica e orientale 
(Comotti, Elena, III, 1960, 293–297; Paribeni, Menelao, 
IV, 1961, 1018–1022), LIMC (Kahil, Hélène, IV 1, 1988, 
498–563; ead., Menelaos, VIII 1, 1997, 834–841).

196 Katarina ŠMID
bronasto ogledalo, odkrito leta 1889 v sarkofagu 
na nekropoli Bulla Regia v severozahodni Tuniziji 
(sl. 9, 10).
17
 Prizor na zrcalu je bil ob odkritju 
natančno opisan, njegova vsebina pa je ostala 
nepojasnjena.
18
 Na podlagi stilnih značilnosti ter 
zlasti pričeske ženske figure, ki spominja na fri-
zuro Cezarjeve soproge Kalpurnije, je Vercoutre 
ogledalo datiral na začetek prvega stoletja po Kr.
19
 
Prvi se je vsebine mitološke zgodbe na njem lotil 
Salomon Reinach. Motiv je primerjal z motivom 
na reliefu iz Akvinka (sl. 7), ki ga je le malo prej 
objavil ter kot snidenje Menelaja in Helene po 
koncu trojanske vojne razložil Ziehen.
20
 Reinach 
je to razlago sprejel, Auguste Vercoutre pa je na-
sprotno sklepal, da naj bi bil na zrcalu prikazan 
trenutek iz Odiseje, ko Odisej zapušča otok Fajakov 
in se poslavlja od Navzikaje.
21
 Reinachovo razlago 
je prevzela Gisela Zahlhaas in jo še podkrepila s 
primerjavo z reliefom iz Oswaldgrabna.
22
Relief iz Gornjega Grada, ki zelo očitno kaže več 
podobnosti z ogledalom kot oba reliefa iz Madžarske 
in Štajerske, Zahlhaasovi, kot kaže, ni bil znan. T udi 
na ogledalu stoji skrajno levo na podstavku krilati 
deček, ki z rokami potiska razgaljeno žensko proti 
mlajšemu golobrademu moškemu. Ta moški ima 
natanko tako držo kot Menelaj na gornjegrajskem 
reliefu. Z levico drži za hlamido, desnico pa ima na 
prsih. Del na njegovem prsnem košu ni ohranjen, 
zaradi česar žal ni mogoče presoditi, ali grabi za 
meč. Za njim stoji vojščak v bojni opravi s čelado 
na glavi. Ob nogah mu počiva velik ovalen ščit, ki 
se ga dotika z levo roko. Med glavnima figurama, 
toda za spoznanje bližje mladenki, stoji v ozadju 
starejša ženska figura z vejico v roki.
23
 Celotno 
dogajanje je postavljeno pred zid.
17
  Ogledalo je bilo nekdaj v zbirki muzeja Alaoui, 
zdaj pa je shranjeno v Narodnem muzeju Bardo v Tuniziji 
(Musée National du Bardo). Glej Reinach 1890, 93–96; 
Vercoutre 1893; Zahlhaas 1975, 48–49, kat. št. 28, t. 26.
18
  Carton 1890, 197–199.
19
  Vercoutre 1893, 81.
20
  Prim. op. 7. Reinach 1890, 93–96.
21
  Vercoutre 1893. Obzidje bi predstavljajo palačo, 
pred katero se odvija slovo, vejica pa drevo na vrtu ob njej. 
Levo od Odiseja bi stal starec Alkinoj, Navzikajin oče in 
Navzikaja pred njim, ki bi Odiseju podajala roko, proseč 
ga, naj je ne zapušča, a ta njeno ponudbo zavrne. Za njim 
naj bi se nahajala Palada Atena.
22
  Zahlhaas 1975, 48–49, 77, kat. št. 28, t. 26.
23
  T o figuro so sicer avtorji (Carton 1890, 197; Reinach 
1890, 93; Vercoutre 1893, 82; Zahlhaas 1975, 48) razložili 
kot moškega, a jo tako oblačilo kakor tudi pričeska prej 
označujeta za starejšo žensko.
Kakor je dobro razvidno, je na bronastem zrcalu 
iz T unizije in osrednjem prizoru reliefa iz Gornjega 
Grada zagotovo upodobljen isti motiv, pri čemer 
se nehote pojavi dvom o pravilnosti interpretacije 
prizora. Prva ovira nastopi pri figuri v sredini, 
ki po analogijah s figuro na zrcalu z izrazitimi 
potezami starejše osebe nikakor ne more biti več 
Afrodita, starejša ženska pa se v prizoru snidenja 
Menelaja in Helene ne pojavi. Dodatno negotovost 
vzbudi Menelaj, ki je tako v literarnih virih kot 
v likovnem izročilu izpričan kot starejši moški, 
čigar zrelost dodatno zaznamuje brada, medtem 
ko je na reliefih iz Gornjega Grada in Akvinka 
prikazan kot golobrad, na reliefu iz Akvinka pa 
so vidni celo mladostni, na vrat padajoči kodri. 
Nenazadnje tudi domnevna Helena pred možem, 
ki jo želi za nezvestobo in povzročeno vojno ubiti, 
stoji povsem mirno, medtem ko je na preostalih 
upodobitvah tega motiva na smrt prestrašena, prav 
tako nikjer drugje soprogu ne ponuja kakšnega 
predmeta.
Poleg reliefa v Gornjem Gradu (sl. 1–4) in 
ogledala iz Bulla Regia (sl. 9, 10) je ženska v 
sredini prikazana tudi na freski v Domus Aurea 
(sl. 8), ki jo je Carl Robert leta 1914 drugače kot 
Weege (1913) leto pred njim, Diezova leta 1953 
in Zahlhaasova leta 1975 interpretiral kot redko 
upodobljen prizor Skile, kako v spremstvu stare 
dojilje Karme Minosu predaja očetove odrezane 
kodre las.
24
 Njuno srečanje je natančno podano v 
Ovidijevih Metamorfozah (8.87–100) in zlasti v 
psevdo V ergilijevi pesnitvi Ciris. Po psevdo V ergi-
liju Minos na vojnem pohodu zoper Atene najprej 
napade mesto Megaro, ki mu vlada kralj Nizus z 
nepremagljivimi rdečimi kodri las in Minos mesto 
oblega zaman. Tedaj pa se mu nasmehne sreča, saj 
se vanj po posredovanju Erosa, s čimer jo kaznuje 
za pregrešek, ki ga je še kot dekle storila proti Ju-
noni, zaljubi kraljeva hčerka Skila.
25
 Ponoči očetu 
ob pomoči stare dojilje odreže čarobne kodre in 
jih v želji po ljubezni prinese Minosu, ta pa se, 
zgrožen nad Skilinim izdajstvom in posledičnim 
24
  Robert namesto imena “Skila” uporabi ime “Ciris,” 
ki pomeni vrsto čaplje, v katero se je zavoljo posrednega 
očetovega umora preobrazila Skila (Robert 1914, 158–159). 
Njegovo interpretacijo sta odbili tako Diezova (1966–1967, 
107–108) kakor tudi Ghali-Kahilova (1955, 243).
25
  Ps. Verg. Ciris 158–162; s komentirano izdajo Lyne 
1978, 164–165: “Muhast, še več, lahkomiseln je bog, ki v 
vsaki besedi / čuti krivico vsekdar in išče vračila vzrok, 
/ vleče puščice iz toka, ki ves blešči se v zlatu / (strašen, 
zares, prestrašen prizor, Tirintija moja), / proži jih vse v 
nedolžno in nežno dekliško srce” [prevod: G. Pobežin].

197 A rare mythological scene at Gornji Grad: the tale of Scylla and Minos?
očetomorom, njeni ljubezni odreče ter mladenko 
prekolne in po nekaterih virih celo ubije.
26
 Skladnosti 
med literarnim virom in likovnimi upodobitvami 
v prvi vrsti nastopijo pri likih dojilje in Erosa, 
ki ima aktivno vlogo tudi na vseh obravnavanih 
reliefih iz Norika in Panonije,
27
 ogledalu iz Bulla 
Regia in pa tudi freski iz Domus Aurea, saj žensko 
potiska proti moškemu. Vejica, ki jo drži ženska 
na freski v Domus Aurea in na ogledalu iz Bulla 
Regia, bi lahko predstavljala aspergil, prav tako 
omenjen pri psevdo Vergiliju (Ciris 376).
28
Sam prizor je v likovni umetnosti pred cesarskim 
obdobjem povsem neznan, tudi kasneje se pojavi 
izjemno redko. Par je brez dvoma upodobljen na 
reliefu, opremljenim z napisom, na keltsko-rim-
skem terakotnem medaljonu iz sredine 1. st. po Kr. 
Original, ki je bil najden v Arlesu, je žal izgubljen, 
ohranjen pa je njegov odlitek (sl. 11, 12).
29
 Kralj 
Minos stoji na levi, prikazan je gol, golobrad, le 
preko levega ramena mu pada hlamida. Z desno 
roko je že napol izvlekel meč iz nožnice,
30
 kar 
močno spominja na reliefa iz Gornjega Grada in 
Akvinka. Njemu nasproti na desni stoji Skila z 
razgaljenim oprsjem in mu v iztegnjeni desnici 
26
  Dojilja kot Skilina sozarotnica in pomočnica nastopi 
le v pesnitvi Ciris (206–385; s komentarjem Lyne 1978, 
185–186). Lyne zanika, da bi se pojavila že v zgodnejših 
verzijah mita, pač pa naj bi šlo za kontaminacijo s Cininim 
izgubljenim epilijem Zmyrna. Knox v recenziji komentarja 
zavoljo besede crevit: (T alia dicenti curarum maxima nutrix 
/ nox intervenit, tenebrisque audacia crevit […] “Te besede 
izreče, ko noč se spusti, ki vliva / strah ljudem v kosti, a 
njej prilije poguma”; Met. 8.81–82 [prevod: G. Pobežin]), ki 
se pri Ovidijevih pesnitvah običajno nanaša na konkretno 
osebo, ne izključi možnosti, da se je Ovidij dojiljo odločil 
opustiti zgolj zato, da bi bilo več poudarka na Skilinih 
notranjih moralnih občutjih. Potemtakem bi dojilja seveda 
morala nastopati tudi že v starejših, neohranjenih verzijah 
mita (Knox 1990).
27
  Prim. op. 8.
28
  Ps. Verg. Ciris 376 (pergit Amyclaeo spargens altaria 
thallo […] “z vejico mirte dišeče oltar zatem oškropi še” 
[prevod: G. Pobežin]). Beseda thallus je v latinščini izjemno 
redka ter težko prevedljiva. Po prvi izmed dveh glavnih 
razlag bi lahko pomenila hijacinto, ki raste na Amiklah, 
kjer je tudi Hijakintov grob, po drugi pa naj bi pomenila 
aspergil. Karme bi tako poškropila oltar s posvečeno vo-
do, thallus pa bi bil najverjetneje identificiran z lovorjem 
(Cazzaniga 1959, 453 ss; Lyne 1978, 262).
29
  Odlitek hrani Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Musée d’ Ar-
chéologie Nationale, inv. št. 31653. Wuilleumier, Audin 
1952, 122, št. 208; Bažant 1992, 571, št. 14; Canciani 1994, 
793, št. 5.
30
  Vidni so namreč ročaj, zgornji del rezila in zgornji 
del nožnice z dvema prečnima okovoma (opozorilo Dra-
gana Božiča).
ponuja šop las svojega očeta Nizusa. Kompozicija 
dveh nasproti si stoječih figur, moškega z roko na 
ročaju meča ter mirno stoječe napol gole ženske, 
ki mu v iztegnjeni roki ponuja neki predmet, je 
praktično identična z domnevnimi upodobitvami 
srečanja Menelaja in Helene iz Norika in Panonije. 
Neznani podolgovati predmet na njih pa bi bil 
zlahka stiliziran šop las.
Razen na tem terakotnem reliefu sta Minos in 
Skila prikazana še na slabo ohranjeni stenski sliki v 
Casa dei Dioscuri v Pompejih (VI, 9, 6–9), ohranjeni 
in situ ter datirani v flavijsko obdobje (sl. 13). Tu 
se prizor odvija znotraj palače, nakazane z zidom.
31
 
Minos sedi na prestolu, pred njim stoji Skila, ki 
mu v iztegnjeni roki moli šop nepremagljivih las. 
Za Minosom stojijo njegovi služabniki, ob Skili pa 
zopet starejša ženska, ki proti njemu steguje desno 
dlan. Skila je prikazana še na z imenom označeni 
stenski sliki iz vile pri Tor Marancia v Rimu pri 
vratih San Sebastiano v seriji junakinj, pogubljenih 
zavoljo nesrečne ljubezni. Skila je oblečena v dolg 
himation, toda tudi tu v desnici drži pogubni šop 
las ter še najbolj spominja na levo stoječo žensko 
na freski v Domus Aurea.
32
Na ogledalu iz nekropole Bulla Regia v Tuniziji, 
na katerem sta tako Reinach kot Zahlhaasova pre-
poznala srečanje Menelaja in Helene po trojanski 
vojni, je nedvomno isti prizor kot na reliefu v 
Gornjem Gradu. Odpira pa se vprašanje, ali je bila 
dosedanja razlaga tega prizora pravilna, saj figura 
na sredini ne more biti Afrodita, temveč neka sta-
rejša ženska. Proti identifikaciji prizora s snidenjem 
Menelaja in Helene govorita tudi mladostni videz 
golobradega moškega ter mirna, samozavestna drža 
polgole ženske figure, ki se pojavljata le na reliefih 
iz Norika in Panonije in na ogledalu iz Bulla Regia. 
Med domnevne upodobitve Menelaja in Helene sta 
Diezova in Zahlhaasova poleg reliefov iz Norika 
in Panonije uvrstili tudi fresko v Domus Aurea, ki 
pa jo je Carl Robert leta 1914 označil za Srečanje 
Minosa in Skile, najnatančneje izpričano v psevdo 
Vergilijevi Ciris. Prizor je bil pred cesarskim ob-
dobjem povsem neznan in tudi kasneje le redek, 
najpogosteje je nastopal v času vladavine flavijskih 
vladarjev. Skila je vselej prikazana s šopom las, ki 
jih v iztegnjeni roki ponuja golobrademu Minosu, 
ta pa, zgrožen nad njenim izdajstvom, roko že drži 
na ročaju meča. Ista gestikulacija nastopi tudi na 
obravnavanih reliefih iz Norika in Panonije, podol-
31
  Bažant 1992, 571, št. 12; Canciani 1994, 793, št. 1; 
Hodske 2007, 260, št. 290, t. 178: 1,2.
32
  Canciani 1994, 793, št. 4.

198 Katarina ŠMID
govat predmet, ki ga ženska figura moli predse, pa 
bi zlahka bil šop las. Skilina dojilja je kot starejša 
ženska upodobljena na freskah v Casa dei Dioscuri 
in Domus Aurea ter na ogledalu iz Bulla Regia, kot 
sozarotnica pa nastopa v epiliju Ciris. Isti vir ome-
nja tudi Erosa, s čigar posredovanjem se je Skila 
zaljubila v sovražnika domovine, kar bi pojasnilo 
njegovo potiskanje ženske figure proti moškemu 
liku na reliefih iz Norika in Panonije, na freski v 
Domus Aurea in ogledalu iz Bulla Regia. Čeprav 
sta Diezova in Kahilova Robertovo razlago motiva 
na freski v Domus Aurea zavrnili (prim. op. 24), 
iz vsega zgoraj navedenega sledi, da tako literarno 
izročilo kakor tudi redke likovne upodobitve tega 
motiva govorijo v njen prid. Očitno tako na freski 
v Domus Aurea v Rimu (sl. 8) kot tudi na reliefih 
v Gornjem Gradu (sl. 4), Oswaldgrabnu na avstrij-
skem Štajerskem (sl. 5, 6) in Budimpešti (sl. 7) ter 
ogledalu z nekropole Bulla Regia v Tuniziji (sl. 9, 
10) ni upodobljeno snidenja Menelaja in Helene 
po koncu trojanske vojne, temveč usodno srečanje 
Minosa in Skile.
Zahvale
Za pomoč pri nastanku članka bi se zahvalila Stanku 
Kokoletu, za branje in nasvete še Ireni Lazar in Marjeti Šašel 
Kos, za večkratno temeljito branje, opozorila in koristne 
napotke pri pripravi končnega besedila gre še zlasti zahvala 
Draganu Božiču. Nazadnje bi se rada še zahvalila Andreji 
Maver za prevod v angleščino in Gregorju Pobežinu za 
prevod latinskih citatov v slovenščino, Bojanu Djuriću in 
Stanku Kokoletu za fotografije reliefa v Gornjem Gradu ter 
Narodnemu muzeju v Budimpešti za dovoljenje za objavo 
fotografije reliefa v Akvinku.
Katarina Šmid
Univerza na Primorskem
Znanstveno-raziskovalno središče
Garibaldijeva 1
SI-6000 Koper
katarina.smid@zrs.upr.si