Tombs and graves are not places we would consider “sexy.” And we especially do notthink of the dead as “getting it on” in the afterlife. So, how do we make sense of the depositionof erotic Attic pottery in Etruscan tombs? Scenes of graphic sex depicted on imported Atticpottery from 550-425 BCE have been erroneously interpreted through the patriarchal lens ofAthenian society, with the function of these scenes in the sympotic context and all the women onthese vessels as sex workers. However, this interpretation ignores their findspot in Etruscantombs. This thesis will re-evaluate the function of these vessels within the Etruscan funerarycontext.Due to the general lack of information on Etruscan values surrounding sexuality and theafterlife, the Etruscan funerary context is compared to a culture they have never been comparedto — the Moche. Located in Northern Peru and dating to the 1st millenium CE, the Mochesimilarly deposited ceramic vessels with erotic imagery in their tombs. This novel comparisonbetween erotic Attic pottery and Moche sex pots provides new perspectives regarding theconnection between sex and death. Ultimately, it is argued that graphic depictions of sex, such asthe ones exhibited on Attic pottery, were integral in supporting the generative powers of Etruscanancestors. In turn, the active sexual potency of the ancestors would have ensured the fecundityand prosperity of the living.This work is not a one-to-one comparison, inferring that Etruscan society was moresimilar to Moche society than ancient Athenian or Roman society. Rather, the goal of thisapproach is to allow space for new ways of reflecting on Etruscan sex practices and conceptionsof reproduction. The methodology of this work is based in archaeology but also pulls in modesof inquiry from the fields of gender studies, sexuality studies, and cultural anthropology.Through these modes of inquiry, I analyze Attic black- and red-figure pottery, locally madeEtruscan funerary art, and Moche sex pots. My work pushes the envelope of non-traditionalroutes in interpreting erotic Attic pottery and Etruscan sexuality at large, and challenges modernWestern biases surrounding these topics.
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